by Heidi dM | Apr 12, 2024 | Aquaculture, Corals
What could be the largest coral restoration research trial ever, has been taking place on the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), along with university partners, is working together to give scientists a better understanding of how a...
by Tami Weiss | Jan 30, 2023 | Fish, Science, Seahorses
Introducing H. erectus var. Snowshine. As the head seahorse nerd and proprietor of FusedJaw.com, most of my articles shy away from my own operations. However, I’ve had a project underway I’ve been quietly working on for while that I’m excited to share: The Snowshines, a new variety of Hippocampus erectus. This new variety of seahorses, named Snowshines in honor of both the blustery state they were created (Wisconsin) a well as their unique coloration. Snowshines are still Lined Seahorses, H. erectus, but through selective breeding exhibit an unusual amount of pearlescent white markings, mixed with a base coloration that can manage a wide range of colors, all tinted with a glistening sheen. Light colored Snowshine H. erectus There have been a few varieties of seahorses offered by breeders based on color; but seahorses can change colors, making breeding for color a daunting task. Pintos, pieds, and other piebald varieties are probably the most well known, bur aquarists are frequently disappointed in the finicky color changes that can obscure the prize markings. The trouble with trying to breed for color with seahorses has always been that they are masters of camouflage and change to match their surrounding. But there is no set formula to encourage seahorses to display specific colors. There are certain tricks one can do, such as offer brightly colored holdfasts, but no one technique reliably guarantees color. And no one is quite sure of the extent that color is even an inheritable trait, as seahorses, like octopuses, use chromatophores (color-changing cells) to blend into their environment. Comparing Snowshines to wild-type H. erectus. Left shows a normal wild-type H. erectus at the bottom, and Snowshine var H. erectus above. Right image shows a wild-type H. erectus in the foreground, and Snowshine H. erectus behind it. I’ve been pondering this problem for a while, and decided to approach it from a different direction. Instead of attempting to breed for the base colors, which change, I’ve been selecting for the white coloration that occurs in the saddles and stars. Saddles are white patches that occur on the dorsal side of many seahorses, and stars are the small white dots that appear on many seahorses skin when displaying dark coloration (sometimes confused with ich by novice aquarists.) My observation is that these markings and color are more ‘sticky’ than the wide range of other colors H. erectus can produce. In working on this, I also noticed these markings seem have a certain amount of pearlescent shine. “Saddles” highlighted in yellow, “Stars” highlighted in blue on a wild-type H. erectus. Photo courtesy of Brian Gratwicke Snowshines are the results of using those observations to selectively breed a variety of seahorse that shows these traits amplified. Saddles merge to create large blocks of shiny white coloration. Many of them have masks much like certain clownfish varieties. And while the base color can change; black, green, yellow, and orange, brown are all color combinations I’ve seen underneath the white. My favorite, however, is when they display white on white – they not only show the white patches, but white coloration underneath, while displaying dark horizontal lines characteristic of H. erectus. Just like all seahorses, their colors are flexible, but the pearlescent “shine” stays. For example, many aquarists tend to shy away from darker colored seahorses. But with Snowshines, a black seahorse becomes a dramatic contrast of brilliant white and stark black. And while the exact coloration, shape and appearance does still change as they age as it appears with all seahorses, they keep the most dramatic coloration, the shine. Snowshine brother and sister from two different broods. Large male is 13 months and small female is 5 months in photo. The idea in selecting for these seahorses is partially based on the widespread interest in Hippocampus zebra, a rare deepwater seahorse that has only been found a handful of times. I’ve often wondered why someone doesn’t try to selectively breed H. erectus coloration to imitate H. zebra. H. erectus which has bold lines, but the distinctions between the lines and background colors of H. erectus isn’t very impressive. Eventually the idea brewed in my head long enough, and that someone became me. I didn’t end up with exactly what I set out to create, but I think I’ve created something much more interesting. A