by AquaNerd | Jul 22, 2013 | DIY, Fish, Science, Too Cute
Unless you’re a heartless Snorkel Bob supporter, you are really going to enjoy this heartwarming story about a beloved goldfish. Einstein, the fish, was stricken with a dibilitating disease that prevented it from being able to swim. All the fish could do was go belly up and sink to the bottom. The fish’s owner, Leighton Naylor, couldn’t sit idly by while the fish suffered, so he fashioned a life jacket out of air tubing to keep the fish swimming upright and off the tank’s gravel bottom. Naylor claims that the fish wasn’t too efficient with the buoyancy aid at first, as Einstein would swim into objects and get stuck. Because of this, Naylor made the aquarium a little more disabled fish friendly by removing a lot of the decor that only served as obstacles. Since the implementation of the life jacket and rearranging the decor, Einstein has been doing well. He cannot swim to the surface to eat, but is fed through a tube that is lowered into the water. It’s stories like these that show the more loving side of aquarium keeping. Most of us take great pride in our tanks and get attached to each and every fish we keep, regardless of what type of tank you have or how long you’ve been in the hobby. Story via: I F*cking Love Science and Buzz Patrol by AquaNerd | Jul 3, 2013 | Aquaculture, Events, Fish, Science
The MBI Workshop is the only marine aquarium conference that is dedicated strictly to captive breeding and nothing else, and this year’s gathering is just around the corner. In less than two weeks, aquarium breeders from around the globe will join together at the Cranbrook Institute of Science to listen to world renowned guest speakers and share their experience with breeding marine ornamentals. The guest speaker list is composed of Matthew Carberry, Chad Clayton, Martin Moe and David Watson, with a lunch breaking the day into two even blocks. The conference opens up to the public at 8:30 am on July 13th, closing with its final guest speaker at 4:15 pm. Unlike other aquarium conferences, the MBI Workshop won’t focus on the latest and greatest aquarium gear. Instead, these guys and gals will do nothing more than chat about breeding stuff, a cause we wish we had more time to invest in. In addition to the single day workshop, this particular event is flanked by before and after get togethers that are sure to be fun. If you’ve ever hobknobbed with us aquarium nerds, then you know what we’re talking about. Tickets are sold online only (see link at the top of this page) to the tune of $45, and it gets you into full event including all of the speakers, lunch during the workshop, and even the Sunday BBQ. So, if you’re interested in marine breeding and have a free weekend on July 13th, be sure to swing by and say hello. by Reef To Rainforest | Jun 24, 2013 | Conservation, Corals, Fish, Travel
Fiji’s Moala coral gardens, June 2013. Image by Dr. Andy Bruckner, Global Reef Expedition. By Andrew Bruckner, Ph.D. Global Reef Expedition Fiji’s reefs house some 333 species of corals of all shapes, sizes and colors, many of which we’ve seen in Lau Province. We’ve examined many reef types, some which fringe the shore (fringing reefs), some in the center of a lagoon (lagoonal patch reefs), and some that form a barrier between the open ocean and the lagoon (barrier reefs). We’ve also surveyed different habitats within these reefs – the reef flat, reef crest, pinnacles and coral bommies, fore reef slope and lagoonal floor, from about 30 meters (m) depth to just below the water’s surface. Unusual pigmentation in a Leptoseris sp. colony in Fiji. Image by Dr. Andy Bruckner. For each survey, we record the type of coral, how much of the bottom is covered by each coral, the sizes of the corals, and their health, within a defined area (10 m belt transect). What’s remarkable is how vastly different the reefs are on each island and sometimes between reefs within an island. After nine islands, we continue to add new corals to our species list and often come up from a dive in awe of what we’ve witnessed. Some species, such as the magnificent bubble coral (Plerogyra sinuosa), whose surface covered in translucent grape-like bubbles by day and elongate, deadly tentacles by night (well, not to a human, but extremely painful if you accidentally run into them), we’ve seen just once. Other corals, such as the large table-forming corals in the genus Acropora (acroporids) are found everywhere. They often form multiple canopy layers, towering above other corals and covering much of the bottom. Nevertheless, these tables (and other acroporids such as the staghorn corals) consist of more than 150 different species, each with different patterns of branching, different skeletal structures, and highly variable coloration. Huge Merulina sp. colony in Fiji. Image by Dr. Andy Bruckner. The state of the corals also varies from one reef to the next. We’ve seen reefs with nearly 100% of the bottom covered by coral and others with few corals. Also, the size of individual colonies can vary from just a few centimeters to over 5 m (e.g. Diploastrea). Because we have no way of knowing the exact age of a coral, we measure their sizes – this is a proxy for age which provides useful information on the past history and possibly