The beginning of an aquarium sleeve

 For Today’s Tattoo Tuesday we feature Maddie Butterfield’s start on her aquarium-themed sleeve. It is inspired by her favorite tank, and the love she has for it clearly shows!  The tattoo was done by artist Nathan Evans.    Please send your tattoo submissions to: xeniaforever030@gmail.com… More:

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Good morning from a tiny island in the Caribbean called Curacao! I have a super cool fish for you all today called a Whitespotted Filefish, Cantherhines macrocerus, it’s one of our personal favorites! This fish has so many unique built-in features, it reminds me of a swimming Swiss Army knife! This fish has the ability to change and flash colors, it has a super cool retractable spine on top of it’s head, it can puff up it’s belly to look bigger and to lock itself into a crevice for protection and it has wild looking spines at the base of it’s tail, talk about cool!!! Filefish (also known as foolfish, leatherjackets or shingles) are tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish of the diverse family Monacanthidae.

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Researchers from the University of Riverside are studying the internal bone structure of Mantis Shrimp in an effort to reduce the damaging effects of head trauma associated with American Football. Within the dactyl forearms of the Mantis a spiral structure of bone material called chitin is specific, and this formation allows for the buffering of damaging elastic waves such as shear waves, through its forearms. “This is a novel concept,” said David Kisailus, the Winston Chung Endowed Professor in Energy Innovation at UC Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering. Researchers will attempt to apply the architecture of mantis shrimp arms to products such as football helmets and body pads: “It implies that we can make composite materials able to filter certain stress waves that would otherwise damage the material.” “The smasher mantis shrimp will hit many times per day. It is amazing,” said Pablo Zavattieri, an associate professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and a University Faculty Scholar at Purdue University. Read more here!  … More:

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 Fisherman in Southwest Australia hauled in a surprising catch on Sunday: a 3 ton, 20 foot long Basking Shark! The Basking Shark is the second largest living fish, after the Whale Shark. This large species is a slow-moving, filter feeder, making it a rarity among shark species. . Since they feed on plankton in the water column, on the few occasions they are spotted, they are often seen near the surface. The catch in Austrailia was only the second Basking Shark found in the area since the 1930’s and the third in 160 years. Unfortunately the animal was dead by the time it was removed from the fishing line. Scientists have stated that they are going to try and make the best of this sad situation by learning as much as possible from this incident. MORE… More:

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Last week I reported on the arrival of the first tropical fishes of the year to appear in Long Island waters after a seining trip at Fire Island inlet turned up a filefish, groupers, and northern sennets. This week I am happy to announce that the next wave has arrived. Yesterday I accompanied a group of aquarists from the Long Island Aquarium on their first collecting trip of the season, on the north side of Shinnecock Bay. In addition to most of the same species from last week’s trip, we also encountered, ahead of schedule, what appears to be the next wave of tropicals: at least 20 spotfin butterflyfish and two post-larval tangs. The tangs are probably doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus), but it’s too early to say. The catch also included silversides, northern pipefish, two species of flounder, hundreds of tiny sea robins, seaboard gobies, baby bluefish, and our two native temperate wrasses, the cunner and tautog. The water was thick with lion’s mane jellies, one of the worst stingers around, so one intern was appointed to jelly duty, responsible for scooping jellies out of the path of the seine using a dip net. A large jelly in the net can do considerable damage to your catch. They can also give you a nasty sting, which is why I always keep a bottle of white vinegar in my car this time of year. The acid in the vinegar denatures the proteins in the Jelly’s venom and provides instant relief from the sting (yes, even better than having someone pee on you). Inspired by our catch, I proceeded to Shinnecock Inlet after seining to see what else might turn up. I was thrilled to see multiple leatherback turtles in and around the inlet, a sure sign of tropical water. Hopefully they were feeding on some of those jellies. Altough I had a lot of work to do back at my lab, I couldn’t resist putting on my dive gear and jumping in the water. I didn’t get close to any leatherbacks, and the incoming ocean water was much colder than our seining site, but I did get a look at some cool local marine life. Check back Monday for video highlights. 

A post-larval grouper from Shinnecock Bay

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Good morning, I have a very gentle, super fun to watch, reef fish for you all today called a Banded Butterflyfish or Chaetodon striatus. The name is derived from the dark vertical bands on the fish’s body. This, combined with a vertical, black bar through the eye, is an adaptation that can confuse predators. These fish are around five inches in length, can be found easily in the 10-60 foot zone and  are usually always found in pairs. These two here can always be found in the same area and I have been swimming with them for years so they are more or less pretty used to me and my giant camera. As I was taking my pictures one of them (top photo) left the safety of the gorgonian and swam right up to the front of my camera and proceeded to just hang out there without a care in the World, it was great!

