Propagating anemones can be easy and quite rewarding.  While many of these animals eventually split on their own, the process can be sped up with some careful cutting and tender loving care.  The group pictured above was grown from a single bubble tip anemone over the course of a few months.  I cut the large brood stock animal with a scalpel into 6 pizza-shaped slices, being careful to include a portion of the mouth, base, and pedal disc in each fragment, and all 6 survived and grew into healthy clones of the original.  Starting with a large specimen that is in optimal health and using a very sharp instrument is essential.  Once the cuts are made, the animals should be returned into the same aquarium the mother lived in to reduce shock, and after a few weeks the cut specimens begin to take a normal shape and accept feedings.  Feeding meaty foods such as mysis or table shrimp a couple times a week will optimize growth and maintain good health while the animals heal.  Some anemones fare better than others with this process and the captive grown RBTA seem to do the best. As your experience with propagating anemones increases, so will your success, and the reward is well worth the work.… More:

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Live rock serves as a vehicle for good and bad hitchhikers.Here at Saltwater Smarts, we emphasize again and again the importance of quarantining all marine livestock before introducing it to an established aquarium. But what about those pieces of live rock that we occasionally add to our established systems to bolster biodiversity and biofiltration or simply to spruce up the aquascaping? Do those need to spend time in quarantine too? While live rocks aren’t really living, per se, you can’t just plop them in your system and call it a day. (I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it!) They require a quarantine period just like any animal you choose to add to your tank. Here are three good reasons:1) Excluding undesirable hitchhikers Live rocks are, for all intents and purposes, vehicles for hitchhiking organisms. Notwithstanding their aesthetics and the structural purpose they serve in a reef system, we buy live rocks primarily for the life forms inhabiting them. But in addition to carrying interesting and/or beneficial fauna, they can also bring in their share of undesirable—if not outright nasty—critters, such as Aiptasia and majano anemones, crabs, mantis shrimps, etc

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[embedded content] Heads-up, there’s a new player in ‘stream pump town’ and this time it’s Hydor launching an update to their respected Korallia line. No details other than that in the Youtube video description but they certainly look interesting and you can be sure we’ll be trying to get hold of some for testing.

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 Researchers have traveled to the Middle East, to study coral in some of the Worlds hottest coral reefs, to see how they withstand such temperatures. Having lived in the Middle East for many years myself, and doing countless reef dives there, the water was some of the warmest I have ever dove in. Diving in the Middle East in the Summers was like swimming in warm bath water. The scientists went to Abu Dabhi to see how the corals could survive in such high temperatures, where they discovered a new species of algae from the coral samples taken.  The algae was named ‘Symbiodinium Thermophilum’ for the algae’s ability to withstand very high temperatures. The findings are published in the Journal Scientific Reports. Hopefully this discovery can lead to application to Coral reefs around the world, to fight global warming and coral bleaching. MORE… More:

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Photo by Oliver Knott.

 Any aquarist knows that there are a lot of really colorful fishes out there. But, some really stand out. One such species is the bronze tetra (Hemigrammus rodwayi). It is collected from floodplains and coastal waterways of the Amazon River Basin in Brazil and Peru as well as Rivers in Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana. This otherwise unremarkable little characin can develop a shiny, golden metallic (and we mean metallic) sheen that is not really matched in the fish world. Its beauty is multiplied by the number of individuals in a shoal. Their golden glow is undoubtedly one main reason for the animal’s popularity in the ornamental fish trade. However, when fish farmers first sought to culture this potentially valuable species, it was discovered that captive raised specimens lacked the characteristic metallic luster of their wild counterparts. The usual culprits—diet, environmental conditions—were blamed. It took considerable investigation before it was determined that the bronze tetra’s coloration was actually derived from a much more unusual source.   Coloration in fishes is typically produced and controlled by specialized cells called chromatophores. The metallic hues exhibited in wild H. rodwayi, on the other hand, are quite different, being produced by a cutaneous reaction to a parasitic trematode. The golden shine can be linked to guanin, a substance that is secreted by the skin as a protection against trematode infestation. This fish appears to be more prone to disease than many other tetras (particularly to skin parasites). However, wild specimens, which (judging from the preponderance of gold “morphs”) usually show evidence of exposure to the parasite, tend not to be carriers and pose no general threat to their tankmates. We recently reported on another example of novel fish coloration in the walleyed pike.  To learn more about the ecology and physiology of fish coloration, please check out this recent Reefs Magazine article: http://www.reefs.com/magazine/?do=wp_post&articleId=162  … More:

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https://www.facebook.com/coralfish12g?ref=hl http://reefertees.com/ In this CoralFish12g video I will teach the most simple and efficient way to ship coral. This is called the urine cup method. I wil

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Triggers are a popular inhabitant of fish-only tanks.

It’s an unusual podcast this week in that we do what we’re supposed to do–talk about forum threads. We choose three posts in which people are having trouble/need help and actually try to help them. We talk about a fish-only tank, cycling issues, and an open-top tank. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Gary and Christine

Sponsor: Rod’s Food
Rod’s Food website

Fish only
Intro and question about overloaded 100 gal., Mercm3, Reef Central

Did it cycle?
Cycling Craziness!!, ABnormalAZ, Reef Central

Aeration?
Aeration of tank, Spike1306, Ultimate Reef

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Have you ever considered turning your reef aquarium addiction into a side business? I have. The reef aquarium hobby, like many hobbies involving livestock, is an enticing entrepreneurial opportunity.Successfully maintaining a healthy reef will result in an abundance of coral. That coral, if left to its own devices, will reward the aquarist’s hard work by making every effort to kill off its neighbors. To maintain harmony and prevent turf warfare in a mature, healthy reef aquarium, one must periodically prune back the coral colonies. Here is where the business opportunity emerges. What to do with the cuttings?

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https://vimeo.com/118857523 http://www.coralmorphologic.com/ http://reefertees.com/ In this video I am going to simply do a personal review on the hot new documentary out called Coral City. It is made by a hip video studio/blog company called The Creators Project but it is the story of how two men, Colin Foord and Jared McKay of a company called Coral Morphologic aquaculture coral, create artwork through their stunning videos and pictures, while also trying to protect the native reefs in Miami from dredging. Take an exclusive look at the process behind Coral Morphologic's living artworks, colorful reefs created using coral polyps native to Miami. Watch as the scientific art collective explores the visual storytelling potential of coral reef organisms through film, multimedia and site-specific artworks. Additionally, learn how rising sea levels, combined with government dredging projects, are impacting not only corals, but the entire fate of Miami.

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In some aspects of reef aquariums, saving money on the cheaper options can be detrimental to your successRecognizing that the question of affordability is top of mind for many aspiring marine aquarium hobbyists, one of our earliest posts here at Saltwater Smarts dealt with ways to reduce the expenses associated with aquarium setup and ongoing operation. Notwithstanding those recommendations, it’s important to note that in some cases, taking the seemingly cheaper route in the reefkeeping hobby can be highly counterproductive. For example, purchasing the following essential equipment based on price alone—or avoiding the purchase altogether just to save money—could not only end up costing you much more in the long run but may also greatly limit your long-term reefkeeping success:Reef lighting I’m leading with this one because proper lighting is commonly the largest single expense hobbyists encounter when setting up a reef system. To those on a limited budget—and/or those who equate “aquarium lighting” with the inexpensive fluorescent hoods so popular on the freshwater side of the hobby—the price of a good reef lighting system can produce some serious “sticker shock.” But I strongly urge you to resist the allure of cheapo lighting systems that claim they will support photosynthetic invertebrates for a fraction of the cost. Not only do such systems typically fall far short of expectation with respect to the inverts they can sustain, but as you might expect, they also tend to be built with low-quality components and, thus, have a notoriously limited functional lifespan. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t look for the best possible deal on a quality lighting fixture or that you shouldn’t explore the more budget-friendly option of buying a gently used fixture from a reputable source. Just keep in mind that if reef lighting sounds too good—and costs too little—to be true, there’s a good chance it is. Protein skimmer While proper lighting serves as the essential energy source for a reef system, a good protein skimmer plays an indispensable role in maintaining the best possible water quality

