That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Aquarists from the New England Aquarium and Roger Williams University reported the first ever captive rearing of the queen triggerfish, Balistes vetula.  Announced in September of 2009, this is considered a significant step forward in marine fish conservation, as this species, much in demand in the pet trade, is listed as threatened by the IUCN.

Conservation Implications

The gorgeous Queen Triggerfish, which approaches 3 feet in length, is the one of the most sought after of the triggerfish species regularly sold in the US pet trade.  Despite numerous captive breeding records, young triggerfishes have proven impossible to rear in captivity.  This situation, and the high prices (to $500) commanded by adult specimens, fuels an unsustainable trade in wild caught queen triggerfishes.  Read More »

It is amazing how little we know about our ocean’s ecosystems! We know that corals can defend themselves against other corals, invertebrates, and to a certain extent fish, but a recent study has found that corals may have another attacker to defend against. Algae has always been a problem with coral and coral reefs as a whole. The rapid growth and expansion of some macro algae will eventually choke out specific corals, killing them in a matter of days. Taxifolia a species of Caulerpa, began invading parts of the West Coast years ago, choking out everything in it’s path as it spread. Normally, we think of the tangling tendrils of green smothering the corals in darkness as they take over, slowly starving them of vital light and nutrients. However, a recent study performed by a professor and his graduate student at Georgia Tech have found algae that can kill coral on contact. Read More »

At this point, most people are aware of how important the coral reefs are to the world’s oceans and the world itself. With this knowledge, you would think that we would show more respect to this fragile environment. However, this is not the case, specifically in the Indo-Pacific region. This area is infamous for their destructive fishing techniques, using cyanide and dynamite to collect stunned fish. The use of cyanide has been banned for quite sometime, but is still being used by some to collect fish for the aquarium hobby. Cyanide fishing can damage or kill corals that are exposed during the catching process, not to mention that the fish that it was intended will most likely die days or weeks down the road. Blast fishing is just as bad if not worse, a battle that has been fought for decades. Read More »

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and most diverse coral reef in the world. The aquarium industry over the past few years has seen a growing list of fish and corals that have been made available from the Barrier Reef, and they’ve been some amazing specimens. The last thing anyone wants is anything damaging the pristine natural wonder, especially something so devastating as to restrict collection of fish and corals from selected areas again. Read More »

This coming weekend, That Fish Place/That Pet Place will celebrate its 37^th year.  Our Anniversary sale is more than just great specials and deals.  One of the great features of our spring event are the free seminars and workshops that we have offered over the years.  This year Julian Sprung, renowned author and aquarium expert, will be here on Saturday April 17^th to do two presentations for us, and on Sunday April 18^th our very own Cory Shank, will host a workshop for our customers. Read More »