As regular Saltwater Smarts visitors may be aware, I was an English major in college and currently make my living working with words as a writer/editor. Admittedly, I’ve never really been able to wrap my head around more complicated mathematics and technical sciences. Now don’t get me wrong; I am capable of doing some pretty quick calculations in my head when the situation calls for it. For instance I can divide 12 slices of pizza among four people without so much as breaking a sweat (nine slices for me and three for the others to fight over, of course). But in general, I guess you could say I’m a fairly “right-brained” sort of person.What this means with respect to my involvement in the marine aquarium hobby—which, let’s face it, is a relatively high-tech pastime—is that I’ve had to find certain ways to compensate for my lack of technical prowess in order to achieve long-term success. What follows are some helpful tips I’ve picked up along the way. If you also happen to be “left-hemispherically challenged,” you might want to adopt these as well. 1

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This is but one of the marine themed tattoos Rich has

Rich Ross
Aquarium Champion

 Last week’s tattoo teaser belonged to none other than Aquarist of the Year Rich Ross. Rich is well known for his love of cephalopods, and his mastery of some species is legendary. Aside from taking care of one of the world’s largest reef tanks, he can blow glass and juggle knives while balancing on various objects. Rich is a man of many talents, and you can be sure he will be keeping a skeptical eye on reef industry developments. 

Rich Ross doting father

 We’ve received some great submissions and we are excited to share them in the coming weeks. If you or a friend would like to see your ink featured here, send pics and a description to: xeniaforever030@gmail.com… More:

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Five Japanese Aquariums are Threatening to leave Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Jaza) based on the decision not to use Taiji Dolphins. Jaza made the decision to ban use of Taiji Dolphins based on the pressure asserted by the World Aquarium of Zoos and Aquariums (waza) that if Jaza did not stop using Taiji dolphins they would be expelled from the group. Five Aquariums have indicated they may leave the association. Seven aquariums are undecided as to their future membership, four declined to comment, and sixteen aquariums stated they will remain members. Compared to the United States where 70 percent of dolphins are aquariums are bred in captivity, only 13 percent of Japanese dolphins are bred in captivity. Of the 34 dolphin rearing facilities, 19 of them rely on Taiji as a supplier for dolphins. While some of the aquariums indicated they will attempt to bred dolphins in captivity, they have also stated that this is not an easy process, based on lack of expertise, breeding pools and male dolphins. Some Japanese aquariums have expressed their disagreement with Jaza’s decision, saying that potential lack of dolphins will lead to customer decline and eventual bankruptcy.  MORE        … More:

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There are a wide variety of solutions for automating your reef aquarium and monitoring from afarIn Part 1 of this series, I laid down some of the expectations for success, and now we are ready to dive into the functions that we can automate. Automation can range from low-tech to high-tech and fit various budgets, though the level of refinement of the solution and its robustness can be a function of cost and knowledge. As long as the solution serves the purpose you need it to perform, then it is a viable solution. Stages of automation based on budget or needThis is a major part of the planning phase since you need to understand what is available to you and for what cost. Fortunately these can be implemented as needed or as funds become available since very few people can afford all this at once. We will focus on the practical levels of automation, but if you have the money and the knowledge, you can reach very extreme levels of automation. So below are some ideas of what to automate and their options. This is by no means an exhaustive list but something to act as a guide to what’s possible

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There are a wide variety of solutions for automating your reef aquarium and monitoring from afarIn Part 1 of this series, I laid down some of the expectations for success, and now we are ready to dive into the functions that we can automate. Automation can range from low-tech to high-tech and fit various budgets, though the level of refinement of the solution and its robustness can be a function of cost and knowledge. As long as the solution serves the purpose you need it to perform, then it is a viable solution. Stages of automation based on budget or needThis is a major part of the planning phase since you need to understand what is available to you and for what cost. Fortunately these can be implemented as needed or as funds become available since very few people can afford all this at once. We will focus on the practical levels of automation, but if you have the money and the knowledge, you can reach very extreme levels of automation. So below are some ideas of what to automate and their options.

