Last week I had the pleasure of visiting one of the world’s premier seahorse aquaculture facilities: Seahorse Savvy, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The visit materialized when I realized that a pilgrimage to my homeland of Long Island would take me within a few...
For the first time ever, captive bred Gramma dejongi and Rainfordia opercularis will go on exhibit in a public aquarium in the coming weeks. Thanks to a generous donation by Fluid Dynamics International and its partners and benefactors (including Suffolk County...
Okay. Probably not, considering some of the contenders, but still...you have to admit that it's pretty awesome. One of the great benefits to maintaining an aquaculture infrastructure year-round is that when you are presented with unique opportunities to obtain...
Grammas are a group of small tropical Atlantic and Caribbean reef fishes belonging to the family Grammatidae which they share with the genus, Lipogramma. The family is commonly referred to as the reef basslets, a name that indicates their close evolutionary...
Last week the Federal Government’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) confirmed that, although the US trade embargo against Cuba expressly forbids the importation of a wide variety of products of Cuban origin, including aquarium fishes, there is no restriction on...
I am thrilled to announce that the Marine Science lab at Suffolk County Community College is the recipient of a $5000 grant from the Washington D.C. Area Marine Aquarist Society (WAMAS). Part of this club's stated mission is: "To foster the exchange of information,...
As reported on the Reef Threads Podcast, Gramma dejongi can now be added to the ever growing list of captive-bred marine fishes. Around two months ago, at the start of the their spawning season, the Gramma dejongi in my lab at Suffolk County Community College began to...
By Todd Gardner The flathead perch, Rainfordia opercularis, is a small colorful serranid from the coral reefs of eastern Australia. Due to its limited geographic range and elusive habits, this little bass is extraordinarily rare and expensive in the marine aquarium...
Last year, as I was attempting to design my dream larval culture system while staying within the space limitations of my small laboratory/classroom, I had the brilliant idea to use pseudo-kreisels as rearing tanks. Kreisel and pseudo-kreisel tanks are typically used...
By Todd Gardner The transition from full-time aquarist, to full-time professor has been quite an adjustment for me. I love teaching very much, and I am lucky to be at a school where I have so much freedom in my lab, however my lab is limited to a single room that...