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Evolution & Diversity of Mirolabrichthys Basslets: Part 3

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The Sail-finned Clade: Pseudanthias evansi,tuka, pascalus, & cf pascalus “Fiji” & “Tahiti”
Miro tree3
It is clear that P. tuka, P. pascalus and P. evansi form a single group, as they share a number of unique characters: 1) The elongated “forehead” between the eyes and the placement of the dorsal fin gives a distinctively angular look to the head. 2) The dorsal soft rays of males are notably longer than the spiny rays, giving a sail-like appearance. 3) The lack of papillae on the posterior orbital. 4) The presence of additional auxiliary scales.tuka map
It could be argued that all of these differences are enough to warrant a separate subgeneric placement for this group; remember that the members of this group were all originally classified as a separate genus—
Mirolabrichthys—due to the many observable differences. But, in spite of the obvious differences, these fish are likely to be sister to the previous clade. The two consistently pair in the C01 molecular phylogeny I prepared for this review, and both groups have some juveniles which develop red tips to the caudal fin—a key feature of those Pseudanthias which appear to be their closest relatives.
 

The purple blotch in the soft rays of the dorsal fin is diagnostic for P. tuka. The yellow throat is also a common feature, though not entirely reliable on its own for making identifications. From Sulawesi. Credit: Mark Rosenstein

The purple blotch in the soft rays of the dorsal fin is diagnostic for P. tuka. The yellow throat is also a common feature, though not entirely reliable on its own for making identifications. From Sulawesi. Credit: Mark Rosenstein

 
While the revision of Randall & Lubbock seems to favor treating the Indian Ocean endemic
evansi as an isolated lineage, it clearly belongs as a sister species to the Pacific tuka. Both species share a female coloration of yellow along the dorsum and caudally, the extent of which varies between the taxa. They differ quite notably as adults, with evansi keeping the female coloration (and adding some additional yellow stippling), while tuka turns a solid purple.  

Male P. evansi. Note the sail-like yellow dorsal fin. Credit: Masamichi Torisu

Male P. evansi. Note the sail-like yellow dorsal fin. Credit: Masamichi Torisu

 There has been much confusion, from taxonomists and aquarists alike, over how to tell the sympatric tuka and pascalus apart. Both species are predominantly purple as males, being separable based on consistent differences in the dorsal fin coloration, which is clearly used as a sexual semaphore. In pascalus, the dorsal fin is a solid purple, with highly variable amounts of red or orange developing on the soft rays. In tuka, the dorsal fin  is variably colored purple or red, but this coloration typically extends throughout the fin, and in exceptionally colorful males it continues along the nape to form a reddish stripe.More:

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These are the plugs you’re looking for…

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Star Wars Themed coral settlement tiles (Photo Credit: Jamie Craggs)

 Jedi Master Jamie Craggs is the aquarium curator from the Horniman Museum who, just a few weeks ago, made headlines with his successful in-vitro fertilization of captive coral . The Force is strong with Jamie Craggs’ new coral settlement tiles,  created from a galaxy far, far away (and a 9 to 1 coral sand/white cement mix)for his coral larvae to settle onto. It looks like Jamie got his creative idea from using Star Wars – shaped ice cube trays, not Jedi mind-tricks. He does report that it seems to be a weak mix… Maybe next time he should try a mix with the sands of Tatooine.Star-Wars-Character-Ice-Cube-TrayCome_to_the_DarkSide_cookies
This new development leads to two very important questions:
Will the coral larvae choose the dark side or the light?
Will these new tiles make the coral settle in less than twelve parsecs?
Either way, these tiles are cooler than Hoth’s atmosphere. bothans
I know that I, for sure, will be scavenging Jamie’s idea. I’m going out to the store, buying an ice cube tray, and making some Star Wars – themed coral plugs as soon as possible! Whether you’re Rebel scum or loyal to the Empire’s cause, I think we can all agree that these tiles are no Bantha-fodder. To all you reef lovers out there: May the Force be with you always!… More:

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By 2050 Our Oceans May Hold More Plastic Than Fish

