The AquaNerd featured coral of the week originated from a zoa colony collected by ReefGen, called the Superduperman Zoanthid.  These beautiful zoas are brightly colored, very hardy, and grow rapidly once established in the aquarium.  For optimum growth, the Superduperman Zoa  prefers moderate lighting and moderate water flow.  We went to the ReefGen site to locate a price but it appears their site is currently under construction, however we were able to find these for sale at Unique Corals.  For Eight to Ten polyps a nice frag sells for $34.00. Photo by Unique Corals Care: CARE LEVEL:  Intermediate TEMPERAMENT: Semi-Aggressive PLACEMENT: On rock-work or rubble WATER MOVEMENT: Moderate LIGHTING:  Moderate HUSBANDRY NOTES: Unique Corals grows their zoas out under a combination of LED and

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Thanks to all for listening in 2015.

It’s our last podcast of the year and weird gifts are on our minds. Thanks to everyone for being such loyal listeners. We hope we’ve entertained you and, on occasion, expanded your knowledge. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Gary and Christine

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A: C. ellenae, from Raja Ampats B: C. maurinae, from Cenderawasih Bay C: C. oxycephala, from Bali & Palawan Credit: Allen et al 2015

 
Earlier this year I wrote a review for a popular group of damselfishes—the Chrsyiptera hemicyanea complex—that show a complicated pattern of regional speciation. At the time, several of these biogeographical variants remained scientifically undescribed, but a new study by Gerry Allen and coauthors has addressed this gap in our knowledge, describing three new species in an important paper on the region’s population genetics. When combined with previous work in this field, a clearer picture is now developing of the processes that dictate the immense diversity surrounding the island of New Guinea. 

D: C. cf oxycephala “genovariant” from Lembeh E: C. papuensis, from Milne Bay F: C. sinclairi, from Manus Island & Hermit Islands Credit: Allen et al 2015

 For aquarists, Chrysiptera oxycephala is a relatively unfamiliar and unpopular species, with adults suffering from a relatively drab mix of dingy yellow and brown. Juveniles, on the other hand, are vibrant blue and yellow fishes which show their allegiance more clearly to the other colorful members of their species group—familiar offerings like the Yellowtail, Azure and Springer’s Damselfishes. However, juveniles from different locations of the Coral Triangle were noted to differ in the configuration of their patterning, often moreso than in the adults, which ultimately led these researchers to search for overlooked species diversity. 

Credit: Allen et al 2015

 Previous biogeographical studies of the Coral Triangle have strongly hinted at a major region of endemism centered on the island of New Guinea, which also includes the Solomon Islands in the east and the Muluku Islands to the West. The present study of C. oxycephala adds even more detail to this, as these newly recognized taxa are all exclusively endemic within this Melanesian ecoregion. While many other reef fishes from here—for instance, Chaetodontoplus poliourus or Amphiprion percula—can be found as seemingly homogenous populations spanning this entire region, these new damselfishes break down into multiple geographically restricted subpopulations now treated as distinct taxa. The maps and photographs included here give a brief account of the findings from Allen et al, which is expounded upon in far more detail in their paper. Overall, morphological differences between these taxa are minimal. C. maurinae, described from Cenderawasih Bay, is said to have (on average) one extra lateral line scale, as does an undescribed variant of C.… More:

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Xseries Media Reactors We’ve known for some time now that MRC has been working on a new product series and today My Reef Creations has made it official with the release of their new xSeries media reactors.  Below is the official Press Release from the guys at My Reef Creations. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 22, 2015 My Reef Creations Lawrenceville, Ga. – MRC® rings in 2016 with its new xSeriesTM, an affordable equipment line with exceptional quality MRC®, a brand synonymous with quality products and successful hobbyists, proudly introduces its latest line of equipment. MRC® ‘s newest member in design and manufacturing innovation, the xSeriesTM, was created by listening to customer feedback and building a line hobbyists will value for its affordability, as well as the MRC® quality

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Caribbean Chris and I get lots of excellent, thought-provoking questions from Saltwater Smarts visitors that we believe might be of general interest to other salties out there. So we thought it would be worthwhile to begin posting some of them here in Q&A format. Of course, you’re always welcome to join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comment section below or sending us your question.Question I was visiting an LFS in another part of the country while on a business trip. The store is highly rated on various social media sites, and I was impressed by the diversity and apparent health of the livestock in the first 10 or so display tanks that I viewed. Then, in the course of viewing the next 10 tanks, I saw three tanks that had at least one livestock specimen dead or clearly diseased in the tank (with other, apparently healthy livestock still in the tank). As a newbie, should this be a huge red flag for me that a store like this is not a great source of healthy fish?” – submitted by Robert Bruce Answer Thanks so much for your question, Robert. I think the situation you observed may be a red flag, which is why I list “healthy livestock” among my “Eight Traits of a Good LFS.” As I see it, the apparent health/physical condition of specimens offered for sale says a lot about a dealer’s level of concern not only for the well-being of the livestock, but also for customers’ future success.