white-on-white Snowshine seahorse with bold horizontal stripes H. erectus is known for. Snowshines will be available for the first time through Diver’s Den. For those of you not familiar with Diver’s Den, it’s LiveAquaria.com’s WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) shop that let’s you purchase the exact fish or invertebrate you see photographed. If you’re interested in a truly unique seahorse, keep your eyes glued to Diver’s Den. Snowshines compared to normal H. erectus Snowshine showing white and brown coloration Snowshine seahorse pair showing mottled coloration This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 4th, 2013 at 8:29 am and is filed under Breeding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
by Rich Ross | Feb 18, 2022 | Industry
Old Men Yell at Clouds with Matt Pedersen - Episode 46 In this episode we interview Matt Pedersen to the potential update to the Lacey Act, the rise and fall of home fish breeding. Thank you to our sponsors: Biota Aquariums: https://www.thebiotagroup.com Saltwater Aquarium: https://www.SaltwaterAquarium.com?aff=20 The Veterans, Military, and Civil Service Discount program is now Open to Healthcare Workers. - https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/military-civil-servant-5-discount/?aff=20 Their loyalty program includes 5% Back via Reward points and Freebies https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/free-stuff.html?aff=20 Links: Reef to Rainforest Article: https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2022/02/09/aquarium-apocalypse-can-lacey-act-amendments-really-cripple-or-end-the-u-s-aquarium-and-pet-trade/ Latest call to action updates: https://aquariumtrade.org/ MiniWaters: http://miniwaters.fish/ Frank Marini: http://reefkeeping.com/authors/fm.php Get notified of new episodes by receiving an email from Reef Beef! https://reefbeefpodcast.com/notify/ Buy Reef Beef a Beer! https://reefbeefpodcast.com Become a Member: https://reefbeefpodcast.com/membership Time Stamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:16 Welcome Matt! 00:02:07 Good to see each other 00:03:26 What is new with Matt? 00:15:22 Matt the fish breeder 00:19:45 SPONSOR: Biota Aquariums 00:21:50 Mad Scientist Matt 00:44:02 SPONSOR: SaltwaterAquarium.com 00:46:06 Who is important to listen to? 00:52:18 Confirmation Bias and… 01:05:34 Become a member! 01:08:02 Matt’s Beef: Take House and Senate Bills Seriously 01:38:18 Last Words 01:42:40 Wrap Up 01:48:45 Bloopers
by xeniaforever | Oct 1, 2021 | Funny, Industry, Video
Reef Beef - Episode 31 - Go Fluc Yourself In this episode we talk about our time off, MACNA and the proceeding discussions, and using Fluconazole. Thank you to our sponsors: PolypLab https://www.polyplab.com And https://www.SaltwaterAquarium.com?aff=20 The Veterans, Military, and Civil Service Discount program is now Open to Healthcare Workers. - https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/military-civil-servant-5-discount/?aff=20 Their loyalty program includes 5% Back via Reward points and Freebies https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/free-stuff.html?aff=20 Links: Marine Breeding Initiative :http://www.mbisite.org/ MACNA 2021 Videos: https://masna.org/members/masna-member-videos/ Rich on Melev’s show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIP2QpqKJPw Get notified of new episodes by receiving an email from Reef Beef! https://reefbeefpodcast.com/notify/ Buy Reef Beef a Beer! https://reefbeefpodcast.com Become a Member: https://reefbeefpodcast.com/membership Time Stamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:36 How is Ben? 00:07:44 How is Rich? 00:14:43 SPONSOR: PolypLab 00:18:35 Ben buys Rich corals 00:20:46 Rich’s Nitrates 00:21:50 MACNA 2021 00:23:12 Dr. Andy Rhyne & Forums 00:27:56 SPONSOR: SaltwaterAquarium.com 00:31:54 Rich on Melev’s show 00:47:00 Support Reef Beef 00:47:55 Difficulty in setting up a reef tank 00:54:53 Fluconazole 01:06:23 Wrap Up 01:06:54 Bloopers
by AquaNerd | Jul 9, 2021 | Breeding, Clownfish, Fish
Sea and Reef has just released the 11th designer longfin clownfish. The new fish is a longfin version of the very popular Snow Storm Clownfish. As Manny aquarists know, longfin clownfish are not new to the hobby, but Sea & Reef’s new Longfin Clownfish have a much different look to them. Their longfin clownfish have long flowing fins with a rounded, more even outlines. This sets them apart from the typical longfin strain that display jagged, stiff fins with uneven edges often observed from other clownfish breeders. The reason for the different look of Sea & Reef’s longfin clownfish is due to different genetics. It was bound to happen that the Storm Clownfish gene and the Longfin gene were to meet at some point. Marine Biologist, Soren