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Boat-sea-plastic-krichim
The title of this article says it all and it’s very grim, but not unsurprising, news for our oceans. I have written about some of the devastating effects of plastic on our coral reefs. CC Moey reports estimates that nearly a third of all plastic packaging ‘escapes collection systems’. This means that 1/3 ends up in our oceans or in landfills;up to 8 million tons are deposited in our waterways. Plastic can survive for hundreds of years. It is estimated that currently there are 165 million tons of plastic in our oceans, or one garbage truck full of plastic per minute that’s dumped into our oceans. What’s even scarier, by 2050, it is estimated we will be dumping 4 garbage trucks full of plastic in! I don’t know about you, but that is rather horrifying to me. According to weight, by 2050, our oceans will have more plastic than fish. Currently, the ratio of plastic to fish is about 1:5. Currently, only about 5% of all plastics are actually recycled. The solution being proposed is a ‘new plastic economy’ that focuses on more reusable packaging, recycling and compostable plastic solutions. It’s clear that if we don’t make some major changes, our marine life and oceans will be the ones to suffer. MoreMore:

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Need Help from Fellow Hobbyists? Don’t Spare the Details!

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Before hitting the “help button,” make sure you’ve gathered all the relevant information about your systemWe’ve all been there at one time or another: A major problem arises that’s causing livestock losses—and/or loss of sanity—and we need advice from local fish store staffers, the members of our favorite forum, website moderators, or just friendly local hobbyists on how to find a workable solution. However, when we’re desperate to resolve a problem, we sometimes pose questions in a manner that’s, well, a bit counterproductive. In many cases, the question is worded something like this: “My fish/corals keep dying one after another. It seems like every day I lose one or two more. I don’t see any signs of disease, and all my water parameters are perfect. What could be the problem? Can you recommend a product or medication that will put a stop to this? Please help, as I’m about to quit this hobby in disgust!”While this question conveys a great deal of passion, what it lacks is virtually every pertinent detail that could aid in finding a solution.

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Euroquatics E5 Press Release

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Euroquatics has announce the release of their new lamps featuring the E5 LED technology.  These lights can be used in existing T5 fixtures as replacement bulbs for T5 lamps and are much brighter and longer lasting than the predecessor T5 technology.  Euroquatics is providing AquaNerd with some sample lamps for a product review and you can follow our testing on future blog posts.  We will be taking PAR readings with a BioTek Marine PAR sensor and discussing these lamps in detail after they arrive and we begin to check them out. The highly efficient E5 lamps are designed to work in sync with original T5HO fixtures. These unique products showcase features that create an eco-friendly aquarium lamp that lasts up to five times

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Evolution & Diversity of Mirolabrichthys Basslets: Part 4

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The Red-banded Clade: lori, flavoguttatus, privitera, aurulentus & cf aurulentus “Coral Sea”
miro tree2The last clades to discuss are best recognized by lacking the stripe running posteroventrally from the eye, a character otherwise seen in most (all?) other Pseudanthias. Also unique are the purple markings on the yellow iris of the eye. Additionally, these species show some consistency to their patterning which allows us to designate them into two sister lineages. This unusual red striping and barring is not seen anywhere else in the genus, but there are enough similarities with P. ventralis and P. fucinus to suggest with confidence that the two form a single lineage. In the CO1 phylogeny used in this review, these two often (but inconsistently) formed a pair basal to their remaining congeners, indicating this is a highly divergent group of fishes which is likely in need of its own generic distinction. 

Compare the similar cranial markings of P. parvirostris with P. ventralis. Both groups also lack the cheek stripe common to other Pseudanthias. Credit: Jacky Wong & unknown

Compare the similar purple cranial markings of P. parvirostris with P. ventralis. Both groups also lack the cheek stripe common to other Pseudanthias. Credit: Jacky Wong & unknown

 The five species comprising the “Red-banded Clade” are easily recognizable by their variably banded or striped patterning. A purple stripe is seen in males which runs dorsally between the eyes; in its sister lineage, there is instead a pair of purple lines in the shape of parentheses. lori mapInferring relationships in this clade is made difficult by the uncertainty of biogeographic ranges and possible intraspecific variation in coloration. The species with the largest range and most variable color pattern is P. lori, which ranges from Christmas Island in the Eastern Indian Ocean to Japan and to the Tuamotu Islands of the South Pacific. The color pattern is consistent in being composed of a series of dorsal red half-bars and an elongated band on the caudal peduncle, but the relative length of these bars varies, as does the overall coloration of the body.  Much of this is likely related to maturation, as the largest specimens typically have the thinnest and least amount of barring.P. lori is presumed to be basally divergent based on differences in coloration of the dorsal fin, which has a base coloration of purple (though this may vary geographically) with a red (sometimes grading into yellow) submarginal band and contrasting, light-colored spine tips. The remaining species all possess a finely-spotted patterning to the dorsal fin.  