future trajectories of a coral reef. For instance a reef with only small corals is likely to have been severely damaged but is recovering, whereas a reef with only large corals may have had a long history without disturbance. An assessment of coral condition (e.g. health) provides further information necessary to understand possible causes of damage or threats, and can help predict the future fate of that reef. So how healthy are the corals of Lau Province? Check back tomorrow to find out. CREDIT Visit the Global Reef Expedition Site to sign up for frequent updates directly from the science team. Science Without Borders® is the overarching theme of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. Its purposes are to provide financial sponsorship of marine conservation programs and scientific research, and to promote public awareness of the need to preserve, protect and restore the world’s oceans and aquatic resources. by Reef To Rainforest | Jun 17, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Opinion, Science, Tanks
The Poster Child of the Tang Police: Paracanthurus hepatus is actually very site-specific and not range as widely over the reef as do other tang species. By: C.M. Schwimm* Most marine aquarists who frequent online message boards have heard the term “Tang Police” (abbreviated here as TP). Some are even members of this group themselves, while a few other unlucky souls have been “arrested” by them. Conversely, there are also a few people willing to challenge their assertions regarding the swimming space requirements of Acanthurids (surgeonfishes and tangs). For those who haven’t heard the term, it will help to define the phrase “Tang Police.” The best way to identify an officer in this force is by hearing him LOUDLY express his opinions regarding the amount of swimming space required by tangs (or other species). The author, anonymous but well known to the Tang Police. In most cases, there is the lack of finesse in the approach of these vigilantes. The TP often participate in a pile-on where an unsuspecting beginning aquarist asks about buying a Pacific Blue/Hepatus Tang for their 29-gallon tank. Multiple rude, curt and insulting responses are common, and the OP (original poster) often slinks away, very embarrassed. Now, it is important to note that nobody ever admits to being a member of the TP. The term is actually considered insulting, so nobody wears it as a badge of honor. One forum moderator explains it thusly: “… the higher ups here at [Forum Name withheld] (and not on a whim) have decided that it [the term Tang Police] is an insult, one that shouldn’t be said.” Feeling Like a Tang Although the individual enforcers usually won’t admit to being TP members, and a forum I have often frequented has forbidden the use of the term, people will still make statements such as this: “I just care about tangs, so if that makes me a member in your eyes, then so be it.” This is an important point. A person has every right to an opinion about how much space a tang needs, but if they don’t get in your face about it, they are not a member of the TP. Another common trait is anthropomorphizing of the issue – a TP deputy will often be heard saying things along these lines: “that tang cannot be happy in that size aquarium” or “how would you like it if you were locked into a 10-foot-by-10-foot room your whole life?” One interesting feature common to most of these opinions is the preference for giving tangs huge amounts of aquarium space, yet almost universally ignoring the swimming needs of other very active fishes such as large wrasses, fusilers, and parrotfishes. Enter the Professional Aquarist So what size tank do police members advocate for tangs? The tongue-in-cheek answer is: 50% larger than the tank you have, or they wouldn’t be confronting you about it in the first place. In reality, the message board most often patrolled by the TP does have a set of guidelines, based on personal opinions, which they loosely follow. As an experienced professional aquarist, my minimum tank sizes run about 25% smaller than those they advocate for. This is a relatively small difference, except for Paracanthurus hepatus where they suggest a minimum aquarium size of 240 gallons and eight-feet long. This is wholly unrealistic and puts most home aquarists housing this species in jeopardy of being thrown in jail by the TP. My own research shows that the minimum tank size for an adult Hepatus Tang (typical captive adult size of 11 inches) is on the order of 24 inches by 65 inches of open water space, or about that found in a typical a 150-gallon aquarium. This Neon Fusilier, Pterocaesio tile, is an open-water swimmer that needs more room than any tang, yet the Tang Police never seem concerned about it and other wide-ranging species and genera. Science-based Guidelines Here are some considerations regarding any claims as to the amount of swimming room that a fish needs in captivity: 1) If somebody tells you for example, that a 6” fish needs a 100-gallon aquarium— that is wrong from the start. This is like saying your car gets 500 pounds to the mile. There is no way this can ever work unless you are speaking of one specific size of a fish in one size aquarium. The example I always use is that you can put 10 two-inch Green Chromis in a 50-gallon aquarium, but try to put one 20-inch grouper in there! The total inches of fish are the same, but the fish’s VOLUME goes up exponentially as the length increases in a linear fashion. Now, what DOES work is to compare the length of the fish to the open water area of the tank (length plus width). Put this into a ratio to facilitate comparisons between tanks. For example, a 4-inch angelfish in an aquarium that has an open water length of 40” and an open water width of 12” would result in a ratio of which reduces to 1:13, an adequate minimum amount of space. 