The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist – now available in print and eBook formatsThink you’ve got equipment woes? Imagine what it would have been like trying to equip a marine system back at the dawn of marine fishkeeping! Well, hobby pioneer Paul “Paul B” Baldassano doesn’t have to imagine that because he was there to witness it. (Actually, he may have been there when our first human ancestor slithered out of the primordial ooze—we’re looking into it.) To get a sense of the equipment challenges early hobbyists faced, check out this excerpt from the first chapter of Paul’s new book, The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist: A 60-Year History of Fishkeeping, now available in both electronic and print formats:Equipment limitations Early tanks had other concerns besides parasites, and the majority of those concerns were due to the aquarium hardware at the time. As I said, tanks had metal corners up until the early 60s, which was when all-glass tanks were sold. That led the way for larger tanks to be manufactured. My first all-glass tank was a 40-gallon, which was considered large then

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Good morning from the Caribbean. I have a wild looking “Photoshopped” Banded Tube-Dwelling Anemone for you all today that I shot on a macro night dive at Playa Jeremi a few weeks ago with the Smithsonian aboard the Chapman. I was joined on this fun night dive by our buddy Christina and although it was an area with pure sand we managed to keep ourselves busy for a full hour. Our first find was not one but two super colorful hermit crabs in shells that looked like a moss covered rock, I will send those photos as well. We then came across a beautiful octopus hunting in the sand which I did get a nice video of being that I was smart enough to have Christina carry the new Ikelite/Gopro setup for just such an encounter

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The Manhattan Reefs Fall Frag Swap is just a few short weeks away and as usual the planning is in full gear.  We’re expecting a packed house as usual, so if you have not already bought a ticket, you need to do so HERE before they are all sold out.  All of your favorite vendors will be onsite and we’ve got some great speakers and presentations lined up.  As always, price includes a catered lunch and a free frag for all first time attendees (Manhattan Reefs forum members only).
YOU MUST BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE AS THIS EVENT WILL BE SOLD OUT

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Oceanic Institute of Hawaii Pacific University is making some great headway with rearing Yellow Tangs! Check out the videos of the 36dph and 49dph groups at the Rising Tide Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/1hEwIUf  "The [Yellow Tang] group that is 70dph only has a handful remaining, and just a couple of that handful look like the photo. We are observing a pretty significant gap in development within cohorts, where some fish are extremely stunted compared to their siblings. However, we are really excited to be seeing the dorsal and anal fins forming, which is signaling that the transition to settlement is close! The next group that we have is 49 dph today and many of these fish appear similar in development to our day 70 group. This tank has more than 100 remaining, and they appear really strong, much more lively and active than the day 70 group did at the same age.

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Something to be learned in this book.

It’s podcastin’ time again. This week we expand your horizons with discussions about biophilia, Shinrin Yoku, and daVinci thinking. We also talk about a fascinating cold-water pico aquarium. 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

Forest bathing
Learn more about biophilia at the Terrapin Bright Green website

Think like daVinci
Michael Gelb’s website

Coldwater pico
Jim’s Temperate Pico, fullmonti, Nano-Reef.com

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Recently a news report from the U.K. was circling around social media, detailing how a man sent his wife and son on vacation while he installed a massive aquarium in their home. Since the enormous tank would cripple their existing home, Martin Lakin had to demolish the house and build it around the fish tank. The price for the tank alone was 50,000 pounds, which equates to 77,372 dollars. The report went on to say that over 100,000 pounds (154,000 U.S. dollars) worth of coral was added to the tank. When asked what his goals with the aquarium upgrade were, Lakin commented, “I wanted a tank large enough for my 15 year old son to swim in.” Public vs. Private:Obviously Lankin has some money, and he invested quite a lot of it into computer and control systems for the entire tank, including an automated sun-roof. While Lankin’s wife Kay resisted the idea of an even larger aquarium, a close friend of Martin’s revealed the current monster aquarium is just a temporary holding tank until he builds his ginormous dream tank. Often on reef blogs or magazines we see a massive tank posted, the envy of all aquarists. Here in the U.S., it’s not uncommon to hear oohing and awing over Bill Wahn’s massive 20,000 gallon plus sized tank. While these tanks are marvels of aquatic engineering (especially Wahn’s which he built himself) one must ask, is it going too far? I’ve seen the argument on aquarium forums that massive private aquariums pale in comparison to public aquariums. While this may be true, public aquariums are open to the public, and educational programs offered through these facilities help open people’s eyes to the wonders of oceanic ecosystems. They reach millions, and many public aquariums have active conservation programs which protect wild reefs. Those with massive private aquariums are doing so for their own personal enjoyment, and it’s arguable if their giving anything back to protect wild ecosystems. With reefs quickly disappearing and the live animal trade getting less than stellar feedback from conservation outlets, perhaps aquarists should take environmental responsibility into account when building monster systems, or deciding on what size tank to set up. Resources:Massive private aquariums don’t just consume a lot of corals, fish and other marine wildlife. They take an abundant amount of electricity, manpower and equipment to build, move and put in place.… More:

