Harlequinmania

It's a matchup worthy of a late-night cable movie: put a school of starving piranha and a 300-pound fish together, and who comes out the winner? The surprising answer -- given the notorious guillotine-like bite of the piranha -- is Brazil's massive Arapaima fish. The secret to Arapaima's success lie in its intricately designed scales, which could provide "bioinspiration" for engineers looking to develop flexible ceramics. View the full article

Scientists have found that only about ten percent of the fall-run Chinook salmon spawning in California's Mokelumne River are naturally produced wild salmon. A massive influx of hatchery-raised fish that return to spawn in the wild is masking the fact that too few wild fish are returning to sustain a natural population in the river. View the full article

Scientists have found that only about ten percent of the fall-run Chinook salmon spawning in California's Mokelumne River are naturally produced wild salmon. A massive influx of hatchery-raised fish that return to spawn in the wild is masking the fact that too few wild fish are returning to sustain a natural population in the river. View the full article

Invertebrates: • 1 Porcelain Anemone Crab (Neopetrolisthes maculosus) • 2 Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilia globules) • 1 Bubble Tip Anemones (Entacmaea quadricolor) • 3 Maxima Clam (Tridacna maxima) • 2 Squamose Giant Clam (Tridacna squamosa) • Hermit Crabs (Paguristes cadenati) • Nassarius Snails (Nassarius distortus) • Astrea Snails (Astraea Tecta) • Starfish (Asterina anomal) • Sea cucumber (Cucuntaria sp) • 2 Banded boxer shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) • 2 Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius) • 6 Peppermint Shrimps (Lysmata wurdemanni) • 2 Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grpsus grapsus) • 2 Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) SPS Corals Acropora: • A. appressa (green) • A. cytherea (red) • A. echinata (purple) • A. efflorescens (purple) • A. formosa (green, purple) • A. hoeksemai (sky blue) • A. humillis (green, purple, yellow) • A. loisetteae (turquoise) • A. loripes (purple) • A. microphthalma (green with red tips) • A. millipora (red, green, purple, blue, orange, teal, pink, yellow) • A. nana (purple) • A. selago (purple) • A. subarsonoi (green) • A. tenuis (green,purple) • A. valida (Tri-colors) • A. variolosa (green) • A. yongei (green) • A. sp. (pink lemonade) Montipora • M. capricornis (orange) • M. digitata (orange, green, blue) • M. mollis (purple) • M. setosa (orange) • M. foliosa (green, purple) • M. danae (purple) Others: • Stylophora pistillata (red, pink with green polyps, green, purple, tri-colors) • Stylophora subseriata (line green) • Seriatopora hystrix (pink, pink with yellow tips, green) • Pocillopora damicornis ( green, pink with green polyps) • Pocillopora verrucosa (green, purple) • Cyphastrea decadia (pink) • Echinopora lamellose (green) • Oxypora glabra (red)

List of live stocks in My tank The display tank has around 90 different corals with about 70% SPS and 30% LPS and soft coral. Most of my SPS corals were started from small fragments that I brought locally or exchanged with fellow reefers. I enjoyed the process of fragging various small SPS and found them a best location/home and seeing them grow to a sizable colony. About 40 different assorted hermit crabs, snails, crabs, and various types of shrimp were added to the tank as clean-up crews at different points in time. There are sunken starfishes, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and sand dollars to clean the sand bed too. Fish List: • 1 Black Tang (Zebrasoma rostratum) • 1 Achilles Tang (Acanthurus achilles) • 1 Chevron Tang (Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis) • 1 Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) • 1 Yellow Eye Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) • 1 Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) • 1 Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum) • 1 Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) • 1 Powder Blue Tang (Achanthurus leucosternon) • 1 Powder Black Tang (Acanthurus nigricans)) • 1 Yellow Coris wrasses (Halichoeres chrysus) • 1 Six line wrasses (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) • 1 Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidatus) • 2 Threadfin cardinalfish (Apogon leptacanthus) • 2 Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) • 2 Bartlett's Anthias (Pseudanthias bartlettorum) • 1 Hawkfish Anthias (Serranocirrhitus latus) • 1 Seagrass filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus) • 2 Blue chromis (Chromis viridis) • 1 Dottyback (Pseudochromis aldabraensis) • 2 Mandarin Fish (Synchiropus splendidus) • 4 Black Percula clownfishes (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Maintenance, Feeding & Supplements I feed my fishes at least once a day with mainly TetraBits Complete (Yes, the same pellets for my discus) and live brine shrimps (when available in LFS) and Henry’s reefgourmet during the weekend. I also feed my corals with 5-in-1 coral food and CoralFuid twice a week and, occasionally, during the weekend, with Oyster-feast and Roti-feast. For regular maintenance routine, I usually do a 10-15% water change every other week with NSW (natural sea water) brought from the local fish shop (LFS). As and when I am too free or once in a blue moon, I do water changes with salt mixed using DI water. In the first 18 months of my reefing activity, I checked my water parameters regularly using test kits such as Salifert , API, and Hanna checker for CA, Mg, KH, Pt, NO3, and PO4 a day before and after water change. Now, I check my water parameters by observing the colour and the polyp extension of certain corals in conjunction with the PH value display from the IKS Aqua Controller. One of the most challenging things for me in reefkeeping is to maintain a stable Alkalinity (KH) level and keeping a Low Nutrient System. To achieve this, I started the Zeovit method - a system which is known to create and maintain the water at very low nutrient levels. In order to keep most of my Zeovit dosing routine in check and at the same time keeping a stable alkalinity and other water parameters, I deployed a 3-channel Bubble Magus dosing pump. Subsequently, additional dosing extensions were added to increase the dosing channel to a total of 10. These had helped me to cut down lots of my daily /weekly maintenance routine and provide me with more time to enjoy the marine life rather than “working for the tank” days and nights. In October 2011, I made a switch from the disciplined Zeovit method to BioPallets and had my ZeoLite reactor converted to BioPallet Reactor. I also use reef BioFeul as the supplementary carbon source with MicroBacter7 in my dosing routines to replace the carbon source for Zeovit method:

