Reef Threads Podcast #267


Visit the Coral Fever website at coralfever.com

Seth Drago of Coral Fever, along with his friend Bobby Miller, returns, this time to talk about how he handles fish and coral shipments and what he uses for a quarantine procedure. Much to learn about cleaning fish in this podcast. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Gary and Christine

Sponsor: Rod’s Food
Rod’s Food website

Aerosol dispersal of pathogens
Aerosol dispersal of the fish pathogen, Amyloodinium ocellatum

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5 Cleaner Wrasse Myths

Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) offering some “dental care” to a potato grouper (Epinephelus tukula)The introduction of Labroides spp. cleaner wrasses to marine aquarium systems is generally ill-advised. Though some hobbyists report success in keeping these obligate cleaners long term, the vast majority of specimens entering the market are doomed to perish prematurely from starvation. Nonetheless, despite their abysmal captive survival rate, people continue to buy these wrasses, likely owing to some persistent misconceptions surrounding them. Among these myths are:1. If the wrasse can’t get enough to eat by cleaning, it will learn to accept other foods First off, there’s no if about it—a cleaner wrasse kept in a home aquarium cannot sustain itself long term by cleaning its tankmates. After all, in your average home system, there are going to be very few clients to service and they likely won’t have much of a parasite load or dead tissue to offer. So, if the wrasse doesn’t learn to recognize aquarium fare as edible, it’s destined to starve

Why Isn’t Cryptocaryon irritans a Major Problem for Wild Marine Fish?

Whitecheek Tang (Acanthurus nigricans) afflicted with Cryptocaryon irritansDuring yesterday’s Thanksgiving get-together, which my wife and I host for my side of the family every year, a teenaged nephew asked me about marine ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)—the one fish disease he’s heard something about from a friend who keeps saltwater tanks. As I explained the parasite and its lifecycle and why I think it’s so important to quarantine new specimens, he asked, “If ich spreads so easily, why aren’t all the fish in the ocean infected?” Thrilled that, for once at least, I could offer my curious young nephew something akin to wisdom, I explained that the following factors help keep ich infections at a manageable level in wild fish populations:The vastness of the ocean Even though coral reefs appear to be bristling with fish, the density of the fish population relative to the volume of the ocean is, if you’ll excuse the pun, a mere drop in the bucket. Remember, during the tomite, or theront, stage of the Cryptocaryon lifecycle, the free-swimming parasites must find a host fish to attach to and feed upon within a relatively short period or they die. In the vast ocean, with its limitless water volume and powerful, dynamic currents, only a very small number of tomites ever succeed in locating a host. On the other hand, in a closed aquarium system, even if the actual number of fish specimens is fairly small, the population density is still extremely high relative to the volume of water. Of course, the density of host-seeking parasites relative to the water volume is also very high.