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It’s been quite some time now that I’ve been bugging Felix Bordon, owner of Reef Savvy, to offer some gear to the masses that rivals their aquariums. While most days I’m donning my own businesses apparel, it’s no secret that my closet consists of 90% aquarium nerd shirts with the other 10% being normal people clothing. While I don’t personally own a Reef Savvy aquarium, I recently installed my first one and have two more in the books already. With that said I also don’t own a Ferrari, but we can dream can’t we!? Without further ado, here’s the link to snag yourself your very own “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Tanksta” shirt, and more.… More:

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Cycling with live rock is an easy and reliable method to establish the biofilter in your saltwater aquariumIn years past, the most common method for establishing biofiltration in marine aquariums was to introduce some hardy, rugged fish to the system as an ammonia source and wait for the cycle to get established before adding more livestock. The usual go-to fishes for this purpose were damsels. While this cycling method does work, here at Saltwater Smarts, we favor so-called fishless techniques, such as cycling with cured live rock (my preferred approach—though there are others). When added to a new aquarium, cured live rock typically releases just enough ammonia to get the cycle started through the additional die-off of encrusting organisms. That modest die-off combined with proper tank conditions—excellent water movement and oxygenation—virtually ensures the porous rocks will soon support a good population of aerobic nitrifying bacteria, allowing gradual/incremental stocking to commence.But why is this method any better than adding a few hardy damsels? The cruelty factor There’s a good reason “hardy, rugged” fish were used to cycle tanks—more delicate, sensitive species were unlikely to endure the process. But just because damsels may (some don’t) be able to survive exposure to a succession of toxic chemicals doesn’t necessarily mean it’s humane to put them through it, especially when other means of cycling are available. The territorial dominance factor Though there are noteworthy exceptions (such as Chrysiptera parasema), damsels tend to be highly territorial and aggressive, so adding them to an aquarium first turns the appropriate order of introduction (from least aggressive to most aggressive) on its head

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 Jose Luis Barbero, a Spanish dolphin trainer with 35 years in the industry, who was due to go to work at the Georgia Aquarium,is now missing. Barbero worked on the resort island of Mallorca and was scheduled to become vice president of the Georgia Aquarium. However, there was recent public outcry against Barbero due to a video which were released in February that purportedly showed him as one of the trainers hitting and kicking dolphins at Marineland Mallorca.The videos are dark and unclear, and CNN was unable to confirm their authenticity. Barbero’s employer in Spain, at Marineland Mallorca, strongly denies the allegations and wants legal action against those accusing Barbero. The Georgia Aquarium put the hiring of Barbero on hold when the videos were released, and stated they would investigate the matter fully to get to the truth. The Spanish authorities are still searching for Barbero. MORE
.… More:

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To my beloved and notably weird home state, Florida, climate change is a harsh mistress. Sea level rise, warming oceans, and acidification are all real threats to human life and economy, and the marine ecology of the state with the country’s only living barrier coral reef. See the video of my former undergraduate advisor, an educator I am deeply grateful too, professor David Hastings, attempt to illuminate Gov. Rick Scott.  At the time, Scott remained tight lipped with no response. Now, it is clear that the warnings are confirmed to have fallen on not just deaf, but antagonistic, ears. The Department of Environmental protection is not allowed to use the terms Global Warming or Climate Change, or reference them. The particularly suspicious part of this ludicrous policy is that it is unwritten. I was a direct, verbal order, distributed to the DEP. No official record of it exists. It is only through collected statements of former employees, consultants, and records obtained by investigative reporters that we know about this “unofficial” policy, which allegedly began immediately after Gov. Scott took over office in 2011.  So in the state with the most to lose from climate change, we have not just a Governor that refuses to acknowledge its existent, we have a quiet existence of an “agains the rules” policy barring any discussion of one of the state’s largest long-term threats. For more reading and some mind bending, absurd testimonials on the spoken word-only policy, check out: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article12983720.html and http://fcir.org/2015/03/08/in-florida-officials-ban-term-climate-change/… More:

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A sad update on yesterdays post. Spanish dolphin trainer,Jose Luis Barbero, 59 years old, was found inside his vehicle at the parking lot of the Palma De Mallorca airport. The authorities are treating it as a suicide. Recently Barbero was linked to videos and social media that accused him of abusing dolphins. In a statement Georgia Aquarium CEO Mike Leven said: “Georgia Aquarium began a search for truth in hopes of disproving these unsubstantiated claims. Sadly, (Barbero) and his family received death threats, and groups and individuals rushed to judge him. He was not given the right or the privilege to be considered innocent until proven guilty … His death is untimely, unnecessary and unjust.”  MORE… More:

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 The Natural History Museum in London, England will be offering a new virtual dive exhibit called ‘Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Seas’ for guests starting March 27th, 2015. The exhibit uses over 200 exhibits from the Catlin Seaview Survey. The reefs featured include the Philippines, Bermuda, and Australia. You can do all this without getting wet. The exhibit using sound and lighting effects that make it feel as if you are underwater. The exhibit using images and stories of species to create a unique and fulfilling underwater experience. Felicity Paynter, in charge of creating the exhibit at the Museum stated: “I had to think about what I wanted in there, but also what our visitors would want. What visitors might already know, what they don’t know and what questions we might be able to answer for them. On the one hand, there are lots of very cool weird and wonderful creatures that live on coral reefs, but there are also some really difficult and abstract concepts.”MORE… More:

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This past Thursday, March 5, 2015, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a comprehensive recovery plan for threatened acropora species A. palmata (Elkhorn coral) and A. cervicornis (Staghorn coral). Prepared by the Acropora Recovery Team (ART) for the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS), the plan is comprised of two dozen actions deemed necessary for the revival of both species which have been listed as threatened since May 9, 2006.  Once thriving reef builders of the Caribbean, Elkhorn and Staghorn coral have suffered a 92-97 percent decline since the 1970’s, falling victim to a multitude detrimental factors such as the flesh-eating white band and white pox diseases, ocean acidification, warming and pollution. After the initial listing in 2006, the NMFS aggregated the Acropora Recovery Team with the intention of  establishing a strategy for continuous rehabilitation of the wild population of both species. The team of 19 researchers and government officials identified criteria, categorized as “population based” and “threat based”, that would warrant a removal of the “threatened” title under the Endangered Species Act. The plan doesn’t propose any actual regulations but instead serves as what they hope to be a “roadmap” of sorts for species recovery, according to NOAA officials in a press release. And just how long is this road? The ART estimated a recovery timeline for the scleractinian species of approximately 400 years based on the actions identified in the plan. Wait, what?! does this mean a grueling 400 years before we can hope to see Elkhorn and Staghorn  off the list? In short – no, that’s not what it means. 

“While meeting all of the recovery criteria would indicate that the species should be delisted, it is possible that delisting could occur without meeting all of the recovery criteria if the best available information indicated that the species no longer met the definition of endangered or threatened. In the case of elkhorn and staghorn corals, it is possible that because of the interaction between the threats and the species’ population responses, fully achieving all of the Threat-based Recovery Criteria may not be necessary to achieving restored, sustainable populations if the benefits to the species from successfully addressing one threat (e.g., nutrient enrichment) make them more highly resilient to another threat (e.g., disease).” *

  “I think it’s important to understand what the 400 year horizon means versus what delisting means”, says fishery and sustainability-centric writer and data-fiend, Ret Talbot, “400 years is the estimate for achieving all the recovery criteria listed in the plan and is based on the significant mitigative actions needed to achieve those criteria (e.g., dealing with ocean acidification, global climate change). … More:

