Archive for September, 2008
The Weather and Fish Availability
Sep 17th
Welcome back Cory Shank with an article on aquarium fish availability.
Throughout the year, the availability of certain aquarium fish and invertebrates can change for what seems to be no reason at all. It may be for a few days to a week or even a few weeks extending into months. There are many reasons for absence of your favorite aquarium resident, but the one most overlooked is the weather.
One must remember that almost every aquarium inhabitant has begun their journey from the rivers, lakes, and oceans from where they reside. Now if the fish or invertebrate is either tank raised or tank bred, then obviously they have not traveled that far, but for the most part everything is collected from the wild. The weather is quite variable, especially in the tropics, season to season. This is where most of the marine organisms are collected. The largest interruptions from the Caribbean to the Indo-Pacfic regions are during the hurricane season. The Caribbean tends to be more vulnerable to tropical systems than the Indo-Pacific regions, mainly because of the size difference.
Hurricanes, tropical storms, and even tropical depressions and waves cause an increase in wind, generating larger ocean swells, which can wreak havoc in shallow collection areas. Obviously during a hurricane divers can not enter the water and collect fish, but one storm can delay collection for up to a week or even longer. As seen with Hurricane Ike, 2 days prior to the storm, there were waves and tides above the norm, nearly a thousand miles from the storm, affecting the entire Gulf of Mexico and parts of the Caribbean. After the storm passes, collection depends on how fast the water clarity increases, this can take a few more days to happen. Looking at this situation, the collection for one area can be shut down for a full week. This increases the demand for certain organisms, making the availability for the following week extremely high, which leads to a less than healthy fill rate for orders for the orders following a storm. The Caribbean has been highly vulnerable this year, with a few storms passing through major collection areas of Scarlet Reef and Blue Leg Hermit Crabs, along with Royal Grammas, and Peppermint Shrimp.
Hurricanes are not the only culprit: excessively warm or cold water can affect availability. Organisms will move from shallow regions to deeper zones to escape a time of warmer water. This can also be a seasonal migration, affecting availability for a longer term. El Nino and La Nina can lead to big changes in global water temperatures. In such extreme events such as the 1997-98 El Nino event, populations can be severely impacted. Responsible marine fish and invertebrate collectors will either halt or decrease collection significantly in order to help the population rebound.
Weather can also play a role after the fish have been collected. After collection, the organisms will be sent to the wholesaler’s facility. In order for the organisms to arrive safe and in good health at your local pet store, the weather along the route must be taken into consideration. The time of transport relies heavily on how the fast the airlines can get the fish to their final destination. A heat wave can destroy an entire shipment if it were to be delayed by even a few hours. The same goes for extremely cold weather in parts of the country. The shipment, if delayed, could become frozen if the heat packs fail or run out.
So the next time you can’t find your favorite fish at the store, think about where it is coming from and what the weather is like in its hometown!
Thanks Cory,
Until Next Time,
Dave
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Loading ...Naughty Marine Snails
Sep 15th
Patty here,
There are many snail species available for the marine aquarium hobby, and many of them are beneficial to the aquarium as they perform specific duties aiding in the health and up-keep of the tank. Popular types include ceriths and nassarius, great for sand bed stirring and clean-up, and various Turbo species and other algae eaters like astreas and trochus. For the most part, the majority of the snails you find in shops are there for your aquarium’s benefit. There are also many types of snails for sale that may not be a benefit such as predatory snails, and yet others that may find their way into your reef by hitchhiking on or in live rock or corals that you introduce. I want to introduce some naughty snails, and some really naughty snails you can watch out for to avoid potential issues they may present.
Murex Snails
There are several species of Murex snails that may hitch on rock or collected specimens. Most murex snails are characterized by rough spines or knobs on the shell. They are shaped more like conchs, but are usually rather stout. These are predator snails, and will prey on clams and other bivalves, starfish, and other snails. Some species drill through the shells of their victim to eat the flesh inside the shell. Better safe than sorry with murex snails, remove them to an iso tank or species tank if you want to watch them, they will feed on meaty frozen tidbits if live prey is unavailable.
Tulip Snails, Fasciolaria sp.
Tulip Snails are beautiful creatures, with stunningly banded, smooth shells and a deep pink or red body. These snails are unfortunately carnivores, so they cannot be kept with beneficial snails like turbos and astreas unless you want them to be eaten. They will also prey on bivalves, so no clams, scallops, oysters, or fun little mussles will be around for long if you introduce one of these to your reef either. Tulips are nonetheless offered periodically for sale. They can be kept in the right tank, and are enormously entertaining, but consider their diet before purchasing one. They will feed on bits of frozen mussel, clam, and other meaty foods in the absence of live prey, and can get along with fish and crustaceans that can move away from them.
