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Contains articles featuring information, advice or answering questions regarding aquarium fish and other livestock.

Species Profile: Anglerfish

October 19, 2007 2 Comments 12895 Views

One of the most interesting fish available in the aquarium hobby, is also one of the most difficult to see. Anglerfishes, also known as frogfish, are masters of disguise and camouflage, and have developed an amazing array of shapes, colors and textures to allow them to blend into their surroundings. Some look like rocks, some look like sponges, some look like algae, and some look like aliens from a distant planet.
Anglerfish get their name from the specialized dorsal spines that are found on their foreheads that resemble a fishing line and lure. They use this special appendage to lure prey towards them, then eat it whole. Anglerfish have enormous mouths for their size, and are capable of eating objects as big as they are.
Anglerfish are easily kept in aquariums, and some species do well in fairly small aquariums. Make sure that you know the adult size of the species that you are planning to keep to make sure that you are giving them enough space, Anglers can reach there adult size fairly quickly, dont be fooled by the small size that are usually found in pet stores. Some species like the Giant Anglerfish, Antennarius commerson can get up to 13″ in length. Anglers are predators, so you must be careful when choosing tankmates, if an Angler thinks it can eat something it will try. Do not keep anglers with fish of the same size or smaller, they will be eaten. Someone once described them to me as a giant mouth with a little fish attached. You should also not keep Anglers with shrimp or other small inverts that may be tasty. Other than towards prey items, Anglers are not aggressive, and make fine tank mates for larger, non aggressive species. Do not keep Anglers with aggressive species, they are easily picked upon and have little in the way of self defense.
Anglers spend most of their time sitting on the bottom, or “walking” around on their modified pectoral fins, that look more like legs in some species. You will rarely see an Angler swimming around in the open, as they are poor swimmers.
Feed Anglers a varied diet of small live foods, such as ghost shrimp or guppies. You can also train Anglers to eat fresh or frozen foods with the use of a feeding prong.
I hope that you have found this information interesting, Anglers are one of my favorite fishes, and I hope this will inspire someone to give them a try.
Until next time,
Dave

Species Profile: Giant Clams

September 18, 2007 3 Comments 5574 Views


Just got back from MACNA XIX in Pittsburgh, and I would like to congratulate the Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society for hosting and outstanding conference.
The next few Blog topics will be about some of the Seminars and Events that I attended at this years MACNA conference.

One of the seminars that I found really interesting was the Giant Clam presentation by James Fatherree. James is the author of the book “Giant Clams in The Sea And The Aquarium”and gave a presentation based upon some of the most common questions that he is asked about Giant Clams, and the Answers to those questions.

How much light do I need to keep a Tridacna Clam? This is a question that I am commonly asked about clams from our customers here at TFP, and one of the questions that James Fatherree addressed during his presentation. How much light is needed is probably the most important question to be answered, in regard to keeping giant clams in the aquarium. Giant clams receive as much as 100 percent of their nutrition from light that provides energy for photosynthesis for their symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae). How much light depends much upon the species of clam that you are trying to keep. Clams are found in the oceans throughout a wide range of depths in the tropical Pacific Ocean, from near the oceans surface, down to more than 25 meters (83 feet). Some species are only found in fairly shallow water, like the Tridacna crocea, which require very intense lighting. Others Giant Clam species such as T. maximaand T. squamosa, are found at depths of up to 15 meters (50 feet) and required strong lighting. Another species of Giant Clam that is commonly kept in the aquarium trade, T. derasa, is found at depths of up to 25 meters (83 feet) and require moderate lighting. All these depths are extreme maximums, under ideal conditions. The vast majority of clams found in the wild are found at much shallower depths than these maximum. All species of Clams that are grown in commercial farms are typically grown in shallow pools or raceways under intense lighting.

The best answer to this question is that there is no such thing as too much light for Clams in the aquarium. Deeper water species, like Tridacna derasa and Hippopus hippopus, will tolerate fluorescent lighting in very shallow aquariums, or high output T-5, VHO, or Compact Fluorescent lighting in aquariums up to about 24” deep. All other clams should only be kept under the intensity of Metal Halide lighting. The deeper the aquarium the higher wattage metal halide light should be used, in general the more light you can provide, the higher your chances for long term health and growth.

For more great information on Giant Clams check out James Fatherree’s book “Giant Clams in The Sea And The Aquarium”

Hope this sheds some light on questions that you may have had about clams, until next time.

Dave

Species Profile; Queen Angel

September 12, 2007 1 Comment 5857 Views


Mellisa is back with some more tales of her time in Honduras. I hope that you enjoyed hearing about her diving adventures. This one is about her experience with the Queen Angel.

Welcome Melissa.

My favorite fish by far while diving in Roatan, Honduras was the Queen Angelfish, Holocanthus cillaris. Every dive we went on I always had my eyes on the look out for a queen. Queen Angelfish are among the most stunning fish in both juvenile and adult stages on the reef.

As far as captive care for a Queen Angelfish they require a large tank due to their large adult size of 15”. Angelfish in general require good water quality and places to hide to feel safe. It is not usually a good idea to house queen angelfish with any other angels unless it is in an extremely large tank, like in a public aquarium with thousands of gallons. This is because they become very territorial in a cramped tank. Juvenile queen angelfish are known to pick parasites from the gills and body of other larger fish. Queen angelfish should be fed a diet high in algae and sponge along with a variety of meaty foods mixed in. Angel Formula is a good staple food for a queen since it is made from marine sponges and algae. Saltwater Vita-Chem is another good product to mix in with the food to make it more nutritious and keep your angle happy and healthy for years to come.

The queen angelfish is also commonly confused with a similar species of angelfish, the Blue Angel Holocanthus bermudensis . Their juvenile colors are very similar but the Queen angel has curved bars where as the Blue Angelfish all fairly straight and vertical. The adult Queen Angelfish has a bright yellow tail and a brilliant blue crown on the top of its head thus making it worthy of the name “Queen” Angelfish.

Anyone interesed in keeping the Queen Angel in their aquarium can also check out this video I helped make: Queen Angel

~Melissa