Compare the subtle differences of P. lavoguttatus (front) to P. lori (back). From Okinawa. Credit: Itaru Takaru

Compare the subtle differences of P.

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Know the policy.

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packed-corals-smlOne of my goals when writing about the aquarium hobby, is to help people become educated consumers. The world of retail (retail on anything, not just aquarium livestock) is often designed to encourage people to make fast decisions, build-up excitement and enact a knee-jerk buyer reaction. Reef aquariums often don’t react well to knee jerk reactions, impulse purchases or quickly made decisions. When setting out to get new livestock, it’s best to be methodical, smart and skeptical. It’s also important to understand the guarantee policy the livestock you buy is covered under.  Most LFS style shops don’t offer a guarantee, since the aquarist is able to visually assess the livestock, before making a purchase. Also, getting the livestock from the shop, to their aquarium, is the aquarist’s job in LFS sales scenarios. When ordering online, aquarists don’t get a chance to visually inspect the livestock their buying, other than a picture, which may or may not represent the coral they are buying. They also aren’t directly in control of getting the livestock from the outlet, to their aquarium. Since this type of purchase is unconventional from an aquarium livestock viewpoint, the animals are often covered by a guarantee policy, and sometimes this is the only assurance the aquarist has that the animals they are getting will be alive, and resemble what they were shown on a website. When I worked in real estate sales, I was surprised that far more training existed to teach agents how to persuade buyers to make a purchase, rather than assess all the variables tied in with their families’ financial future and prospective home. Some vendors may be more concerned with convincing an aquarist that they need a “rare” coral, then they are with making sure their customers have thriving, healthy tanks. Since we spend thousands of dollars on reef livestock, that guarantee policy needs to be steadfast. Some aquarists (myself included) order 99% of all their livestock online, and sooner or later, you will attempt to act on a guarantee policy. In order to help educate aquarists, I will break down four model guarantee policies. I will explain what to look for, what to question and how to perceive the policies, along with a risk assumption for each one. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPolicy 1: Live arrival guaranteed with stipulations. Coral not guaranteed past live arrival: I call these types of guarantee policies coral ordering prenuptial agreements.… More:

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Three Spotted Drums

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Good morning all, so what’s better than finding one Spotted Drum?? That’s right, finding two, and what’s better than finding two Spotted Drums, the answer would be finding THREE!!! Some of my underwater photo friends out there know not only how cool it is to find these fish in numbers but to have the chance to get them all in one photo, it just plain doesn’t happen every day!! These are for sure some of the coolest fish in the sea and for sure the most graceful and gentle.

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Corals and Sunscreens

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RCA_3010 Every reefkeeper knows to wash their hands before placing them into their tank. It’s widely accepted that our hands and arms can collect a range of household chemicals, cosmetics, and general gunk that in the relatively caustic aquarium water can be quickly washed off and potentially cause problems for sensitive corals. 
It’s the same story in the wild. One of the most problematic chemicals in modern cosmetics is a substance called oxybenzone, which is present in a number of sunscreens. Research has shown that the chemical damages coral polyps by damaging DNA and increasing the coral’s susceptibility to bleaching. Ironically, the effects are worse as light levels increase. The study that has caused the greatest amount of recent coverage looked at Stylophora pistillata planulae and noted oxybenzone caused both endocrine disruption and skeletal changes. A figure of between 4,000-6,000 tons of sunscreens entering coral reefs has been put forward by the US National Park Service and widely quoted. A toxicity level occurring at 62 parts per trillion was also been suggested by the study. Oxybenzone is washing into the marine environment through sewage discharge and directly from swimmers and sunbathers. Naturally, no one should avoid using sunscreens, but it reinforces the need to wash your hands before placing them into your coral reef tank and if you are swimming or snorkeling on reefs, then using oxybenzone-free sunscreens seems a no-brainer. Happily, there are several brands available and a quick search online will help find some.  I picked up a few free samples in Mexico and I can confirm it works, even on my pale European skin.RCA_9479   You can read more about the study here:  

Toxicopathological Effects of the Sunscreen UV Filter, Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3), on Coral Planulae and Cultured Primary Cells and Its Environmental Contamination in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands – Springer

Benzophenone-3 (BP-3; oxybenzone) is an ingredient in sunscreen lotions and personal-care products that protects against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light. Oxybenzone is an emerging contaminant of concern in marine environments-produced by swimmers and municipal, residential, and boat/ship wastewater discharges.

