by AquaNerd | Dec 20, 2013 | Fish, Science, Tanks
By: Carrie Shamo Apparently, it all comes down to luck when keeping Blue-Green Chromis. First-time saltwater tank owners want an easy-to-care-for fish to start their collection. So, when I asked my local fish store guy which type of fish he would recommend for a beginner with a 90 gallon tank, I was immediately directed to the Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis). These fish are inexpensive (I paid $4.00 each) and have remarkable coloration where the blue blends into the green, creating a shimmer effect. This really stands out, especially when you buy a school of them. They are pretty hardy and can tolerate fluctuations in water quality that commonly occur in beginner tanks. Blue-Green Chromis are listed as peaceful, community fish that will swim openly around the tank. I purchased five. For the first month, everything was peachy in my tank. The Chromis investigated the entire aquascape as a group by AquaNerd | Dec 18, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Science
Believe it or not, but Oceans Reefs & Aquariums (ORA) has released around half a dozen new captive bred fish onto the aquarium keeping world so far this year, not including corals, and they’re gearing up to add at least one more before 2013 draws to a close. Announced late afternoon yesterday on their blog, the ORA Yellowstriped Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus cyanosoma) is the latest offering from the Florida-based aquaculture specialists and the second one in less than a week. The fish isn’t new to the trade, and some hobbyists have bred them in captivity in the past, but this is the first time that captive bred individuals will be available on any sort of scale. ORA states in their announcement that only a small batch of these cardinalfish will be available, so if you want to get your hands on some, now is the time to act. As for the yellowstripe cardinal’s behavior and breeding characteristics, it operates a lot like most other cardinalfish. It is a peaceful fish that hails from various locales within the Indo-Pacific region and it does well in just about any community environment, though it might go after some small shrimp from time to time. by AquaNerd | Dec 15, 2013 | Corals, Science
Blue Tridacna Maxima Clam I still vividly remember my first Tridacnid clam. It was a very nerve-racking time in my journey through the hobby, as I was just starting to dabble in the realm of corals and, like most hobbyists, I wanted to do things the right way the first time around. As I became a little more comfortable with corals, I was strangely drawn to the “giant” clams, prompting me to research the available species for a significant amount of time. From everything I read, clams appeared to present a unique challenge; animals that had all of the same requirements as SPS corals, but with a whole slew of diseases and parasites that could cause some mysterious and untimely death. Being a new coral keeper at the time, this was very scary for me, as thoughts of dosing and light requirements flooded my thought process. My fascination eventually overcame my fears and concerns, however, leading to my first clam purchase and a complete shattering of the notion that clams are difficult to care for. In fact, my experience was so positive that I filled my growing mixed reef with several species clam, oftentimes with each species being represented multiple times. Over the years, I continued to grow my clam collection, hoping to, at some point, house one of each species readily and even not-so-readily available in the aquarium trade. by AquaNerd | Dec 11, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Industry, Photography, Science, Tanks
By: Daniel Leija The use of cell phones is nothing new in this hobby, as they’ve been a vital tool with applications that help us calculate how much calcium to dose in our tank and give us the ability to monitor and control our aquariums from afar. While these apps haven’t been around for too long, comparatively, something that has been in use for what seem like an eternity is cell phone cameras, and hobbyists are always improving aquarium photography with their phones. With the constant competition of who is the best and top dog of the smartphone industry, it is the camera in our phones that is always upgraded. For example, the iPhone 5 has an 8 megapixel camera. This year the iPhone 5s was released, and while it stayed with its 8 megapixel camera, it increased its aperture to f/2.4, allowing up to %33 more light into the camera. It also got really neat features like the burst mode allowing you to capture things in action with more success. It also got the slow-mo feature slowing videos down making for really neat shots of fish eating or swimming. While DSLR macro shots are relatively nice, we all know that is another hobby that gets expensive. Nothing is going to beat a nice crisp shot you get with a true macro lens attached to that awesome camera of your choice, but we have found great success snapping close up pictures of our tanks with our phones by AquaNerd | Dec 4, 2013 | Fish, Science
Ammon Covino of the Idaho Aquarium Earlier this year, Ammon Covino, who co-founded the Portland Aquarium and is the former president of the Idaho Aquarium, was arrested on charges of illegal harvesting of protected sharks and rays from Florida. After his initial arrest, he was taken into custody a second time for attempting to destroy evidence related to his case. He would go on to plead not guilty to the charges, as all criminals seem to do, but we’re happy to say that the almost year-long saga is drawing to a close. For his illegal harvesting, Covino was sentenced to one year and a day in prison and will be hit with a $10,000 fine, be forced to donate $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, and will be banned from working in a wildlife exhibit for a minimum of two years. While a year in the pokey might seem significant for the illegal harvesting activities, it pales in comparison to what Covino could have been sentenced to. Originally, he was up against a 20 year prison sentence and a million dollars or more in fines. According to court documents and the news stories surrounding the case, Covino went on to admit involvement in the illegal acquisition of three spotted eagle rays and a pair of lemon sharks, all of which were shipped to the Idaho Aquarium. According to the law, not only is it illegal to acquire protected livestock without specific documentation and permits, but it is also illegal to simply ship these animals
