These are the plugs you’re looking for…

by | Jan 27, 2016 | Science | 1 comment

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Star Wars Themed coral settlement tiles (Photo Credit: Jamie Craggs)

Jedi Master Jamie Craggs is the aquarium curator from the Horniman Museum who, just a few weeks ago, made headlines with his successful in-vitro fertilization of captive coral . The Force is strong with Jamie Craggs’ new coral settlement tiles,  created from a galaxy far, far away (and a 9 to 1 coral sand/white cement mix)for his coral larvae to settle onto. It looks like Jamie got his creative idea from using Star Wars – shaped ice cube trays, not Jedi mind-tricks. He does report that it seems to be a weak mix… Maybe next time he should try a mix with the sands of Tatooine.
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This new development leads to two very important questions:
Will the coral larvae choose the dark side or the light?
Will these new tiles make the coral settle in less than twelve parsecs?
Either way, these tiles are cooler than Hoth’s atmosphere.

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I know that I, for sure, will be scavenging Jamie’s idea. I’m going out to the store, buying an ice cube tray, and making some Star Wars – themed coral plugs as soon as possible! Whether you’re Rebel scum or loyal to the Empire’s cause, I think we can all agree that these tiles are no Bantha-fodder. To all you reef lovers out there: May the Force be with you always!

  • Noel Heinsohn

    Noel started his passion for marine life back in high-school: as far away from the ocean as possible...Iowa. Thanks to an Aquarium Science high-school program he attended for several years at Central Campus. While attending high school, he worked at the local zoo as their aquarist and a local fish store. After high school, Noel attended Oregon Coast Community College for their aquarium science program to advance his knowledge. While in college he worked for Hatfield Marine Science center as an aquarist and interned for NOAA working with cold water aquaculture. For the last five years, he has been serving time at the Long Island Aquarium as their aquaculture aquarist. During this time he has raised 20+ species of fish and invertebrates, including the first captive-bred anthias and the first Genicanthus lamarcks.

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