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Reef Threads Podcast #131

Its not always easy to adapt wild-collected SPS to aquariums. Yes, we’re podcasting on Mother’s Day at no extra charge to the reef hobbyist. This week we talk about our aquarium plans, homeowner’s insurance, fish-cost perspective, and maricultured/wild vs. tank-raised coral. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Gary and Christine  

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Coral Crab, Channel Clinging Crab, Mithrax spinosissimus

 Good morning gang, I really can’t believe it’s Friday already!! Here is a big Channel Clinging Crab by request this morning. Most of you divers know this species by the common name Channel Clinging Crab, but it turns out that it has several other common names, including Reef Spider Crab, and Spiny Spider Crab, among others. The crab’s scientific name is Mithrax spinosissimus, and that designation stays the same, independent of the common name, which varies from place to place. This crab is a ‘true crab’ (as opposed to, say, a hermit crab), and belongs to the Majidae family. Majidae tend to have long slender legs just like this example above which is why the common names of many species in this family include the word ‘spider’. Majids also tend to have little hairs or bristle-like structures on their carapaces. Bits of material like algae, sponge, and so on attach to those hairs and act as part of the crab’s camouflage. Note that the walking legs of this species also are rather hairy, and are covered with ‘stuff’ while the business end of the crab those impressive claws, are smooth.  Like so many reef creatures, this species forages mainly at night. During the day, they hunker in the reefs, under ledges, and in cavelets. Because of their size, they can’t wiggle into small cervices like so many smaller species can do. Still, they can be difficult to spot during the day, since their decorated carapaces blend so well with their surroundings. These crabs inhabit a range from the sub-tropical western Atlantic to the Caribbean. They can be found in reef areas along the coasts of southern Florida, through the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and throughout much of the Caribbean. Thanks to The Right Blue for this great information.  http://therightblue.blogspot.com/2009/02/channel-clinging-crab-mithrax.html Stijn and I started filming a mountain bike movie last night but will takes weeks of work to finish. Because of all the new green growth everywhere now we thought it would be a perfect time to start this long overdo project and so many have asked to see the trails here! I am off to the sea, have a great weekend and thanks for all the wonderful comments and suggestions. Barry MORE: Coral Crab, Channel Clinging Crab, Mithrax spinosissimus

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Oceanic Institute Taking Baby Steps Toward Culture of Yellow Tang


Fisheries researchers at the Oceanic Institute in Hawaii have been working—not so successfully—for years to develop culture techniques for the commercially and ecologically important yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens). In an attempt to step back a bit and work with a decidedly less difficult subject, they recently brought in clownfish broodstock. The idea, explains Research Scientist Chad Callan, Ph. D., is that they can in due course use information gained from success with the easily cultured clownfish to successfully culture yellow tangs. The delicate marine ecosystems of Hawaii are increasingly under threat from overfishing as well as the indirect consequences of urban development. Marine conservation officials estimate that approximately 500,000 to 800,000 yellow tang are taken from Hawaiian waters each year. As this figure accounts only for reported cases, the actual total harvest may be considerably higher. The animal lives as long as 30 years in the wild; however, it takes many years to reach sexual maturity. Callan believes that having a sizable, ongoing aquaculture program for the species would contribute enormously to conservation efforts; not only would cultured yellow tangs help to meet demand in the ornamental fish trade, but they could also be used to restock depleted areas in the wild. Continue reading

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Mitras Full Spectrum LED Strip a Lot Closer to Production Than We Thought

 Earlier this week, we came across some revealing digital renderings of the new Mitras LED Light Bar from GHL. At the time, we thought the light strips were just in that stage, the design and planning stage, with no actual product sitting on a bench. Little did we know that the hardware was actually already in the process of being pieced together and tested. And from the looks of it, the lights aren’t too far away from reaching the hands of aquarium hobbyists. We first came across these images after a representative from Aqua Digital Inc, who distributes GHL products for North America, shared them on his Facebook page. The photos don’t reveal much in terms of product specs or physical characteristics of the LEDs, but they do let us get a sense of scale and what the first batch of lights might look like. Of course, these strip lights are still early in the design phase and things could radically change before they’re released to the public. We will, however, assume that they will have the same next generation of LEDs that will be featured in the Mitras LX 6200 HV fixture…which is currently in full production over at GHL. MORE: Mitras Full Spectrum LED Strip a Lot Closer to Production Than We Thought

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CORAL Featured Video: Shane Canellis’ SPS Reef

 Here’s a very nice SPS reef with thriving corals in a 4x2x2 footprint. (Approximately 120 gallons or 450 L, 120 x 60 x 60 cm.) Interesting sound track is a bonus. Credit: Shane Canellis | YouTube “You can find more info on the tank at www.masa.asn.au Profile ssbk23. ” MORE: CORAL Featured Video: Shane Canellis’ SPS Reef

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Blue Tang Aggregations, Acanthurus coeruleus

 Good morning friends, yep, late again what can I say?? There is so much going on here at the moment that getting to the blog is becoming down right difficult, but I am trying! So just to get you up to speed on what’s coming up for us this month, we first have the crew from “Wild About Animals” arriving from the States on the 14th through the 16th to shoot a story on the sub and all the cool stuff we find down there, not sure yet when that will air but I will keep you posted. Then, days after we have the scientists arriving from the Smithsonian again and they will be around till June 3rd or 4th. We are first taking them, our ship and the sub to Klein Curacao for a few days and then to Bonaire for five days, we are going to be sooo busy! The scientists will be searching for new species of fish and creatures and I will be right there with camera ready to photograph these new finds when they surface in my waiting deep-water aquariums that I will have aboard the ship. We are also in the middle of moving to another house so please be patient in the coming days. When we are out to sea on the “Chapman” (our research vessel) I will have no Internet which means no blog for about a week but I will make it up to you with cool photos never seen before. Here is a colorful photo of a big school of Blue Tangs cruising through the reef. We see these large groups called “aggregations” on the reef here every single day and I still never seem to get tired of it, they are just so beautiful. Adult blue tangs have three social modes: territorial, wandering, and schooling. Territorial adults defend their home rage from other members of the species. Schooling adults are not aggressive. Wanderer adults are not aggressive nor do they interact with other individuals like schooling fish do. Wanderers are mostly chased by other fish including Ocean surgeonfish and damselfishes. Occasionally, Blue Tangs form large multi-species aggregations with other surgeonfishes as seen above. Blue tangs may benefit from forming schools for two reasons. First, individuals may experience lower rates of predation when feeding in large groups. Second, by feeding in groups, fish might be able to work together to overcome the territorial defenses of other fishes. For example, a single blue tang is easily chased away by an aggressive damselfish defending its territory. However, when a large school of blue tangs and their schoolmates try to feed on algae in a damselfish’s territory, there is little that the damselfish can do.  When this occurs, the damselfish frantically, but ultimately fruitlessly, attempts to chase away their more numerous attackers while the school consumes all of the algae in their territories. Blue tangs are active during the day, hiding in crevices on the reef at night to avoid predators. Juvenile blue tangs are solitary and occupy home ranges that increase with body size. Juveniles aggressively defend their home ranges from juvenile ocean surgeonfish. Juveniles also avoid damselfishes that overlap in range with them. Have a wonderful day folks, Barry MORE: Blue Tang Aggregations, Acanthurus coeruleus

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Exclusive: Ecotech Marine ReefLink

