by Barry Brown | Jul 9, 2016 | Fish, Reef, Science
Good morning friends, I have one of the hands down most colorful sponges I have ever found for you today and it was found attached to mangrove roots in Fuik Bay! Yesterday morning at around 8:30 I joined the scientists from Sirenas on a boat ride to Fuik Bay. We were loaded with cameras and dive gear for a fun morning of diving in shallow water along the mangrove roots in search of sponges for medical research. The boat ride there was rough but fun and only took around 20 minutes and once there I immediately jumped in with my tank and camera and went in search of sponges. The first thing I found on the sand was an upside down jellyfish called Cassiopeia xamachana and they were everywhere! As I swam around shooting them I was shocked at just how many colors they came in, the blue ones were out of this world! by Barry Brown | Jul 8, 2016 | Corals, Fish, Reef, Science
Good evening all, what a day!! I went with the Sirenas sponge group to Fuik Bay today (aboard a Boston whaler) and photographed some new sponges in shallow water that were attached to mangrove roots, talk about a fun adventure, I’ll post a photo tomorrow. Your photo today is a giant colony of Yellow Pencil corals that just got destroyed by a careless fisherman tossing his anchor overboard onto these fragile corals, what a major disaster! Below is an older photo from last year of the exact same colony before it got destroyed, what a difference…. by Saltwater Smarts | Jul 8, 2016 | Corals, Equipment, Fish, Opinion, Reef, Science
It’s certainly cause for celebration when a reluctant feeder starts eating in your aquariumIn discussing the myriad rewards of reefkeeping, we marine aquarium hobbyists tend, at least in my humble opinion, to exaggerate the “soothing and relaxing” nature of our systems. If I’m being perfectly honest, on balance I probably derive more tension than tranquility from this hobby—or at least both elements in equal measure. In part, this can be attributed to my characteristic pessimism. As my wife of nearly 25 years can attest, I’m rather a “glass-is-half-empty” sort of guy. When problems arise in any area of my life, it’s in my nature to fret about the outcome. Still there’s no denying that reefkeeping can be something of a “white-knuckle ride” for even the most upbeat hobbyist.My anxieties notwithstanding, there are certain simple joys I derive from marine aquarium keeping in addition to the obvious beauty the hobby brings to my life. Some of these might seem a little odd in the grand scheme of things, but they give me a sense of satisfaction and keep me coming back for more. Here are just a few examples: A completed cycle As I’ve written here many times, cycling an aquarium demands the patience of Job. by Barry Brown | Jul 8, 2016 | Fish, Reef, Science
Good morning friends, what a busy week!!! We have Fabien Cousteau here and the group from Sirenas collecting sponges for medical research meaning yours truly has not been able to find time to post! I will post a Fabien blog with photos either tomorrow or monday so hang in there, you know I’m good for it… So yesterday when I was returning from 100 feet after photographing Fabien and Paige from Sirenas in the submersible I ran into a beautiful blue wall of Blue Tangs and ended up following them until I ran low on air. This is called a Blue Tang Aggregation and it’s one of the greatest underwater shows on the planet. We see these large groups called aggregations on the reef here every single day and I still never seem to get tired of it, they are just so beautiful. Adult blue tangs have three social modes: territorial, wandering, and schooling. by AquaNerd | Jul 8, 2016 | Conservation, Fish, Reef, Science
Researchers in Texas have discovered an extremely rare, eyeless catfish once thought only to exist in Mexico. A pair of the endangered Mexican blindcat (Prietella phreatophila) was discovered in the depths of a limestone cave at Amistad National Recreation Area near Del Rio, Texas. The pair has since been moved to the San Antonio Zoo. “Since the 1960s, there have been rumors of sightings of blind, white catfishes in that area, but this is the first confirmation,” Dean Hendrickson, curator of ichthyology at the University of Texas at Austin, said in a press release. “I’ve seen more of these things than anybody, and these specimens look just like the ones from Mexico.” The Mexican blindcat is a species that grows no more than 3 inches by AquaNerd | Jun 29, 2016 | Corals, Fish, Invertebrates, Reef, Science
With Reef-A-Palooza almost upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to feature a WYSIWYG coral from the folks that put on the New York and Orlando shows, World Wide Corals. Normally I don’t “ohh and ahh” over a Rhodactis mushroom but this one looks very beautiful, making this our Featured Coral of the Week. As of today, they only have one Rhodactis like this in stock and WWC is offering it for $129.00. About: The Rhodactis or Bullseye mushroom, as it’s sometimes called, is often seen in violet to blue or with margins and highlights in orange. What makes this mushroom unique is the rainbow of colors seen in the specimen. Papillae form a cauliflower-like patterns, and they typically can
