Mixed Coral Shot

 We’ve all seen the tanks, they’re usually featured on a big forums or Facebook. The reefs that make you drool, that keep you inspired when your tank isn’t doing so hot. These tanks are gorgeous, immaculate, and obviously cared for by a master reefer. The tanks where every inch, every millimeter of space is filled by coral. Some are sps dominated, others zoa gardens, but many are true mixed reefs, with corals of all shapes, sizes and types, all in a glorious display of color. For those of us who are still aspiring to master reefer status, a tank like this is something we strive for. Among all the other issues we’re trying to figure out, one of the ones that can cause big headaches is the natural issue of coral warfare. Which corals can go next to each other? Which ones can even go in the same tank? What do you do when two start fighting? The master reefer tanks show corals sharing the same space, acros twined around each other, meat corals and chalices covering the sand bed. Yet when I try it in my tank, a lobo and a meat decide to open too far during feeding time and I now have bald spots on each. The acros do not play nice with each other and I usually have a few dead branches when they touch. And I’m not even going to start on the frustration of pulsing xenia that likes to suicide dive into other corals, dragging both corals down and knocking out a few down flow. The next few days after something like this is fighting the warfare with water changes and lots of chemical filters until things settle back down. Unfortunately, after all that, I can’t tell you I have the answer. I have no solution. I am still fighting to find the right balance in my reefs so I can fill in the gaps. The only theory I have right now is a trial and error approach, a let’s put these two next to each other and see what happens. I know there is some education to it, like zoas usually get along with each other while hydro hates everything. But is there a way to mix a few select corals to get the true mixed reef look without breaking the bank loosing corals along the way? So here’s the deal, I am calling on all the reef masters out there to divulge your secrets, let us know how you figure it out.… More:

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[embedded content] Last month, our film Natural History Redux screened at the Imagine Science Film Festival held at New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is located along the Arabian/ Persian Gulf as one of the coastal Emirates in the United Arab Emirates. Colin was asked to speak on a panel regarding the future of global water resources and the importance that art/ science has to play in bringing these issues into public awareness. However, he also had the opportunity to explore the unique marine habitat in the area. NYU Abu Dhabi is home base to coral biologist Dr. John Burt, who is studying the remarkable corals that live offshore. He, along with other researchers, have discovered a heat-tolerant strain of zooxanthellae algae that lives symbiotically within the stony corals of Abu Dhabi’s shallow reefs. This algae resists being expelled by the coral (aka bleaching) despite summer water temperatures reaching 36C degrees (97F)! Colin had the privilege to see these extreme corals firsthand while diving with Dr. Burt’s team on Saadiyat Reef, just a few kilometers from the sands of Saadiyat Island where the NYU campus sits. With the intense summer heat, it is easy to overlook that Abu Dhabi sits on the same sub-tropical latitude as the Florida Keys.During the winter, these reefs can be quite cool, sometimes reaching as low as 20C (68F). Urban coral habitat: Diadema urchins grazing algae on jetty rocks near Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi, UAE Much like Miami, Abu Dhabi is a cosmopolitan coral city. With more than 60km of breakwaters along the city’s waterline, the city is another crucial crucible in which to study urban coral ecology. Abu Dhabi lacks a natural rocky coastline, and thus these boulder breakwaters end up acting as artificial reefs. Large aggregations of long-spined Diadema urchins (seen above) were observed cleaning the breakwater along the massive Marina Mall. Colin also had a chance to snorkel along a recently built breakwater on Saadiyat Island where he found an abundance of Porites, Leptoria, and Cyphastrea corals encrusted onto the granite boulders. Just like in Miami, these man-made coastal barriers are ideal experimental habitats to study the resilient corals that naturally colonize them. Further offshore, the natural Saadiyat Reef was dominated by a handful of stony coral species, while lacking soft corals, gorgonians, anemones, or large sponges. Algal overgrowth appeared minimal, but there was some evidence of coral disease and recent die-off. Due to frequent wind and dust storms, the water is never particularly clear, averaging about 7m horizontal visibility. The reef also appeared quite young in its development, rising just a meter or so off the sandy seafloor at 7-8m depth. This development coincides with the relatively young age of the Arabian Gulf itself; filling with seawater during the past 8,000 years since the end of the last ice age. The high wind, and lack of freshwater input results in highly saline water that exceeds that of even the Red Sea. The tenaciousness of the corals in the Arabian Gulf, particularly with their unique heat-tolerant symbionts, suggests that corals worldwide may be more adaptable to climate change than currently predicted, and warrant close study by the coral research community. Tags: Abu Dhabi, Coral Morphologic, Imagine Science Film Festival, Saadiyat Reef This entry was posted on Sunday, March 8th, 2015 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Stable water parameters make for healthy corals. Are you testing your water?

