This is second part of my article on fish nutrition and live foods for the reef aquarium, so if you missed the first installment, I suggest that you go back and read that introductory section first.…
Rob Toonen
Recent Content
Aquarium Invertebrates: Nutritional Value Of Live Foods For The Coral Reef Aquarium, Part 1
I am often asked questions about fish nutrition and live foods for the reef aquarium, so I wanted to try to write a general overview article on the subject. Therefore, instead of giving you a list of recommended foods to feed your fish, I have decided to take a more general approach and talk about all the different options for feeding a living miniature reef aquarium.…
Aquarium Invertebrates: Sea Pens
I was trying to decide what to cover for this article, and realized that there is not much information out there about sea pens. These beautiful animals are occasionally seen in pet shops, but if there is any information about them provided at all, my experience has been that information is usually wrong.…
Caring for an Octopus
I have seen a number of posts recently asking for information about keeping an octopus, and thought that would make a good subject for an article this month. I certainly understand the fascination with these incredible animals, because I feel the same way myself!…
Aquarium Invertebrates: Green-Lipped Mussels
I have recently seen a number of shops offering blue- or green-lipped mussels ( P. viridis ) for sale, and thought I would take some time to discuss them this month. I was particularly motivated to write this article after overhearing a local petshop employee telling a potential customer that they were a hardy addition to any reef aquarium.…
Aquarium Invertebrates: Sea Apples
“Death in a Colorful Package” is a title that has been used several times (e.g., Friese 1973, Wilkens 1998) to describe a marine invertebrate with aposematic coloration. Aposematic coloration is defined as a specific set of conspicuous colors and/or patterns of marking on an animal to make it easily recognizable in order to warn potential predators that the animal is poisonous, foul-tasting or otherwise potentially dangerous.…
Aquarium Invertebrates: Sea Cucumbers – Part II
I decided to continue on with the subject of sea cucumbers for this article, because there are many subjects that I mentioned but never really discussed at any length in the last article about medusa worms (Toonen 2002).…
Aquarium Invertebrates: The Medusa Worms
I was recently asked to provide some more information about medusa worms in one of the forums, and while searching the web to provide some links, I realized that there is very little information out there about the biology and aquarium care of these fascinating animals.…
Invertebrate Non-column: Christmas Tree Worms
Recently I have seen a number of questions on the reef bulletin boards about Christmas Tree Worms, members of the genus Spirobranchus, and decided to write something about their biology for this month. …
Invertebrate Non-Column: Flame Scallops
Each month, I see a number of posts on the various reef message boards asking about what to do for a flame or flashing scallop that is in decline in someone’s reef aquarium. Although these animals are beautiful, relatively cheap, and easily available in the pet trade, I find that there is precious little information about them available.…