This unbelievably badass little snail Alviniconcha Strummeri rocks a punk rock-esque spiked shell as it goes about its business around hydrothermal vents of the deep sea. These guys have purple blood and thrive in dark, sweltering acidic environments, pretty rock-and-roll if you ask me. So what better name for them than one shared with a punk rock icon? That’s what scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institution thought when they named A. strummeri after lead singer and guitarist of British punk rock band, The Clash, Joe Strummer.The bottom dwelling snail was one of five deep sea snails recently discovered in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. All roughly the size of a golf ball, and found as deep as 11,500 feet, they actually look identical. However, after studying their DNA, researcher Shannon Johnson concluded they were, in fact, separate species.  Johnson published their findings this month in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity. Besides A. strummeri, the other species named were A. kojimai, A. boucheti, A. marisindica and A. adamantis. This little rock star joins a few other celebrity species like the Bob Marley crustacean parasite and the Frank Zappa jellyfish. Quentin Wheeler, director of the International Institute  for Species Exploration at SUNY said scientists use this method of nomenclature as a way to draw attention  to their work. “In our culture, it is one sure way to get species noticed. Some scientists frown on the practice, but their science is in trouble, and if a little humor helps, why not?” We agree 100%. Rockstar or not, this snail is really something wild, and a great little reminder of how little we know of deep sea creatures! … More:

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The fish species of the Caribbean Sea are often overlooked by marine aquarists. I’ve spent ample time beneath the waters of the Caribbean, and the reefs have a unique feeling and flair, un-matched by any other tropical sea. Since they don’t contain the sheer number of species as the South Pacific or other oceanic ecosystems, we often miss-out on some real jewels when deciding on a new tenant for a reef or fish only tank. Some aquarists are keeping a Caribbean species right now, and don’t even know it. Reef purists and those creating biotope tanks don’t like to mix Caribbean species with any fish they wouldn’t encounter in nature. Personally, I’ve kept both biotope aquariums and mixed reefs, and never had any problems introducing a few Caribbean species into a tank with fish from all over the world. When you consider the sheer number of oceans worldwide, it’s difficult to ensure that fish within your aquarium have encountered the exact species that you keep, unless you spend your entire focus making detailed stocking decisions.

That said, let’s take a look at the beautiful French angelfish, Pomacanthus paru. The French angelfish inhabits waters off of New York, ranging down into the Bahamas, Brazil and throughout the Caribbean Sea. I’ve seen them in mass numbers off the island of Roaton, Honduras, and throughout the dive sites off of Nassau Island, Bahamas. They exist at depths of 10 feet, down to about 600 feet, and school in large numbers around shallow reef crests or artificial reefs, such as sunken ships. They are especially common on rich moderate depth reefs, where they cruise in between gorgonians, and pair near sea fans.

Many people don’t realize that both the French angelfish and the queen angelfish are cleaners, offering this service to a variety of species, including surgeonfish, wrasses, moray eels, grunts and jacks. My queen angelfish is an avid and effective cleaner, displaying the behavior so often, that smaller species become annoyed and steer clear of the queen.

On wild reefs, French angelfish feed on sponge, algae, gorgonians, zoanthids and tunicates. They are a guaranteed coral picker, and any polyp or LPS coral is most likely to perish beneath the lips of a French angelfish. In my experience, they are avid SPS nippers as well, totally destroying colonies in a matter of days. I couldn’t in good conscience recommend a French angelfish for anything other than a fish only display, and that same can be said about the queen angelfish.… More:

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 Need a holiday gift idea to stand out from the rest? How about the Navy’s Ghost Swimmer? Check out these 100 lb 5ft long blue-fin tuna (but very shark like) drones. They are part of the Navy’s project to fill the waters with drones which look like sea creatures. They are intended to survey the surroundings and take note of tides and weather conditions. Sadly, these are actually not for sale to the public….but you have to admit this would make one cool gift for your shark drone loving friends. MORE… More:

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Being fascinating to behold, very hardy and adaptable to aquarium fare, an exceptional choice for reef systems, suitable for modest-sized aquariums, and even easy to breed in captivity, the Banggai, or Kaudern’s, cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) is a lot like Mary Poppins—practically perfect in every way. Physical traits P. kauderni is silver overall with tiny white polka dots and three prominent, vertical black bands, with one passing through the rather prominent eye, another anterior to the pelvic fins, and a third anterior to the caudal peduncle. The first dorsal fin is black with a white trailing edge, and the other fins are black with white dots. The tail is deeply forked. Glimpse its coloration and patterning, and it’s easy to see how this cardinal can readily conceal itself against or among the long spines of the Diadema sp. sea urchins with which it’s known to associate in nature.

