by Saltwater Smarts | Mar 28, 2016 | Corals, Fish, Funny, Invertebrates, Opinion, Reef, Science
The blue-throat triggerfish (X. auromarginatus) in my aquarium exhibited repetitive behavior prior to transitioning the system to a reefFor today’s post, I’d like to elicit your thoughts on an interesting phenomenon I’ve observed in my aquarium, specifically involving an aggravating repetitive behavior exhibited until fairly recently by my pair of blue-throat triggerfish (Xanthichthys auromarginatus). Allow me to set the stage: I introduced the blue-throats to my 125-gallon about a year and a half ago when it was still a FOWLR system. Their tankmates at the time included a one-spot foxface (Siganus unimaculatus), yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens), tomato clownfish (Amphiprion frenatus), and sixline wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia).The repetitive behavior I’m referring to—and both the male and female exhibited it—was repeatedly swimming around the base of a powerhead mounted at the far left end of the tank (as I usually face it—you can actually view the tank from either side and one end) about 5 inches below the surface. They would swim in a circle 10, 15, even 20 times or more, briefly break away and swim about half the length of the tank, and then come right back to the powerhead to swim another set of “laps.” Both triggers fed with gusto and would swim up to greet me whenever I approached the tank, no doubt assuming more food was forthcoming, and sometimes they would stop the lap swimming and explore more of the tank for brief periods. But they would always revert to that same maddening behavior. I tried moving the powerhead next to my overflow box and closer to the surface so it would be harder to swim in a loop around it, but the triggers just wiggled their way through the narrowed pathway anyway. Afraid they’d get injured or flip out of the tank, I moved the powerhead back to its original location. by Saltwater Smarts | Mar 22, 2016 | Corals, Events, Fish, Opinion, Reef, Science, Tanks
In a few years, my reef will turn 50 years old. I believe I’ve avoided old tank syndrome by using the procedures outlined in this article.Old Tank Syndrome, or OTS, is something we have been hearing about since the hobby started, and I am not quite sure exactly what it means. Is it due to parameters, loss of diversity, lack of interest, diseases, metal accumulation, global warming, locusts, or all of the above? I think it is much simpler than “all of the above,” but some of those things are probably on the list of causes—especially locusts. It’s about bacteriaIn my opinion, OTS has to do with bacteria, or lack of it. Bacteria really run our tanks, and we are just there so the bacteria have something to make fun of. Without bacteria, our tanks would crash in less than a day. by Marcin Smok | Mar 16, 2016 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion, Tanks, Technology
All images by author There has never been a better time to be involved in an aquarium hobby than now; the last decade has brought a staggering number of new solutions and improvements to the industry and to our understanding of keeping a healthy fish... by ReefBum | Mar 15, 2016 | Equipment, Opinion, Reef, Science, Tanks
Ok, today LED’s are all the rage so you may be wondering why I am doing a review of a metal halide fixture, especially one that has been around for a number of years. Well, here is the story…..and I am sticking to it. When I pondered what light fixture to use for my new 187 gallon tank I gave LEDs some serious consideration. I had been out of the hobby for a couple of years but I still followed all the latest news and trends, a sign of a true reef-aholic! Nonetheless, on the lighting front it was obvious manufacturers had shifted their efforts away from metal halides towards LEDs. This presented a dilemma since I have always used metal halides on my SPS dominant by Saltwater Smarts | Feb 23, 2016 | Equipment, Fish, Opinion, Reef, Science
It’s important to reach novice marine aquarists with good information early in their hobby experienceA few weeks back, I had the privilege of speaking at the first annual Buckeye Reef Marine Expo down in Bowling Green, Ohio (which, by the way, was a tremendous success, thanks to the tireless efforts of Jesse Lambdin, Joe Perkins, and all the other folks at Buckeye Reef, who clearly went all out to make this a stellar debut event!). In the presentation, I discussed the role of information in promoting success in our hobby, particularly with respect to beginners. Among the various topics touched upon was “Challenges to Effective Information Sharing.” Today, I’d like to share these challenges with you and invite your input on others that might belong on the list as well as what you think we could do to overcome them—not just here at Saltwater Smarts, but throughout the hobby.Anyhow, here are some of the reasons we think we’re collectively “missing the boat” when it comes to reaching novice hobbyists with good information in a timely manner. But we’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject, so if you have anything to add, please don’t hesitate to share it in the comment section afterward. 1. The Echo-Chamber Effect In this all-too-familiar scenario, hobby information—or misinformation—gets picked up and repeated ad nauseam across the internet (e.g., garlic cures Cryptocaryon irritans). It can be very difficult for the novice hobbyist to distinguish between fact and fiction, and the repetitive nature of the information lends it an air of authority that may or may not be justified. by Austin Lefevre | Feb 15, 2016 | Conservation, Corals, Events, Eye Candy, Fish, Industry, Invertebrates, Opinion, Reef, Science, Sustainability, Tanks
A recently announced new exhibit at California Academy of Sciences is slated to open June 10th, 2016, “Twilight Zone: Deep Reefs Revealed“. For this mesophotic reef nerd nothing in a zoological setting could be more...