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Pope Francis waves as he leads his weekly audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican August 27, 2014. REUTERS/Max Rossi (VATICAN – Tags: RELIGION) – RTR43XCT

 Pope Francis released an environmental encyclical entitled, “Laudato Si.” The title is in central Italian and means, “praise be to you.” This is in fact Pope Francis’ second encyclical, yet the content is getting a lot of attention across the internet, mainstream media and the world. Since Pope Francis’ first encyclical, “Lumen fidei” (Light of Faith) was largely the work of his predecessor Pope Benedict, Laudato Si is being hailed as Francis’ first true encyclical. In it, the pope calls for a re-interpretation of Christian ideals, mainly the belief that having dominion over planet Earth as expressed in Genesis, doesn’t mean having the right to destroy the planet and put third world nations at risk along with much of the planet’s life.  While I didn’t read Francis’ entire document, I read a condensed version and was shocked to find such a bold, well researched and scientific document produced by a spiritual leader. Without a doubt, the Pope’s view of humanities’ consumption of its own environment pertains to the current state of coral reefs, and in a roundabout way, reef aquarists. The Pope’s view:In Laudato Si, Francis brings to life much of the argument made by scientists pressing for stricter environmental regulations. The Earth is getting warmer and climate change is causing a massive fall-out, with the poor paying the ultimate price for human irresponsibility and greed. Many people don’t realize, but the lifestyles of those of us in consumerism based nations has a massive impact on third-world countries. For example, it’s not uncommon for U.S. based industries to dump their waste in countries abroad where manufacturing is taking place, or out-source domestic waste. Many people have seen pictures of the giant tech waste landfills, or massive pile-ups of trash in under-developed nations. That level of trash wasn’t produced by those nations alone, but they accepted financial incentive from multi-national corporations to dump their trash onto someone else’s doorstep. Often this waste includes harmful elements that could never be dumped domestically, without expensive and elaborate safety precautions. Since many island nations, bordered by once glorious coral reefs, are under-developed and in a state of extreme poverty, it is without a doubt this action effects oceanic environments. To make matters worse, industrial and private combustion releases mercury, carbon and other waste into the atmosphere, enhancing the severe weather often experienced in third-world nations and giving rise to a build-up of mercury within oceanic/freshwater ecosystems.… More:

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New research out of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University finds that the impacts of human activities like dredging are making it harder for fish to breathe, and are likely increasing the rates of gill disease amongst coastal reef fish. “Fish gills are in direct contact with their environment and are the first line of defense in the animal’s immune response, which makes them the perfect place to look for damage associated with sediment,” adds co-author of the study Dr Jodie Rummer. “Suspended sediments result from flood plumes, coastal agricultural and industrial development and from dredging operations and are increasing in coastal waters worldwide,” says co-author, Dr Amelia Wenger. The study simulated sediment accumulation in the lab and subjected clown fish larvae to increased levels, and what they found might be some what of a duality. “The gills in sediment-exposed larval clownfish fish were congested, exhibiting twice as much mucous of what could be found in clean-water exposed fish,” says study lead author, PhD Student Sybille Hess. Yet Rummer added that”Sediment-exposed fish also increased the number of protective cells on their gills, presumably safeguarding the delicate tissue from the damage that sediment particles could cause.” The findings could mean fish are adapting to the elevated levels of sediment but they most definitely underscore the increased need for awareness as it relates to coastal impacts like dredging and agricultural runoff. Read more here.… More:

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Summer is here and if you ship out a bunch of corals every week like I do, you’re going to need to keep them cool. Ice packs from most shipping supply companies cost anywhere from $1.00 – .50 cents each, that means I used to spend a few hundred dollars per year just on ice packs and you generally only have two size options. I have made ice packs out of gelatin in the past, but I find it to be messy, time consuming, and not vegan friendly. It had been in the back of my mind for awhile to try using water polymer crystals to make ice packs after seeing them used in floral arrangements, so I recently started doing it. 

Water Polymer Crystals after absorbing water

 Water polymer crystals  http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/geology-terms/question581.htm  are super absorbent polymers that can soak up a huge amount of water in gel form. I bought a 5 pound bag of water polymer crystals from eBay for $35,  these crystals can uptake 80 gallons of water so my ice packs end up costing me pennies and they are super easy to make. 