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Reef Tank Tip – Resist The Urge to Submerge There are a number of best practices for reefkeeping and one of the bigger ones in my book is to try and minimize the amount of time I put my hands in the tank. I consider myself a perfectionist and when I started to keep reefs I was always looking at my tanks and tinkering with the rocks or corals to achieve a “better” look. I would buy a new coral and spend a lot of time trying to place it just right, moving it from spot to spot. This stressed out the coral and made it tough for it to establish itself in its new environment. What I learned over time is that Mother Nature needs to

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As a thank you to our readers for another great year, Jeff and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to offer a holiday sale to the Saltwater Smarts community. From now until the end of the year, use the promo codes below to receive $5 off on the eBook or print versions of The Salt Smart Guide to Preventing, Diagnosing, and Treating Diseases of Marine Fishes and The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist: A 60-Year History of Fishkeeping. (That’s the largest discount we’ve ever offered on the the eBook versions – a 30% discount.) Take $5 off either eBook salty2015 Take $5 off the print version of Diseases of Marine Fishes BFZZ8WWQ Take $5 off the print version of The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist PQ3FQCPM This opportunity to add to your aquarium library and save ends with 2015, so make sure to take advantage of it before 12/31/15 at 11:59pm (EST). Related posts:Share this:

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National Geographic Magazine has just released its “Photo of the Day” roundup for 2015.  The stunning images were captured by the magazine’s “Your Shot” online photo community and by staff photographers, and showcase the beauty and splendor of our natural world.  The picture above is particularly captivating; it was taken by Ciemon Frank Caballes at Jellyfish Lake – a marine lake located in Eil Malk, which is part of Palau’s famous Rock Islands , a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Western Pacific. The lake is home to rare golden jellyfish which are harmless to humans and spend much of their lives following the sun as it makes its daily progress across the sky. These jellyfish populated marine basins thousands of years ago through rock fissures and gradually became isolated in an environment devoid of predators. In the absence of predators, these jellyfish evolved into having substantially less stinging cells.
Jeff Hester captured the moment above at Cabo Pulmo, a Marine Protected Area off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, showing his wife swimming underneath a huge shoal of fish.  The fish biomass in this reserve has bounced back and the ecosystem is returning to a healthy state. For more information about “Your Shot”, and to see all the photographs from 2015, visit the National Geographic Magazine website, here.… More:

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Biogeography of Chelmon and its sister genus Chelmonops. The two genera display a distirbution encompassing the four biogeographic regions of Australia, namely the Dampierian, Solanderian, Peronian and Flindersian regions, which, in a clockwise direction starting from the Torres Strait, make up the four coastal quadrants of this continent. Photo credit: Phillip Colla, digital-reefs, Michael Moye, Brian Mayes and John Randall.

 The extremely diverse Chaetodontidae is home to a plethora of butterflyfish species, of which, a large majority are charismatic, colorful, iconic piscines that are largely coral reef associated. The family houses ten or so genera, and, despite being one of the most well studied groups of fish (having even received an extensive molecular based phylogenetic review), remains plagued with several taxonomic conundrums and inconsistencies. For one, the genus Parachaetodon is shown to be nestled within Chaetodon, and so the former genus ought to be relegated as defunct. However, the species, Parachaetodon ocellatus, cannot retain its specific epithet in Chaetodon, as Chaetodon ocellatus is already taken by an Atlantic species prior to this change in name. It thus takes the next available name – oligacanthus. Despite having strong genetic and molecular support in the transfer and renaming, the move is still not widely accepted by the general populace, and so the species now masquerades under two different aliases – Parachaetodon ocellatus and Chaetodon oligacanthus. This, depending on your taxonomic stand, leaves Chaetodontidae with either ten or eleven genera. In addition to being highly speciose, butterflyfishes are also aggressively distributed, attaining their maximum diversity in all warm, tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. A few species are found in the subtropics, where they swim undeterred by cold water. On top of their dominating presence on the reefs, chaetodontids also display great success in conquering various habitats, of which, nearly all can be found with a resident butterflyfish species. These include sun-spangled coral gardens, to bone crushing mesophotic reefs, to silty, visibly poor coastal shorelines replete with freshwater runoffs. And, in addition to displaying this impressive adaptability, chaetodontids have also evolved numerous characteristics that enable their success in obtaining food in their specific domains. Hemitaurichthys, for example, have evolved to feed almost exclusively on zooplankton, in which they seek out by swimming in large shoals high above the calcareous benthos. The triangulum, speculum and ornatus groups of the genus Chaetodon, on the other hand, obtain their energy from coral polyps, in which they feed almost exclusively on.… More:

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In 2014 Russian cosmonauts discovered sea plankton living on the International Space Station (ISS). While there isn’t an official consensus on how they got there, most scientists believe that uplifting air currents on Earth pushed the plankton into space. To the surprise of the cosmonauts, and the international scientific community, the plankton survived and was able to colonize visually sensitive areas of the ISS. The discovery has led to all sorts of theories, with some reaching into the realm of science fiction. Could animals within Earth’s oceans have descended from outer space? Could a meteor or comet carry planktonic life that then adapts to Earth’s oceans and forms a species hierarchy? For the most part, these questions remain unanswered and the sea life we have documented and studied all has terrestrial origins, having evolved and developed right here on Earth. Yet the fact remains, where there is liquid water, there is life. Staring out into the vast solar system, there is one place where a massive liquid ocean could churn beneath an icy crust, Jupiter’s infamous moon Europa. Europa:Long before the 2013 film Europa Report, I featured Europa in my 2010 debut novella Neptune’s Garden. In Europa Report a team of astronauts venture out on a mission to the icy moon, and in my novella Europa is the home of an ancient aquatic species of humanoid. In both instances Europa served as an alien ocean, full of biological wonders and otherworldly oceanic life. In reality Europa is the sixth closest moon to Jupiter, and the smallest of Jupiter’s four Galilean (discovered by Galileo) satellites. Europa is in fact the sixth largest moon in our solar system, and was discovered in 1610 by Galileo. Europa got its name from the mother of Minos of Crete, whom was one of Zeus’ lovers. Europa is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon, and made of silicate rock with an ice-water crust. The moon is theorized to have an iron-nickel core, but astronomers and geologists aren’t certain what makes up the center of the small moon. Europa’s atmosphere is composed mostly of oxygen, and the moon’s surface is marked by streaks and cracks, with crater impact marks being rare on Europa. Astronomers theorize that the icy crust on Europa is astrologically young, and the smoothness of this ice leads many to believe that a liquid water ocean exists under the ice. Anywhere on Earth where liquid water exists, so does life, leading researchers to theorize that Europa’s ocean serves as home to extraterrestrial life.… More:

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A group of Ricordea floridaAs an American reefkeeper, it’s all too easy for me to forget that some truly gorgeous invertebrate livestock originates relatively close to home in the tropical western Atlantic and Caribbean. I was reminded of this recently when CC entrusted several of his Caribbean specimens to my care in advance of his pending move to the great state of Florida. By the way, if you “felt a great disturbance in the force” some weeks back, it had nothing to do with the destruction of Alderaan. More likely, it was just Chris’s head exploding at the thought of his prized Caribbean species intermingling with my lowly Indo-Pacific corals and fish. Did I ever mention that CC is a terrible “species-ist”?Anyway, among this adopted assortment are several color varieties of Ricordea florida. Now, prior to receiving these specimens, it had been a long time since I’d given much thought to rics, and I’d forgotten how truly stunning these humble corallimorphs can be, so it was really nice to get reacquainted with them. They’re also fairly rugged, so whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced hobbyist, R

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Good morning one and all, how was your Christmas??? Ours was fantastic! Aimee had to work Christmas day but I took our guests on a morning and night dive plus we did all kinds of other fun activities in between. Since last thursday afternoon I have pretty much been diving with our two guests Karen and Alan non stop and it has been a blast!!  NEWER POST:

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Our fish are slimy. If you’ve ever bumped one of your aquatic charges with your hand, or picked one up, you’ve noticed that layer of slime coating. Many additives that are intended to reduce stress in captive fish also claim to enhance the slime coat. Believe it or not, this coating of slime is an aquarist’s best friend. Not only does it help ward off potential parasites, it allows damaged tissue or fins to regrow. Yet many captive fish have insufficient slime coats. Why is that? What factors aid in generating an adequate mucus coating, and what can we as aquarists do to enhance this beneficial, and crucial part of our fishes’ biology? The slime coating:If you’re a student of evolutionary biology, then it’s important to accept that somewhere along the line we evolved from fish. Life began in the sea, and over the millennia evolved to occupy land. When this took place our slime glands evolved into sweat glands, since we no longer had a direct need for mucous producing glands within our skin. Yet mucous didn’t go away altogether. If you’ve ever had a cold or respiratory infection, mucous has filled your sinuses and nasal passages, rolling down your throat and clogging up your chest. This mucous works much like a fish’s slime coat. It captures bacteria, fungus, viruses and parasites and pushes them out via sneezing or coughing, or a runny nose. For humans, the downside to this mucous defense is that it can clog up within us, giving bacteria an optimal growing condition and leading to infection. One of slime’s obvious benefits for fish is that it reduces drag by coating an irregular surface such as scales. This allows fish to slip easily, and quickly through their environment. Slime also affords fish protection from fungi, bacteria and ectoparasites. The slime coat traps the parasites and naturally sloughs them off as water moves around the fish. Within fish slime are a host of immunities, so if the parasite doesn’t slough off within the slime, there may be an antibody that kills it. While this sounds like the perfect defense mechanism, parasites evolved right beside the fish, and many have an innate ability to penetrate the slime coat and burrow into fish tissue. A slime coating also soothes a fish’s open wounds, with highly effective medicinal properties. It’s so effective in fact that human researchers are trying to isolate the active components of fish slime for use in human medicine.… More:

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This question, recently posted on our website by Eric B, got me thinking about some of the assumptions we tend to make about nano aquariums. So, in addition to my original answer to Eric’s inquiry, I’ve included a few more random thoughts on the subject afterward. Question Do you think that nano reef tanks are more likely to have fish jump from them, or is that not really a factor in your eyes?” – submitted by Eric B Answer I think as long as the fish in question is 1) an appropriate nano candidate from the standpoint of maximum size and energy level, 2) not crowded or harassed by tankmates, 3) provided adequate niches for rest and refuge, and 4) kept in good water conditions, there’s no reason it should be especially prone to jumping. Of course, these same caveats apply to fish kept in any system, nano or otherwise. That being said, it is much more challenging to find fish species that are well suited to nano tanks than to larger systems. So I suppose one could argue that fish jumping is more likely to be an issue with nano tanks in general, merely because it’s all too easy to stock them inappropriately. A few more thoughts Building on this last point, it’s tempting to think that all bad things happen more rapidly or are more likely to occur in nano systems than in larger ones, but the reality of the situation is a bit more complex. It’s true that smaller aquariums are inherently less stable than larger systems with respect to temperature and other water parameters (which is why we don’t encourage beginners to start with nanos); however, I believe success or failure with a nano tank ultimately comes down to maintaining a sense of proportionality

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MaxSpect and their US Distributor Coral Vue have asked AquaNerd to assist them in getting the word out regarding a possible attempt to introduce an unauthorized “knockoff” of their MaxSpect Gyre Series pumps into the North American aquarium products market.  The concern is due to a European release of a new cross flow pump by Jebao identified as the Jecod CP-25 and CP-45 pumps.  MaxSpect has filed a patent application for the Gyre design and is exercising its legal rights to notice any potential entities that the sale and distribution of this new pump in the US market may potentially violate its impending patent rights and make the offender subject to penalties for theft of their intellectual property and legal damages which would include injunctive and

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Good morning from rainy overcast Curacao! Check out these monster sized Giant Barrel Sponges, Xestospongia muta that we found at 70 feet on our drift dive from the Sea Aquarium house reef to the Substation house reef. The barrel sponge at the top is the largest at around six feet tall with a good two and half foot wide opening, these are truly exceptional specimens! As we passed we watched a single Foureye Butterflyfish swim in and out of the bottom sponge pecking at small amounts of algae from around the inside of the sponge without a care in the world.  The giant barrel sponge (Xestospongia muta) is the largest species of sponge found growing on Caribbean coral reefs. It is common at depths greater than 10 metres (33 ft) down to 120 metres (390 ft) and can reach a diameter of 1.8 metres (6 feet).