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California has welcomed some unwelcome guests in the past week. El Nino is not just bringing weather changes, but some very venomous sea snakes as well. On Thursday, a highly venomous sea snake was spotted in Ventura County, California. Bob Forbes, a local surfer, found the sea snake on the beach on Friday. Fearing for the safety of other beach goers, he bravely placed the sea snake inside of a five gallon bucket with some water to be brought to authorities. The sea snake died on its way to being transported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office in Ventura.The sea snake died on its way to being transported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office in VenturaThe sea snake marks a rare find in California history. Greg Pauly, a curator of herpetology of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, said: “It was the northernmost sea snake ever documented in the Pacific Coast of North America,” “I would never have thought that a sea snake would wash up that far north.” However, Pauly notes that although the sea snakes are venomous, they are usually harmless when left alone, and bites are rare. Normally, the sea snakes are found in warmer waters in Central America and Baja California. This years El Nino is significant and is bringing the warmer water to spread eastward and scientists are asking people to take a photo of any sea snakes seen to document this occurrence. MORE… More:

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Some soft coral species, such as Sinularia, are well-known for their chemical warfare tendenciesSince corals and other sessile invertebrates are more or less stuck in place and can’t chase away competitors or run from predators, many of them—particularly among the soft corals—have evolved the tactic of exuding toxins into the water to prevent other inverts from encroaching and to discourage predation. As you can imagine, this “chemical warfare,” known as allelopathy, can become problematic in closed aquaria because even the largest tank can’t remotely approximate the ocean’s capacity to dilute these noxious chemicals. Some inverts subjected to these toxins in an aquarium may be unaffected, others may remain in a contracted state, while still others may become stunted, suffer tissue necrosis, or even die as a result of the exposure.Of course, there’s no practical way to test for these toxins and all sorts of environmental issues can cause similar problems in corals, so the challenge from the hobbyist’s standpoint is determining when issues with invertebrate livestock might be attributable to allelopathy versus water quality or some other environmental problem (e.g. inappropriate lighting or current). Here are some signs that might indicate allelopathy is to blame: Your tank contains a lively mix of soft and stony corals In the typical “coral garden” tank stuffed with all different kinds of soft and stony corals, it’s not so much a question of whether allelopathy is going on but to what degree it’s going on. In this setting and assuming water parameters and other environmental factors check out okay, “chemical warfare” is often the best explanation for the odd coral refusing to open up for prolonged periods or the occasional inexplicable death or necrosis of specimens. Your tank contains species known to be toxic Some corals are just notorious for creating allelopathy issues. For instance, among the soft corals, various Sarcophyton, Lobophytum, Sinularia, and Lemnalia species are well known for their toxic tendencies

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This week, Seaworld has announced it will be challenging the recent ban on  captive Orca Breeding. The California Coastal Committee issued a ruling that imposed restrictions on Sea World California, most notably, the restriction on Orca Breeding and prohibitions on the sale and transfer of Orcas in captivity. After the decision was made, Sea World issued comments illustrating its discontent, stating “breeding is a natural, fundamental and important part of an animal’s life and depriving a social animal of the right to reproduce is inhumane.” SeaWorld company President Joel Manby said it “defies common sense that a straightforward land-use permit approval would turn into a ban on animal husbandry practices — an area in which the commissioners have no education, training or expertise.” Sea World most recently has stated that it will be pursuing legal action and has hired a law firm. It is not clear the path that Sea World plans to take. “The Coastal Commission went way beyond its jurisdiction and authority when it banned breeding by killer whales at SeaWorld,By imposing broad new jurisdiction over all future SeaWorld marine animal projects, as well as aquarium projects elsewhere in the state, the commission has overstepped both federal and California law,”Manby said. Activists were not surprisingly excited and supportive about the Coastal Commissions decision. Although the Commission stated they have not seen a legal complaint and could not comment, other activists have. “SeaWorld is blowing smoke,” said Jared Goodman, an attorney with People from the Ethical Treatment of Animals.The commission “acted fully within its authority when, as a condition of its approval of building new tanks, it placed a ban on breeding orcas,” Goodman said. MORE… More:

