Author Archives: Tal Sweet

About Tal Sweet

Tal got back into the hobby in 2006 after a long break. After hearing Dr. Frank Marini speak at the Midwest Marine Conference in 2008 he was hooked on fish breeding . Since then he has created his own website with his personal captive breeding information and helped create the Marine Breeding Initiative. It is Tal's hope to promote captive breeding as much as possible by speaking and writing about the topic.

MBI Hits 1000!

by Tal Sweet on March 17, 2013

Since the Marine Breeding Initiative (MBI) was started in 2009 its goal has been to share breeding information openly and to award breeders for their accomplishments. Breeders create journals on the MBI site to keep track of their work with specific broodstock pairs. As breeders progress they can submit reports for several milestone events including: spawn, hatch, settlement, and 60 days Post-settlement. Each report is reviewed by the MBI Council and Report Review Board and must be approved by three people from that group before points are awarded. Late in the evening of March 16, 2013 the 1000th report was approved! The 1000th report was for the hatch of sea slug, Elysia diomedea, eggs by MBI breeder Gordon Greenley. Gordon’s breeding journal can be seen here: http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?m=80762&high= Congratulations to Gordon for having the 1000th approved report and thanks to all of the breeders that have openly shared their breeding information as well as to the members of the MBI Council and Report Review board for all of their work. If you’d like to learn more about captive breeding please visit the MBI site: http://www.mbisite.org/Default.aspx The MBI will also be hosting the 4th Annual Marine Breeder’s Workshop in July: http://www.mbiworkshop.com/… More:

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CORAL Magazine’s Captive Bred Marine Fish Species List for 2013

by Tal Sweet on January 9, 2013

When we think about captive bred fish in the hobby, species such as clownfish, dottybacks, gobies, blennies, and cardinalfish come to mind. At the end of 2012 I was asked by Matt Pedersen to find out how many species have actually been bred successfully in captivity and I was surprised how many have been done. I was able to find information on over 233 species that have been done at least once. We also ranked them based on availability in the trade. Take a look at the full list in the Jan/Feb issue of CORAL magazine and HERE.… More:

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Martin Moe speaking at the 2013 Marine Breeder’s Workshop!

by Tal Sweet on December 16, 2012

The Marine Breeding Initiative (MBI) is pleased to announce Martin Moe, Jr. as a speaker at the 2013 Marine Breeder’s Workshop. Moe is one of the pioneers of breeding marine animals as early as 1970 when he developed the basic technology for breeding Florida pompano. He accomplished the first commercial culture of marine tropical fish (Ocellaris Clownfish and Neon Gobies) in a garage in 1972, and over the years has reared more than 30 species of marine tropical fish, including spawning, rearing, and even hybridizing French and Grey Angelfish. We look forward to hearing the latest findings from a true legend in the aquarium community. The tentative date for the Workshop is July 13. More speaker details will be announced soon and tickets for the event will go on sale next week. For more information on the MBI: http://www.mbisite.org/Default.aspx… More:

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High Five!

by Tal Sweet on December 13, 2012

I’ts turtle nesting time on the Great Barrier Reef and in the new Coral Sea Marine Reserve. This Project Aware Foundation photo was just too cute not to share.… More:

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RCT Changes Focus

by Tal Sweet on November 26, 2012

For those of you not familiar with Reef Culture Technologies (RCT) the company, founded by Frank Baensch, developed a breakthrough culture technology in 2001 for pygmy angelfishes, the most popular and prized group of aquarium fish in the trade, making the first ever captive-bred dwarf angelfishes available to the hobbyist. In news released last month RCT is changing their focus from pygmy angels to other species of marine fish families to determine their culture feasibility, as well as to learn more about their spawning biology in the wild and their early life history in captivity. The objective is to develop one culture technology for a diversity of marine fish larvae. To date 11 species have been reared through settlement and many others have been raised through various stages of development. RCT is still awaiting species level identification for most specimens and will be updating their site with more information about their findings as it becomes available. We are anxiously awaiting news of how this technology works with other species. The full story can be found here: http://www.rcthawaii.com/news/1.htm Pictures of many of the fish being worked with can be seen here: http://www.bluereefphoto.org/p577578634… More:

Posted in Conservation, Fish, Science | Leave a comment

BAR Propagation Workshop Re-Cap

by Tal Sweet on October 24, 2012

Last weekend I was honored to speak at the Bay Area Reefers Propagation Workshop along with the incredible Richard Ross. Rich and I arrived a little bit later than planned since we had to stop at Home Depot to pick up some fragging tools for his demonstration. When we got to the Workshop we were greeted by… More:

Posted in Corals, Events, Fish, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sharks Colorblind?

by Tal Sweet on October 8, 2012

In a recent study, published in the Royal Society Biology Letters, an investigation of the genetic basis and spectral tuning of the shark visual system suggests that sharks are colorblind. “The work will have a major influence on human interactions with sharks,” co-author Nathan Hart, a research associate professor at the University of Western Australia’s School of Animal Biology and The Oceans Institute, told Discovery News. This information could go a long way to help save both sharks and humans. Read the full article here: Genetics Confirms… More:

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Bay Area Reefers Breeding and Propagation Workshop

by Tal Sweet on September 19, 2012

If you’re in the San Francisco area next month the Bay Area Reefers are putting on a breeding and propagation workshop. Richard Ross will be giving a live demonstration of coral fragging techniques and I will be answering some of the most frequently asked questions about captive breeding of marine animals. Captive bred and propagated livestock will be for sale by local fish store BAR sponsors, and a raffle with fantastic prizes including an EcoTech Radion XR30w, MP40w ES, MP10w ES, propagation supplies, a frag tank, various foodstuffs, corals, equipment, and more. All attendees will receive a complementary gift bag w/goodies at registration, and lunch will be available. The event will be Saturday, October 13 at Chabot Community College – room 722 and admission is free! Full details and advanced registration can be found here: BAR Workshop… More:

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Advice on Finding Nemo

by Tal Sweet on September 17, 2012

With the re-release of “Finding Nemo” in 3D this week Drs. Foster & Smith and “Live Aquaria” have put out a great article for new hobbyists. The article highlights responsibility, cost & maintenance as well as tips on setting up a freshwater system as an alternative to a saltwater one. Also of note is the section on the tank bred species available and their benefits. Nice job! Read the full article: Finding Nemo In Your Home… More:

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Lightning Strikes!

by Tal Sweet on September 13, 2012

It’s been a little while since I posted an update on Matt Pedersen’s Lightning maroons. When they first hatched Matt asked me what my thoughts were regarding the potential for the offspring showing “Lightning” patterns and I told him I expected quite a few of them to have it. Take a look at them now! These fish hatched on 6-29-2012 so they are about 2.5 months old now. Matt said about 50% have some type of the “Lightning” traits so it looks like I wasn’t too far off. Nice work, Matt! You can read full details on Matt’s blog: Lightning Project… More:

Posted in Eye Candy, Fish | 1 Comment

Cook Islands creates the world’s largest marine park!

by Tal Sweet on September 4, 2012

The Cook Islands recently declared an area nearly twice the size of France will become the world’s largest marine park. Prime Minister Henry Puna said the 1.065 million square kilometre (411,000 square mile) reserve “(is) the largest area in history by a single country for integrated ocean conservation and management”. Read the full story: Cook Islands declares world’s largest marine park… More: