Monthly Archives: January 2012

There really isn’t any shortage of cool new food for your reef tank these days.  Let’s be honest, your LFS is starting to look more and more like Whole Foods than Petco.  From fancy refrigerated foods to live bottled bacteria and amino acids, everyone in your family should be eating healthy.  The phrase “probiotic” might be a bit overused these days, but this new food from Tropic Eden is said to contain a wide variety of bacterioplankton in realm of .2 – 2.0 microns, which is ideal for filter feeders, NPS corals, and even the old standby SPSs.  We have yet to get a sample of this new food, but it does make a LOT of claims about benefits to the tank inhabitants so we’d love to get our hands on a bottle for some ultra-non-scientific testing.  You can order Bacto Plankton from Premium Aquatics HERE.… More:

As reef hobbyists, we all use a LOT of plastic.  In addition to all of the gadgets and systems we have running in our tanks, we tend to dispose of a lot of plastic items including food packaging, plastic containers, plastic bags, and more.  Next time you go to throw out something, give a little thought to whether or not this item can be reused.  For example, tupperware containers can always be reused after a good soak (you can use vinegar to clean out dirty items), also, most of the bottles can be reused for things like food mixing, chemical storage, you can even create your own measuring cups with an old clear container and a Sharpie.  Do your part, reduce your consumption by recycling.… More:

A cephalopod gives this fisherman a faceful of ink and confirms our fears of the eventual Rise of the Cephs.… More:

Divers Den, known for their premier and super healthy livestock, has revealed what they feed each and every type of fish that they sell.  If your fish do not look quite so colorful, consider giving a thought to changing up the diet of your favorite pet and see if these proven feeds have any impact. All the fish are listed HERE.… More:

 This video is a great demonstration showing some new options for your loc-line returns.  Instead of the standard spray bars, you can use these self-powered attachments to create unique and specialized flow patterns for certain areas of the tank.  These items should be available via a US distributor later on this year.  The available options are detailed on this page.… More:

Here is a great gallery of the Acropora farms in the Caribbean being built and tended by some of our friends over at The Nature Conservancy.  These images show some of the techniques employed to maximize growth and minimize the possibility of pests damaging the new colonies.  The coral pictured here is Acropora cervicornis, one of the only naturally growing acroporiids in the Northeast Atlantic region.  Details on the images are HERE.… More:

Some other fishy related updates from BOOT in Dusseldorf. Lighting gurus Giesemann are onsite with a major boat manufacturer displaying their new line of aquariums. We don’t have many details on these new systems except that they will absolutely be coming to the US market soon.
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