Harlequinmania

Click through to see the images. Marine aquarists recognize the stunning livestock that hails from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Words simply can not describe how expansive and beautiful the GBR is, so let's jump straight to the videos. All three gorgeous HD footage are produced by Underwater Productions. The Destination Reefs video series showcases the diversity of coral reefs around the world. Through these high quality videos, Advanced Aquarist hopes we can all gain a greater appreciation of reef life beyond our glass boxes. Our world is truly a wondrous place! Diving the Ribbon Reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef Diving the "Cod Hole" on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, post Cyclone Yasi Scuba diving on the wreck of the ex-HMAS Brisbane View the full article

Click through to see the images. Marine aquarists all recognize the stunning livestock that hails from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Words simply can not describe how expansive and beautiful the GBR is, so let's just get straight to the videos. All three gorgeous HD footage are produced by Underwater Productions. The Destination Reefs video series showcases the diversity of coral reefs around the world. Through these high quality videos, Advanced Aquarist hopes we can all gain a greater appreciation of reef life beyond our glass boxes. Our world is truly a wondrous place! Diving the Ribbon Reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef Diving the "Cod Hole" on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, post Cyclone Yasi Scuba diving on the wreck of the ex-HMAS Brisbane View the full article

Click through to see the images. According to ORA: Description: The ORA Confusa is a horizontal plating Montipora with very pronounced ridges covering its undulating surface. The overall green coloration is interrupted between the ridges by small brown polyps while the plate edge and new growth are intense purple in color. Occasionally this coral grows thick, columnar upright branches, though we have yet to figure out what environment is most conducive to this growth form. This is a relatively slow growing coral that achieves best coloration under strong lighting conditions though it is always best to gradually acclimate corals to a different lighting intensity. We are especially happy to see the ORA Confusa making it to market as it has been in our collection for many, many years and it has always been an employee favorite. Frags will be approximately 1 inch and will come attached to a cement aragonite disk. Placement: Middle - Top Lighting: Medium - High Flow: Moderate - Strong View the full article

Click through to see the images. As I mentioned before, ocean sunfish (Mola mola) are the heaviest bony fish known reaching weights upwards of 2,200 lbs (1000 kg). Their body shape is incredibly strange, resembling a flattened fish head with large dorsal and ventral fins extending upwards and downwards at the end of its body. Their diet is predominantly jellyfish, which is surprising given how large these fish can grow at adulthood. The fish gets its common name from its tendency to sun itself at the surface of the water either by itself or in shoals of multiple fish. Albatross cleaning parasitic Pennella off sunfish. These large fish are prone to parasite infections and in the case of sunfish, over 40 different species of parasites could potentially live both internally and externally on them. To remove these parasites, sunfish will find free-floating kelp fields which harbor cleaner wrasses and other fishes that will pick the parasites off of their body. In their paper "Observations on a school of ocean sunfish and evidence for a symbiotic cleaning association with albatrosses," Takuzo Abe and other researchers observed a shoal of small oceanic sunfish (~40 cm in length) in the western North Pacific Ocean basking at the surface. These fish were heavily infested with ecto-parasites (Pennella sp.) based on the researchers' observations. As it so happened, a group of Laysan albatrosses were floating nearby and the shoal of sunfish seemed to shadow these albatrosses for the length of the researchers' time in the area. During this time an albatross was observed to swim up to one of the sunfish and pick off one of the Pennella and eat it (photo above). Abe's group hypothesizes that this could very well be typical cleaning behavior for these fishes. (via Not Exactly Rocket Science) View the full article

Click through to see the images. Anyone else want to see this reef as a Featured Aquarium in our magazine? " height="405" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="680"> "> "> " height="405" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="680"> "> "> View the full article

A recent study found that the chlorophyll in green vegetables offers protection against cancer when tested against the modest carcinogen exposure levels most likely to be found in the environment. However, chlorophyll actually increases the number of tumors at very high carcinogen exposure levels. The research raises serious questions about whether traditional lab studies done with mice and high levels of toxic exposure are providing accurate answers to what is a real health risk, what isn't, and what dietary or pharmaceutical approaches are useful. View the full article