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There are a wide variety of solutions for automating your reef aquarium and monitoring from afarIn Part 1 of this series, I laid down some of the expectations for success, and now we are ready to dive into the functions that we can automate. Automation can range from low-tech to high-tech and fit various budgets, though the level of refinement of the solution and its robustness can be a function of cost and knowledge. As long as the solution serves the purpose you need it to perform, then it is a viable solution. Stages of automation based on budget or needThis is a major part of the planning phase since you need to understand what is available to you and for what cost. Fortunately these can be implemented as needed or as funds become available since very few people can afford all this at once. We will focus on the practical levels of automation, but if you have the money and the knowledge, you can reach very extreme levels of automation. So below are some ideas of what to automate and their options

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There is no such thing as an unprocessed “image,” but the degree of said processing can vary greatlyOften the subject of heated online debate is the post processing of coral photos—the manipulation of the coral image by software to tweak color and exposure levels. Post processing of coral images is a particularly hot-button issue because it is possible to abuse it. Hobbyists unfamiliar with the practice may decide to purchase a coral online based on a stunning photo and be disappointed once they receive it because the photo was the result of heavy post processing. Half the equationSome in the reefkeeping hobby associate post processing with deceptive trade practices, which is unfortunate because post processing is merely a tool. That may be an understatement because post processing is half of digital photography. Let me repeat that: Post processing is half of photography. Let’s say, for example, that you are hiring a wedding photographer and the first candidate proclaims he doesn’t do any post processing and whatever comes straight out of the camera is what makes it to print.

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Eshopps has just released a new line of sumps that integrate their Channel Design system to optimize the flow pattern in the system.  Instead of a standard trickle/overflow system where the water moves from one area to the next, the ECD sumps force the water through the various sections through some clever engineering and acrylic work.  The pattern allows for the water to have a nice slow route through the fuge or filtration area before returning to the tank.  You can check out the intended use below.  Be sure to reach out to our friends at Eshopps for more info!.
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[embedded content] Fisher Island Hybrid Fused-Staghorn Coral (Elkhorn Morphotype) pre-dredge/ mid-dredge health survey The most remarkable aspect of the health of the corals growing on Fisher Island, is the success story of two hybrid fused-staghorn corals (Acropora prolifera) that live along its shorelines. The story of the first hybrid coral is well documented through the TEDxMIA talk Colin conducted in 2011. This hybrid coral appears to be much more palmate in its growth morphology which typically means that its mother was a staghorn and its father an elkhorn. This coral has proven to be the most remarkably resilient of the Fisher Island Acropora corals. While its growth has been somewhat slow, it has never demonstrated any evidence of significant die-off, white pox, or bleaching. It also features significant amounts of fluorescent green proteins which may confer it with an adaptive advantage over its non-fluorescent parent species. However, there is another equally unusual hybrid fused-staghorn coral living on Fisher Island that we’ve also been observing since 2009. And it demonstrates a much more compact branching staghorn morphology, indicating that its mother was likely an elkhorn coral and its father a staghorn. While we’ve watched this coral grow, die-back, and re-grow over the years, it has grown significantly in the past year of dredging. All of its branch tips are white, indicating that it is growing quickly. No signs of recent die-off are evident. Several years ago before the dredge, portions of this colony had died back as a result of competition with macroalgae which managed to grow between its tightly compacted branches and out compete it. [embedded content] Fisher Island Hybrid Fused-Staghorn Coral (Staghorn Morphotype) pre-dredge/ mid-dredge health/growth survey While the good health of both hybrid Acropora prolifera colonies during the Deep Dredge (as compared to the elkhorn corals) supports the hypothesis that their resilience can be attributed to their hybridity, they are still highly vulnerable to extirpation. Being singular colonies, they are still at the whim of sudden catastrophe. In order to increase the likelihood that these corals survive to be studied and cloned, it is important to aquaculture fragments of these corals in multiple locations, both in the wild and in the laboratory. Despite the fact that both of its parent species are listed on the Endangered Species List, Acropora prolifera is not conferred Federal protection due to the assumption that hybrid animals can’t reproduce. The upside to this illogical rule is that it actually makes research and grow-out of these hybrid corals in controlled environments much simpler, as it drastically reduces the amount of bureaucratic paperwork and permitting road-blocks that would otherwise apply to its parents. Read more about our proposed solution to ensure the future survival of Fisher Island’s unique Acropora corals in Part 3. Tags: Acropora prolifera, Coral Morphologic, Fisher Island, Miami This entry was posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2015 at 4:56 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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Just keep staring into the hypnotizing abyss. Not quite a buzzing cartoon toad from a distant future on Earth, this iridescently patterned nudibranch was collected for photography purposes in just 30 feet of water off the eastern coast of Florida by Farside Tropicals. Almost all nudibranchs, also known as sea slugs, have evolved to feast on only one item in the ocean. Some feed on algae, others on coral, others still on flatworms. Though a small handful are quite useful for aquaria purposes and easily captive bred, most are best left to admire through photography. It is unfortunate that most species are harvested at all for the ornamental industry, as they are often very short lived and have much more value in being photographed and admired by scuba divers. Even with such diverse resources as websites like Sea Slug Forum, a nudibranch version of FishBase, most species have very little understanding as to their role on the reefs. Many species in the aquarium hobby are parasitic, coming in as hitchhikers on corals such as Montipora, Dendronepthya, Cladiella, and even Tubipora musica. It is not as simple as a picky fish adapting to eat something other than say its natural diet of coral polyps in the aquaria, though on several occasions I have witnessed “Monti Nudis” (Embletoniasp.) eating other smaller polyped LPS corals such as Cyphastrea serailia and Pavona maldivensis. For the most part, these creatures should be left in the ocean. The species pictured appears to belong to the genus Cyerce. Not much is known about the natural diet of these animals. As most species mimic what they eat, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine this little guy preferring some colorful tunicates or Ricordea florida. Many of the Cyerce species occur in the Indo-Pacific, and many do have the appearance of a soft coral colony, though not nearly as wildly colored as this specimen. Here is a photo of what appears to be the same species in the wild, sans LED lighting (6th photo down). references: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/nudibranchs-2011-winnershttp://www.seaslugforum.net/showall/cyerantihttp://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/6/invertshttp://opistobranquis.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/th_Cyerce-cristallina-by-Gilles-Cavignaux.jpghttp://www.seaslugforum.net/find/cyernigrhttp://www.seaslugforum.net/find/cyerpavohttp://www.seaslugforum.net/http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Hypnotoad… More:

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Here we go…the fourth installment of Salt Speak coming at you in 3, 2, 1! The topic of this episode is blended frozen aquarium foods – a product most aquarists use (or have used) in their aquarium. To gain some industry insights and pass them along to you, our loyal readers and viewers, I gave Larry DuPont (of Larry’s Reef Services) a call.First we discuss the types of seafood ingredients hobbyists can expect to find in blended frozen foods, non-seafood ingredients (both good and bad), and what types of additives should be avoided. Then we round out our general discussion with benefits frozen provides over other options for your aquarium, as well as what you should look for when purchasing a frozen fish food at your local fish store. After that we focus on how Larry got started with his business, Larry’s Reef Services, makers of blended frozen foods such as LRS Reef Frenzy®, Herbivore Frenzy®, and Fish Frenzy®. We discuss the growth of his business and team over the last few years, as well as what a typical week looks like at LRS HQ. In addition, we discuss the benefits of adding probiotics to foods, public institutions and breeding projects using LRS foods, and the types of testing that have been commissioned to evaluate the various LRS blends

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 Spear fishing is a sport not without risks. Randy Llanes, a 47 year old man, is dead after attempting to spear a large swordfish. Llanes was the captain of a deep sea charter fishing company in Hawaii. After spotting the Broadbill Swordfish, Llanes jumped in the water of Honokohau Harbor on the Big Island with his spear gun. In this tragic case, the hunter inadvertently became the hunted. After shooting the swordfish with his spear gun, Hawaii police say the swordfish thrashed around the water and puncturing Llanes in the upper chest. MORE  … More:

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 Check out this guy real in a monster Grouper on  a kayak! Cape Coral, Florida resident John Black had a 552 pound grouper on his line for a couple of intense moments, and lucky for us, it was all caught on camera on Friday. In this video, you can watch the giant grouper come up to the top of the surface on Black’s line, off the coast of Sanibel, Florida, and look it closely while it makes a huge splash in the water. This fish measured in at 83 inches long and 73 inches in girth, and an estimated 552 pounds. The fish was released after the measurements were taken. While this is a giant catch, it does not break the record for the largest Grouper caught in Florida. Grouper species can get up to 800 or more pounds and up to 7 feet long. They are a very popular local fish in Florida. However, many people are speculating this may well be the largest grouper ever caught on kayak. MORE  … More:

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Fishing tyres out of the ocean. Photo: AFP

After an unplanned week off, we return to talk about pollen, a research job, Miami dredging, failed fake reefs, canopies, wall-of-rocks aquascaping, powerheads, live rock, and books. 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

Frost Museum technology prize
Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum restore reefs prize

Failed fake reefs
France fishes thousands of used tyres from failed artificial reef off Cannes, Henry Samuel, The Telegraph

Coral Morphologic
Colin Foord’s website.

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Divers of of Florida identify a tang that shouldn't be there and go after it. It's the Work of REEF, a non-profit that protects the reefs off of the Florida keys. In this Fincast, REEF's Lad Adkins describes how the team located and safely removed a fish, released from someone's aquarium, that could have become an invasive species. More About REEF: http://www.reef.org More About John Carlin: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=23140279&authType=name&authToken=wDED

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Good morning from one of the driest places on the planet! I would have never dreamed in a million years that islands in the Caribbean go for so long without rain but unbelievably it’s true! Our once beautiful forest is now a desert and it’s bone dry! My poor trails are like mountain biking on powdered sugar and if the wind is blowing… well, it’s just not a good time, not even the dogs want to go out any more! We continue to take water and food out to the desert everyday and the animals are of course loving it

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We are pleased to announce a major new project on Reefs.com, Forums 2.0.  We’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes to make our forums much easier to navigate, but more importantly, we’re putting the right people in place to foster interesting and accurate discussions. With the advent of thousands of Facebook groups devoted to reefing, many experts felt that the ability to provide quality advice and guidance to a large group was lost.  Facebook groups can sometimes be a case of the blind leading the blind, so we sought out some of the foremost experts on the reef aquarium hobby and gave them their own forums to discuss a topic of their choosing. 

Check out the forums now!

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 Seattle Seahawks Marshawn Lynch will be appearing on this season of Tanked on Animal Planet. The Custom tank will include a Beast mode logo and skittles colored coral. Watch the tank preview here.… More:

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There’s something about being thousands of miles away from your aquarium that seems to spark tank emergenciesWhat is it about taking a vacation that seems to precipitate problems in a marine aquarium? My system can go for many months or even years without a significant glitch, but then as soon as my wife, Melissa, and I embark on a much-needed getaway, something always seems to go awry. A memorable example of this phenomenon occurred just a few summers back. Melissa and I were down in St. Augustine, Florida, enjoying dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, when her cell phone rang. At the other end of the line was her father, LeMoyne, who, despite being a non-hobbyist, is always kind enough to feed my fish and top off my tanks whenever we’re out of town. Now, LeMoyne has a pretty solid grasp on those particular duties and is not prone to making frivolous phone calls, so the fact that he was trying to reach us did not bode well.Lager interrupted My fears were confirmed when Melissa said, “I have no idea! Here, I’ll put him on” and then handed the phone across the table to me

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 Sadly Smalltooth Sawfish are on the verge of extinction. However, scientists have discovered that some female sawfish are having ‘virgin’ births. The recent Study was published in Current Biology, initially the study was taking DNA of Florida Estuaries sawfish to see if they reproduced with relatives because of the limited the population. The results were very surprising and revealed that some of the females had reproduced without males. The process is called facultative parthenogenesis, a process thought to be very rare in vertebrates and of which many of the offspring conceived do not survive. However, the study revealed that the offspring, who were caught, tagged and released, were in great health. It’s very promising research that shows that animals who are endangered will do amazing things to survive. MORE… More:

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