2) Comparing apples to oranges is very common in these discussions. If you tell me that you want to put a six-inch long tang in a 100-gallon aquarium, I have a mind’s eye view of an open-water swimming area (length plus width) of around 80 inches. | This is because a public aquarium administrator, I automatically just deduct 15 percent from the gross dimensions of any aquarium for “decorations.” A reef aquarist has a much different view of a 100-gallon aquarium (usually filled with live rock and corals). Their thought is that this aquarium has only perhaps 50-inches of open swimming room. No wonder there is a lack of agreement in some cases. So— the first step is to just work with open water area, and forget the actual gross volume of the aquarium altogether. 3) People are really, really bad at estimating the size of fish in aquariums. I performed a survey 25 years ago, in which I polled volunteers and staff at a public aquarium regarding how large they thought fish in the exhibits were. The aquarium staff did a pretty good job of estimating the size of the fish (taking into account magnification of the water, etc.) while the volunteers were all over the board, with a range of around plus or minus 80 percent. The thought here is that some people may write “six-inch tang,” but if you actually took the fish out of the water and measured it, the length might only be five inches. 4) Frequently, the FishBase web site (www.fishbase.org) is used to identify the maximum size that a fish will reach. The Tang Police then use this measurement and their opinion as to swimming room needs, to determine a suitable aquarium size. The problem is that the FishBase information is for the maximum recorded size of an adult fish. This is larger than the normal adult size for that species. In addition, some tangs are sexually dimorphic, with “supermales” growing much larger than normal. This is not seen in captivity. Finally, captive fish do not grow as large as they do in the wild. In one study that I made, a group of adult, public aquarium fish had reached on average, only 66 percent of the maximum FishBase length. To be a bit conservative, it is probably best to use 80 percent of the maximum FishBase length as the size to which the fish will grow in an aquarium. 5) It is inherently easier to add any “buffer” to an aquarium size requirement. You cannot be proved wrong if you select a tank size that is larger than a fish really needs. The question though, is what is the minimum suitable tank size for a given species of fish? If a fish shows no artifact of captivity, (bruised snout, bent fins, shortened lifespan, etc.) then you are meeting their minimum requirements. It is often stated that the justification for giving a tang say, an eight-foot long tank is that this is more like what the fish would experience on a reef. The problem is that the biomass of fish in the ocean is on the order of one clownfish in a 20,000 gallon tank (The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics gives the density of living matter in the oceans as: 15*10-8g/cm3.)—so if you want to keep things on the same order of magnitude, you better not keep ANY fish in your tank. The difference between a 75 and a 150-gallon aquarium is inconsequential compared to the potential amount of swimming room that fish have in the wild. Some species such as this Spotted Unicornfish, Naso brevirostris, have more open-water habits and grow quite large. These DO require large aquariums. 6) As previously noted, the Tang Constabulary will frequently state: “That fish cannot be happy in that size tank”. Now, I hope they don’t mean “happy” as in human emotion, and I’ll assume that they really mean “unstressed.” So – their statement is then, that fish kept in smaller aquariums are more stressed. I spoke with a researcher who has actually measured cortisol (stress hormone) levels in wild and captive parrotfish (Turner et-al 2003). He states that after one week of acclimation, there was no difference in cortisol levels between sub-adult parrotfish housed in 50-gallon aquariums compared to those housed in 150-gallon tanks (Turner 2010, pers. comm.). Additionally, he found “…there was no difference in respective hormone levels between aquarium and field environments.” When confronted with this information, one member of the Tang Police stated that this was “not a valid point because parrotfish are not tangs.” Actually, as experienced aquarists know, parrotfish range more widely over reefs than tangs do, and should therefore be given more swimming room. 7) Tangs are not equal in regards to their swimming needs. Juvenile Acanthurus and Paracanthurus are quite site-specific and do not roam widely across the reef. Zebrasoma are also more attracted to bottom structure. The members of the genus Naso and Prionurus are the true open water swimmers; they are the ones that require special consideration. Remember also that tangs are browsers, and swim widely in order to locate sufficient food. This does not equate to their wanting to do this. Many wide-ranging fish are content to reside in one small area as long as there is a good food supply (as evidenced by pelagic whale sharks congregating in small areas where the density of plankton is high). 