Lightings and Photoperiod Lightings systems are always the core equation to the overall reefing system. For corals, in particularly the SPS, to be in good colour, strong lighting is a necessity and is not an option. I started with 3 set of 250W Metal Halides lights (using Phoenix 1400K bulbs) and 2 tubes of ATI 58W T5 Blue plus. As more demanding SPS were added to the tank, additional 2 sets of 6 feet T5 light sets (8 x 39W each set) were acquired to provide supplementary lighting. I was using a 4-way timer together with the IKS Aquastar Computer to control the photoperiod with minimum of 6 hours of MH light and 8-10 hours of T5 blue and white light respectively. I made a major decision in November 2011 to switch to LED technology lightings with the aim to provide a less expensive (in the long run) but flexible and specific lighting environments for the corals. As a safety measure, I also supplement the current LED lightings systems with 2 sets of 6 feet T5 actinic blue lighting (4 x 39W each set). The current LED lighting system is made up of 2 LemenAqua UltraBrite light sets (with 180W of blue/White LED light for each set) and 1 custom build 312W LED Light set (3 x 30W 15000K Superwhite LED + 36 x 3W White + 36 x 3W Blue + 6 x 1W 403 NM Royal Blue). Hence, based on MH / LED comparison, I am theoretically replacing my old lighting system with stronger 4 x 400 MH lights with T5 supplements at an economical alternative. However, the major drive for my adoption of LED technology is the flexibility for me to “fine tune” the amount of light and the colour temperatures of Light based on the specific requirement of the corals. This specific lighting configuration can be stored and controlled with the build-in timer and controller to provide different magnitudes of light spectrum at specific timing of the day or night. For example, to obtain the colour temperature of 20000K, I can adjust the capacity of the two rows of white LED at 99% and the single row of blue LED at 39% on the LemenAqua UltraBrite controller. Core LED Lighting System Photoperiod: Supplementary T5 and Moonlight Photoperiod: Water Movement Water Movement plays an important role to the health of the corals (especially one which is dominated by SPS) and some demanding fish. The water circulation in my tank is accompanied by a main return pump which provides 9500 litres per hour of filtered water from the sump to the display tank and 4 Vortech MP40w wave makers. In order to simulate good water movement with wave motion, two pumps are positioned on opposite side of glasses. One of the pumps was configured as a master driver with pulsing mode to control two slave pumps (with one on the same side and the other on the opposite side of the mater pump) to provide a constant wave motion. In addition, one of the pumps (opposite of the master pump) is configured to run independently from the group to provide further random wave motion at short pulse mode. I also configured the group of master-slaves pumps and the independent pump to work in conjunction with the moonlight lighting through the IKS AquaStar computer. This allows me to simulate some low/high tide environment in the night. Backup and Remote Monitoring As I have a busy travelling business schedules, one of the main concerns during the initial setup of my system was how to ensure the system is running smoothly even when I am not around. I heard a lot of horror and sad stories about many beautiful tanks being decommissioned because or power failures and malfunction of the chillier unit. And I do not want this to happen on me especially with many time and money spent on this hobby. I believe many of the reefers out there have overlooked this aspect and left out investment on this equally important insurance. I think every family have brought insurance policies for their loved ones might understand the benefits of have a “peace of mind”. For this reason, I had installed a DIY UPS unit capable of supporting 1000 Watts of power output for at least 8-10 hours. A group of 3 MP40w pumps together with the IKS AquaStar Computer and 10 channel s of dosing pumps are connected to the UPS. In addition, I also installed a Linksys Wireless IP Camera so that I can monitor the tank while I am travelling overseas. I also have a standby unit of “aircon converted chiller” as a standby unit for my reliable 1HP Daikin Compressor Chiller. I service my Daikin Chiller every 3 months together with the rest of the air-cons in the house to ensure it is in the tip-top condition.

Tank details and specification My current display tank is built with 12 mm thick glass and located in the center of my basement with a 360 degree full view. The total gross water volume of the whole system is about 266 gallons or 1010 Litres. Net Water volume after considering the sand bed, the refugium, and the whole aquascaping of live rocks is around 213 Gallons or 808 Litres. Main Display Tank size - 180cm (L) x 75cm (W) x 75cm (H); 3-in-1 Refugium/Frag/Sump size - 120cm (L) x 60cm (W) x 45cm (H); Tank system parameter The main goal of my system is to ensure that I have a stable and healthy marine environment for the corals and fishes to live and grow - preferably the similar nature setting in the wild underwater world. I read a lot from internet about reefing but also learnt from many painful experiences that keeping stable water parameters are crucial to the success of reef keeping. Each system can have its own set of "in range" water parameters but never ever try to achieve the "perfect parameters" as there is never be one for every tank. I've seen so many impressive reef systems with different sets of "in range" water parameters in which they all look very healthy and beautiful. Tank system profile ( Equipments list and lighting period ) There are many critical success factors required to work hand-in-hand in order to keep a good reefing running seamlessly. In this aspect, having the right equipment such as lightings, skimmer, wave makers, chiller, and return pump are utmost important. The following are a compiled list of equipment and accessory I am currently using: 1 x Skimz SM 251 Protein Skimmer with 2 x Skimz ES5000 18W (960l/h) pumps 1 x Reef Maniacs RZR 624 ZeoLite Reactor (now converted to BioPallets Reactor) 1 x Skimz FR150 (filled with RowaPHOS media) 1 x Daikin Compressor Chiller (1HP) 1 x IKS AquaStar Computer with 2 PH modules + 1 temperture + 1 ORP modules 4 x Vortech MP40w Wavemakers 1 x Resun SP9500 (9500l/h) return pump 1 x Bubble-Magus BM-T101 (3 channels) Dosing Pump 1 x Bubble-Magus BM-T102 (4 Channels) Dosing Extension 1 x Baby Fish (3 Channels) Dosing Pump 1 x Suoer LDA-1000C Uninterruptable Power Source (supporting at least 8 hours downtime of 1000W) 1 x Linksys Wireless-G PTZ Internet Camera with Audio 1 x ATO auto top-off system 1 x Crystal Pro DI Unit 1 X 2ft 4x24w T5 Aquazonic lightset with moonlight LED for Refugium (Reversed Photoperiod) 2 x LemenAqua UltraBrite (1.5W white LED X 80 Chips + 1.5W blue LED x 40 Osram Chips) with adjustable colour temperature for Blue/White LED 1 x DIY LED System 90cm x 42cm (3 x 30W 15000K White LED + 36 x 3W White + 36 x 3W Blue + 6 x 1W 403 NM Royal Blue) with timer, temperature controller , adjustable colour temperature for Blue/White. 2 x 6 Feet T5 4 x 39W Supplementary Aquatic Blue 2 x 3W Blue LED Spot light set (supplementary moonlight) Filtration Although Mechanical Filtration such as cotton wool and filter sock are used in the sump compartment, it is the biological filtration that is contributed significantly in keeping my tank water clean and crystal clear. While part of the biological filtration is performed by the live rocks in the display tank and the bio rings in the skimmer compartment of the sump, I also maintain a Deep Sand Bed (DSB) refugium (with reverse photoperiod) compartment in my sump to grow algae as alternative nutrients export as well as to cultivate pods as an nature food source for my livestock. I have no luck in growing Chaetomorpha but lately, as the tank become more matured, I managed to harvest many green grapes and red grapes to feed my tangs. Protein Skimmer Another important aspect of keeping the water clean and clear is having an efficiency skimmer in work. Initially, I used a powerful Skimz SM251 Protein Skimmer and a Bubble-Magus NAC6A Meshwheel Protein Skimmer to produce "coffee" like skimmage. Lately, as my refugium becomes effective, I remove my secondary Bubble-Magus skimmer and replace it with a Skimz FR150 fluidised reactor to help in Phosphate (PO4) export. Besides an efficient skimmer and an effective refugium, I have activated carbon in the sump to absorb toxic elements.