Determining the evolution of pigmentation patterns on mollusk seashells -- which could aid in the understanding of ancient nervous systems -- has proved to be a challenging feat for researchers. Now, however, through mathematical equations and simulations, researchers have used 19 different species of the predatory sea snail Conus to generate a model of the pigmentation patterns of mollusk shells. View the full article

Wandering albatrosses have altered their foraging due to changes in wind fields in the southern hemisphere during the last decades. Since winds have increased in intensity and moved to the south, the flight speed of albatrosses increased and they spend less time foraging. As a consequence, breeding success has improved and birds have gained 1 kilogram. View the full article

Wandering albatrosses have altered their foraging due to changes in wind fields in the southern hemisphere during the last decades. Since winds have increased in intensity and moved to the south, the flight speed of albatrosses increased and they spend less time foraging. As a consequence, breeding success has improved and birds have gained 1 kilogram. View the full article

Researchers have come up with a way of tagging gunpowder which allows its illegal use to be detected even after it has been detonated. Based on the addition of isotopes, the technique can also be used to track and differentiate between wild fish and those from a fish farm, such as trout and salmon. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Pearlfish (family Carapidae) are scaleless, their bodies are somewhat translucent, and they look remotely like eels when they swim outside of their host. They can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and have been found down to depths of over 2,000 meters. Some of the species can reach upwards of 50 cm in length when full grown. These fish are unique in that the adults normally live inside invertebrates like clams, sea squirts, and starfish in a commensal relationship (not harming their host). This trait is common throughout the Carapidae family. Some species of this family, however, are possibly parasitic. These live inside sea cucumbers where they will first eat the gonads of their host and then live inside the anal pore. The Pinhead pearlfish (Carapus boraborensis) is suspected to be parasitic whereas the Silver pearlfish (Encheliophis homei) is suspected to be non-parasitic based on stomach content analysis and where they are found within a cucumber when dissected. Before entry, a pearlfish will normally spend several minutes inspecting the entire body length of a cucumber before proceeding to the back end. A knocking or tapping movement is performed near the anus as if "asking" to gain entry. Reports indicate that pearlfish normally back in tail first but have also been observed to enter head first. More than one pearlfish has been known to live inside a cucumber at any one time as well making for a somewhat cramped living environment. This trait has been observed with the Silver pearlfish where sexual pairing has been found within a cucumber. This pairing behavior is not often seen in our reef aquariums but occasionally members of various reefkeeping forums will report that they have one in their tank. Watch the video below to see this relationship. If you're short on time, skip ahead to the 6 minute mark for the re-entry... View the full article

Click through to see the images. This unique specimen was first blogged by Aquanerd last week. For anyone with a beaucoup bank account and a passion for rare livestock, head over to Pacific East Aquaculture to 'shell' out $999 for this "Chimera" clam. If you need to rationalize it, think of it this way: You're sort of getting two clams for the price of one. View the full article

Biologists just discovered two new species of frogs in New Guinea, one of which is now the world's tiniest known vertebrate, averaging only 7.7 millimeters in size -- less than one-third of an inch. It ousts Paedocypris progenetica, an Indonesian fish averaging more than 8 millimeters, from the record. View the full article

Every year, a group of anti-whaling nonprofit organizations that includes Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, and the World Wildlife Fund spend, by conservative estimates, some $25 million on a variety of activities intended to end commercial whaling. View the full article