8) Everything else in aquarium husbandry is closely measured – temperature, water quality, medication doses, etc. I’ve never been able to understand why some people just toss that all out and say, “A fish needs this size tank because that is what feels right to me.” Sensible Metrics They are working backwards to the answer of swimming space requirements. They subjectively start with what they believe to be an appropriate amount of space and then try to develop criteria to support that. I prefer to first identify objective metrics, and then develop suitable aquarium sizes from that. My minimum metrics for captive fishes are as follows: If the fish shows no signs of chronic disease or abnormality, exhibits normal feeding and reproductive behaviors and most importantly, exhibits a normal lifespan compared to that of wild counterparts (minus the predation that wild fish incur of course!), then there is no other metric we can use to determine if a certain suite of husbandry techniques are suitable or not. So – if you have read this far, the topic must be of particular interest to you. Hopefully you don’t think that I advocate keeping fish in overly-small aquariums, as I do not. I always strive to give my captive fish the best possible environment. The exhibits I use for tangs at the public aquarium where I work range from 450 to 1,300 gallons. What I am advocating for here is a more civil discourse, more careful consideration of measurable husbandry parameters, and less reliance on subjective personal opinion. Police or Gestapo? So here is the outcome of my recently being arrested by the “Tang Police” one final time, two years after my first run-in with them. I made a joke at one administrator’s expense (after he made a hugely subjective and derogative comment regarding the aquarium decision-making ability of another person). This was not a smart move on my part – he quickly brought in another forum moderator who deleted my avatar (that had been used there for over four years), they deleted messages in which I linked to outside resources, and ultimately deleted my signature line (which was a legal disclaimer regarding any opinions expressed are mine alone). Of course, I tried to change things back and this resulted in my having so many permanent infractions that I was just about to be Banned for Life. I left that particular message board for another one where the Tang Police are not given so much support. The ironic thing was that of my nearly 2,000 posts there made over 10 years, the vast majority were informational—frequently offering unique information to people having fish disease issues. So I was actually a net gain of information for their community, despite my few run-ins with the Tang Police. ______________________________________________ Reference: Turner, J.W. Jr., Nemeth, R., Rogers, C. 2003. Measurement of fecal glucocorticoids in parrotfish to assess stress. General and Comparative Endocrinology 133 (2003) 341-352 Author’s Note * C.M. Schwimm is a nom de plume, used for professional reasons. The Police will know who I am. The views expressed in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer or the editors of this magazine. by Reef To Rainforest | Jun 4, 2013 | Conservation, Fish, Science
A Banggai Cardinalfish book sneak peek – the opening spread for the Appearance & Anatomy chapter, featuring artwork by project artist Karen Talbot. A year ago, I was preparing for a trip to Indonesia to immerse myself in the world of a small reef fish called the Banggai cardinalfish with the intent of contributing to an important book on the species. Editor James Lawrence recently sent me a revised copy of the manuscript (including some absolutely stunning layouts shown here), and it has me thinking back over the past year and the places this project has taken me both physically and intellectually. It also has me thinking about getting the book into your hands! Taking the Time to Get it Right While travelling halfway around the world to better understand a fish and its relationship to its environment and the fishers who interact with it is something to which I am not unaccustomed in my line of work, there was (and remains) something different—something very special—about the Banngai cardinalfish project. For one, it has been a much larger project than any of us anticipated, and the challenges along the way have been significant. From lengthy delays in getting the science done right to dealing with our own losses of broodstock secondary to the very virus about which we were writing, everything seemed to take twice as long as expected. Having said that, what we have learned has reinforced the importance of embarking on the Project in the first place. We have made the internal decision to take the time