That Fish Place Aquariums and Fish Recap – Week of 8/24

Ah, Friday. Best day of the week! Though there is never a lack of interesting fish/aquarium/ocean related news to reinvigorate us and carry us through. Let’s take a look at the news and newbies!

The Grunion are running! AHHHHH! Actually, if you don’t know what grunion are and you’re concerned about why they are running, don’t worry, it’s actually a good thing. This might be something I would put on my bucket list of things to experience before I die. (I’m easily amused.) http://www.al.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-19/1250767015290200.xml&storylist=national&thispage=1

Of course I’d much rather be faced by thousands of little fish than have “Died of Toxic Algae Gases” imprinted on my death certificate. Visiting the French Coast is off my bucket list. Of course it will be something to reconsider if they get the situation under control in the next (hopefully) 50 years or so. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8195180.stm

If anything could be more exciting than the running of the grunion, check out the image captured by Google earth!!! I always knew she was there somewhere, not even Nessie can escape the spying eyes in the sky! http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2009/aug/27/loch-ness-monster-google-earth

I can’t imagine that the guy in this article has much left on his list if he has one. Seems to me if he wants to do something he has little trouble accomplishing his goals. This guy is pretty amazing IMHO, but not just for his endurance, but for his guts at swimming in some of the rivers and conditions he has. We aquarists all know what lurks in the muddy depths, so this guy gets a big WOW “what a crazy-cool thing you did!” from me! http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2007-04-07-amazon-swim_N.htm

Everybody has an opinion on goldfish in the aquarium world, and sadly, the opinions are not always good. But when you see those bulging eyes and that bobbing, bulbous body, its hard not to smile. In case you didn’t know already goldfish do have some redeeming qualities, and they may be cause to consider them again as a new family pet. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1209316/Gulp-Why-life-goldfish-bowl-lot-exciting-thought.html

There was an interesting article I read this week on the renewed interest of creating biotopes. I have always found the idea of setting up and maintaining a biotope interesting, and with all the new technology and advances in the aquarium world this is a better idea than ever! Biotopes are displays that are more true to nature, a little slice of a specific habitat and conditions with only plants and animals that are native to that habitat. These setups are a lot of fun to watch, and are great to reproduce for keeping specific fish in a habitat as close as possible to the one they’re found in naturally. I’m hoping that we can create one or two as retail displays in the future.
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html

We get questions all the time from customers about something that emerged from their live rock or from a coral or from seemingly nowhere. Strange worms are often a fact of life in reef aquaria, and though you may not always see them, chances are there are some hiding away in the dim recesses of your rock. This little gem might help you ID or at least get closer to IDing the little surprises that come along with reefing.

Lots of you have pretty strong opinions, like we do, on bill HR669. Frank gives a recap of what’s going on with it now over on the Reptile Blog.

The biggest news in the retail store this week is the new plant gravel in our plant room. The plant gravel has been furnished by Seachem and will not only improve the appearance of the space, but hopefully benefit the plants for their short time in the room. Check it out to see all the colors of the new substrate in action if you’re considering a substrate change or a new planted aquarium.

New and exciting this week at TFP:

Check the blog for pics of these guys.

I get excited any time we get Oxycheilinus sp., Cheilinus sp., and other similar wrasses. These fish are often overlooked and washed out in our pale tanks but they are real gems in the home aquarium with tons of personality and flashy color too. Check out the Snooty wrasses (How you can you not love something with a name like Snooty?) in stock this week, and watch of other similar wrasses like the Twospot Wrasse and Floral Wrasses periodically.

We got a Cave Bass this week! These guys aren’t available often but they are super neat. They’ll tend to hide out in shadowy caves in your tank, but you’ll be pleased just to know he’s there.

This little beauty, the White-banded Pygmy Wrasse, only gets to be about 2 inches long. A-dorable, and safe for the reef. Think nano reef or biotope!

People don’t often get excited about tunicates. Generally they look like a lump of putty or nothing much at all when they arrive, but the blue tunicate that arrived this week is quite a looker!

On the freshwater side, these Spotted Pike Characins are pretty eye catching. Not community friendly, but nice for the right tank!