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I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from my post entitled, “Have they gone too far.” People were upset, claiming that I was accusing the aquarium industry of harming the environment, and misleading readers into believing that reef aquariums were an environmental stressor. I got feedback claiming that while reef aquariums do use a lot of electricity to maintain, they are far less an environmental stressor than other hobbies. I want to clarify some of the points behind the article.Accepting responsibility for yourself: One of the greatest challenges when addressing carbon emissions and climate change, is making people aware of how their own habits and behaviors effect the planet. Various aspects of society have been trying to do this for some time, from the please recycle logo on a plastic bottle on up to cars advertising better than mandatory emissions. There are efforts taking place by industry, the government and non-profit organizations to educate people on incremental changes they can take at home to reduce carbon and waste pollution. Not long ago I bought my daughter a children’s book entitled, “All the way to the ocean.” It’s a great story that follows trash thrown onto the sidewalk right out to sea. It’s a service announcement for children that when we are irresponsible with trash, eventually it can end up causing real problems for oceanic animals. Aquarists assume a great deal of power when they take marine animals into their homes. In many ways as aquarists, we play god. Creating a dynamic ecosystem, measuring and monitoring its chemistry and trying to balance a host of living things in captivity. Today’s marketplace for marine aquarists offers a great deal of power. The power to go online and order animals that live on the other side of the world, rare animals that are uncommon on their native reefs, and nearly unseen in home aquariums. With all that power comes great responsibility, and it extends beyond just keeping the animals in your care healthy. In many ways both the hobby and industry have done well. Coral fragging has reduced the burden on wild reefs, and allows aquarists to share coral life with one another, without the need to disturb a wild reef. Various equipment manufacturers pay close attention to their products power consumption and LED lighting has greatly reduced the electrical burden reef aquariums impose. All of these are important steps in the right direction.… More:

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For me, it is about a healthy ecosystem, a learning experience, a pastime or hobbyThis is an easy question. Our tanks can be as good looking as we want. Of course, we can always throw more time and money into our tanks to make them look even better—but better looking to whom? And why? Do we want to have dynamite-looking tanks so we can win TOTM and tell everyone how much we dose, what types of lights we have and their PAR rating, where we keep our parameters, how often we perform water changes, what our quarantine practices are, which pests we’ve dealt with, and how much time and money we’ve invested? Or do we just want a tank that we can sit in front of and enjoy?It’s a hobby, not a beauty pageant (supermodels notwithstanding) For me, that’s easy too. I think my tank looks okay, but that is not why I have a tank. Unlike my interest in supermodels, my fascination with aquariums has nothing to do with looks.

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The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Florida has began a new expansion as of Wednesday. The Florida Aquarium has had large plans in the works since 2012, when they started the Rising The Tides Capital Campaign as a way to fundraise for improvement. The area surrounding Tampa’s downtown port did not always have such a great reputation. The Florida Aquarium has been one of the primary and first business working to change that reputation. Now the Channel District is growing and growing fast. There is currently 1.5 billion dollar project in the works to bring more development by way of shops, hotels and restaurants, a new cruise ship port and a new waterfront park. The newest addition to the Aquarium will be a 7500 square foot event center known as the Mosaic Center. “The Mosaic Center will not only transform the structural look of the aquarium, but will be an instrumental piece in the transformation of the Channel District providing an additional resource for the growing community,” said Thom Stork, president and CEO of The Florida Aquarium. “We are excited to get this project underway and to be part of the ongoing growth in the downtown Tampa area,” said Gary (Bo) Davis, Sr. Vice President of Phosphate Operations. The campaign has raised over $15 million dollars. Completion of the Mosaic Center, scheduled to open in September 2016, will mark the end of the Rising the Tides Capital Campaign development.   MORE… More:

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Good morning all, I’m discovered our dog Indi has a serious skin infection this morning and rushed her to the vet. You know it’s bad when your vet says it’s something they have never seen and want to do some skin tests which will take a week to get results. They did give me meds, shampoo, and skin cleaner so I will try hard this week to just keep her inside and nice and cool, the heat for sure is not helping.  I have a super pretty Goldentail Eel for you all today sticking his head out of his hole in the reef watching the fish go by. This is a very light colored version, normally they are much darker with a greenish color but this guy was bright yellow. I found this little eel during the day at Playa Forti and was pretty surprised at how unafraid he was and how much he was just posing for the camera

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Bloch was the first to scientifically describe and illustrate the familiar Imperator Angelfish.