to do it right, and while we know the delay is frustrating, we think the final product (which is now over 300 pages–about 35% more than projected!) will more than justify our decision. As you know, we had originally planned on having the book signed, sealed and delivered last September, a timeline that, with hindsight, seems absurd. Speaking for myself, I thought I had a pretty good handle on the species and the fishery. After all, I have been covering it since 2008. I knew I needed to get up to speed on the virus impacting the species and the current fisheries data, and I knew I’d need to dig a little deeper into the species-specific physiology (with the help of my scientific illustrator wife and her microscope, of course), but that wouldn’t take that long, would it? It did…and it has…and it continues to. Take a lot of time, that is. A Deep Sense of Responsibility to the Reader When I work on any project, be it a blog entry, a feature magazine article or a book, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to give the reader as full a picture as possible, not because I want to tell the reader what to think, but rather because I want the reader to have enough information on board to engage intelligently in the dialog. To me, promoting discussion on topics I think are important is my number one job as a writer. A Banggai Cardinalfish book sneak peek – Into the Banggai Triangle opening spread. When it comes to the Banggai project, we have found a space full of controversy and politics, conflicting information and strong emotions. Capturing the many facets of this story, while also trying to work with divergent groups and navigate a geopolitical minefield inhabited by NGOs, international fisheries managers and a marine ornamental trade dealing with a host of its own controversial issues (many of which are both directly and indirectly tied to the Banggai cardinalfish) has been one of the most complex assignments I have undertaken. Collaborating with international partners has proved logistically challenging but essential. Dealing with a story that keeps evolving (I just got a call last week that could have major implications on several key aspects of the book), can be exasperating. Following each twist and turn has meant travelling thousands of miles, reading countless pages, taking multiple notebooks full of notes, and shooting more images than I care to edit. In all this, I want you, the reader, to know you have been on my shoulder. Whether you are an aquarist, a diver, a biologist, a fisheries manager, an aquaculturist, or any number of other epitaphs of potential readers of this book, I have tried to keep you in mind—and my responsibility to you—throughout the process. All of us who have worked on the Project have gone way beyond the work for which we knew we would be compensated, because the work has become a passion—because we care so much about the role this book can play in promoting critical conversations. Attempting to package all of this into a book that will encourage intelligent and essential dialog about the species and its future has been an extremely difficult and yet an infinitely rewarding experience. As I work my way through the draft manuscript James sent me, I am growing increasingly excited to get this book—and more importantly—this information out into the world. As I look at the layouts the team at Reef to Rainforest in Vermont has put together, I become more and more enthused about what we have accomplished and how that will soon be handed over to you so you can take the next step. Nuts and Bolts So what does this all look like in pragmatic terms? It means we are woefully behind our original timeline, but it also means we are rapidly closing in on a publication date of a book about which we are very proud. As we have asked already, we continue to request that you indulge us. Those of you who subscribe to CORAL and AMAZONAS know the very high quality of production for which Reef to Rainforest is known, and producing a book of equal quality and beauty takes time, but we think it’s worth it. A Banggai Cardinalfish book sneak peek – opening spread for The Cardinalfishes chapter. As much of the work has now shifted to production and moving quickly toward presses running, Karen and I here in Maine are freed up to get the next set of rewards into the mail. Most of you should either have some of your rewards already in hand or have a tracking number that was emailed to you. For the higher-level donors, we need to hold off just a little bit longer (sorry!), as some of you are receiving original artwork that is also appearing in the book. We decided to send everyone who made any contribution to the project, a notecard set, including three notecards featuring a scientific illustration by Karen and three notecards featuring a photograph by me. Those will be coming via USPS in the next two weeks, so be on the lookout. If you have any questions about any of these rewards (or anything else), please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. While we are eager to get these tokens of appreciation of your support into your hands, we want you to know we are also keeping our eyes on the prize and getting the best possible book published as soon as we are able. Source – The Banggai Rescue Website
