by AquaNerd | Nov 27, 2013 | Fish, Invertebrates, Science
By: Steve Vavrek The team down at New Life International has yet again come up with another great product. This time, the Herbivores get a turn. Introducing New Life Spectrum AlgaeMAX and Algae/Gel. AlgaeMAX and Algae/Gel use a wide range of aquatic vegetation, including Chlorella Algae, Spirulina, Ulva and Wakame Seaweed and more – 9 total varieties! Most herbivore diets just use a single source of seaweed, like kelp. The problem with that? No one ingredient alone has all the nutrition needed for healthy herbivores. Your aquarium needs veggies in a variety of colors and sources that mimics the plant diversity in their natural diets. In fact, too much kelp can cause digestive problems for fish. by AquaNerd | Nov 26, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Science
Way back in May, we caught wind of an underwater scene in the video game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, in which the playable characters get to dive into a luscious reef scene to engage the enemy. Being aquarists and video game junkies, we filed that into the back of our finds, only to get a fresh reminder of that scene over the weekend when playing Call of Duty. Armed with an Xbox One, which has been chewing up a lot of our spare time lately, we flew through each level, eventually stumbling upon this beautiful part of the game. Instantly reminded of the original article we wrote, we knew this would make for the perfect follow up. The scene opens at the mouth of a cave, in which your two-man team enters as they try to find a way to attack a special enemy ship from below. As your character exits the cave, you are greeted with tons of reef life that includes everything from corals and fish to sea urchins and sharks. The corals all look great, and the fish are surprisingly accurate in appearance. We spotted yellow tangs, copperband butterflyfish, powder blue tangs, regal angelfish, and heniochus butterflyfish. At a couple of different points, my character was attacked and killed by a shark, which obviously prompted the mission to start over. by Reef To Rainforest | Nov 26, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Invertebrates, Science, Seahorses
CORAL Magazine Volume 11, Number 1 Launching into 2014 and its 11th year of publishing, CORAL Magazine will take a fresh look a Seahorses with cutting edge secrets to their successful aquarium husbandry, feeding, and breeding, a species guide to the best (and worst species for captive systems), and an updated report on their status in the wild. CORAL January/February 2014 Cover. Click to enlarge. The availability of big, vibrantly colored and fascinating seahorses from captive-bred stocks has never been better, and improved foods and husbandry guides bring successful seahorse keeping within the reach of many more marine hobbyists. Seahorses also graced the first issue of CORAL, Volume 1, Number 1, long out of print and the most highly sought-after back issue of the magazine. This issue is a response to thousands of requests to revisit the subject of seahorses with updated advice and all-new images. Other issue highlights coming: • Gnarly Nematocysts: Invertebrate zoologist Dr. Ron Shimek reveals the astonishing powers and speeds of the microscopic stinging cells found in corals, sea anemones, and other members of the Phylum Cnidaria. Essential reading for every reef aquarist. • The Macroalgae Reef: An eye-opening look at unconventional reef aquariums aquascaped with beautiful macroalgae species, including a guide on how to balance a mix of corals and a choice of the best red and green marine plants. • Tamarin Wrasses: Once considered highly challenging to keep, the interesting and very appealing wrasses of the genus Anampses are becoming easier to maintain as experienced aquarists learn the tricks of acclimating and feeding them. Scott Michael offers an expert introduction this reef-safe group of labrids. • Donald Duck Shrimp: Profile of the highly unusual Long Snout, Plume or Donald Duck Shrimp, Leander plumosus, sure be added to many reefkeepers’ must-have lists of colorful invertebrates. • Playing With Fire: The First Captive-Breeding of the Flame Pipefish. Jim Welsh reports on his success with the beautiful Hawaiian endemic Dunkerocampus baldwinii, revealing many useful lessons for would-be breeders of other marine rarities. Deadline for materials to be included in this issue: December 10th. The issue has an on-sale date of January 7, 2014. The print edition of CORAL in English is distributed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, France, India, the Netherlands, Malta, and elsewhere. The Digital Edition is read in more than 100 countries worldwide. To find a local or regional dealer who offers CORAL Magazine, visit our current Source Directory. CORAL is published bimonthly by Reef to Rainforest Media, LLC in Shelburne, Vermont, in partnership with Natur und Tier –Verlag GmbH and Matthias Schmidt Publishing, Muenster, Germany, Founding Editor: Daniel Knop English Edition Editor & Publisher: James M. Lawrence Cover Images Hippocampus reidi: Jorg Background The Banggai Cardinalfish will be published by Reef to Rainforest Media, LLC and exclusively distributed by Two Little Fishies. On sale date: August 27, 2013. by AquaNerd | Nov 22, 2013 | Fish, Science
embedded content We absolutely love the videos from “zefrank1″, especially when they focus on marine like, like this latest clip dealing with “True Facts About the Cuttlefish”. Staying true to the format that has made this video series so popular, a Morgan Freeman-like voice narrates all of the interesting facts about the marvelous cuttlefish, never missing the opportunity to squeeze in some of the most hilarious and/or off-the-wall comments imaginable. The video is quite informative, describing the way cuttlefish mate, flee attackers, camouflage themselves, and much more. We highly recommend that you give the video a look, even if you aren’t a fan of this particular style of comedy. by AquaNerd | Nov 20, 2013 | Fish, Science
Every once in a while, an aquarium livestock retailer really loads up on the goods. Such is the case for Pacific Island Aquatics, who happen to have a rather impressive smorgasbord of really rare fish at this very moment. Other than the usual offering of several Hawaiian endemics, such as the bandit angelfish and the Hawaiian variant of the flame angel, PIA also has a pair of Chaetodon tinkeri butterflyfish, a pair of Cirrhilabrus earlei wrasse, a pair of Karen Brittain’s famous captive bred Amphiprion latezonatus clownfish, and the icing on the cake, a Dr. Seuss soapfish (Belonoperca pylei). With the exception of the soapfish, all of these rare gems are still listed as available on the PIA website. The soapfish hasn’t been listed as of yet, as the crew at Pacific Island Aquatics wants to take extra precautions with this individual. After all, these odd looking fish usually sell for $4000-5000 per, though we don’t have word yet on what this individual will fetch. This isn’t the first time that Pacific Island Aquatics has gotten their mitts on one of these extremely rare soapfish