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No sooner than we wrap up our coverage of all of ORA’s 2014 captive bred fish and aquacultured frags, the famed fish breeders announce one more entry for the year. Yesterday, they revealed tha they had bred the Hector’s Goby (Koumansetta hectori), a nifty little fish that is as strikingly beautiful as it is peaceful. This tiny fish measures just 2″ long at its maximum size, and it spends a majority of the day hovering hear the rocks while grazing on various types of algae. Thought to be the first time this fish has ever been captive-bred, ORA had some difficulty getting this fish to market, so to speak. This was due in part to the fish’s extremely tiny size, unreliable spawning amongst broodstock individuals, relatively long larval stages, and overall fragile larvae. Thankfully, ORA’s experience with the Priolepis genus translated flawlessly to the Hector’s Goby and they were eventually able to overcome those barriers.

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Giant clams (Hippopus and Tridacna species) are already known to play a part in various important ecological roles in coral reef ecosystems, but so far, many of these roles are poorly understood. Now, a team of marine ecologists from the National University of Singapore have show how clams have been doing a lot more than perhaps they have so far been given credit for. For a start, clam shells both contribute to the structure of the reef (some species produce 80 tonnes of carbonate shell material per hectare each year) and they provide a substrate for colonisation by a host of other organisms. On the inside, the fleshy mantle cavity can host a myriad of commensal and ectoparasitic organisms while clam tissues are food for a wide array of predators and scavengers. Discharges of live zooxanthellae, waste products and spawnings are also eaten by opportunistic feeders and they can even potentially counteract eutrophication via water filtering

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Reef keeping is getting a bad buzz these days. The reason I keep bringing up topics like Snorkel Bob, the state of the hobby, etc - is because I believe aquarists have a right to know what’s going on, and hopefully to spur dialogue into what can be done to make the hobby better. Oceanic conservation deserves all the attention it’s getting. Right now plastic is filling up the ocean, climate change is altering the severity of weather worldwide, and coral reefs along with large pelagic species are headed for complete decimation in less than 50 years. While the reef aquarium industry isn’t as rooted in environmental decline as say commercial fishing, it factors into the equation. Enough so that conservationists and legislators have begun taking a close look at our beloved hobby. If you think I am all worked up over nothing, please take a look at the following links: 

• The Dark Hobby 
• The Dark Hobby II 
• Reef Rescue Alliance 
• Coral Reef Conservation Program (NOAA)

  There are many things that could be done better within the hobby, ranging from our personal treatment of marine life, on up to corporate policies about collection and sale. Here are a few changes that could be made within large pet outlets that sell marine life, streamlining the industry into something not only more rewarding, but far more sustainable. 

• Large marine life vendors take an active role in sustainable collection:

Whether or not as marine hobbyists we want to admit it, most people who venture into this hobby will do so from within the walls of a store akin to Petco. These “Walmarts” of the pet trade exist in nearly every suburb, city and town – and have garnished the reputation of offering little to no consumer education, and loads of disinformation. The quality of the assistance you receive at one of these outlets varies based on each individual store, but corporate policy effects the entire chain. These outlets would have the resources to have a huge impact on the hobby. Traveling abroad and founding collection stations, where local islanders were educated on sustainable collection and propagation, could help relieve pressure from natural reefs on two fronts. One, if collectors were paid adequately, they would have no reason to provide fish for the food industry, or reef resources to any other industry. Two, it could streamline shipping and import procedures that account for the death of thousands and thousands of marine animals.… More:

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Here is part two of hopefully a three part montage of awesome corals with which to fill your Friday. It is one sick monti from Aqua SD called the ASD Phoenix Suns Montipora. If you follow professional basketball at all, then you’d instantly be able to associated this lovely coral with the rather bright logo and team colors of the Phoenix Suns. Where the basketball team has more of a purple and yellow, the monti counterpart sports more of a vibrant pink and yellow, with blue polyps that dot the landscape. What is most catching about this piece, at least in our opinions, is the utter intensity of the colors. These are really bright colors that would make this coral a showstopper in any tank