 The study of coral reef fishes is a relatively recent field in ichthyology. The earliest scientific works, by naturalists such as Artedi, Linnaeus and Forsskål, consisted of little more than a series of terse morphological descriptions, completely lacking any accompanying illustrations. For the general public interested in these geographically distant species, a vivid imagination or access to museum specimens was required to have any idea what they looked like. 

Note how these clownfishes are classified as “Anthias”. Early scientific names often had a completely different meaning than the current usage.

 One of the first compendiums to be fully illustrated was the work of 18th-century German doctor and naturalist Marcus Elisier Bloch. His Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische (General Natural History of Fishes) , published in volumes from 1782-1795, described 176 new species, many of which are common and familiar aquarium species. Bloch was a keen observer of the natural world, but, like other early taxonomists, he had a weak understanding for how to coherently organize the bewildering diversity of life found on the reefs.  

The superficial similarities of the Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus) and the Schooling Bannerfish (Heniochus acuminatus) clearly fooled Bloch, who placed both into his broad concept of “Chaetodon”.

 Many familiar scientific names are used broadly to group what we now know to be distantly related fishes. A name like Chaetodon might refer to a butterflyfish (as it does today), but it could also refer to an angelfish… or a batfish… or a rabbitfish… or a damselfish… or a moorish idol… or a surgeonfish… or a scat… or even a pompano! 

This is likely the first image of a Picasso Triggerfish, which had been described by Linnaeus a few decades earlier in 1758.

 Looking through Bloch’s treatise provides us a glimpse into our earliest efforts to understand and organize the diversity of life swimming around coral reefs. While his inchoate efforts at zoological classification may not have stood the test of time, the beautiful illustrations Bloch commissioned for his publication are some of the first accurate reproductions ever printed. In recognition of his considerable efforts, the Ringtail Surgeonfish (Acanthurus blochii) was named in his honor… though he probably would have called it Chaetodon blochii, amirite?
 

The Rock Beauty (Holacanthus tricolor) was first described here by Bloch.

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Roa excelsa. The pinnacle of butterflyfish perfection.

 Nestled within the family Chaetodontidae is a complex of butterflyfish with a particular proclivity for deep reefs in the mesophotic twilight zone. They share a pattern of alternating broad brown and white bands, and possess a distinctive ocellus on the posterior soft dorsal fin. In stark contrast to most other shallow water representatives, this retiring and reclusive group receives little attention, owing to their penchant for the dreary depths. Specimens are most often seen as bycatch from commercial trawler fisheries, where they are regarded as trash species of no commercial value. With careful elucidation, however, the intriguing beauty of this group becomes evidently apparent, and in the recent decade, has garnered much attention from butterfly “a-fish-cionados”. These banded beauties are members of the genus Roa, and in this article, we explore the intricacies that besiege this group. Roa suffers from a rather giddying state of taxonomic limbo. R. modesta was the first of its kind known from the subtropical waters of Japan. However, Temminck & Schlegel first described the species in 1844 as Chaetodon modesta. Almost a century later in 1921, Jordan described a similar looking species from Hawaii. He noticed several key differences in morphology from the standard Chaetodon, and subsequently described the Hawaiian specimen as Roa excelsa. Chaetodon modesta was later moved to the new genus Roa, and in 1939, Roa jayakari was described, bringing the total species count to three. Most authors have considered Jordan’s genus Roa to be nothing more than a subgenus of Chaetodon, with various literatures switching back and forth between the two. However, in 1989, Blum reinstated Roa back to generic status based on an unpublished cladistic analysis in his PhD thesis. Ferry-Graham et al. (2001) concurred with Blum’s data analysis, and came to a consensus that Roa was a monophyletic group comprising of three species distinct from Chaetodon. This elevation of Roa to genus level was agreed upon by Pyle (2001) and Kuiter (2002) as well. In this article, we follow the agreed upon classification of Roa at genus level. The Roa butterflies are most frequently found at depths exceeding 100m, and because of this, are very poorly known by divers and taxonomists. Currently, four species are scientifically recognized, with a handful of other undescribed members distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is also interesting to note that although hybridization in this genus has not been documented, it should not be discounted.… More:

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It’s easy to cheap out on aquarium cleaning brushes, but it makes sense to spend a bit more for qualityWhile there are certainly sexier marine aquarium topics I could be writing about, I’d like to dedicate today’s post to one of the more mundane, albeit essential, elements of our hobby—aquarium brushes. This subject came to mind recently after I threw my ten-thousandth brush kit into the trash because, once again, the brushes had begun to fall apart. Now, I’m a well-known cheapskate (or as Caribbean Chris is fond of pointing out, I’m “a whole rink full of cheapskates”), but even I understand—and often preach—that buying the least expensive aquarium equipment often ends up costing you more in the long run. Still, for some inexplicable reason, I continue to cheap out on everyday tools like aquarium brushes, scrapers, tongs, algae magnets, and the like. This has not served me well.A quick, completely informal audit of aquarium brushes sold online revealed prices ranging anywhere from well under $5.00 for three- to five-piece assortments from various manufacturers to over $16.00 for a five-piece Tunze kit. There might be higher-priced kits out there as well, but as I said, this was a quick audit. So, is it really worth paying the long dollar for something as commonplace as a set of aquarium brushes

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This article offers an interesting perspective at a unique aquarist community that would not come to mind: prisoners. Neptune’s Gardens, a New York pet and fish store, would make weekly deliveries to Attica Prison, a maximum security prison in New York, prior to 1971. Nick LaFarnara explains growing up helping his dad make the deliveries: “I was with my dad when I was 7 years old doing this,” he explained Tuesday. “Every Saturday morning, we used to go up to Buffalo and get the fish and supplies. Every other Saturday, we would take them to Attica.“At that time Attica prisoners had tanks in their cells,” he continued. “No electricity, they just blew (bubbles) through the air lines, and that’s how they kept them. But then after the riot, (prison officials) said everything’s got to go.” Inmates would send money orders to Neptune’s Gardens, who would then deliver the tanks, fish and food. Some of the prisoners had tanks up to 40 gallons in size.Lights, heaters or air pumps were not allowed in the prison. The prisoners would aerate the tanks as necessary by blowing bubbles in the tanks. The prisons notorious riot in 1971 put a stop to aquariums being allowed in the prison.  While generally pets are not associated with prisoners, there are some prisons even today which have special programs that allow prisoners to keep cats, dogs and other animals. It would be interesting to know whether there were still prisons out there today with thriving aquarist communities.  MORE… More:

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Good morning friends, sorry about the lack of postings this week but I took three days off and stayed away from the computer. One of my main projects was to finally get some work done on our new driftwood Christmas tree. Many of you remember the one I posted last year (click on the link below) well, our new one will be bigger and better. http://www.coralreefphotos.com/merry-christmas-from-curacao-driftwood-tree Beside the driftwood project I have been busy planting hundreds of new baby yucca plants out in the desert, cleaning the house for Aimee’s return next tuesday and keeping an eye on our dog Indi who has a crazy rash that looks like crop circles. Your fish above is a handsome male Rosy Razorfish that I found along with hundreds if not thousands of others under our ship at Playa Forti a few weeks back

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The new discovery of species never ceases to amaze me. This species was actually right in plain sight in the Galapagos Islands, however, since it looks so similar to another species, it was thought to be the same species. The island of Santa Cruz has two populations of large tortoises: The tortoises that live on the island’s east side are known as the Cerro Fatal tortoises, and the ones in the west and southwest are called the Reserva tortoises. Because they look so similar, until recently they were considered to be of the same species, the species Chelonoidis porteri. Yale evolutionary biologist Adalgisa Caccone and her research team made the discovery by analyzing the DNA of the two species. “As different as they are genetically, it’s not obvious to the eye,” says James Gibbs, professor of vertebrate conservation biology at the State University of New York, Syracuse, and one of Caccone’s co-authors. The difficulty became trying to figure out which species would be the ‘new’ species and which would remain Chelonoidis porteri. After performing a genetic analysis, it was determined that the larger Reserva population could stay Chelonoidis porteri, and the smaller Cerro Fatal population would become Chelonoidis donfaustoi, who was named after a beloved caretaker of endangered tortoises, Fausto Llerena Sánchez . MORE… More:

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Good morning friends, I had a fairly quiet weekend at home keeping my eye on our dog Indi who has a terrible skin rash of some kind. I did take her to the vet and I am giving her pills and creams but after 3 days I still do not see much difference. The main thing I am doing at home is just keeping her quiet and in the air all day, the heat really seems to make it worse. I did get in a 3 hour bike ride yesterday morning with my next door neighbor, we took off over to the north coast and by the time we got back it was getting crazy hot, I spent the rest of the day out of the sun..

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