by AquaNerd | Jan 4, 2014 | Science
It is a brand new year that is only days old, but that doesn’t seem to slow down the guys over at ORA. Along with the recent release of their beautiful Blue Hypnea macro algae just a few days ago ORA (which was technically still 2013), they are starting the year with a stunning release of a beautiful coral, the ORA Shortcake Acropora. Not to be confused with the famous Strawberry Shortcake, the ORA version unique in the fact that this piece was acquired from LiveAquaria back in 2009 as a wild Australian colony. This beautiful new coral has bright green with corallites that are a pink to red hue. It also has a dark red base with the polyps being of the same color…all very similar characteristics of the other shortcakes. In terms of care, ORA has given a few tips on this coral. They suggest to place this acro higher up in the aquarium, with middle to high intensity light and moderate to high flow. They have stated that this coral has grown in different environments for them and they believe it is a hardy specimen although a slow grower. Here is the link to the ORA website. by AquaNerd | Dec 27, 2013 | Fish, Science
For the latest AquaNerd Picture of the Week, we’re digging up an oldie but goodie. This image of an Acropora granulosa is one that we took a few years ago at a local fish store, T&T Fish and Reef. We originally posted the photo back in 2010, but since we were still a fledgeling little blog at the time, we felt that it didn’t get near enough love. So, we are shamelessly sharing it once again. The colony has was quite large, with the gorgeous branches and stems growing tightly together. The coral’s body sported an almost greenish hue, with the color quickly morphing into purple as you move toward each corallite. The actual polyp is sharp white, contrasting nicely with the purple background by AquaNerd | Dec 26, 2013 | Fish, Science
While everyone was tearing into Christmas presents yesterday, we couldn’t help but check in with the aquarium keeping world a time or two to see if there was anything exciting going on besides the normal holiday stuff. And boy did our perusing pay off. We stumbled across a set of images that Blue Harbor shared on their Facebook page that include some extremely rare members of the famous basslet genus, Lipogramma, that include the bicolor basslet (L. klayi) and the banded basslet (L. evides). Blue Harbor always has a smorgasboard of virtually unheard of and unattainable fish, and these are no different. by AquaNerd | Dec 24, 2013 | Corals, Equipment, Fish, Science
This year is quickly becoming a thing of the past, and as we creep forward to 2014, we couldn’t help but stop and reflect on all of the stories that made 2013 so memorable. While we have a handful of recap articles on the way, we wanted to first take a look at the top 10 most visited articles that hit your computer screens and mobile devices from the AquaNerd Blog. The list has a few shockers on it, at least from our standpoint, and they weren’t all good news for the aquarium hobby. So, check out the list and let us know what aquarium related stories had the biggest impact on you and your hobby. Continue below for the full list… Mindstream Aquarium Monitoring System Measures Twelve Parameters with One UnitThe Mindstream aquarium monitor came out of nowhere and news of its abilities took the hobby by storm. Able to monitor twelve different water paraters using fluorescent technology, this tiny device looked like it would be the perfect solution for hobbyists looking to get away from test kits. The Mindstream is set to debut sometime next year, as beta testing is still underway, and we can’t wait to see how well it performs. There is a ton of excitement around this product, so it’s no surprise to see it on our list…we just didn’t expect it to shoot to the top only because it wasn’t published until November. Newer, Bigger Maxspect R420R 200W Displayed at MACNAAlso making its debut in 2013 was a much larger version of the R420r from Maxspect. by AquaNerd | Dec 20, 2013 | Fish, Science
Photo Credit: Chad Vossen, Vossen Aquatics LLC The Banggai cardinalfish has been a staple in the marine aquarium hobby for many years, despite its high mortality in captivity and the intense pressure on wild populations. Because of the impact the trade has had on this species, hobbyists have gone above and beyond in their attempts to breed the species in captivity. One such individual who is breeding Banggais is Chad Vossen, of Vossen Aquatics, LLC. Chad has been breeding tons of fish this year, and this cardinalfish is just another one of his many success stories. And of course, he’s been sharing his successes with the rest of the aquarium community via social media, with this picture of a 10-day old Banggai egg really catching our eye. Standing out most to us in this egg is the detail of the fish’s eyes.
