by Matthew Stansbery | Apr 17, 2014 | Conservation, Corals, Fish, Invertebrates
As ocean acidification increases so does the science behind it. Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) are studying the effects of CO2 emissions near the Milne Bay reef in Papua New Guniea, to better understand how a lowered PH effects reef... by Admin | Apr 15, 2014 | Conservation, Fish, Science
3 day old P. venusta larvae. Photo credit: Karen Brittian. Larval rearing trials began with the spawning of a Paracentropyge venusta pair in the summer of 2013. The first successful larval rearing trial started with a small spawn on November 13, 2013. This was the fifth larval run with this species and the focus was on food density and consumption at different developmental phases. The diet consisted of both cultured copepods and wild collected plankton with all food items being less than 100 microns in size. To assess consumption rates, five random samples were taken for initial food counts at the start of each test period. All food items added to the larval tank during the test period were counted while maintaining a density of 1 to 2 food items per ml in the water column. At the end of the time period counts were again done to determine larval consumption. At this point a 75% water change was carried out. I was surprised at the amount of food these little larvae could put away and as an example, at day 28 post hatch the larvae consumed approximately 2,150 food items each over a 12 hour period, (5:00am to 5:00pm). 32 day old P. venusta larvae. Photo credit: Leighton Lum. At one month of age the larvae started targeting larger prey items and ignored the food items less than 100 microns in size. At this point newly hatched and enriched Artemia were added to the diet along with adult cultured copepods. The larvae also began to display benthic behavior by associating with the corners of the tank, the air stone and airline tubing. A piece of dried coral rubble was added where the larvae took shelter. The larvae continued to grow and develop; they were moved into a growout tank at 57 days old. At this point we had 17 larvae remaining which equates to 6% survival from hatch. The development of juvenile colors came slowly. On day 95 they had black pigment on parts of their fins and tail. A month later at 130 days old they were the beautiful blue and yellow of the adults. 115 day old P. venusta juvenile. Photo credit: Leighton Lum. Larval rearing of this species proved relatively “easy” in their first few weeks of the larval stage after which point larval development and growth seemed to slow. This could be attributed to the type and amount of wild plankton collected and fed out at that time. I feel that the larval phase could be shortened and improved upon in the area of diet. After metamorphosis the larvae were again slow to develop with a reluctance to accept non-living food items and this is also another area for improvement. The Reef Frenzy and Herbivore Frenzy frozen foods were the first choice of the juveniles when they began to accept non-living food. Currently these juveniles are fairly bold and are consuming frozen and dry foods with gusto. by Matthew Stansbery | Apr 3, 2014 | Corals, Fish, Funny, Industry
We all love a good joke right? Especially in the case of a $30,000 fish being offered for $20 plus shipping?! And Electric Pink Frogspawns for $8 million dollars?! Here are just a couple of the antics you might have fell for on this years April Fools:... by Admin | Mar 25, 2014 | Conservation, Fish, Science, Tanks
Day 60 yellow tang larvae. Photo credit: Dean Kline.Since we last wrote at Day 50, we’ve observed a lot of interesting things with our yellow tang larvae. Probably the most important thing we observed is their very inefficient feeding capability. At their size (~1cm), newly hatched Artemia nauplii should have been easy prey, but time and time again we’d watch them strike and miss, or partially catch one only to spit it out. Artemia nauplii definitely don’t seem to be adequate to sustain yellow tang at this stage in development. Likewise enriched Artemia were all but rejected. Also, at this stage, the fish seem to rely on their large pectoral fins for propulsion and were very awkward moving around the tank. We would frequently observe them floundering about and then suddenly right themselves and swim on quite normally. This seemed to require a lot of energy, which in their compromised nutritional state, likely lead to some additional stress. They also tended to gravitate to the tank walls, and appeared to sometimes be grazing or picking things from the walls. Although we included live rock, macroalgae and other substrate in the tanks at this point, we did not observe any sign of the fish wanting to be near the bottom. Settlement seemed to be a long way off. Day 83 yellow tang larvae (Lucky). Photo credit: Chad Callan. From Day 50-60 we continued to lose fish daily; which seemed to be stuck in metamorphosis and were not advancing through this particular stage. We quickly realized that yellow tangs probably have some rather specific nutritional and/or environmental requirements that we were not meeting. We had only ~25 fish at day 60 and were down to 3 fish by Day 65. It seemed we were at the end of this run. However, some hope remained as our sole surviving fish, “Lucky”, refused to succumb to the fate of his tank-mates. We were surprised daily to see him swimming each morning from Day 67 onward. He seemed to be growing and his dorsal spine was definitely shrinking (a sign that this stage might be ending). Unfortunately, this “lucky streak” ended on Day 83. From the pictures you can certainly see that “Lucky’s” body was beginning to complete this stage of metamorphosis, with his dorsal spine nearly gone and head shape transforming. If we had only had a few more days with him! We learned a lot during this trial and will continue to work towards resolving these late-stage challenges in future attempts. We already have more larvae in the hatchery and will work our way back to this point again! In the meantime, Emma will continue to update you on her thesis research as she works to resolve some of their early mortality issues. So much still to learn! by Reef To Rainforest | Mar 18, 2014 | Fish, Science
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSI5GQx65q0 (we strongly suggest you watch this one full-screen, in the highest HD setting your monitor will support!) Tim Morrissey, Coral Aquarist at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, recently shared this wonderful extra-high definition video of the Sulawesi Reef at Henry Doorly. The system is around 20,000 gallons, with the actual display being about 10,000 of that total water volume. Morrissey filled us in that the system has been through a few renovations over the years; currently he is the lead aquarist in charge of this display, having taken over in the summer of 2013 when another aquarist departed the zoo. The 10,000 gallon display area houses hard coral, soft coral, clams, anemones and lots of fish. You’ll see a periodic surge that occurs during this feeding time video; Morrissey told us this is accomplished with a pneumatic valve operated by compressed air that opens and closes to dump water in the tank. The display is lit with 1000w and 400w metal halides; calcium supplementation is done with kalkwasser. A special thanks to Tim Morrissey for filling in some of the details on this unique aquarium. For those who are curious, Morrissey filmed this with a GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition.
