by AquaNerd | Oct 21, 2013 | Equipment, Invertebrates, Tanks
In recent months, I’ve been toiling away at the nano aquarium, following a rigorous water change and maintenance schedule, and stocking it mostly with a few high end Zoanthids. The goal for this aquarium has been simplicity, since my work and personal schedules are both so hectic. Unfortunately, I couldn’t resist adding a rose bubble tip anemone, which isn’t exactly a difficult invertebrate even for a nano aquarium, but coupled with the type of equipment in the tank, housing the RBTA could (and did) lead to disaster. From the anemone’s introduction, I knew that it could wander all over the tank at will. I was also very aware that it could crawl into my VorTech MP10w water pump. Still, I pressed on. As a precaution, I did reduce the speed of the pump to just a fraction of what it normally operates at. I waited a few days, let the anemone settle in, then ramped up the speed of the pump. Of course, I monitored the anemone’s actions, mostly looking for any sort of movement. The anemone stayed in place, not moving an inch…until one random evening by AquaNerd | Oct 16, 2013 | Aquaculture, Fish, Industry
Clownfish come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, but this one is way out there. Recently on their Facebook page, Sustainable Aquatics shared an image of this very unique looking clownfish. The tiny Ocellaris has the typical orange, white, and black coloration, but it also possesses elaborate fins that would look more fitting on a betta fish. According to Sustainable Aquatics, a member of their staff found an odd looking clownfish with unusually long fins that was being harassed by its tankmates. Seeing just how unique the fish was, the staff member relocated the fish so that it could heal from all of its battle wounds. After all, clownfish can be very aggressive toward each other. After some time, the longfin clownfish was eventually paired with a wild-caught female Ocellaris. The hope obviously being that the longfin trait could be passed down to another generation and potentially blended with other clownfish aberrations to created a whole new genre of designer clown. From the wild Ocellaris x longfin clownfish pairing, an estimated total of 25,000 offspring have been hatched by AquaNerd | Oct 14, 2013 | Aquaculture, Fish
A little more than a year ago, ORA announced the availability of the Goldflake Maroon Clownfish, while at the same time teasing us with their tiny Gold Nugget Maroon Clowns. At the time, ORA wouldn’t give us a release date for the Gold Nuggets, instead only teasing us further by showing the fish off at MACNA 2012 and other trade shows. Well, we’re happy to report that the day has finally come for the clownfish to be commercially available, and the timing is perfect. Since traditional goldstripe maroon clowns take about a year to develop their characteristic gold coloration, their gold nugget offspring were expected to follow the same time frame. The fish start out with a large portion of their body being white, but as they mature, the yellowish gold really starts to set in. And by judging from the images we have seen, that gold coloration is going to be fantastic. by Admin | Oct 10, 2013 | Fish
We’ve kicked October off with a huge bang, or more like nine of them to be more specific. Earlier in the week, Koji Wada revealed through a teaser image on Facebook, that nine peppermint angelfish (Paracentropyge boylei) were recently brought into his store, Blue Harbor in Japan. His teaser images showed all of the fish being acclimated while still in their individual shipping containers, so it obviously did not show them at their best. After letting the fish settle in, however, Koji has released a much more fulfilling set of images (and videos) for us to feast our eyes upon. Now, anyone in the hobby ought to know just how rare a feat this is. Prior to 2013, only two of these angels were even known to be in captivity. This year, Koji managed to get his hands on 14 of them. He brought in five back in February, and an additional nine sometime at the end of September. On top of that, he also found a way to import a few other rare species, most notably a rare deepwater Chromis and the extremely rare Claire’s Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus claire). embedded content From all of the back and forth chatter we’ve been monitoring on various social media outlets and aquarium forums, all nine of the peppermint angels have been sold. by Todd Gardner | Oct 5, 2013 | Conservation, DIY, Eye Candy, Fish, Science
As the days shorten and the nights get colder in New York, the beach crowds and SCUBA divers give way to cold north winds and bundled-up fishermen, cashing in on the fall striped bass migration. Â Between the less-than-favorable weather, and the need to return to...