Craig Bingman leaves no stone unturned this week in our in-depth discussion about water testing. It’s a terrific show packed with information about a critical component of reef keeping. Don’t miss it. 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

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Stop, it’s hammer time. Cheesy throwbacks to the 80s aside, the hammer coral is a staple in many reef tanks much like MC Hammer’s song was a permanent fixture in many a Sony Walkman. Getting past all of this nostalgia, hammer corals offer the best of both worlds for corals. On one hand, they have a hard skeleton, but on the other they are adorned with flowy, fleshy tissue that draws in those seeking a little more movement in the water.

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 Here at the Long Island Aquarium, one of my main responsibilities is our 400 gallon seahorse exhibit. It houses two different species of seahorses; Hippocampus erectus, and Hippocampus radia.One of the primary parts of keeping a seahorse exhibit, is always keeping a full collection of seahorses, by breeding and rearing more specimens. In this post I am going to tell you how we breed seahorses at the Long Island Aquarium, in hopes to assist some beginner  seahorse breeders. When it comes to breeding seahorses, it always helps to identify the males and females that are in the exhibit. Males have a brood pouch, which can be found in the lower front of the abdomen, right below the anal fin. Females do not have a brood pouch; instead they have an ovipositor, which they use to deposit their eggs into the males pouch. Once the male is pregnant, it can take up to 3 weeks for him to give birth. Seahorses give birth to an average of anywhere between 100-1000 juveniles. They can have as low of a birth rate as 5 juveniles born. Prior to birth, I will remove the male seahorse from the exhibit, and place him into a Labor tank. After birth this will be changed into a rearing tank for the juvenile seahorses. While in labor, male seahorses will arch their back, moving back and forth, to release the juveniles into the water column. Once I believe that all of the seahorses have been released, I will put the male back onto exhibit. I then turn off the flow in the rearing tank, and turn on an airstone that is attached to the back wall of the tank, which will create an upwards flow, thus creating a kreisel. This will suspend juveniles in the water column which makes it much easier for them to catch their food, while still conserving much needed energy.  The first few days are the most crucial for survival. I see the most loss at this time. To insure the best survival rate, the first few days I only feed a mix of copepods, and rotifers, as brine shrimp (Artemia) is harder for the juveniles to digest. After 4-5 days I will begin to feed newly hatched Artemia nauplii enriched with algae. After about 2 months I will offer live mysids and cyclops. After they have began to eat these, I will offer frozen mysis to wean them off of live foods.… More:

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http://www.redseafish.com/reef-care-program/aiptasia-x/ In this CoralFish12g video I will review, and demonstrate Aiptasia-X by Red Sea. Within minutes of ingesting the Aiptasia-X the anemone will implode, eradicating both the anemone and planulas. This is the ultimate solution for getting rid of these pesky pests.

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Fincasters Episode 64 World Pet Association Donates $25,000 to Coral Restoration Foundation The World Pet Association presented a $25000 check to the Coral Restoration Foundation at the 2015 Global Pet Expo in Orlando. From: fincasters Views: 6 0 ratingsTime: 02:31 More in Pets & Animals

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One of our first Rising Tide successes was harvesting eggs from Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (CZA), shipping them to UF’s Tropical Aquaculture Lab, and successfully raising what turned out to be semicircle angelfish. We had samples from that first cohort DNA analyzed for identification. We have since raised multiple cohorts shipped to us from CZA; which has been well documented in previous blog posts (late 2011-early 2012). Ramon Villaverde at CZA has also raised multiple cohorts of angelfish in house. When space got limited we arranged for those juvenile angelfish to be sent to public aquariums which not only had adequate space to house them, but also could effectively inform the public about Rising Tide’s endeavors. We were always curious what other Pomancanthus species (if any) may be spawning in that exhibit

