by AquaNerd | Nov 5, 2016 | Corals, Opinion, Reef
Involving friends and family with your hobby is on the wish list for many. Rewarding as it is, it can be hard for others to understand your passion entirely. Having the support of your significant other goes a long way to make your hobby even more rewarding than it already is. Some of my closest friends just happen to be fish nerds just like me. I met most of them on forums and over the years, we developed a friendship that has it’s roots in a common passion. I think we all have that well meaning friend that thought your fish seemed extra hungry while you were away, and you came home to a jungle of algae. Friends that are not in the hobby are by Marcin Smok | Nov 1, 2016 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion, Photography
A long, long time ago, in the era of metal halide bulbs burning the insides of rusty pendants and row after row of buzzing fluorescent tubes, people used to verify the quality of fish tank lights by comparing... by Saltwater Smarts | Oct 1, 2016 | Fish, Industry, Opinion, Reef, Science
Hobby newcomers are often blissfully unaware of the challenges they may be putting themselves up againstQuestionI recently had a frustrating experience at a major chain pet store in my area. I watched as the aquarium department salesperson sold a type of butterflyfish that has a very specialized diet to a self-identified newbie, and he didn’t bother to tell this customer anything about it. The fish probably isn’t going to live very long for that person, so now I regret that I didn’t speak up at the time. Everyone says we hobbyists need to do prior research on all the animals we buy, but it seems to me the salesperson owed it to the customer to at least explain the fish’s feeding habits. What’s your take on this?” – Submitted by Veronica Answer Thanks for your question, Veronica! I’m afraid there’s no easy solution to this problem—or at least not one I’ve been able to brainstorm. While it is absolutely true that hobbyists should thoroughly research all of their livestock acquisitions, in my opinion, there’s a significant information gap for novices that’s extremely difficult to bridge. Why? by AquaNerd | Sep 30, 2016 | Corals, Opinion, Reef, Travel
Those of you who have visited us before will remember vividly your adventures in this region while those who haven’t been here yet will begin to dream about it. Raja Ampat, or ‘the Four Kings,’ is an archipelago made up of 1,500 islands in Indonesia’s West Papua province, It is situated in the center of the Coral Triangle and has some of the richest marine biodiversity on earth. Since Raja Ampat has become part of a protected marine park, a variety of animals including sharks, manta rays, dugongs and tortoises, are once again able to rule the ocean kingdom here. Of all these animals, the most curious is the Dugong. It is the last survivor of the Dugongidae family to inhabit the coral reefs of Indonesia. by Admin | Sep 9, 2016 | Fish, Opinion, Photography
The subject of keeping sharks and other large fish species in aquaria generates a lot of debate. Some folk say they should not be kept in such small enclosures – even a multi-million gallon public aquarium is small for a wide-ranging species after all, while... by Marcin Smok | Aug 22, 2016 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion, Technology
Germany’s Aquamedic is famous among reefkeepers for being the first company to popularize the automatic dosing pump. As hobbyists realized the importance of supplementing their reef tanks with calcium and alkalinity buffers, the Aquamedic Reefdoser was their...