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The other day, two installers were in my home laying a new vinyl floor in my kitchen when they took note of my aquariums. One of them was especially enthralled by my reef tank (which is ironic—more on this later) and asked about a dozen questions. He even took out his phone and snapped a picture of the tank to show his wife. It’s always interesting to hear non-hobbyists’ reactions to my aquariums because they’re surprisingly consistent and, I suspect, give a pretty good sense of how most non-salties perceive our avocation. Here are just a few of the more common questions and comments I hear. Perhaps some will sound familiar to you. 1) “Is that a freshwater or saltwater tank?” Now, I’ve been asked this question aplenty, but it still surprises me a little bit every time.

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It’s not often I get excited about what other people get as gifts unless I’m the giver, but this here is an exception! Rufus Kimura got an early Christmas present this year under his tree in the form of not one, not two but THREE armored hyperbaric chambers! Now I’m not going to get into too much detail about these chambers as I plan on doing an expansive piece on them down the line, but in a nutshell it’s a pressurized vessel that can be utilized to simulate depth. What separates this little beauty in particular from other hyperbaric chambers? This one is submersible. Expertly crafted by Matt Wandell, marine biologist at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, they allow for the collection of deepwater fishes without the trauma associated with alternative methods. Well, put these in the hands of Hawaiian diver Rufus Kimura and we can expect to see some really cool fish coming out of Hawaiian waters. Deepwater gems like the Sunrise Wrasse (Bodianus sanguineus), the drool-worthy Personatus Angel (Genicanthus personatus) Kimura brought to us and revealed in August, and the jaw-dropping Hawaiian Yellow Anthias (Holanthias fuscipinnis), just to name a few, can be safely collected inducing as little stress as possible, allowing for a healthier, hardier and happier fish. Hopefully this technology will mean more of these gorgeous species in home aquariums, more research and breeding programs for rare, elusive creatures and even the discovery of more new species! We’ll have to keep an eye on Kimura to see what he comes “up” with. Happy Holidays!
  … More:

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With Christmas about three weeks away and closing in fast, we’ve decided to compile our annual list of aquarium goodies that you can get the aquarium nerd in your life. This is a diverse list that represents different price points and different types of gear. Of course, this list isn’t all inclusive, but we tried to represent the most popular and most useful products available.

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Check out the teeth on this tang!

In our last 2014 show we talk about Mr. Clean magic erasers, aquarium-keeping difficulty, Christine’s tank, blind aquascaping, fish odor camouflage, and fish sound amplifiers. We hope you enjoy the podcast and have a great Christmas. Our first 2015 podcast will be Jan. 11. We appreciate all of you listening to our weekly offerings. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Gary and Christine

Using smell to hide
You are what you eat, if you’re a coral reef fish, Leonard Ho, Advanced Aquarist

Oyster-shell amplifiers
Oystershell amplifies pearlfish calls, Kathryn Knight, The Journal of Experimental Biology

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My FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/coralfish12g After spending years exploring the hobby through the Internet it is pretty hard to avoid the reef aquarium “know it all’s” and the hobby is home to plenty of jokesters. So, I took to social media and the Internet to find the best and funniest reef aquarium memes. Here is the best collection of reef aquarium silliness you may ever see. ENJOY

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Proper water circulation is one of many elements that are key to maintaining a healthy reef system. While there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all water-flow scheme (you really have to tailor the flow to the unique needs of the invertebrates you keep), there are certain signs that will tip you off to inadequate circulation. Among them: 1) Detritus buildup in “dead spots” Some settling of detritus is unavoidable in a reef system, but excessive buildup tends to occur in tanks with inadequate water movement or “dead spots”—specific areas in the tank with poor to nonexistent flow. A good level of water movement will keep most particulate matter in suspension long enough to be captured by mechanical filtration media (socks, sponges, etc.), so this is a sign that you need to either boost the overall flow in the tank, by adding more or stronger sources (e.g. powerheads), or redirect existing water-flow sources to greater effect. 2) Corals fail to expand When coral specimens remain in a prolonged contracted state—with their tissues/polyps withdrawn—one possible explanation is inadequate water movement. Now, many different environmental factors can cause this behavior, so failure to expand is by no means diagnostic, but that symptom coupled with others listed here may be a good indicator that better circulation is in order. 3) Leather corals have trouble shedding Along very similar lines, if your livestock includes leather corals (e.g., Sarcophyton and Sinularia spp.), which occasionally go through a natural process of contracting their polyps, developing a waxy coating over their surface, and then eventually sloughing off this layer, inadequate water flow may make it difficult for them to shed.