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Biogeography of Forcipiger. This genus is remarkable for the dichotomizing distributions of two species. F. flavissimus is the most widespread butterflyfish in its genus and family, adopting a nearly completely circumtropical distribution. F. wanai, on the other hand, is restricted to only Cenderawasih Bay and the surrounding region of West Papua. Photo credit: Gerry Allen and John Randall.

 Of the butterflyfishes that have evolved long snouts in tandem with their dietary needs, none are more impressive, or quirky, than those in the genus Forcipiger. This genus boasts some of the most iconic members of the family, easily identified in the field by even the most amateur of divers. My mother, for one, surprised me one day by identifying it correctly in a travel brochure (the fish was featured in a dive resort advertisement). Considering that she knows as much about marine fish as I do folk dancing, it comes as no surprise then, that Forcipiger has managed to attain more or less a symbolic status even amongst the general public. The genus comprises three species, of which, two are remarkable for their dichotomizing and polarizing biogeography. F. flavissimus is the most widespread butterflyfish, not only in its genus, but in the entire family. Conversely, F. wanai is localized to the reefs of Cenderawasih Bay and regional West Papuaa – a tiny locale in the Indonesian Archipelago. The nearly circumtropical distribution of F. flavissimus is extremely remarkable, where it can be found from the East African coast all the way to Baja California in North America. Aside from crossing into the Eastern Pacific, it has also managed to colonize Norfolk Island in New Zealand. F. flavissimus is absent in the Atlantic, due to its inability to cross the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The strong, cold currents present here separates the Indian Ocean from the Eastern Atlantic and prevents species such as F. flavissimus from attaining a fully circumtropical distribution (although there is no doubt that it will proliferate in the Atlantic given a chance – alien introduction). The reason for Forcipiger’s success is its long larval phase, allowing them to drift significant distances to colonize new ground. F. flavissimus is reported to settle out of its larval phase at 7 centimeters, after which it quickly adopts the usual yellow coloration and begin its life as a juvenile. This is comparatively similar to Moorish Idols of the monotypic genus Zanclus, and, in comparison to Zanclus’ biogeography, you’d notice that it too, attains a nearly circumtropical distribution.… More:

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ABOUT Avid outdoorsman and underwater photographer, Barry Brown has spent the last ten years documenting life above and below water in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. He is currently working with the Smithsonian Institution documenting new Caribbean deep-water species and building a one of a kind database. His underwater images can regularly be seen in Sport Diver, Scuba Diver and on the Ikelite website. His image of a "Collage of Corals" seen under blue-light at night recently placed in the TOP 10 images for the 2014 NANPA (North American Nature Photographers Association) photo contest. General

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“Top 10” lists are always popular features around the New Year, and with good reason. They offer an idea of what resonated with people or had an impact on our culture over the preceding year—and, by logical extension, what didn’t. They also, to a certain extent, give us a sense of where we’re headed in the future.Here at Saltwater Smarts, we rely on various site metrics as well as comment-section feedback to help us gauge which posts or other offerings are of interest to our visitors. Based on these analytics, we’ve compiled our Top 10 Posts for 2015. You’ll find they touch upon a wide variety of topics, so there’s something here for everyone to enjoy: Thanks to each and every one of you for another wonderful year! It’s our pledge to keep bringing you content that educates, inspires, and hopefully provides a little entertainment along the way. From Caribbean Chris, myself, and all the regular contributors and sponsors here at Saltwater Smarts, happy New Year and all the best in 2016!

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Good morning friends, I’m trying to recover this morning from a long day of diving yesterday, we had three sub runs mixed with cold water and current making for a long day. While I photographed the sub our friends Karen and Alan did their own diving following me once out onto our house reef and another down the coast at Pier Baai above the Carpile dive site.  I have a giant 18-inch French Angelfish for you all this morning that we found on our fun drift-dive from Sea Aquarium to Substation a few days ago. We found two of these beauties together but I was unable to get them both in one photo it’s always been such a hard thing to do. Once I started shooting them they started swimming straight down to much deeper water and I finally had to call it quits, they really are not shy or scared just busy.  Not much else to report, weird weather continues here, we should be having big rains but so far they are no where on the horizon?

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