ecotech-marine-reeflink OK, here is what we know.  EcoTech, one of our favorite equipment manufacturers, is working on a new product line named ReefLink which includes a controller for managing their products via the proprietary wireless RF signal.  Since it has been 18 months since the Radion was released, and there is still no support for programming these lights via the Neptune WXM interface for the Apex controllers, we can assume that either there is a technical challenge or Neptune is simply waiting for Ecotech to release their new unified controller.  Both companies have gone on the record saying that programming the WXM to manage a Radion is a fairly easy thing to do, so if that is the case, why hasn’t it been done yet?  Neptune recently announced their “Apex Ready” certification, and we might be guessing here but Ecotech does not want to get into the business of building probe and outlet control systems.  So we expect this new product to manage their lights and pumps, and can itself be managed by an Apex or hopefully both an Apex and the competing RKE.  Also, as we’ve said here before, the Ecotech Ecosmart Live is half a solution, requiring users to have a computer hooked up at all times if you want to manage the system remotely.  We have yet to hear of anyone actually doing this.  One major advantage that Ecotech has is that they have already built a web service allowing remote computers to automatically connect to their network for programming, but this is an app that runs on a PC.  A great idea, in our opinion, would be for the new ReefLink to support automatic connections to their server.  Why is this important?  If you have a controller and manage it remotely, you probably had to set up a feature called NAT/PAT on your home router.  In fact, some users are unable to use any remote controller system because they are in a corporate or secure environment and cannot configure NAT/PAT as they do not have access to their router.  The solution to this problem is for a controller to initiate the connection outbound to a server so that outbound NAT is automatically setup by the router or firewall.  We have our fingers crossed that Ecotech knows that this is a really cool feature to have and eliminates the need to have people mess around with their home network.  An even bigger win would be for advanced users to be able to configure a different destination to connect to, allowing 3rd party monitors and management systems (proprietary interfaces are bad for everyone in the long run).  Oh and one other tidbit, Ecotech also holds a trademark for GrowLink which is described as a controller designed to manage a horticulture system, so we can probably expect to see either a new version of the Radions or an increasing emphasis on using them for all types of funky plants.  If you like where this story is going as much as us, keep an eye on reeflink.net (owned by Ecotech) and stay tuned for MACNA this year when we expect a bunch of product announcements.  Post your ideas on what this thing will do in our comments!

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AVAST Marine Works Debuts CS3 Cone Skimmer, Working on DC Controllable Models

 After more than a year of designing, building, and testing, AVAST Marine Works has finally put their CS3 Cone Skimmer into production. This DIY kit skimmer is the big boy of the AVAST lineup, sporting a 10″ diameter cone body and twin Sicce PSK-1000 needle wheel pumps that crank out a combined 2200 lph air. The impressive array of features allows the CS3 to handle marine aquariums ranging from 300-500 gallons, and its recirculating design means it can operate at just about any water depth. While we’re always excited about new product releases, we’re really looking forward to what AVAST Marine Works is currently in the process of testing. Like many of the different protein skimmer manufacturers, AVAST is currently tinkering around with controllable DC pumps. A few models have been built around the Waveline DC5000 and DC10000 water pumps, and at some point those pumps should be optional equipment for the AVAST skimmer line. We’ve been told that a larger CS5 skimmer might be coming out really soon. We have really liked our Waveline DC pump driven skimmer that we’ve been using long term, as the pumps are solid performers and run very quietly. The pumps will definitely benefit this skimmer lineup. Technical Details of the CS3: Tank Rating: 300-500 gallons Footprint: 16″x16″ Height: 25″, with Swabbie 27.75″ Cone Diameter at Base: 10″ Neck diameter: 5″ Collection Cup Diameter: 10″ Collection Cup Drain: 1/2″ Union Disconnect Air Silencer: Over sized 2x Sicce PSK1000 performance: 2200 lph @ 46w For in sump use only. 0″-16″ depth. The standard recirculating configuration allows the skimmer to run in any depth up to the level of the neck union. Water feed required (recirculating mode only): 300-500gph Pump Warranty: 1 year. « Previous post Next post » MORE: AVAST Marine Works Debuts CS3 Cone Skimmer, Working on DC Controllable Models

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Yellow Goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus, Mullidae