Singapore Reef Club (SRC) is proud to featured this quarter Tank of the Quarter ( TOTQ ) winner . Crispin aka (Clee123) beautiful SPS dominated mixed reef tank to be be showcase . A SPS Dominated Mixed Reef Tank (The Pasar Malam Tank) Front View Back View Brief history of my tank Like many reefers and friends out there, I have a dream and a deep desire to own a marine tank with colour corals and beautiful fishes. I could never have imagined my aquarium to be a featured as Tank of the Quarter (TOTQ) as I believe there are better and nicer aquariums around than my humble Pasar Malam tank. It is really honoured for me and I would like to sincerely thank the staff at the Singapore Reef Club for giving me the opportunity to share my tank and experience with the reefing community. I first started my fish keeping hobby when I was in primary school after catching 'Long Kang' guppies and faked fighting fish from my grandfather's pond in Punggol. This was three decades ago and the hobby had grown into several discus tanks and planted tanks when I was in secondary school and subsequently when I started my working career. The hobby gave way to love affairs and careers on and off for many years until I finally settled down with a family. I started to pick up reefing as my hormones in marine life and another hobby (scuba diving) grew stronger after spending couples of years stationed overseas during 2006 to 2008. My first marine tank was a simple 2 footer at my apartment in the Philippines where marine fishes and corals were equally affordable. I replaced my fishes and corals almost every 2 weeks as I never managed to keep my corals and some fishes that long. I came back for good to Singapore in 2008 and had made a deal with my wife to let me "test drive on serious reefing" for 3 months with my 10-years old 5 feet flat hexagon planted tank. The test drive was a challenge for me to see if I can keep up with the passion for the hobby, my busy travelling lifestyle as well as the balance of quality time spent with my family. This turned out to be a small success as many corals were growing and fishes were happy. By then, my 8 years old son started to know more fishes name than I did, I decided to look for an upgrade to my old tank as well as getting a separate marine tank for my son. This was where I found my current 6 footer and my son 's 4.5 footer in the Pasar Malam forum of SRC in Oct/Nov 2009 together with some 70-80% of our equipment and accessories. Video of tank

i dont think some since i didnt see smaller package of this in the market. maybe you can consider doing a bulk on this to share the media with some reefer to save money ?

