Yesterday I posted a breakdown of my personal aquariums, easing reader’s minds that as someone offering advice on marine aquariums, I actually have a few of them. After spending some time digging around forums (something I rarely do) I learned that the topic of...
I recently read a reefing blog that suggested some Internet and magazine “experts” didn’t own an aquarium, and were simply copying the success of other reef keepers to develop an online or print persona as an aquarium expert. I have commented in the past that I...
During my last post, I addressed the question of whether or not fish feel pain and have a conscious mind capable of seeking pleasure or feeling emotional stress. I want to expand on this topic, based on another scientific paper which includes more information and...
It’s long been touted that fish don’t feel pain. Aquarists may argue this point on both sides of the line. Some may believe that fish feel an entire array of emotions, while others would assume that physical responses to stimulus are autonomic, taking place without...
Human or anthropogenic threats to coral reefs have been well documented for the past several years. Suddenly, there appears to be a surge in both research and legislative action regarding how human activities affect coral reefs. Here in Maryland, the health of the...
During my last post, I focused on one parasite that rapidly kills fish and how to diagnose and treat it. Sadly, it is only a small fraction of the conversation on how to treat fish that succumb to any external parasites. The mechanisms that determine a fish’s ability...
In past posts, I’ve written about the effort of conservationists to put a stop to the collection and sale of marine organisms. I’ve also spoken at length about NOAA’s decision to add 20 different coral species (5 Caribbean, 15 Indo Pacific) to the list of threatened...
I have a bio-sphere, a small glass orb that I purchased from Amazon. Within it, there is a bio-pellet substrate bottom, marine water, a tiny clump of macro-algae and seven tiny marine shrimp. The entire ball is totally sealed, and the minute ecosystem within is said...
Most reef aquarists are familiar with coral’s symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae algae. These tiny algae are responsible for providing corals with nutrition, in the form of sucrose which is over-produced during photosynthesis. Scientists have uncovered that...
In expanding on my previous post about marine microbes, I thought I would dive a little deeper (no pun intended) into this subject. As I said in my last post, many aquarists don’t know the basics of marine microbe existence, mainly because it’s not often discussed in...