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Evolution & Diversity of Mirolabrichthys Basslets: Part 5

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The Immaculate Clade: smithvanizi, parvirostris, unimarginatus, bimarginatus & cf bimarginatus “Africa”parvirostris map This clade can be recognized by the thick lavender margins of the caudal fin and the usual presence of a thin red stripe along the base of the dorsal fin. Four of the five species are allopatrically distributed. The West Pacific P. parvirostris is a somewhat common aquarium export, as is its sister species in the Maldives and Andaman Sea, P. bimarginatus. These two are best told apart by the coloration of the caudal fin, which is centrally yellow in parvirostris, though this can be somewhat variable. 

P. parvirostris from Japan. Credit: hossy

P. parvirostris from Japan. Credit: hossy

 

bimarginatus randall comparison

The white margins of the caudal fin allow diagnose P. bimarginatus (left) and P. unimarginatus (right). Credit: John Randall

 
The Mauritian endemic
P. unimarginatus has, to the best of my knowledge, never been made available to aquarists, but this may eventually change given that collection does occur within its range. It can be recognized by lacking the white margin on the lower lobe of the caudal peduncle (hence the name “unimarginatus”).  

Male and female of the African cf bimarginatus. Credit: Peter Timm & Eve Marshall

Male and female of the African P. cf bimarginatus. From Sodwana Bay, South Africa. Credit: Peter Timm & Eve Marshall

 Lastly, a recent discovery of a population occurring at 69m off Sodwana Bay in South Africa is likely to be a new species. It bears an uncanny similarity to the geographically distant bimarginatus, but this new form seems to entirely lack the thin dorsal stripe. A recent review of the Pseudanthias of the Western Indian Ocean makes no reference to this species, so this is genuinely a new and exciting discovery. Specimens are likely to occur along the Kenyan coast where aquarium collection occurs, and it’s possible this species has slipped into exports before as a misidentified P. bimarginatus. If you happen to have one, be so kind as to send it to your nearest ichthyological taxonomist.  

P. smithvanizi from Palau. Credit: argo-dive

P. smithvanizi from Palau. Credit: argo-dive

 
The final species to discuss is the West/Central Pacific P. smithvanizi, which is presumably basal in this clade and differs in its purple-colored body and more-colorful dorsal fin. It is occasionally available, and at a modest price. All of these species (though less so in P. smithvanizi) are measurably smaller in overall body length than nearly any other Pseudanthias. Within Mirolabrichthys, this is the only group which appears to have never developed the extended upper lip in males.
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Diodon holocanthus: an Endearing Puffer for Spacious Aquariums

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Porcupine pufferfish (Diodon holocanthus)Circumtropical in distribution and ascribed more common names than one can possibly keep straight (spiny puffer, porcupine puffer, porcupinefish, longspined porcupinefish, and balloon porcupinefish, to list but a few), Diodon holocanthus can be a worthy, very pet-like aquarium candidate. This species does, however, have certain non-negotiable needs to be met if it is to live a long, healthy life in captivity. Physical traitsD. holocanthus has a robust, vaguely (American-style) football-shaped body with prominent, bulbous eyes and numerous elongated spines covering its body. These spines normally lie flat against the fish, but when threatened or harassed, it can swallow water or air, causing its body to inflate to nearly twice its size and its spines to stand erect (thus resembling what everyone else in the world calls a football with spikes all over it). The teeth are fused together to form a beak-like structure. Not the most colorful fish in the sea, D. holocanthus typically has a creamy to light-brown base color with dark-brown mottling and spots.