Water polymer crystals in a small cup

 I take about 4 tbsps of water polymer crystals and toss it into a container filled with 8 cups of warm water. Using warm water will help the crystals grow faster. I leave them to absorb the water overnight, by the morning the crystals have soaked up nearly all of the water and are ready to be used. I use small bags to ship my frags and these work well for making ice packs. I fill the bag with crystals about three inches deep, loosely tie off the top, and then flatten it out so the ice pack will be easier to pack in a box. Then I put all the ice packs in the freezer. It takes about half a day for the ice packs to freeze solid. Since the crystals are in gel form they will stay frozen longer than water alone. These ice packs are reusable, they can be frozen and thawed many times. Water polymer crystals are earth safe and will biodegrade after about four years. Keep your shipments cool this summer and save some money while you’re at it. 

Water polymer crystals in bag

Crystals that are frozen solid and ready to use as ice packs.

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A new coldwater coral habitat has been discovered on a submerged cliff face almost 1km below the sea surface by Irish marine scientists. Operating at around 300km off the Kerry coastline, the research team onboard the Marine Institute’s research vessel MV Celtic Explorer were mapping some previously unconfirmed reefs on the edge of the Porcupine Bank canyon, using the Holland I remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Initially capturing images of a ‘blizzard’ of organic-rich particles flushing down the canyon, the ROV then moved closer to reveal a vertical cliff face habitat carpeted by coldwater coral and other marine life, including sponges, crabs and fish. University College Cork (UCC) scientist Prof Andy Wheeler explains, “The Porcupine Bank has 500km of cliff habitat at this water depth. Corals were found between 900 and 700 metres water depth,” This could double the amount of coral habitat already believed to be in the area, which is a designated special area of conservation. University of Ulster scientist Dr Chris McGonigle noted that the quality of data which the State’s research vessel and its ROV can collect is “phenomenal”.

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The last article discussed some of the quick and simple ways to take care of your reef while being away for just a short period of time. Due to my work responsibilities, which require travel around the world for two- to three-week periods at a time, I need as much automation as possible and confidence in the solutions I choose.Here’s a high level overview of my system. I currently have a 365-gallon system made up of three display tanks (125 reef ready, 90 reef ready, 80 reef ready rimless), a 40 breeder refugium, and an All-Glass Megaflow 4 sump. Goals I have been in the hobby for over 25 years, and starting in 2006, I decided I wanted to tackle hard corals more. I worked in an LFS growing up and read every book that existed at the time. Before long, I realized it is very difficult to have a truly successful “mixed” reef and to satisfy every requirement for softies, LPS, SPS, and fish all in a single tank.

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On June 24, 2015, NASA tested its Buoyant Rover for Under Ice Exploration (BRUIE) at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The BRUIE was placed at 24 feet underwater on the bottom of the 188,000 gallon tank. The device was designed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. The purpose of the rover is to study the Arctic and Antarctica and is meant for travel under the ice shelf of an icy world. One day, researchers hope the under ice rover could explore oceans of potentially viable planets.The vehicle is operated using satellite control and aims one day to be completely autonomous. The rover ta pictures of its surroundings which scientists can use for research. This trip at the California Science Center will be the last of the rovers warm water destinations before it begins to explore the icy unknown.MORE… More:

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 It is has not been that long since I last wrote about a shark attack incident in North Carolina. Although shark attacks are extremely rare, there have been a steady stream of high profile attacks this summer. On Friday, a North Carolina man was bitten by a shark while swimming with his three children and another adult. They were swimming about a mile north of the Avon pier around noon. While trying to get the children to shore safely, the man was attacked in his leg and lower back. The injuries are not reported to be life threatening. This is the fifth shark attack in North Carolina this summer. MORE… More:

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Good morning from Curacao! Sorry for the lack of blogs these past few days but we had another three day weekend due to another holiday and I was no where near my computer. Yesterday was “Kings Day”, one of the biggest holidays of the year, and NO Curacao does not have a King but the Netherlands does. Kings Day is the Kings birthday and is celebrated with everyone wearing orange, (the Netherlands national colors), wild non-stop parties and live events all day long, I stayed home! I have two Slender Filefish for you all today in their pre-mating mode

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The deep sea biome is said to be less understood and less explored than the Moon. Nearly any serious expedition into deep sea ecosystems reveals new species, or even entirely new habitats. Often, these notoriously slow-growing biological communities are thought to be extraordinary simply on the basis of their size and structural complexity. Such was the case with the discovery of a large, coldwater coral reef off of the Irish coast. While scanning the seafloor along the route of the 19th century transatlantic cable line, researchers for the Quantifying EnviRonmental Controls on cold-water coral reef growth (QuERCi) survey aboard the MV Celtic Explorer happened upon a previously unknown reef in the Porcupine Bank Canyon area. The reef, being a series of 20- to 30-meter carbonate mounds (some over 100 meters tall), is situated at a depth of about one kilometer. The features are characterized by their massive submerged cliff faces. Biologists in the team were immediately taken aback by the abundance of life in the community, which is devoid of light and, therefore, photosynthetic productivity. The area is particularly rich in black corals, but also is a home to spectacular crinoids, sea anemones, sponges and sea pens. Expedition member Graham Ryan likens the mysterious habitat to “oases of life in the deep ocean supporting vibrant ecosystems.” To learn more about this discovery and the work of QuERCi, please visit: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-scientists-discover-new-coral-habitat-off-kerry-coast-1.2260381.… More:

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 Here’s a story of feeder goldfish that beat the odds. Seven years ago, at Shima Marineland in Japan, a small goldfish was thrown into a tank, intended as food for a hungry Arapaima. In case you didn’t know it, Arapaima are among the world’s largest freshwater fish, growing over 10 feet long and weighing over 400 pounds. The little goldfish managed to escape the hungry mouth of the Arapaima and ended up in the aquariums filter system. Where it lived for seven years eating detritus and other bits. During a recent filter cleaning, an aquarist was shocked to find the goldfish, now ten inches long, alive and well in the filter. The fish showed no signs of injury, however, it was a little pale, due to the years living in darkness. Now the goldish has turned into a bit of a celebrity and has its own display tank in the aquarium. MORE… More:

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  Last week, after a successful seining trip in Shinnecock Bay, I lugged my dive gear out to the inlet to see if I could spot any tropical fishes among the rocks of the jetty. Although I didn’t encounter anything I would consider tropical, and the water was cold enough to give me brain freeze, I was treated to some pretty awesome sights. One of the highlights was this unusual sighting of a northern stargazer (Astroscopus guttatus) out for a swim. Although stargazers are not uncommon around here, it is rare to see them out in the open. They spend most of their lives buried in the sand with only their stalked eyes protruding. So I was surprised to see this one swimming along, apparently making his way through the inlet, out to the ocean. I followed him with my camera for about 500 meters before the constraints of my SCUBA tank forced me to turn around. Like frogfishes, stargazers are ambush predators with enormous mouths and elastic stomachs, allowing them to eat impressively large meals. They have specialized rigid pectoral fins that enable them to burrow into the sand very rapidly. When a fish swims over a stargazer’s mouth, it creates a suction that draws the fish in instantaneously, giving the visual effect of a well-executed disappearing act. Another curious feature of the stargazer is its ability to produce an electric shock similar to that of a torpedo ray or an electric eel using a patch of specialized tissue on its head. If you have four minutes to kill, watch the whole clip of this remarkable fish below. 

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credit: reef.org

Chelsea Harms Tuohy and Evan Tuohy are building an exciting new Caribbean fish id and survey app for iPad and Android tablets. They realized that during the first few dives, students find it difficult to differentiate between species, and so often miss out on many other fish, resulting in inaccurate counts and a lot of frustration. This app will include a “Reference Mode” which provides information about each species, and a “Survey Mode” which uses fish illustrations to identify species. The software will also keep a count of the species observed per study and provide a report. The name and final product are scheduled to be released in late 2015. The grad students are currently looking for funding for this project, and plan to run a pilot with universities and environmental institutions.  To find out how you can get involved, visit www.experiment.com/fishid… More:

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Ocean sunfish tattoo ya’ll

 Today’s submission comes from an aquarium hobbyist. Liam Brinston got his Mola Mola tattoo from artist Ryan Buttar in Edmonton, Alberta. I think this makes Tattoo Tuesday a truly international affair, as our other entries have been from American and Italian tattoo artists. Liam reports that after four years, the color is still bright and vibrant.  

Liam’s Ocean Sunfish Tattoo

 If you have a tattoo you’d like to show off to the world, submit pictures and a description to: xeniaforever030@gmail.com… More:

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A beautiful combination of colorful SPS in Joe Yaiullo’s 20,000 gallon aquarium

 It’s easy to get lost for hours just staring into Joe Yaiullo’s massive aquarium. One new addition to the tank is a very large Purple Milka Stylophora Colony. It would be easy to think that the green and purple colonies have been growing there for the same length of time. But in actuality,  the green Stylo had been growing there for years, while the Milka has only been in place for barely more than a year.    To achieve this feat, Joe planted two dozen one-inch frags over an open patch of substrate above the green stylo. As these genetically identical corals grew into contact with each other, they fused into one single colony, a technique is currently used for speeding up the growth of coral for sexual propagation and reef replanting. Joe initially grew all the Milka Stylo in his tank from a single 1 inch frag. The colonies we’re talking about here represent  but a small fraction of the coral of this single clone lineage grown in his tank; large numbers have been brought to other public aquariums and have also made their way into the marine hobby.… More:

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