Flamingo Tongue, Cyphoma sp.
Though these little snails are very pretty, they are not reef safe as they feed only on gorgonians. If you find that one has hitch-hiked on a new specimen, which is not necessarily uncommon, it should be removed from your main reef. They are beautiful specimens, however, for a small species tank. If you have large gorgonian colonies, small pieces can be clipped and place into the species tank to feed the snail.
Black Limpets, Scutus unguis
Most limpet snails are safe and even beneficial in reef aquaria. The Black Limpet will eat algae but also has a tendency to feed on coral tissue, so if seen in a reef, it should be promptly removed before it is able to proliferate. This is a very cool snail, its delicate black mantle may appear to you to be a sea slug, but its white shell is cloaked by the ebony mantel. If you should come across one in your reef, the first challenge is to dislodge it from the rock, which is not an easy task. You may need to remove the rock itself, which may be placed in a small species tank for observation and enjoyment.
Sundial Snails, Helicanthus variegatus
Sundial snails are small button-shaped snails, kind of flat, with a spiraling, checkered shell. The operculum is shaped like a cone. These snails are most commonly seen on Zoanthid polyps, their primary food source. Obviously, these snails can be detrimental to polyp colonies and they should be removed from your reef if you come across them. They hide well amongst polyps and rock, so be sure to keep an eye out, especially when introducing new colonies.
Conchs and Cowries
Just an additional note, there are lots of different cowries and conchs offered in the trade today, and they are some of the most interesting snails you can find. Be responsible as aquarists, and be sure to find out about any species you’re interested in before purchasing them. Most species are safe and functional, but others with size and diet in mind may only be appropriate for large, non-reef homes. Some Cowries can grow to 4 inches or so, and though reef safe, they can easily topple rock and corals in their travels. The Egg Cowry only dines on soft corals. As for Conchs, most offered are marvelous sand sifters like our burrowing conch, but many conchs can grow to be very large and thus disruptive in smaller tanks and tanks with limited sand bed area. Crown conchs, Queen conchs, and many others are omnivores and may prey on bivalves if algae and other foodstuffs are scarce, so be aware of the needs of the snail you purchase.
Until next blog,
Patty
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Coral Propagation for Beginners
Sep 12th
Dave here. Coral propagation, or fragging as we reef geeks refer to it, is the process of creating new coral colonies from a parent colony. Over the last several years, techniques, products, and general knowledge of the practice rapidly evolved to where it is quite common. As little as five years ago it was something new and exciting, or even scary depending upon your perspective. The thought of cutting pieces off of your prized coral colonies may seem intimidating at first, but it is actually quite safe, and the fragment has an excellent chance of survival if properly handled. Some corals are more easily fragged, and are better suited for the beginner, than others.
These types are what I will focus on for this blog. In general branching stony corals, and Zoo polyps, are among the easiest and most desired corals to frag. If you look around for your local reef or aquarium clubs, many of them will have frag swap meets, so that hobbyists can sell and trade frags with other hobbyists. It is a really great way to promote coral conservation: the more fragged corals you keep, the fewer corals need to be collected from the reefs. Frag swapping is also a great way to share knowledge, and increase survivability of captive corals. Propagated corals are hardier, and often more colorful, than wild corals. They have been raised in artificial conditions, and will usually keep their color. Wild corals can change color dramatically when adjusting to captive conditions.
There are a few basic items that you will need in order to start coral fragging. First, you need a suitable coral (Duh!). You should try to use only healthy coral colonies for fragging, as it will increase the survivability of both the parent and the cutting. While much fragging is done with damaged or dying corals in an attempt to save something, this is a much less successful way to produce coral frags, and should only be done as a last resort for the specimen. Fragging healthy corals will lead to a much better result.
Second, you will need something to mount the coral to, and there are several options here. Live rock rubble makes excellent, natural looking frags, but can be difficult to get in volume, and can be difficult to keep stable while the frag is securing itself. Commercially available Plugs and Disks, while less attractive initially, allow for quick and easy attaching. Using Plugs and Disks will also allow for easy volume production, as they will either fit snugly into egg crate material, or flat surfaces, so that you can grow out many frags, securely, in a small area. While we are on the subject of eggcrate, for those of you unfamiliar with the material, this can be found any home improvement center in the lighting section. Eggcrate can easily be cut and built into shelves and platforms to mount your frags for establishment and growth.