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Kessil Releases New Aquarium LED Mounting Arms

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Kessil Premium Mounting Arms with AP700 LED fixture Kessil recently released a new mounting option for it’s line of aquarium LED lights This premium adjustable mounting arm will allow the aquarist to install Kessil LED lights directly to the aquarium stand. The new mounting arms are height adjustable and also adjustable from front to back for accommodate aquariums 18″ to 24″ wide.  The Kessil arms will work with its existing line of A160, A360 and AP700 LED aquarium pendants and fixtures.  If you are using the arm with the AP700 fixture, two arms will be required to support the fixture.  The A160 and A360 fixtures only require 1 arm. As you can see from the pictures, the arms are incrementally marked in inches, making it easier for

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Three Colorful Red Shrimp: Cinetorhynchus manningi

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Here are three beautiful Red Night Shrimp, Cinetorhynchus manningi that Aimee and I found together on our last night dive hanging out in the shallows on a big rock. They usually have red bodies and may have white to tan bands and spots with dark green eyes. These shrimps are very common in Curacao. They inhabit coral reefs or shallow rocky areas and are considered nocturnal. They hide deep in the reefs by day and appear in large numbers at night

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Ultra Cynarina

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Cynarina is a genus of stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. It is a monotypic species which means that the only species in the genus is Cynarina lacrymalis. Sometimes reaching up to 6” for a single polyp, these corals are very fleshy in appearance and often referred to as the Cat’s Eye, Tooth Coral, Doughnut Coral or Meat Coral.  The coral is found in the Western Indo-Pacific Ocean and ranges in many different color forms from pastel to vivid and translucent.  The coloration in the Cynarina coral pictured above is both beautiful and very unusual and therefore classified as an “Ultra” coral.  This coral was just featured in a newsletter from livestock wholesaler, Eye Catching Corals. Aquarium Care Cynarina corals are not considered to

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Balloonfish, Diodon holocanthus

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Good morning friends, Curacao is having some crazy high winds right now which is very unusual for this time of year. We also appear to be heading into another major drought, this could be the worst start of a year I have seen to date. I have a very cute Balloonfish for you all today that I found at dusk heading out one night for a night dive. Porcupinefish are medium- to large-sized fish, and are found in shallow temperate and tropical seas worldwide. A few species are found much further out from shore, wherein large schools of thousands of individuals can occur. They are generally slow

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Epithet etymology: Labroides phthirophagus, the louse-eater

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A pair of the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse, Labroides phthirophagus. Note the beautiful fuchsia caudal fin margins. Photo credit: Lemon TYK.

 Today we’ll feature a new running featurette titled “epithet etymology”. As the title suggests, this series will aim to elucidate the meaning behind some of the latin names that we so often see scribbled in literature. Daunting as it may seem, binomial nomenclature is the most formal and consistent approach to naming and identifying organisms. This system involves identifying species of living things by giving a name composed of two parts – both of which uses grammatical forms of Latin (although the root word can be based on other languages). The first name identifies the genus to which the species belongs to, while the second part identifies the species within the genus. In some animals, a third name is present, indicating a subspecific allocation within the species. These are known as trinomial names.  Latin nomenclature is beautiful in itself, and is often times highly descriptive and amazingly befitting towards the organism in question. A competent taxonomist, whom when presented with a new species, may choose to christen the animal in which he sees fit. This can describe the appearance, color or form of the specimen. It may even be named after a person, a memory, a language, or a combination of two or more of these things. In essence, it can be anything. Finding out what they mean, and why the taxonomist chose this name – that’s the fun part. 

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Labroides phthirophagus, so named after its parasite eating tendencies. Photo credit: Lemon TYK.

 Today’s species in examination is none other than the fantastically beautiful and ethereal Labroides phthirophagus, otherwise known as the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse, or less commonly, the rainbow cleaner wrasse. L. phthirophagus is one of five members in the genus Labroides, iconically known as cleaner wrasses. These whimsical labrids swim in an undulating up and down fashion, advertising their colors at designated cleaning stations where they then proceed to pick parasites and other foreign objects from their hosts. The generic epithet “Labroides” is a combination of the words “Labrid”, for wrasse, and the suffix “-oides”, which comes from the greek word “êidos”, meaning “to resemble”. “Labrid”, in itself, is stemmed from the root word “labium”, which is latin for lip. This refers to the fleshy lips in which all wrasses possess, to a certain extent.… More:

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Spotted Scorpionfish, Scorpaena plumieri

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Good morning out there, check out this outrageous Scorpionfish that we found on a night dive, he or she has the biggest lips I have ever seen on one of these fish, I think he could swallow just about anything! Besides the big mouth check out all the exotic plumage this fish has as well, it really helps him blend into the reef. These fish are so patient and will just sit there all day waiting for some poor unsuspecting prey to swim by. Most species of scorpionfish are bottom-dwellers that feed on crustaceans and smaller fish. Many inhabit shallow waters, but a few live as deep as 2,200 m (7,200 ft). Most scorpionfish, such as the stonefish, wait in disguise for prey to pass them by before swallowing.