Click through to see the images. First, a little history... There had been a lot of activity, experimentation, and commentary in the late 60s and early 70s on the possibility of rearing marine tropical fish in numbers but no one had yet succeeded. I was lucky; I was in the right place at the right time with the right experience. I had worked from 1969 to 1971 developing the technology for controlled spawning and larvae culture of the Florida pompano, and from that I knew what marine fish larvae needed in order to survive. I also picked the right fish with which to begin the work. If I had picked, Oh, pigmy angelfish, for example, I might be still working at it. I explained in the article why I chose the "Percula" clownfish for the first experiments. At that point, the hobby did not really distinguish between A. percula, the orange and/or percula clownfish, and A. ocellaris, the common and/or false clownfish. In fact, few hobbyists were familiar with taxonomic conventions and the use of scientific names was only something that those fancy pants scientist types used once in a while. In the hobby, the only clownfish that was typically available was the common clownfish, A. ocellaris. But in the popular literature the percula clownfish was most commonly illustrated, and so the common clownfish that filled the tanks of this fledgling hobby was almost universally given the erroneous common name "Percula clown". The two species are very close in morphology; there are some subtle color differences and typically 10 dorsal spines in A. percula and 11 dorsal spines in A. ocellaris. A. percula was described in 1802 by Lacepede, and A. ocellaris in 1830 by Cuvier. Given that A. percula was the first described, that name was most used in the early literature, and thus picked up by the early marine aquarists. Books by Gerald Allen and Daphne Fautin eventually ended the lay confusion (almost) between these species. Now, of course, we also have to contend with numerous "breeds" and hybrids of these same species. It is an exciting time for clownfish breeders. At that time there were relatively few species of marine tropical fish available to hobbyists. Clownfish were among the most popular marine fish, but also quite difficult because most were collected with cyanide. They were also subject to external parasites, and shipment and early captivity mortality was very high. But even with my experience with pompano, it was a culture project with very little extant information to guide the effort; and with limited resources, a lot of experimentation and intuitive guessing on how to resolve problems was required. The thing that always helped me with development of culture procedures with new species was to learn as much as I could about the natural history of the species under culture, the environment, the diet, the reproductive modes, etc., and use that knowledge as a base for development of adequate substitutes for that organism's basic requirements for survival. As with the early development of any new technology that holds a promise of commercial value, the early days of marine fish culture were shrouded in secrecy, or least that attempt was made. Thus my article was long on biology and short on technology. It was important, however, to provide enough detail in text and photos to establish with certainty that repetitive culture of relatively large numbers of juveniles had been accomplished. Within a few years, of course, the basic culture techniques, and many improvements as well, soon became relatively well known. Over the years, subsequent articles, books, and websites have provided great detail on the original and many additional techniques. The Marine Aquarium Handbook (now in the 3rd edition) and my book on rearing the orchid dottyback, many very significant recent articles and scientific papers, and books by Hoff, Wilkerson, and Wittenritch have now greatly expanded knowledge and "how to" information on marine ornamental fish culture. And now the information for large and small scale culture of many species (but not enough) of marine fish is readily available. My original article is of historical interest, but still provides good information on the biology of clownfish culture. Salt Water Aquarium, The international magazine for marine aquarists Introductory comments from Robert P. L. Straughan, editor, Salt Water Aquarium magazine March-April, 1973, Volume 9, Number 2 TANK RAISED CLOWNFISH! SPECIAL SPAWNING ISSUE A MILESTONE IN THE HOBBY BREEDING THE CLOWNFISH, Amphiprion ocellaris By MARTIN A. MOE, JR., MARINE BIOLOGIST Breeding marine fish has often been termed impossible, improbable, difficult and prohibitively expensive. It is actually none of these, as this article will show; however, it is time consuming and does require a good deal of specialized knowledge. This is not a "how to" article or a scientific paper since the techniques of rearing are still under development and many problems are yet to be solved, but I hope that it will stimulate increased interest in the hobby of maintaining marine fish and show that the prospect of rearing some of the marine tropical fish in large numbers may not be far off. Fishes of the genus Amphiprion, particularly the common clownfish A. ocellaris (percula) are among the most popular of marine aquarium fish. Their hardiness, vivid coloration, engaging personality and relative abundance are good reasons for their popularity. These traits alone are cause enough to investigate the possibilities of controlled reproduction and a study of what is known of their life history confirms their candidacy for breeding experimentation. Clownfish are demersal spawners, attaching their eggs to hard surfaces near the base of an anemone. They guard and aerate the eggs from spawning to hatching, a period of 7 to 9 days, after the fashion of cichlids. The larvae are large at hatching, about 4 mm in length, have eyes and mouth parts fully formed, and are ready to begin feeding within the first 24 hours of hatching. The adults mature at small size, 50 to 100 mm, and have a limited range, usually the immediate vicinity of an anemone. These biological characteristics make it relatively easy to provide the necessary environment to stimulate natural spawning. Dr. Gerald R. Allen (1) has compiled a recent and thorough review of the taxonomy and biology of the genus Amphiprion and he reports in this work of rearing 3 A. chrysopterus and one A. tricinctus through the larval stages on dried particulate food, This and other accounts of rearings of Amphiprion (2) (3) and (4) reported in the literature, made A. ocellaris an obvious choice for the first rearing attempts. The following work was conducted partly as an extension of a hobby and partly as independent research on reproduction in marine fishes while attending the University of South Florida. Spawning The project began in July, 1972, with the construction of two 55 gallon tanks destined to serve as spawning aquaria. Costs were cut markedly through constructing all parts of the tanks and filters with inexpensive, readily available materials. (Perhaps the details of construction will form a later article.) One of these tanks was established with natural sea water and small local fish were used to provide the nitrogenous waste to activate the filter bed. The other was filled with artificial sea water and the filter bed was activated chemically with ammonium chloride. The latter method resulted in a more trouble free tank than the former. Each tank was provided with full spectrum lighting and an attractive decor of construction stone. The photoperiod and temperature were adjusted to provide maximum stimulation of the fish's endocrine system and then the trauma of establishing the filters began. The tanks were ready for occupation about mid-September. Four A. ocellaris that seemed to be already mated and two large anemones of the genus Stoichactis were purchased at Scott's Highway Aquarium in St. Petersburg and the experiment began. A diet specially compounded of shrimp, clams, chicken gizzards and certain marine algae and vitamins was fed twice a day. The fish took immediately to the anemones and their general behavior was soon much like that described in the literature for the genus Amphiprion in the wild. The fish spent most of their time bathing in the anemone and hovering just above it protecting their anemone from all real and apparently many imaginary intruders. Movements many feet away from the aquaria would send them charging against the glass or scurrying in rapid retreat into the protective custody of the anemone. Male and female clownfish above nest during spawning. The male is "mouthing" the eggs and the female is depositing additional eggs on the rock. Only one pair engaged in spawning activity. This was the pair that occupied the tank established with artificial salt water, although by this time the initial water had been diluted with natural sea water to reduce the nitrate accumulation. The pair in the tank established with natural sea water and local fish had problems with external parasites and had to be treated several times. Also, as they gained in size the suspicion that they were both females became more of a certainty. They are almost equal in size and both have the roundness of the abdomen that seems characteristic of females. The spawning pair are unequal in size and vary in general shape. The female is the largest of the pair, approximately 80 millimeters long and has a well-rounded abdomen. The male is about 60 millimeters long and has a narrow abdomen and a much smaller appetite than the female. The first spawning occurred on November 3, 1972. There was some indication of impending spawning in the fullness of the female and for a few days before spawning each fish would occasionally bite gently at the abdomen and vent of the other. Spawning occurred, as it did in all subsequent 5 spawns, in the afternoon hours. About one hour before spawning, the pair actively cleans the rock that will receive the eggs by biting the substrate and aggressively jerking the head from side to side. The afternoon spawning could be accurately predicted in the early morning by the extended ovipositor of the female. The ovipositor, a blunt, rather large pinkish organ, did not retract until several hours after spawning. The male's genital papilla was small, white in color, sharply pointed and appeared only shortly before, during and shortly after spawning. Rapid chasing before spawning or rapid vertical movements as reported by other authors did not occur. Page 4 color spawn photo--Female clownfish (A. ocellaris)making a pass over the patch of eggs and depositing additional eggs. Male in background is "mouthing" the eggs. Photo by Martin A. Moe, Jr. Male guarding the late stage eggs. These eggs are about seven days after spawning and the bright spots of light in the patch of eggs is the flash reflecting from the eyes of the embryos. Toward the .end of the surface cleaning activity, the female began to make frequent passes over the rock with the tip of her ovipositor dragging over the cleaned surface. These passes became more frequent until after about 15 minutes the first eggs appeared. These were a bright orange-yellow, about 1 mm in diameter and 2 mm in length. They passed from the ovipositor and immediately adhered by one end to the rock. The female swam in a circular course around and through the cleaned area depositing the eggs as she passed. After every few passes the male swam over the enlarging patch of eggs and fertilized them. No milt (sperm) could be observed in the water, but even eggs placed one or two inches from the main patch were fertilized. During this activity both fish nipped at the anemone and caused it to retract from the area where the eggs were deposited. The nest was always made in an area covered by the anemone. The eggs adhered to the rock by means of a short pedestal composed of innumerable small fibers that fanned out over the rock. The yolk contained an oil droplet that may aid the buoyancy of the eggs but did not give them positive buoyancy since they sink if detached from the rock. Each egg could move almost 180 degrees in any direction with water movement, thus the patch of eggs was in constant motion under the careful fanning of the male. The male was clearly in charge of the eggs. He rarely left them for more than a few seconds during the entire period of incubation. The female would give them an occasional mouthing or a quick tail sweep, but did not guard them constantly even though she rarely left the vicinity of the anemone. The male usually positioned himself on topof the eggs and kept them moving with frequent sweeps of his pectoral and caudal fins. He would frequently "mouth" the eggs also, which consisted of positioning himself vertically over the eggs and while maintaining this orientation with quick movements of his fins, he gently bit at them in much the same way as the rock was initially cleaned for spawning. The female also engaged in mouthing the eggs but at more infrequent intervals than the male. This activity continued until the eggs hatched. Although other authors report increased fanning activity the day before the eggs hatch, I did not notice an increase in nest care activities at that time. However, during hatching, which always occurred at night at least several hours after the onset of darkness, the male was constantly active at the nest. This pair spawned 6 times in about 2 months, Nov. 3, Nov. 14, Nov. 30, Dec. 11, Dec. 24, and Jan. 6 were the dates of spawning. Behavior was similar during all spawns and number of eggs spawned varied from an estimated 500 to 800. Hatching and Larval Recovery The problem