 Good morning from wet Curacao! It’s crazy how fast things change here, we went from two months without rain and now there is standing water everywhere!  The forecast for today and tomorrow is heavy rain and stupid me I rode my bike to work, it’s gonna be real fun getting home. So how was your weekend???? Mine was busy with packing up our house and getting ready for our big move across the street at the end of the month. The house we are in now is much too big for us and we hardly even use the upstairs, our new place will be cheaper and have better wind circulation so needless to say we can hardly wait. I did a three hour bike ride yesterday and then went to watch Stijn and Dorian race in a criterium over on the North coast by the airport. Stijn had to do 30 laps (65k) and Dorian who is much younger only had to do 5 laps (13k), they both won first place!! Today I have a beautiful school of Yellow Goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus, hanging out around a mound of Mountainous Star Coral. Yellow goatfish are tireless benthic feeders, using a pair of long chemosensory barbels (“whiskers”) protruding from their chins to rifle through the sediments in search of a meal. May grow up to 39 centimetres (15 in) in length. They usually feed off of smaller fish, hunting in a school during the day, and alone at night. Goatfishes are tropical marine perciform fish of the family Mullidae. Seldom found in brackish waters, they are most associated with the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The goatfishes are sometimes called ‘red mullets’ as opposed to the Mugilidae, the grey mullets, though that name is usually reserved for the red mullets of the genus Mullus of the Mediterranean. Within the family are approximately six genera and 55 species. All goatfishes have the ability to change their coloration depending on their current activity. By day, many goatfishes will form large inactive (nonfeeding) schools; these aggregates may contain both conspecifics and heterospecifics. By night, the schools disperse and individual goatfish head their separate ways to loot the sands. Other nocturnal feeders will shadow the active goatfish, waiting patiently for any overlooked morsels. Goatfishes stay within the shallows, going no deeper than about 110 m. I hope all is well out there, the rain has stopped and I am racing home to get the car before the next wave arrives! See you soon, Barry MORE: Yellow Goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus, Mullidae

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Mr. Saltwater Tank Tours Julian Sprung’s Personal Reef Tank

Julian Sprung is one of the most referenced, and is arguably the most well-known saltwater tank professionals. He’s been involved in the hobby since the days when mullets were cool and now he’s over 40 and still reefing full time. In this episode of Mr. Saltwater Tank TV, Julian gives me a personal, in-depth tour of his reef tank that you won’t find anywhere else.  MORE: Mr. Saltwater Tank Tours Julian Sprung’s Personal Reef Tank

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New Offerings to Come from Temperate Marine Livestock Retailer


Those aquarists who seek out unusual and infrequently imported species may be interested in some incoming livestock at one of North America’s only dealers in temperate marine aquarium animals. Coldwater Marine Aquatics of Damascus, Oregon offers a growing selection of ornamental fish and invertebrates from cooler biogeographic regions of the world, from Japan to Portugal to their own back yard on the Northeast Pacific Coast. Co-owner Stu Wobbe tells reefs.com, “I think the most interesting thing right now for us is the incoming European shipment. The main goal on this one is to bring in as many species that we can propagate in house as possible…to have captive bred specimens and to save on shipping so we can bring the price down a bit on them. We’ve already had luck propagating a lot of the European anemones like the Beadlets (Actinia equina), Strawberries (Actinia fragacea), Snakelocks (Anemonia viridis) and the Jewels (Corynactis viridis).” Wobbe explains that he and co-owner Josh Groves initially underestimated the level of interest that hobbyists would have in these animals, and did not retain enough broodstock from previous shipments for their own aquaculture projects . With that in mind, they are selling only half of what they bring in from the incoming shipment and are propagating the other half in their holding system. In addition to the anemone species that they plan to propagate using their own proven methods, they hope to develop culture techniques for red dead man’s fingers (Alcyonium palmatum), an especially attractive temperate soft coral. To check in on animals currently in stock at Coldwater Marine Aquatics, please visit http://www.coldwatermarineaquatics.com/collections/animals-in-stock.

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AquaGenesis Robosnail Now Available

 Everyone is always looking for ways to make their tanks require less maintenance, and robotics provides the promise of the Lazy Boy Reef Tank.  The Robosnail is designed to address the issue of algae and detritus accumulating on the front glass panel of your tank.  Like a Roomba for your tank, the Robosnail gradually works its way around the glass, acting just like a magnetic cleaner.  People have been waiting for this product to be available for a while, and it looks like the first retailer is Salty Supply, who has them available for sale NOW!

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