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Favia and Favites Brain Corals This video is all about Favia and Favites, two of the most common types of brain corals found in the reef keeping hobby. The care requirements for Favia and Favites are fairly straight forward.... From: Tidal Gardens Inc. Views: 21 12 ratingsTime: 03:27 More in Pets & Animals

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Multiple varieties of Montipora digitataAs I grew to love SPS corals, one in particular stood out and caught my eye: Montipora digitata. I have found M. digitata to be a fast-growing, hardy SPS coral that, once established in a well-balanced reef tank, can really take off in growth. This coral also has very unique growth patterns and comes in a variety of colors, adding some nice coral “eye candy” to your reef. Here is some general info on this SPS wonder:Scientific name: Montipora digitata Common names: Digitata, Digi Skill level: easy/moderate Light level: moderate to high Water flow: high Disposition: peaceful Water conditions: 75-78°F, 8-12 dKH, 8.1-8.4 pH, SG 1.024-1.026 Growth and placement M. digitata is, for the most part, a branching coral. It will encrust a base and then begin growing up toward the light. I have found that the growth of these corals is very strong under my T5 lights and that the thickness of the branches seems to be determined by how much flow the coral is getting

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Some of you may be familiar with the phenomenal large aquarium owned by Peter Hyne in Toronto, Canada. I personally started following the build thread on Reef Central with wide eyes and floored jaw since it’s inception back in March, 2010. Peter put an envious amount of forethought into everything that went into the aquarium build, with the help of many leading hobbyists and industry folk alike.  

One of the cracks that occurred after the seam let loose. Credit: “Mr. Wilson”

Unfortunately, Tuesday night disaster struck in the form of an acrylic panel letting loose at a bottom seam leading to ~1,200 gallons of water flooding the basement area. Luckily aquarium professional Shawn (“Mr. Wilson”) had the foresight to install a 4″ drain underneath the aquarium to allow water to escape should the worst of the worst happen. Even though water gushed from the aquarium covering a 2,000 square foot area in the blink of an eye, the crew hopped onto the issue and had the mess initially cleaned up within an hour, although more cleanup was sure to follow come morning. Peter posted in his build thread with a heavy heart the series of events that occurred, and somehow at this point still seems to be in good spirits. Whereas I would be crushed, without a doubt. If you frequent that website lend a note and words of encouragement so we can hopefully have this amazing system rebooted better than ever before.

The crew had a video diary running for a while that was quite enjoyable, which you can find here.

Here you can see just how far the crack made its way up the panel. Credit: “Mr. Wilson”

This picture shows that the seam let loose on the shorter eight foot side, a whopping six feet down. Credit: “Mr. Wilson”

Wonderful shot of the tank in it’s glory. Look at that crinoid loving life at the top of the reef as they would in nature! Credit: Peter Hyne

Thriving Razor/Pipefish (Aeoliscus strigatus). Credit: Peter Hyne

It’s tough to capture a massive “L” shaped tank in pictures, but this is a great shot. Credit: Peter Hyne

      … More:

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Coldwater Marine Aquatics is bringing in captive raised weedy seadragons (Phyllipteryx taeniolatus) available to the masses. For me this news is akin to the first time I heard Borbonius anthias coming into the industry after drooling over their pictures for years. I had the pleasure of meeting the C.M.A. crew at MACNA Denver last year. I can tell you that these guys are incredibly knowledgeable regarding their niche in the industry, seemingly offering only the healthiest animals all around. I asked C.M.A. regarding the rearing technique and they replied with, “Berried adult males are collected annually and the young are hatched out and raised in captivity.” 