that caused the greatest limiting factor to the number of fish that were reared was not larval mortality, but recovery of the larvae after hatching. This is primarily a manipulative problem and can be solved through experience. Reports in the literature stated that hatching for most Amphiprion takes place on the night of the seventh day after hatching, and sure enough the eggs from the first batch of eggs looked ready to hatch on the seventh day. The reflective pigment of the eyes was well developed, the mouth parts were formed and the embryo was twitching within the chorion (egg shell) of the egg. Recovery of the larvae after hatching in the breeding aquarium was sure to be a struggle and not a positive method of recovery, so that about 75% of the eggs were carefully removed from the rock without disturbing the anemone and with minimal disturbance to the adults. The male resumed care of the remaining eggs when the operation was complete. These eggs, destined to hatch in a few hours (1 thought) were carefully incubated in the prepared larval tanks and I waited anxiously for hatching. It has been said that it's not nice to fool Mother Nature and I was ready to believe it. The eggs did not hatch in the incubating dish or on the rock. Although egg incubation in the hanging dishes was feasible for a few hours, it was not successful for a period of 30 to 48 hours. The eggs did not hatch until the night of the ninth day and by that time I had taken most of the remaining eggs trying to figure out what was happening and had almost given up on them hatching. As a result only 9 larvae were recovered on the day of hatching. Eight of these were reared to the juvenile stage. Eggs of the clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris, about 24 hours before hatching. The eyes and mouth parts are well developed at this stage, but the yolk is still large. The millimeter scale at the top shows the eggs as about 2 mm long and about 2 mm in diameter. The second spawn did not go much better. I waited until the ninth day to take the eggs, and did not take as many off the rock this time. However, a temperature drop in the aquarium of about 3 degrees C caused a delay in development and hatching for several days and the larvae did not appear until the night of the eleventh day after spawning. I also learned that an unattached egg has greater difficulty hatching than an attached one. As superbly illustrated in Dr. Allan's book on page 249, Amphiprion eggs hatch tail first. There is a tendency for a larvae hatching from an unattached egg to retain the egg capsule over the anterior portion of the body and swim about pushing the capsule before it. When this happens the larva soon succumbs to oxygen deprivation. Although it was possible to give the hatching larva an assist with a couple of pins, it was not a practical method of getting good larvae for rearing. An estimated 50 larvae were recovered from this spawn and 43 made it through the larval stage. The majority of these were recovered from the breeding aquarium after hatching by locating and concentrating the larvae with a flashlight and siphoning them from the tank. Undoubtedly some were injured by this treatment, but at least 90% were recovered without injury. The third spawn hatched in 8 days and recovery was entirely accomplished by siphoning the larvae from the breeding tank after hatching. Many larvae were recovered but still only an estimated one fifth of the entire spawn was captured. Immediately after hatching the larvae swim rapidly and apparently without direction for several minutes, and if during this period they encounter the gravel bottom of the tank or the inside of a shell or other restricted area, they probably never survive to the free swimming stage. The total number taken from the aquarium from this spawn was estimated at 125, and a total of 115 were taken from the larval tank in the post larval stage. Thus recovery after hatching was improving and survival rates remained high. Great things were expected from the next spawns for most of the problems had been identified, if not solved, and confidence was high. Mother Nature struck again. The fourth, fifth and perhaps the sixth spawns were complete wipe outs. All went well until the fifth day after spawning. At this time I noticed a whitening of the eggs and close examination revealed a granular whiteness of the yolk. The embryo appeared normal, but stunted, and hatching never occurred. When the same thing happened on the fifth spawn, I took some of the infected eggs to a friend At the Florida Department of Natural Resources Marine Research Laboratory to take a look at them through the microscope and see if we could determine the causative agent. We did find some "bugs" in the eggs in large numbers and made a very tentative identification putting them in the microsporida. If such is the case, the infection is probably located in the ovary of the female and may have been introduced with some food item, although it is possible that it entered with the natural sea water or was already in the fish in another developmental stage before she spawned the first time. This type of infection does yield to the SSA treatment (Sterilize and Start Again) so future experimentation must wait until new set ups are prepared. This problem can be avoided, unless it is inherent in all female Amphiprion through careful processing of water and food to prevent introduction. Larval Rearing Good success was obtained in rearing the larvae from the above reported spawns. Survival to the post larval stage was estimated in the second and third spawns, but could not have been less than 60% and was probably closer to 80%. The post larval stage was entered when the fish became 1/4 inch long, had developed the orange body color, had formed the white stripe at the nape, and began thigmotaxis (association with a solid object). At this point the fish could be netted and transferred to a grow-out aquarium. An early post larval clownfish about 8 mm long and 10 days old. The orange color is well developed and the white nape stripe is formed across the dorsal surface. The central white band has yet to form. The larval tanks were rather small, 36 gallons, and were designed to provide the proper environment for the newly hatched larvae. Temperature, lighting, salinity, and water quality were all considered in establishing the larval tanks. The design of the tanks also allowed development of water currents and micro-turbulence that aided floatation of food and larvae. The larvae were fed all live foods while in the larval tanks. Specially processed wild plankton and cultures of micro-organisms were the first food and after three days the larvae were large enough to accept brine shrimp and particulate dead and dried foods. Growth of the larvae was quite fascinating. The disparity of growth rates among larvae from the same spawn that apparently had equal opportunity to feed was quite large. A few of the larvae entered the post larval stage within 5 days, the majority were at this point of development in 8 days and a few took 15 to 18 days before they gained color and abandoned their pelagic mode of life. This great variance in larval growth rate may be more pronounced in nature and may have bearing on distribution of Amphiprion in the Indo-Australian Archipelago- Philippines region. Those larvae that pass quickly through the larval stages would settle near the place of spawning while those with an extended larval life may settle far from their place of origin. There was no apparent difference in viability between the fast and slow growing larvae. Juvenile Growth When the majority of the larvae reached the post larval stage, about 10 days after placement in the larval rearing tank, they were removed and placed in an established 20 gallon aquarium to gain in size before being transferred to a 60 gallon grow out tank. At this time they were fed a formula similar to that fed to the adults but processed so that it would break up into many fine particles upon introduction to the tank. Newly hatched brine shrimp were also fed. The fry reached lengths of ½ inch in three weeks and many are about an inch long at an age of 6 weeks. There are no signs of malformations due to malnutrition or any parasitic infections. The fry are very alert and active and even began intraspecific behavioral interactions in the early post larval period. There was one small anemone in the first juvenile tank and the newly introduced post larvae quickly (within two hours) occupied the anemone. I did not observe any period of acclimation by the small fish to the anemone. There was no noticeable avoidance reaction by the fish when it first touched the anemone, however, the post larvae spent up to an hour drifting about the edge of the anemone before entering among the tentacles. First photo ever of tank raised clownfish! A gathering of small clownfish in the large 60 gallon tank. These fish are about two months old. Several with incomplete mid-body white bands can be seen. All of these and more were hatched and reared by Martin A. Moe. Who said it couldn't be done? Photo by Martin A. Moe, Jr. Eight to ten of the larger post larvae established territories on the face of the anemone and guarded this area vigorously. The largest, most dominant fish occupied the center of the anemone. At night these territories disintegrated and at least 50 small clownfish would enter the anemone and nestle among the tentacles. An interesting coloration abnormality occurred in about 10% of the fish. The center stripe, which forms at about 10 to 15 days of age, does not form completely. In some fish only a dorsal saddle is present and in others the bar is incomplete on one or both sides. One fish, a runt, had only one small oval white spot on the right side instead of a mid-body band. There is a tendency for the abbreviated band to develop toward normalcy as the fish ages, but as of this writing none of the markedly brief bands have become completely normal. This unusual banding usually occurs among the fastest growing fish, although there are exceptions. It may be that the period of band formation is somehow disrupted by the rapid larval growth than the tank reared larvae experience. Post larval clownfish in a small anemone. These are about 12 days old and are quite content with their anemone. Six others not clearly visible in the in the photo share the anemone. Behavioral interactions occur frequently between the fish at this age. Juvenile clownfish at about 25 days and 5/8th inch in length. The fish on the far right has an incomplete central white band. The black edging of the pelvic fins are the first black areas to develop. The largest juveniles are now displaying the black edging on the caudal and soft dorsal fin. The white band about the caudal peduncle is the last white band to develop and this is usually in evidence at about 15 days. Many problems remain to be solved (some haven't even been identified) before breeding marine tropical fish becomes routine. However, the successes reported in this brief article indicate that production of large numbers of marine tropical fish is possible. The very basic technology has been developed and given the proper facilities and development time, I feel that many species could be cultured. The basic principles are adaptable to other species, certainly to other Amphiprion, but I am sure many specialized problems will be encountered with various species. The fish from these experimental spawns are now on display at Scott's Highway Aquarium in St. Petersburg, Florida. I hope future articles will be able to recount additional successes and perhaps more details on spawning and rearing procedures. References Allen, G. B. 1972. Anemonefishes, their classification and biology. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. LTD, Neptune City, N. J. : 1 - 288 pages. Meulengracht-Madsen, J. 1071. Breeding Amphiprion percula. Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Vol. XIX, March 1971: 52-57. Neugegauer, W. 1969. So zuchen wir Korallenfische. Aquarien Macazin. Stuttgart, Dec. 1969: 483-488. Schreiner, W. 1972. Breeding Report Clownfishes. The Marine Aquarist. Vol. 3, No. 31-33. Breeding the Clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris, postscript The sixth spawn was also infected with the parasite within the eggs, however, only a portion of the spawn was lost. The eggs were removed from the parents a few hours after spawning and were treated in a solution of sulfathiazole and quinine for three hours. They were then artificially incubated in a methylene blue solution for the entire 8 days of development. The presence of the parasite was noted on the evening of the fourth day of incubation and on the fifth day 330 infected eggs were removed from the rock. Four more were removed the following day and the remaining eggs seemed to develop normally. About 200 eggs remained and hatching took place on the evening of the eighth day. Not all the eggs hatched, about 50 remained on the rock and were expected to hatch the following night. At this point, I made an error. The tank was not adjusted to the larval rearing condition because the remaining eggs were still incubating and about 50% of the newly hatched larvae were lost. Most of the remaining eggs did not hatch anyway, thus all the trouble and loss of larvae was unnecessary .Good experience was gained, however, and about 50 strong larvae resulted from the sixth spawn. Even in larvae 48 hours old, remarkable size variation occurs. Some of the larvae are already 6 mm long and beginning to develop orange coloration while others are still the size of a newly hatched larva. View the full article

