by Saltwater Smarts | Feb 2, 2016 | Events, Reef, Science, Travel
Northwest Ohioans finally get a frag swap and marine expo in their home territoryAs a long-time hobbyist in northwest Ohio (Hey, I can at least claim that for the rest of this week, then I’m a Floridian), I’m accustomed to traveling outside the region for frag swaps and events of appreciable size. NW Ohio is located within reach of regular events held in northeast Ohio, central Ohio, and southern Michigan but hasn’t been home to a swap capable of drawing in many folks (and vendors) from outside the area. Now I realize becoming a road warrior is the fate of many a reef hobbyist, but with the amount of hobbyists who call northwest Ohio home, it seemed inevitable that someday we would have a marquee event. Well that day is almost upon us! On February 13, BuckeyeReef.com will host their first annual Marine Expo in Bowling Green, Ohio. With Buckeye Reef founder Jesse Lambdin and founding member Joe Perkins at the helm, the long-planned event earned the “expo” moniker through their long-term desire to build something more than the traditional frag swap.This first annual event will kick of with guest speaker, and Saltwater Smarts’ very own, Jeff Kurtz. He’ll be expounding upon Marine Aquarium Success in the Information Age by Admin | Jan 31, 2016 | Corals, Photography, Reef, Travel
We often associate colorful reef life with the tropics. Vivid reds, pinks, yellows, and oranges awash with anthias and crawling with nudibranchs is a tropical thing... by Admin | Jan 26, 2016 | Fish, Photography, Travel
I came across a post a few days ago from Barry Brown showing some great images of Filefish and thought I’d post a few more along with another great fish that hides in the reefs.… by Admin | Jan 24, 2016 | Conservation, Reefs in Art, Travel
Last year I had the chance, as part of a commission for a magazine, to dive with a couple of heroes, Doctor Sylvia Earle and Jean-Michel Cousteau.… by Barry Brown | Dec 29, 2015 | Photography, Reef, Science, Travel
Good morning one and all, how was your Christmas??? Ours was fantastic! Aimee had to work Christmas day but I took our guests on a morning and night dive plus we did all kinds of other fun activities in between. Since last thursday afternoon I have pretty much been diving with our two guests Karen and Alan non stop and it has been a blast!! NEWER POST: by Saltwater Smarts | Dec 24, 2015 | Fish, Reef, Science, Tanks, Travel
Caribbean Chris and I get lots of excellent, thought-provoking questions from Saltwater Smarts visitors that we believe might be of general interest to other salties out there. So we thought it would be worthwhile to begin posting some of them here in Q&A format. Of course, you’re always welcome to join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comment section below or sending us your question.Question I was visiting an LFS in another part of the country while on a business trip. The store is highly rated on various social media sites, and I was impressed by the diversity and apparent health of the livestock in the first 10 or so display tanks that I viewed. Then, in the course of viewing the next 10 tanks, I saw three tanks that had at least one livestock specimen dead or clearly diseased in the tank (with other, apparently healthy livestock still in the tank). As a newbie, should this be a huge red flag for me that a store like this is not a great source of healthy fish?” – submitted by Robert Bruce Answer Thanks so much for your question, Robert. I think the situation you observed may be a red flag, which is why I list “healthy livestock” among my “Eight Traits of a Good LFS.” As I see it, the apparent health/physical condition of specimens offered for sale says a lot about a dealer’s level of concern not only for the well-being of the livestock, but also for customers’ future success.