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Nippy tankmates are one reason a bubble-tip anemone may start to roamThe bubble-tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor), or BTA, is justifiably popular in the marine aquarium hobby, being relatively hardy and easy to keep as anemones go as well as being a suitable host anemone for many clownfish species. But to horribly misquote legendary singer Dion DiMucci, “it’s the type of nem that likes to roam around”—particularly when it’s getting settled into a new system or decides it’s unhappy with its placement in an established one. The problem with an anemone going parading around its aquarium is that anytime it does so, it has the potential of blundering into equipment or other sessile invertebrates with potentially injurious (or even fatal) consequences. Thus, any system housing a BTA must be designed or modified to reduce the risk of accidental injury or harmful interspecific encounters.Here are several important factors to consider when BTA-proofing your tank: Crowded reef tanks aren’t ideal for BTAs People do keep BTAs in reef systems among various corals and other sessile invertebrates. However, as alluded above, this can prove problematic if the anemone goes roaming, as it may sting or be stung by any inverts it encounters in its travels (though not all corals are equally sensitive to the sting of a BTA and vice versa). Not to mention, problems with allelopathy (chemical warfare) among inverts tend to be much greater in mixed reefs. The best housing for a BTA is a good-sized system dedicated specifically to its needs. (If you’ve had long-term success keeping a BTA in a mixed reef, we’d love to hear how you managed it in the comment section below.) Pumps and powerheads are problematic Submersible pumps and powerheads are among the biggest offenders when it comes to injuring/killing wandering nems, so the intakes of these devices must be screened off with sponge, foam, or a similar material

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Photo by Leonard Low. CC by 2.0.

 Bagoóng is a traditional condiment for Filipino cuisine that is made of fermented fish or shrimp. Bagoóng isdâ, the fishy version, is fermented in brine for several months before it is finally prepared and packaged. This delicacy, which is typically used to enhance the flavor other foods, can be made in different ways with different types of fish. Especially popular is padas, a bagoóng isdâ that is prepared from the juvenile rabbitfish (Siganus spp.). A status symbol, it is customarily served during religious holidays. Vendors sell the specialty item in tightly packed jars in all kinds of shops and markets. Sometimes, the small fish are intricately and artfully arranged within the jar. For aquarists and aquaculturists, this would be just be an amusing factoid about one commonly kept family of fishes, were it not that intense demand for bagoóng padas products has led to a substantial fishery. Filipino farmers focus on several local rabbitfish species (collectively referred to as malaga or samaral), including Siganus canaliculatus, S. concatenates, S. corallinus and S. spinus. These fishes can easily sell for three times the price of common selections, so competition among producers is fierce. Today, in the Philippines, rabbitfish are a commercially-important fishery, contributing 560 million tons (with juveniles accounting for 60 million tons) to the total annual fishery production. That’s a lot of fish paste.   The culture of siganids as a food fish is well documented. While they are often grown out in cages from stock harvested as juveniles, the induced spawning and larval rearing of rabbitfish in closed systems has been accomplished and reported in detail since the early 1970’s. Some have come to criticize padas farmers on the basis of sustainability, claiming that some of the feeds they use consumes more edible product than it generates. But it is hard to argue that the industry has not been successful. Clearly these farmers have learned a few tricks, and it may be worthwhile for managers of marine ornamental fish hatcheries to take notice. Of course, it would be great to see captive bred rabbitfishes in the trade. But it is possible that some of techniques used by Asian farmers to raise siganids could be a stepping stone to the culture of a sizeable host of pelagic spawning species, including the related acanthurids (tangs and surgeonfishes). Of all siganids, S.… More:

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Good morning from wet Curacao! Yes, we are finally getting rain and it is great! I have a beautiful little colony of Pillar Corals, Dendrogyra cylindrus for you all today that I found last year at my favorite dive site on the island, Whatamulla which is located near the western tip of the island and is only accessible by boat. These spectacular “pillar-like” stony corals grown straight up and can reach a length of about 10 feet, that’s a tall coral! I normally see these in the 35-50 foot range but they can be found as deep as 65 foot and as shallow as 4, that’s quite a difference in depth. Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindricus) is a hard coral or stony coral (order Scleractinia) found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea

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