Click through to see the images. They look for anemones of course. In their paper "Reef fishes use sea anemones as visual cues for cleaning interactions with shrimp" published recently in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, researchers Lindsay Huebner and Nanette Chadwick of the Auburn University's Department of Biological Sciences explore how these tiny, unassuming shrimp are found on the reef by fish in need of a good cleaning. Their research focused on the Caribbean Pederson Cleaner Shrimp, Ancylomenes pedersoni, along with the corkscrew sea anemones Bartholomea annulata that they are typically found living with among the reef structure. What the researchers wondered was how anemone cues were used by fishes to find cleaner shrimp so that they could be cleaned. Huebner and Chadwick tested this situation by evaluating anemone characteristics with fish visitation rates, and by changing the visibility of anemones and cleaner shrimp in field experiments using mesh covers. The researchers found that fish visited cleaning stations more often as the size of the anemone increased in addition to the number of crustacean symbionts present. They also found that fishes posed for cleaning at stations only when anemones were visible (i.e. not covered with a mesh cover), regardless of whether shrimp were visible. These visual cues help fishes find cleaning stations and is also a "previously unknown symbiotic benefit to cleaner shrimp from association with sea anemones." View the full article

Click through to see the images. This reef aquarium is slightly bigger than yours (yes, you too Ralf!) Ever wonder what it takes to build, support and maintain a 20,000 gallon living coral reef aquarium? Joe Yaiullo graciously takes us behind the scenes in Advanced Aquarist's February, 2007 Feature Aquarium article. How time flies! Since then, Atlantis Marine World underwent a huge 97,498-square-foot, $24 million expansion and officially changed their name to Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center. We get the great opportunity to revisit their 20,000 gallon reef thanks to youtube member 'mmmCHOCOLATES' (love the name!). The LIA reef display has matured impressively. Congrats to Joe and the entire staff at LIA for all their success. " height="405" style="width: 680px;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="680"> "> "> " height="405" style="width: 680px;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="680"> "> "> View the full article

you can find this from Madpetz .. you can check this link for more information; http://reefbuilders.com/2011/05/26/bacteria-king-reef-systems-interesting-naturally-porous-biomedia/

Did you try taking out the pump and wash it ?

Well done to your success in breeding these fellow. Below is a good read on Harlequin shrimp breeding which you can check it out ; http://www.chucksaddiction.com/harlequinshrimp.html

Shark attacks in the US declined in 2011, but worldwide fatalities reached a two-decade high, according to the a new report. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Mounding corals of the genus Porites tend to be among the longest-lived corals on reefs throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is not unusual to find individuals of these corals which have grown more than 6 ft high and are over a century old. In fact, the oldest known tropical corals are mounding Porites more than 30 ft tall and estimated to be on the order of 1000 yrs old. Because these are often long-lived animals they can be used as recorders of coral health and growth as well as certain environmental conditions over long periods of time. Corals produce bands in their skeleton as the seasons change, just as trees make tree rings. After taking a core sample of a coral skeleton the annual growth rate (i.e., linear extension) and quantity of skeleton it produced (i.e., calcification) can be determined by measuring the distance between bands and the density of the skeleton. Several scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), among others, have used this technique extensively over the last several years to better understand how climate change and ocean acidification which have already occurred due to human activities has affected coral growth rates over time. Let me start with a bit of background. In 2009 Glenn De’ath, Janice Lough and Katherina Fabriscius of AIMS published a study in the journal Science which examined the growth of mounding Porites along the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) over the last 400 yrs. They sampled from the hotter reefs in the north to the cooler reefs in the south and found that coral growth didn’t change much or do anything particularly interesting over most of the last 400 yrs, until about the year 1990. Beginning around 1990 coral growth rates started to decrease across the GBR and overall they decreased about 14% from 1990-2005. Since this decrease occurred over thousands of miles one can be confident that local stressors like sedimentation, overfishing, etc. which might affect one part of the reef but not another are unlikely to be the cause of the decreased growth rates. Instead, a regional or global stressor is almost certainly to blame with the most likely culprits being increased temperature (associated with climate change) and reduced pH (associated with ocean acidification). Christmas tree worms growing on Porites attenuata. On the GBR the annual average temperature in the north today is ~82 °F whereas in the south the annual average is ~77.5 °F (note, these are the annual averages—temperatures are higher in summer and lower in winter). Along the GBR temperatures increased about 1-2 °F over the last 100 yrs (less in the north, more in the south) with about half of that warming occurring after 1990. Coral bleaching along the GBR due to high summertime temperatures was practically nonexistent prior to 1990 but has become widespread since then. My gut feeling and based on various lines of evidence is that elevated temperatures and not reduced pH are likely the bigger player in this case of reduced coral growth since mounding Porites seem to be less sensitive to moderate reductions in pH as compared to many other corals, but they are sensitive to elevated temperature. Fast-forward to 2012 and AIMS scientists (Timothy Cooper, Rebecca O’Leary, and Janice Lough) have just published a similar study in Science, but examining coral growth along Western Australia (as opposed to the GBR, which is off eastern Australia). Like the 2009 study, they used cores from mounding Porites to examine coral growth, concentrating on the years 1900-2010. Similar to the GBR, the reefs in the north along Western Australia have an average annual temperature today of ~82 °F whereas the reefs in the far south along Western Australia have a chilly annual average today of ~72 °F. These far southern reefs grow in some of the coolest water of any coral reefs worldwide. Over the last 110 yrs the reefs in the north off Western Australia have experienced relatively little warming—less than 0.4 °F. Cooper et al. found that the growth rate of these corals has not changed significantly during this period. The reefs near the middle of the geographic range have an annual average temperature today of ~77.5 °F which has increased about 1 °F over the last 110 yrs and coral growth rates have decreased 3-11%. In contrast, the reefs in the south and far south have a mean annual temperature today of ~75 and 72 °F, respectively, and have each warmed by about 1 and 2 °F over the last 110 yrs. The corals on these reefs have increased their growth rates by 6 and 24%. Hence, these southern reefs had an annual average temperature of ~74 and 70 °F 110 yrs ago, now have an annual average temp of ~75 and 72 °F, and the corals are growing faster as a result. Context here is very important. Drawing from these two studies as well as others that have been conducted in a similar way in Thailand, the Red Sea, and Belize we see that corals that are found at typical temperatures for coral reefs have responded negatively to increased temperatures. As the temperature goes higher, most corals grow slower. Corals that are found in some of the few places that have not warmed much (i.e., northern reefs along Western Australia) have not experienced much of a change in their growth rates. Corals found at the extreme cold fringes of where they can grow have responded positively to a little bit of warming so far (i.e., southern reefs along Western Australia). This is exactly how we would expect most any group of organisms to respond to a change in temperature. Any physiological process (in this case coral growth) occurs fastest at an optimal temperature and decreases if we either raise or lower the temperature from that optimum. Corals along the GBR and on the majority of reefs worldwide are already close to their temperature optima. Hence, when the temperature increases they grow more slowly. Corals at the extreme cool fringe of coral reefs are below their temperature optima and a small increase in temperature increases their growth rates. As a result, we would expect to see the growth rates of most corals on most reefs decrease as the climate warms and the growth rates of corals on cold reefs to initially increase, reach a maximum and then decrease as the climate warms further. Coral on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo by Steve Evans. One of the beautiful things about science is that data, not opinions, ultimately settle scientific disagreements. Questions of fact are settled with the facts and an individual’s political, social, or other positions don’t count in science, just the evidence. An honest assessment of all the data shows that the climate change we have had so far has harmed most corals but has benefitted at least some corals which grow on unusually cold reefs, though they represent a very small proportion of reefs worldwide. Hence, climate change has been mostly, but not entirely, bad for coral reefs whereas additional warming will be much worse. It is therefore very disheartening to see articles like, “Century of ocean warming good for corals, research shows”, a summary of Cooper et al. (2012). The Herald Sun managed to put dramatic political spin on scientific data. Does research show that a century of warming is generally good for corals, as the article title suggests? No, research including just the Cooper et al. (2012) study, shows that a century of warming has been bad for most corals and has only benefitted a minority which grow on unusually cool reefs. Do “the findings undermine predictions that global warming will devastate coral reefs”? No, not remotely. The findings reinforce our understanding of how a warming climate will affect coral reefs. Indeed, that understanding tells us that a large degree of warming like we are currently on track for will prove devastating to almost all coral reefs. Do these data “add to a growing body of evidence showing corals are more resilient than previously thought - up to a certain point”? Again, not really. These data show that the predictions made about how climate change should affect the physiology of organisms is being born out in the real world. Decades worth of laboratory and field study of corals along with centuries worth of research on physiology have allowed us to make correct predictions of how corals and other organisms will react to climate change. In the article by the Herald Sun we see a classic case of cherry picking—presenting just that piece of information that supports ones argument and ignoring the rest, especially when the rest of the data invalidates the argument. The argument is similar to suggesting that the recession of 2008 was a good thing for the economy because some bank CEOs were payed huge bonuses. That doesn’t make much sense! It is disturbing to see this happen, but I stress that no fault lies with the Cooper et al., the authors of the scientific article, nor anyone else at AIMS. Indeed, I’ve seen my own words and data used to make idiotic, non-scientific arguments by individuals or groups sceptical of the seriousness of ocean acidification. Such dishonesty doesn’t fly in science simply because it is difficult to pull a fast one on experts in any field, but these tactics are used rampantly by some publications and groups to misinform the public for their own political, social, or other gains. Make no mistake, most of the climate change of at least the last 50 yrs has been the direct result of the release of greenhouse gases from human sources, primarily CO2. This warming has had a negative effect on most corals, though it has benefitted a tiny minority. Business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions would prove devastating to almost all reefs worldwide, but there is still a lot of relatively healthy coral left. We can save reefs for the future, but to do that we need to get to work reducing CO2 emissions now. View the full article

Click through to see the images. I couldn't help but notice the awesome reef fish watercolor paintings posted by fellow hobbyist Nathan Wilson at Reef2Reef (member etan714). Nate is a reef aquarist from Pennsylvania who is also a self-taught artist specializing in watercolor paintings of fish and other sea creatures. Nate describes his work as being "perfect for reef geeks, fish heads, icthyophiles, and anyone who appreciates a nice watercolor." Pictured below are just a few examples of his fine work. Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loriculus) Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Rhinopias Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa) Blotched Anthias (Odontanthias borbonius) Sacura speciosa Schooling Bannerfish (Heniochus diphreutes) Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) These beautiful works of art are a very affordable way to add a splash of marine life into your space. I decided to get a little creative with some of the greeting cards I purchased from Nate at a local frag swap; Using a few packages of the cards, an inexpensive frame and black matte background, I was able to create a diverse collage of reef fish as a centerpiece in my bedroom. These greeting cards not only look great, but they also list the common and scientific names of each fish on the back of each card. A majority of the work that Nate creates is by special request. To learn more about his paintings and/or purchase some art of your own, be sure to visit his online web store. View the full article

Satellite tracking of threatened loggerhead sea turtles has revealed two previously unknown feeding "hotspots" in the Gulf of Mexico that are providing important habitat for at least three separate populations of the turtles. View the full article

Carbon is consider chemical filtration and can be place after your mechanical or biological filtration for removing toxin and yellow strain in the water making it crystal clear . When the water is much more clearer , your corals will be able to get better lighting penetration from your lighting and grow better. Coral chips and Bio home although both are filtration media, Bio home is man made engineered to house more bacteria in it's pore for more bacteria growth hence it allow waste to break down faster than coral chip. You can also consider the new Bacteria king in the market which is slightly cheaper than Bio home but work as good. Hope it helps

That two model is a little bit under size for your tank size i feel, and the pump is a pump from china as well which explain why for the high power watt. Maybe you want to consider paying a little bit more for bigger model of the skimmer or getting a second hand from pasa malam section. Happy hunting.

