I was rockpooling with the grandkids and was lucky enough to net a rather gorgeous blenny. It got me thinking whether it’s possible (and legal) to keep native rockpool fish and inverts. I’ve kept marines in the past so I’m familiar with water chemistry etc. Is temperature an issue in summer? It would be amazing to have a rockpool style tank. I’d be interested to hear your thought on this.
KEITH FREEMAN
MARINE
JEREMY REPLIES: I’ve looked into this I can’t find anything that says that it is illegal to keep fish found in rockpools. Some sea angling species are protected by law, but not your blenny, or other critters you may find while foraging.
Yes, you can set up a UK-based temperate marine aquarium, and there are a few gorgeous examples of ‘coldwater’ marine tanks now online. Before tropical marine tanks became possible and established, us Brits kept temperate tanks in higher numbers, with the well-known aquarist Dick Mills even featuring one in his famous book You and Your Aquarium.
The good news is that rockpool species, by their very nature, are very hardy and extremely tolerant of changing conditions, be it daily temperature swings as well as salinity, as rock pools evaporate or become diluted from rain.
Set-up could range from something as simple as an aquarium, internal power filter and built-in LED light to a full marine-spec aquarium with sump, protein skimmer, wave pumps and reef spec lighting.
Your blenny may have be
