Want to know how to find cute sea creatures at the beach? It’s actually quite easy to find crabs, baby shrimp, fish, starfish, and seahorses! You just need to know where to look and the tools needed!
Look in the seaweed
Florida beaches have been littered with large brown sargassum seaweed lately. Sargassum is a type of algae that floats in large groups and never attaches to the seafloor. Animals like to live and camouflage in the floating seaweed islands.
Finding sea life at the beach is one our kids favorite things to do. This activity can keep them busy for hours. We love to learn about them and see what new sea critters we can discover. It’s important to always catch and release the sea animals back into the ocean.
What you need to find cute sea creatures?
- A net – these are our favorite
- A bucket with sea water. (Tip: the lighter the bucket the better you’ll be able to see the sea life)
What we find in the seaweed:
- Ghost shrimp
- Crabs
- Baby fish
- Seahorse
How to find sea creature in seaweed
- Fill your bucket with sea water.
- Net the floating seaweed and put it in your bucket and gently swirl around.
- Say hello to your new sea friends!
The crabs you find will actually change colors. The start out as grayish color and as they live on the sargassum they will start to turn a yellow brown to match the surroundings.
More ways to find sea life at the beach
Under the sand you can find Atlantic mole crabs, locals call them sand crabs. We first discovered these during a trip to Siesta Key, Fl.
Tidal pools and during low tide is when you can find starfish, mussels and sea snails the best. Always look near the rocks.
In the seagrass is where seahorses like to hang out. Be very careful when looking here as they’re very fragile. These are our favorite snorkels to find them.
Now you know how to find cute sea life at the beach! We hope this post was helpful and happy critter finding your next time at the ocean. Remember to catch and release!
Our Beach Essentials 2023
Our list of favorite beach day essentials when hitting the beach especially with kids.
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