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 These little clips are likely to elicit a mélange of feels – a giggle, some tears, fits of rage, guilt and shame. #ReefReels is a short film competition presented by GetUp! Australia – one of Australia’s largest campaigning communities, boasting a following of over 600,000 members. Hitting multiple targets with their campaigns, many are dedicated to conservation and rehabilitation of The Great Barrier Reef, a treasure with a fate that’s wildly unknown but certainly bleak if proper attention isn’t paid.  In an effort to raise awareness for protection of The Reef, GetUp! teamed up with Tropfest, the world’s biggest short film festival, and called on filmmakers to help inspire us bipedal, land-dwelling creatures to strive for necessary change. Over fifty films emerged from the sea of human creativity, and while I obviously can’t post them all here, I figured I’d share some noteworthy contenders. While many of the videos are humorous, they all carry an ominous message. A tragically desperate fish trying to find her life partner, former residents of The Reef forced into alcoholism and intensive therapy after the loss of their home, a “reefugee” program for homeless, displaced corals. Check out some of the entrees below, and head over here to view the rest of the films. Like and share to cast your vote, sign the petition and consider making a donation. While it’s perfectly ok to laugh at these, keep in mind that in reality, this really isn’t very funny at all. … More:

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So it’s time to ring in the New Year. 2014 has been a year of great changes for the reef aquarium hobby. While change is neither inherently good, nor bad, the changes that have taken place this year in the hobby, may surprise some reef keepers. The Obama administration has proven to be one of the most aggressive in history, when it comes to preservation of the ocean. Not only has President Obama declared a large swath of sea a candidate as a marine protected area, under this administration NOAA has conducted research into just what is destroying the health of worldwide reefs and how commerce effects the ocean environment. The result for reefers is that our hobby has hit the radar, implicated as a potential cause of worldwide reef decline. NOAA identified 22 coral species (originally proposed 62 species) for the threatened species list, which could make them illegal to own, sell or trade in the future. While a reefer’s New Year’s resolution might be to obtain an exciting specimen, or upgrade a piece of equipment, in keeping pace with changing times, I offer the following resolutions to help make your aquarium more sustainable. 

• Take a break from adding livestock

One of the biggest thrills the hobby offers is the addition of something exciting to the aquarium. Though successfully adding a new tenant requires patience, observation and quarantine. Why not take a break from adding anything new. If a large percentage of aquarists did this, it would ease demand for livestock species harvested from the wild. Often it’s best to give a marine aquarium time to settle into being, allowing resident species to stake out a piece of the tank as their own, and adjust well to captive life. Adding something new upsets a balance that can take years to create. Sitting back, relaxing and enjoying what you have can allow your aquarium to become the blood pressure reducer marine tanks are famous for being. 

• Re-evaluate feeding, and your protocol for keeping existing species healthy

I often say that most marine fish are underfed, and the same can be said about corals and invertebrates. Many species in the wild are constantly feeding. Surgeonfish and angelfish graze non-stop, and mid water plankton feeders are always slurping up tiny particles. In reality, only predatory fish eat one large meal and then digest. The best possible feeding regimen is several small feedings per day, rather than one or two large meals.… More:

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Ok, last awesome coral of the day. This one, called the Cookie Monster Acropora, comes to us via Gonzo Corals, and given its colors, we can certainly see how this name is somewhat appropriate. We say somewhat only for the fact that the polyps are red, but that’s really neither here nor there, especially since this coral is just so gorgeous. Getting back to the coral’s beautiful colors, we see a deep blue, almost purple base color that lightens a tad at the tip of the corallite, obviously being punctuated with that red polyp

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 Here’s a little something to brighten up your reef keeping day. Reef-Eden-International (Distributor to German-based aquatics company, Giesemann Aquarstik) , has now introduced its own direct retail arm for the UK. Furthermore, they’re also lowering their price point and have put a more consistent pricing module into place, making their high-quality, unique products more accessible to the average reefer.Ever the investigator, I headed over to their newly launched, fresh-out-o-the-oven site to explore. Very much like the products offered, the site is shiny, sleek  and easy to use. Upon arrival you can pick your poison – Marine and Reef or Tropical and Planted. I’ll try my hardest to not skew you in one direction or the other, but I went to the left (or if you’re feeling frisky – nothing wrong with being “bi-tankual”). Aside from an excellent selection of products, you can also peruse special offers and join their mailing list for updates and new products. I spoke to Simon Garratt, the head of Geisemann-UK, about these significant changes and what sparked them. 