Next, you will need glue for attaching your cuttings to your rubble, plug, or disk. “Super Glue”,or Cyanoacrylate Gel is the glue of choice. This glue is harmless to the coral, dries quickly, and is easy to use. The glue is available in clear and pink colors, as well as different thicknesses for the job at hand. Your other choice is epoxy putty, this works well for some stony corals, and is well suited for use on rubble rock. Epoxy Putty is also available in several colors.
Finally, you will need cutting tools. Several types of cutters, scalpels, and snips are available on the market. Depending upon the type of coral being cut, different tools will work best, so it is best to have an assortment of tools, or even a kit at your disposal. What you may like to use may not be what I like to use, but if it suits your purposes, go for it. In general snips, shears, and cutters should be used on branching stony corals, and scalpels, razors, or chisels work best for Zooanthid polyps and encrusting corals.
You should strongly consider using safety goggles and rubber gloves, as many of the secretions and fluids that are produced when cutting corals can be very irritating, and even dangerous, to your skin and eyes. Protection is very important.
Once you have all the tools you need, the fragging process is easy. For stony coral, it is as simple as cutting the tips off of one or more of the branches of your parent colony and gluing the freshly cut tip to your plug or piece of rubble. Don’t be shy about the amount of glue that you use, you want to make sure that it stays attached so it can grow onto the plug. You can remove the coral from the water to perform this step. The parent colony will heal over and grow a new tip, or tips. The freshly attached frag will, over a period of weeks or months depending on species, grow over the glue and firmly attach to the plug.
Zoo Polyps can be removed from a parent colony by carefully removing them from the rock they are attached to with a scalpel or sharp chisel. Just a few full polyps are all that you need to start a new colony. With each removed polyp, a new frag colony can be started. Attach the cut polyp to a disk or piece of rubble rock, and then the polyp will attach and multiply on its own. Just as with the stony coral frag, the zoo polyp frag will grow over the glue and cover the disk or rock over a period of weeks to months.
This process can be repeated over and over, allowing you to produce many frags over time. Most people will choose to do this with just a few corals, and use these new frags to trade or sell for different species for their displays.
This covers the basic concepts behind coral propagation, for more detailed information on the subject there are a lot of great websites available. One of my favorite references on the subject is Anthony Calfo’s “Book of Coral Propagation”. Anthony has given several demonstrations and seminars on the subject here at TFP, and has a wealth of knowledge on the subject.
Until next blog
Dave
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Blue Collar Workers: A tribute to the Manual Laborers of Our Aquariums
Sep 11th
Welcome back Patty Little to That Fish Blog.
Labor Day in the U.S. is dedicated to the workers and was originally conceived to celebrate the strength and spirit of trades and labor organizations. I thought it might be nice to recognize some of the laborers that make the microcosm of the home aquarium successful to keep up with the Labor Day spirit. They may not get a paycheck, but they give it their all. Since they can’t enjoy a day off and a barbecue (though some of their relatives may be on it), let’s put on a blog parade for the little guys.
Marine
Kudos to the parasite cleaners, cleaner wrasses and cleaner shrimp, whose dedicated services are invaluable to the health of other reef citizens.
Thanks to the cucumbers, gobies, burrowing snails, sifting stars, and others who keep the substrate aerated and algae free, and to the Mower blennies, urchins, hermits, snails and tangs, the gardeners of the tank who keep the algae hedges trimmed and the macro algae forests at bay.
Hats off to the pest control squadron, peppermint shrimp, arrow crabs, flat-worm eaters, and others whom Nature intended to keep those pesky little critters in check.
And we can’t forget those who stay in the shadows, the detritivores. Though not very attractive, and often downright creepy, they are a key element removing and processing the crud (for lack of a better term) that accumulates from the stuff in our tanks. Amphipods, bristleworms, scavenger stars, snails, and nematodes to name just a few.
Freshwater
The freshwater community may not appear to be quite as complex, yet there are those who deserve a big pat on the dorsal (or maybe a special treat) today. The upkeep of a freshwater tank can be attributed to some specific characters in the tank.
Give a nod to the ever cleaning algae eaters, From Otos to Apple snails, their work is never done, scouring the glass, the rocks, and the other furniture tirelessly to keep the green monster under control.
Then there are the bottom feeders, the plecos, loaches, catfish whose lowly yet secure positions can only be replaced by the gravel siphon.
AND…
Perhaps the biggest honor should go to the dedicated aquarists out there who work hard with endless enthusiasm for their tanks and the creatures within. Though it is a “hobby”, and the labor involved is sometimes frustrating, exhausting, and messy, it can pay off when you look at your tank in awe. So thanks to all of you who dedicate your time and energy to your amazing tanks, to help out the little guys inside and reward everyone who you share it with. Happy Labor Day (Well, one week later)!
Patty
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Aquarium Slime: What is it and what to do about it?