Click through to see the images. Last month, Vertex Aquaristik (makers of high-end protein skimmers, LED lighting, and calcium reactors) started shipping out their latest product line comprised of three magnetic aquarium accessories: two cleaner magnets and a probe holder. (Read more about these products) Advanced Aquarist received retail samples; Here are unboxing photos and our short reviews on Vertex's new magnetic accessories. First up is the Vertex Sensor-Mag Titanium. This product is designed to hold up to three probes to your sump or aquarium glass/acrylic wall using three strong magnets per side. In fact, the magnets were impressively strong and more than capable of affixing the probe holder on walls as thick as 1/2" without twisting. We found the 13mm/0.5" diameter circular probe holes snug but able to accommodate popular probes available to hobbyists such as those made by Pinpoint. The titanium screw downs worked as expected and were smooth to operate. If you're using Pinpoint probes, you can even opt to remove the screws entirely because the holes are a near perfect fit for these probes (the top black "cap" of the probe is larger in diameter than the hole and will prevent it from slipping all the way through). For under $25, the Vertex Sensor-Mag Titanium represents a very attractive accessory from both a price and visual point of view. Next up are Vertex's two new magnet cleaners, the Cleaner-Mag Simplex and Cleaner-Mag Duplex. These small magnets are designed for small aquariums and are extremely well made and attractive, reminding us of aquarium jewelry. The magnets are impressively strong despite their small sizes. They held very firmly yet glided smoothly when used on 1/8 and 3/16" glass or acrylic commonly found on small aquariums. Both magnets had enough power to provide a solid grip on walls as thick as 1/4" thick, with the Duplex's dual magnets naturally being the stronger of the two magnet cleaners. We were able to "jump" corners with no problems, although it should be noted the wet half will sink if separated. We found the Simplex's cleaning surface too small for practical application in anything but 'pico' aquariums (<5 gallon), while the larger Duplex is a much more capable cleaner magnet that should tackle the job for tanks up to 20 gallons. Here are the two magnets alongside a ball point pen for size comparison. Overall, Vertex's new magnetic aquarium accessories are produced (and packaged) with the fit and finish aquarists have come to expect from this high-end German manufacturer. The Sensor-Mag Titanium greatly impressed us with its functionality and form; It is arguably the most attractive probe holder on the market and one of the most affordable too. The cleaner magnets may not be the most cost effective or practical algae magnets available (especially the Simplex model), but it's hard to deny their sex appeal. View the full article

Click through to see the images. On this particular podcast, we all weighed in about our blogs and discussed what it is like blogging about the reefkeeping hobby in general. We covered subjects such as: Our approaches to content How much time we spend blogging and digging through material per day New things that are going on at our respective sites Hobby trends - new things we are seeing and where we think the hobby is heading Our thoughts on regulation and sustainability Our best / funniest / strangest / coolest post that we have recently published Where our hobby is heading in the next 10 years. Head over to ReefThreads.com and give it a listen. While you're at it, download a couple additional episodes as well. Gary and Christine really do an excellent job covering the reefkeeping hobby on a weekly basis and I highly recommend this podcast to people I talk to in the reefkeeping hobby. This was my first official podcast and I thoroughly enjoyed my time talking with everyone and hope we can do this again sometime soon! View the full article

Click through to see the images. The NWRS is a reef club based out of Rhinelander, WI. Our membership covers a large area as far south as Wausau, WI and as north as Ontonagon, MI (UP). The Upper Peninsula of Michigan Marine Aquarium Society (UPMMAS) membership covers the western half of Upper Michigan. The Lake Superior Marine Aquarium Club is centered in Duluth, Minnesota and their membership covers northern Minnesota and the northwestern portion of Wisconsin. Both LSMAC & UPMMAS along with a newly formed club Central Wisconsin Reef Society will have club frag tanks (for their own fund raising) at our event. Our event is growing in both attendees and area reef club participation. Inviting our "neighbor" clubs to get more involved in our swap does more than improve the event. It gives our clubs the opportunity to have co-meetings, other events like speakers and most importantly everybody can make new friends from different areas. Where: Quality Inn (Formally Holiday Inn), Rhinelander, WI. When: Saturday, March 17th, 10:00am - 3:00pm cst. (Coral Trader setup, Friday, 4:00 - 8:00pm & Saturday, 8:00 - 10:00 am) Why Attend: The 2012 swap will be bigger and better than last year. Speaker: Our own Kevin Kohen will be doing a presentation. Reef Q&A Table: Featuring Kevin Kohen (LiveAquaria Director), Matt Petersen (Expert Fish Breeder & Coral Magazine), Steve Krogh (LiveAquaria) & more to be added! Coral: The Coral Swap will have an amazing selection of coral, all at tremendous prices for you to purchase from our Traders—all coral experts, in their own right, always willing to answer questions and give you suggestions on how to take care of your coral purchases. Silent Coral Auction: Again this year, one of our major sponsors Foster & Smith’s Live Aquaria is donating coral from Diver’s Den for our silent auction. Divers Den Coral: Drs. F&S LiveAquaria will be allowing attendees to preorder from their Divers Den and pickup your items the day of our event. You can save shipping charges on any item that is normally shipped from Drs Foster & Smith Aquaculture Coral & Marine Life Facility in Rhinelander Wisconsin. Now is your chance to purchase that Coral(s), Fish, Clam or Invertebrate, and the money you save on shipping, you can spend on Frags at the Swap! Ordering information and updates can be found HERE. Drs. Foster & Smith Retail Store will be offering a 10% discount on dry-goods & live-goods purchased the day of our swap! Detailed information, the map/coupon and helpful shopping hints can be found: HERE Receive and Win Great Items: There are 4 ways in which attendees and coral traders can receive or win great items! Free Goody Bags to anyone who registers as an attendee. The giveaway items are of limited quantity and are on a "first come - first receive" basis. Coral Trader Gift certificates Drawing. The drawing will be held at 11:30 (so don't be late) and is free to all attendees. The certificates can be redeemed at the Coral Traders Table. Door Prize Drawings will be held at 11:30, 1:00 & 2:30 cst. Grand Prize Drawing will be held at 3:00pm cst. The grand prize will be a pair (2) of Vortec MP10w ES. Other prizes to be announced. CORAL TRADER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND: HERE Any questions or help regarding the Swap Meet will be answered promptly by contacting: admin@nwreefsociety.com or Treasurer@NWReefsociety.com. OUR EVENT SPONSORS CAN BE FOUND: HERE If you are interested in joining NRWS you can get information on becoming a member: HERE Any questions about NWRS or joining our club will be quickly answered by contacting our club Treasurer@NWReefsociety.com or admin@nwreefsociety.com. View the full article