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Kalkwasser: An oldie but goodie.

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p_400536_FS19709DRegardless of species, as hard corals grow, they consume more and more calcium carbonate from the water. It’s vital that the water housing corals has enough calcium available, along with the correct measure of carbonate hardness. Without this, corals cannot properly grow and a healthy reef cannot properly form. If you have a successful reef, in that you’ve maintained the right balance of calcium, carbonate hardness and magnesium, sooner or later your ph will start to fall. The animals will be using calcium and carbonate from the water, and this will in turn lower the ph. There are a host of chemical processes that explain this, but that’s more fodder for something written by Randy-Holmes Farley. Simple fact, your ph will start to drop lower, even though your alkalinity measures at or around 8-10 dKH. Many aquarists wonder why this is happening, and to correct it, they turn to carbon dioxide air reactors or more powerful skimmers.    As a Band-Aid, these work for a while. CO2 reactors pull co2 out of the air entering the skimmer, and the oxygen-rich air helps dilute some of the tank’s co2, raising ph. You may see the ph increase a few points here or there, but in all likelihood it will drop back down with time. A powerful skimmer will inject more air and create more turbidity, and like a co2 reactor, may temporarily raise the ph a few notches. As an aquarist, you really don’t have many options to correct this issue. You could dose like it’s nobodies’ business, but in the end that will lead to swinging ph levels, along with unbalanced calcium and carbonate hardness. Congratulations, as you have a reef that is creating a moderate calcium/carbonate demand, which means it’s growing. Now, you have to find a stable way to meet that demand. Of all the options out there, a kalkwasser stirrer may be the easiest, and most cost effective. Ph swings and calcium demand:kalkwasserThere are multiple ways to increase both the alkalinity and calcium value of reef aquarium water. Some are as simple as baking soda, while others implement a three-part additive. These can be dosed manually, and tailored to water test results, or they can be automated if things remain consistently stable. The short-coming is that the water chemistry in a reef aquarium changes. Corals begin growing, their demand on calcium may increase, or corals are added, fragged, etc.… More:

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Shark Eats Shark

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shark-sharks_1024 It’s a dog eat dog world out there. Or in this case, a shark eat shark world. Life in the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea got very real last week. The aquarium has over 40,000 animals in 130 tanks, with multiple sharks and animals residing in the Animal Kingdom exhibit. Visitors were in for a sight on Thursday when an 8 year old female sand tiger shark decided to make a meal of her 5 year old male hound shark tank mate. The female shark ate the male shark, bite by bite, over a slow and agonizing 21 hours, until just the tail remained. Certainly this was not your average visit to the aquarium for the visitors present when this epic meal took place. Although sharks eating other sharks is not unheard of, its not common place to say the least. The Aquarium stated they believe it was a turf war of sort. In this case, the bigger shark clearly won that battle. Oh Tae-youp, spokesman for Coex Aquarium, said. “Sharks have their own territory. However, sometimes when they bump against each other, they bite out of astonishment.” The shark will be unable to digest the tail of her meal, and it will stay in her mouth for about four to five days, until she regurgitates it.  MOREMore:

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First Annual Buckeye Reef Marine Expo Coming Soon!

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Northwest Ohioans finally get a frag swap and marine expo in their home territoryAs a long-time hobbyist in northwest Ohio (Hey, I can at least claim that for the rest of this week, then I’m a Floridian), I’m accustomed to traveling outside the region for frag swaps and events of appreciable size. NW Ohio is located within reach of regular events held in northeast Ohio, central Ohio, and southern Michigan but hasn’t been home to a swap capable of drawing in many folks (and vendors) from outside the area. Now I realize becoming a road warrior is the fate of many a reef hobbyist, but with the amount of hobbyists who call northwest Ohio home, it seemed inevitable that someday we would have a marquee event. Well that day is almost upon us! On February 13, BuckeyeReef.com will host their first annual Marine Expo in Bowling Green, Ohio. With Buckeye Reef founder Jesse Lambdin and founding member Joe Perkins at the helm, the long-planned event earned the “expo” moniker through their long-term desire to build something more than the traditional frag swap.This first annual event will kick of with guest speaker, and Saltwater Smarts’ very own, Jeff Kurtz. He’ll be expounding upon Marine Aquarium Success in the Information Age

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