Sep 9th
Please welcome back Desiree Leonard with another “What’s this and What do I do?” article.
This frequently encountered problem is Cyanobacteria or “Slime Algae”.
The name “slime algae” is a misnomer. Because Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic and aquatic, they are often called “blue-green algae”. In reality they are NOT algae, but something more in between algae and bacteria. Cyanobacteria are bacteria that manufacture their own food and live in colonies — large enough for you to see them! It’s these colonies that cause trouble for aquarists. They are not necessarily blue-green but can be black, green, blue green, and the familiar dark red sheets covering many surfaces in an aquarium.
The first thing aquarists who find an unwanted colony of cyanobacteria in their aquarium want to know is how to get rid of it. Well, this is where it gets tricky. To eradicate the problem – the particular trigger for the cyano bloom must be identified and treated. Not every bloom is in response to the same trigger and while throwing a chemical at the problem will perhaps clear it up temporarily, it will come back, and it will be worse. (More on this later.)
As with all types of algae, any uncontrolled growth indicates an imbalanced system. An imbalance in one or both of two main triggers can set off a cyano bloom.
• DOC – Dissolved Organic Carbon is a food source of the bacterial side of the bacteria-algae. Sources of dissolved carbon include: fish slime, algae, bacteria, digested/uneaten food, metabolic waste, live food, some aquarium additives etc.
• Lighting – The food source for the algal side of the bacteria-algae is light. Light bulb spectra shift to red as they age, resulting more favorable conditions for photosynthesis to take place more vigorously.
Note: It is said that slime is caused from phosphates and silicates in the water. It’s true that these 2 elements will certainly grow algae of all sorts, but if removed will not reduce or remove a slime problem.
Okay – so what DOES remove the problem?
• Control your DOC. This is best done by frequent water changes, good water movement (power heads and closed system circulation) and (this is important!) a good protein skimmer. An undersized or ineffective protein skimmer, high waste loads, or a combination thereof will increase the dissolved carbon level. As a rule of thumb for skimmers; buy one that is rated for at least twice the size of your tank. It may take some adjusting but a properly functioning skimmer can remove ½ cup of thick organic scum from a tank a day.
• Use an RO/DI filtering system (Reverse Osmosis/Deionization) for water changes whenever possible. This eliminates adding DOC into your tank via tap water.
• Add more lighting or change your bulbs. Change bulbs at least once every 9 to 12 months, don’t wait till they burn out. To be more cost effective, you can stagger your replacements rather than replacing them all at once, but if the slime persists you may have to go all out and do full replacement.
• Watch what you feed. Feed once a day. If you wish to feed twice, simply split the amount in half – don’t feed twice as much food. If you feed grocery store bought seafood or are making your own foods, rinse all foods thoroughly as seafood sold for human consumption is treated with phosphates and preservatives to keep it fresher longer. (It’s true!) Avoid flake foods, these dissolve too fast – pellets and crisps are much better and more palatable.
• If you aquarium is freshwater, the above treatments still apply, but a protein skimmer is not used. Water circulation, frequent water changes, extra charcoal filtration and changing lights all will be effective controls.
Disclaimer: I am in no way saying that if you have a slime outbreak, that you are a bad aquarist and your water is swill. Even in the best kept tanks there are still cyanobacteria. You will, in fact, see outbreaks in systems which are free of phosphate and silicate; they also have new halides, actinics and great water flow. There is always another factor – vitamin supplements, liquid foods, and other additives can add the organics that can trigger a cyano explosion. Look for anything different you are doing and stop doing it.
Right – that covers the long term, not so easy fix. But for those who still want a quick fix, there are products that are available to help remedy the problem. BUT – if the underlying issue is not addressed, don’t say I didn’t warn you…..
• Cyano is a gram negative (thin cell membrane) bacteria, much like most bacteria in the aquatic environment. A dose of Erythromycin will knock out the colony of slime quite quickly. However, since the nitrifying bacteria you need in your tank are gram negative as well, they will be affected also, either being killed or severely damaged. This treatment is more advisable in freshwater aquaria, but only with careful attention paid to water quality while treating. Like all antibiotics, if dosed frequently the cyano will develop a resistance.
• Chemi-Clean by Boyd Enterprises and Red Slime Control by Blue Life are highly effective reef safe treatments for slime. These are non-antibiotic formulations and will do less damage to your biological filter. If used frequently however, there is still a chance of the cyano developing a resistance.
I hope this info is helpful in your endeavors to keep a slime free tank. For more and more thorough information, check out these links! Happy Fish keeping!
http://www.netpets.org/fish/reference/reefref/cyanobacteria2.html
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