In response to customer feedback over 2013 regarding the availability, support, and pricing of Giesemann Products in the UK, and in specific relation to requests for more balanced pricing between the Uk and Europe, we are very pleased to announce for 2015 a complete revision of all pricing for the UK which brings the entire Giesemann range into the realms of the everyday hobbyist looking for a top quality lighting or aquarium systems at a realistic price point, such as the Matrixx-II and Matrixx-II dimmable T5 units which now start at just £320.00 and £449.00 respectively, including shipping and lamp set.

In addition to these changes, and to allow greater access for hobbyists who have struggled to easily locate and purchase these ranges at a local level, we are also pleased to announce the launch of www.Giesemann-uk.com which will run alongside our existing distribution parent company Reef-Eden International.

Whereas Reef-Eden runs solely as our distribution and trade arm, Giesemann-Uk will now give both freshwater and Marine hobbyists who lack a local store direct access to the full range of Giesemann products which are now split into two dedicated Marine and Freshwater sections. This new structure sees all of the Giesemann ranges now priced right alongside other leading brands, and at comparable prices to most leading European dealers, thereby reducing the need for hobbyists to go outside the Uk for better pricing, and speeding up the backup and support services in the process.

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 I’m always a fan of gorgeous, reef-inspired artwork, but art that gives back gets a big , rigorous nod of approval in my book, and that’s exactly what we have here. Olasana Flora brings us seriously visually appealing photography from stable isotope geochemist and paleoclimate scientist, Christopher Maupin, with 10% of all sales going to The Coral Restoration Foundation. Christopher was born and raised in coastal South Florida, where his passion for reefs and ocean inhabitants sparked at an early age – from the moment he could put a snorkel on his face. As a high schooler, in 1999, he began volunteering at his local lab/aquarium, and continued to work through college as an invertebrate biologist. Following that, he started working with isotope geochemistry of tropical coral skeletons, reconstructing their growth conditions and climate variability. This led him into climate and oceanography where he eventually received his Masters and PhD.   I spent a bit of time talking with Chris to dig around his experiences, inspirations and favorite pieces. His photography began as a flirtation around middle school, teaching himself how to use his mother’s full manual 35 mm Minolta SLR. Just one look at his work and you can see these aren’t ordinary reef photographs. “I hate taking conventional pictures of the tropics. I have never taken a single one despite all of my work there – not on purpose anyway. The reef lagoon horizons all have storms in the background. The corals are strong because they are a really exhilarating part of coral natural history, especially for a reef keeper”, he explained. The photographs are stunning. Vivid coloration, immaculate composition and a flawless ability to capture a mood combine to make something that’s really just set far apart from traditional images.  “I loved taking pictures of the people in the Solomons and Vanuatu. I don’t know why. Any time we were in a village, it was always infectious. Olasana is an island in the Solomons, and it’s where one of my PhD coral samples was drilled from”. His favorite image? This exuberant capture at Malua Bay, a tiny village in Malakula Vanuatu, taken during the World Cup. “They would turn on the diesel and turn on the radio and listen to the results every day and play”.  Favorite coral? The question had barely made it out of my mouth before he snapped back – Acropora palmata, aka “Elkhorn coral”.… More:

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   The Vancouver Aquarium has gone to amazing lengths to give eyes to one of its display animals, a older copper rockfish. This copper rockfish was recently given glass eyes, a first of its kind surgery. The fish was suffering from cataracts in its left eye, due to old age. Without the new eye, and groundbreaking surgery, the fish would have been bullied. Other fish in the tank would have viewed its missing eye as a sign of weakness. Even with the glass eye, the fish is still at a disadvantage to other fish since it does not have perfect vision. It is great to see that the aquarium has decided to do this undoubtedly costly procedure in order to keep the rockfish quality of life high and on display to the public at the aquarium. MORE… More:

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