Phyllipteryx taeniolatus in nature. Credit: Richard Wylie

 Now don’t go thinking that these guys can be plopped into your mixed reef housing a yellow tang, valentini puffer and koran angelfish. These animals require a dedicated biotope to thrive. Of course this is not to detract from the hopes of caring for these majestic creatures, only to note that they do have some special requirements, namely coolwater and passive (read: non existent) tankmates. Recently Kenneth Wingerter shared the news of these becoming available here on reefs.com, but last night C.M.A. posted their “last call” for anyone interested in ordering a seadragon on Facebook. So if you’ve ever wanted to keep one, there’s no time like the present. You can reach C.M.A. on their website or Facebook page.… More:

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First off sorry for the lack of content in recent weeks. I’ve gotten some emails from reefers asking if I was alright. I’m fine; my second book is nearing release so I’ve been busy getting things in order with that. Without further ado: Like many reef aquarists I wasn’t always concerned with the ethical, moral and perhaps legal debate surrounding marine aquariums. I was young when I started my first marine tank and had spent my childhood and adolescent years keeping freshwater aquariums, where nearly every species of fish is bred in captivity. In all reality, when I first started purchasing marine fish, I had no idea that the bulk of them came from the wild. I certainly wasn’t ocean literate, as this was long before my days as a scuba diver and well before my education in coral reef biology. Once I was older and better educated, my quills came out regarding the effect marine aquariums may be having on Mother Nature. It was when I first learned to dive and eventually visited a coral reef (off the coast of West Palm Beach, FL) that I became concerned. It was then I realized that no matter how hard we try the environments we create in captivity pale in comparison to what these animals experience in the wild.  Since then the arguments behind ethics, morality and regulation of the marine aquarium hobby have interested me. In fact, I personally believe they are some of the most important conversations aquarists can have. No matter what hobby, industry or field you look at; there is always room for improvement. We all see the marine aquarium hobby differently. Some see it as a simple hobby, comparing it to modeling or collecting. Others see it as an effort to learn more about natural ecosystems and even equate it in the mold of conservation. Those of us who are advanced, hardcore aquarists enjoy nearly every aspect of marine aquariums; from chemistry on up to technology. Trying to look at the topic objectively is impossible if you’re an aquarist. I understand that every hobby, industry, etc. has negative contributions, but for the sake of the ethical, moral, regulation discussion surrounding marine aquariums, it’s valuable to key into factors that are relevant. Aquariums of the rich and famous:It wasn’t that long ago when the story broke about a wealthy person whom had a vacation house in Hawaii, complete with an aquarium holding several thousand gallons of water.… More:

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 So, by now I’m sure you’ve heard about LRS Reef Frenzy®, the premium frozen foods that have been dominating the market and winning over even the most skeptical of hearts worldwide. The reason is simple – fish love the food, even the most fickle, and customers see positive results. But when I sat down with owner and founder Larry DuPont, aka “The Shrimp Pimp” (as Larry has been affectionately nicknamed by his friends), I really wanted to get into the actual nutritional aspect of fish foods in general. He’ll explain the importance of feeding a varied diet to your fish, what you should pay attention to when selecting a food, the truth about probiotics, black worms, fish eggs and a whole lot more! Really a nutritional and educationally dense video for you all! Have any questions or topics you’d like to see discussed? Send them my way to caitlin@reefs.com… More:

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Here’s a quick product update from German-based supplement company, Fauna Marin. They’ve done some revamping to their successful dinoflagellate-busting solution, AlgaeX. The product, which is also effective against other types of algae, will be sold under the new name, “DINO X”, along with a sleek new look with some upgraded packaging going forward. As with anything you’re dosing your tank with, following proper usage guidelines is imperative for successful results and for the safety of its inhabitants!… More:

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Win one of 30 free Orphek Azurelite flashlights – Stay with me and I’ll tell you how! So a few weeks ago I was slipped a bit of information from an insider over at Orphek about a new light, complete with exclusive images straight from their production team. Well, the monstrous Dual Core LED studded Atlantik Pendant 300 made it’s debut about a week later at Reefstock in Denver. Intrigued by this little sneak peak I was allowed, I wanted to know more about their production facility and how they actually manufacture Atlantiks.  I hoped for maybe a description or a few pictures, so imagine my surprise when they sent me the video featured above  Of course my immediate response was, “pretty please, can I share?”. There has been a good deal of speculation over Orphek’s spectrum and LEDs, but the video, set to some pretty rockin’ music, shows their (immaculate) facility producing the diodes themselves in order to create what they say is the best spectrum for corals available. I highly recommend you take a few minutes to watch as each element of this light is sandwiched together. Now, how to snag one of those Azurelites! I managed to secure 30 of these sweet, high performance blue LED flashlights from Orphek and we’re giving them away. WOOHOO, FREEBIES! Here are the rules (don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you). 

• Open to US residents
• All you need to do is like, comment on and share the post of this article from the Reefs.com Facebook page after watching the video. Comment should be about why the Azurelite is one of the coolest tools for reef keeping!
• The contest will run thru Sunday night, March 22, 2015 at midnight Pacific Time, shortly after which we’ll select and announce the lucky winners!

  Good luck to all! … More:

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Heads-up, we’ve just added yet another new species to our livestock database! Our latest addition, Sufflamen bursa takes our Triggerfish gallery tally to a total of 18 profiles in that section. Inhabiting a variety of shallow, clear reef habitats, the True Bursa, Scythe or Boomerang Trigger is a voracious species that feeds on a variety of organisms including hard shelled crustaceans and molluscs. Growing to a maximum size of 25cm, this species will only tolerate tough tankmates and should be housed in a well-planned aquarium. It should not be confused with Rhinecanthus verrucosus which is also commonly known as the Bursa Trigger. For a larger image, species profile and access to numerous other Triggerfish profiles, click HERE (you must be subscribed and logged-in to access this gallery).

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 Deviating from saltwater here, this giant freshwater stingray (Himantura polylepis) discovered in Thailand’s Mae Klong river may be the largest freshwater fish recorded! Scientists happened upon the beast while filming Ocean Mysteries, an ABC production hosted by nature conservationist Jeff Corwin. Among those wrangling in the beautiful creature was veterinarian Nantarika Chansue, a professor at Chulalongkorn University who’s been studying the rays in the area for nearly a decade. The heavyweight measured nearly 8ft across and 14ft long, weighing in between 600 and 800 pounds. But let’s cut the girl some slack, she’s also expecting twins! A portable ultrasound revealed she’s carrying two fetal rays. According the the Guinness Book of World Records, the title of largest freshwater fish currently belongs to an estimated 693 pound Mekong catfish. Corwin stressed in a statement the information collected was for the solely for conservation efforts – once sufficient data was collected on the giant, she was released back into the river, free to do giant pregnant stingray things. The story is set to air in full on the show later this year so keep an eye out!… More:

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 Nobuaki Okamoto, also known as ‘Dr. Goldfish’, has written a book on how to enjoy keeping goldfish in bowls. The book aims to bring goldfish into closer contact with their owners and advocates for the use of fish bowls instead of fish tanks. Okamoto states:“What has distressed me is that goldfish have simply become an object of viewing through glass tanks. That distances fish from humans.” He recommends using bowls which one would typically use for serving Japanese noodles. His aim is to cultivate the same type of relationships which owners have with their cats or dogs. His thinking is that the convenience and portability of a bowl would bring fish owners in closer contact with their fish pets. He recommends changing the water daily. This is certainly an interesting perspective on caring for a Goldfish. What are your thoughts on the bowl method? I can see how this simplified approach would prove an inviting approach for new fish enthusiasts.MORE… More:

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In our 2015 outlook writeup at the beginning of the year, Jeff hinted at new media we would be bringing to our content stream, specifically video. Salt Speak is the first of those new features. It will be an ongoing series where I chat with folks involved in the hobby and industry to discuss a wide variety of topics.The inaugural episode focuses on FishBit, a new aquarium monitor and controller. I recently sat down with Nathan Levine, co-founder of Current Labs, to talk about how their product is different, BETA version testing, commercial releases dates, the aquarium automation segment, how FishBit could spark a whole new group of folks people interested in monitoring and automating their systems, and more. I hope you enjoy the chat! Let me know what you think in the comments below and be sure to share this post with anyone you think might be interested in FishBit. [embedded content] Learn more and get in touch with FishBit: Share this:

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