Click through to see the images. LEDs are becoming more prevalent in the hobby. New LED fixtures continue to be introduced into the hobby. Continuing in the same vein as my previous LED lighting tests, this article presents data on light intensity and spread for several new LED fixtures. The following LED lighting fixtures reviewed in this article: EcoTech Radion Orphek PR-156 Array Orphek Pendant DIF 100W Orphek Pendant DIF 50W Ecoray 112 Mvava I Mvava II Ecoxotic 100W Cannon Each of these was tested using the same set up as my previous reflector tests, using a 3'X3' grid with a spacing of 3" in the X,Y direction. The fixtures were centered on this grid, and PAR was measured as PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density) in micromoles/m2/sec using a LICOR 1000 data logger and a LI-192SA underwater cosine corrected sensor calibrated for both air and water. The data logger was set to average 5 readings for each data collection point. The data was imported into Microsoft Excel for analysis and the data was plotted to display the light spread and intensity at various distances. 4 plots of the data with 2 plots at each distance were generated showing: A 3-D surface plot showing the actual PAR values recorded A contour plot viewing the surface from the top showing the distribution The fixtures were tested for light spread and intensity at 24"and 30", unless otherwise noted. Power draw was measured with a Kill-A-Watt meter. LED Fixtures Tested Radion Orphek PR-156 Array Orphek Pendant DIF 100W Orphek Pendant DIF 50W Ecoray 112 Mvava I Mvava II Ecoxotic 100W Cannon Test Data and Analysis Ecotech Radion XR30W The Ecotech Radion offers multiple color LEDs, with 2 types of LED blue, white, green and red leds. A total of 8 Cree XP-G Cool White LEDs run at 5W each, 8 Cree XP-E Blue LEDs run at 3W each, 10 Cree XP-E Royal Blue LEDs run at 3W each, 4 Cree XP-E Green LEDs run at 3W each and 4 Osram Oslon SSL Hyper Red LEDs run at 3W each. There are 4 separate channels of control that allow user to customize the light output by adjusting the output of the various channels independently via software program. Additionally these Radion lights will communicate with any EcoSmart "w" enabled VorTech pumps. Coordinated night mode, storms and other light- and water-synchronized features can be programmed and coordinated by the wireless functionality. As tested the Radion drew 141W of power. Figure 1. Radion showing the arrangement of the different color LED in each cluster Figure 2 Radion Light Intensity and Distribution at 24" and 30" Orphek PR-156W LED Array The Orphek array PR-156 is one of the newer models that includes 4 UV LEDs, in addition to the blue and white LEDs. A total of 60 LEDs running at around 2W each make up the complete array. As tested the Orphek drew 110W of power. As seen from the light distribution, there are large areas at 24" and 36" where the PPFD values exceed 200. This clearly shows the impact of the optics and will allow these fixtures to be well suited for deeper tanks and mounting higher to get larger spread if desired. Figure 3 Orphek PR-156W Showing the different color LEDs Figure 4 Orphek PR-156W Light Intensity and Distribution at 24" and 30" Ecoray 112 Similar to the Ecoray 60 in design, this is the larger version with 112 LEDs - 56 White High Power 1 Watt LED, (color temperature 12000K - 160000K) and 56 Blue Actinic High Power 1 Watt LED (Wave Length 450-460 nm) arranged in a 8X14 grid. As seen from the data, the additional optics clearly focus the light to achieve high PPFD values. This light would be ideally suited for deep tanks (even greater than 30" deep), or allow for higher placement of the light above the tank surface. As tested the Ecoray-112 drews 132W of power. Figure 5: Light distribution for the Ecoray 112 MVAVA - I Series LED Array The MVAVA LED array comprised 84 1W LEDs with an equal mixture of white and blue LEDs, housed in a heavy Aluminum case, actively air cooled by fans. As tested the MVAVA-1 drew 132W of power. Figure 6: Light distribution for the MVAVA - I Series LED Array MVAVA - II Series LED Array MVAVA II LED array comprised of 56 1W Blue LED and 8 10W multichip White LEDs, in a similar Aluminum case with actively air cooled by fans. As tested the MVAVA-II drew 172W of power. Figure 7: Light distribution for the MVAVA - II Series LED Array Multichip LED Pendants While the previously discussed LED fixtures were arrays of single LEDs, high power multichip arrays provide yet another option. Multichip arrays provide high wattage LEDs on a single chip by combining several LED multichip emitters in a single package. This eliminates the need for wiring large arrays of LEDs and using individual reflectors. The Orphek pendants and Ecoxotic Cannons are examples of multichip LEDs that are available to the hobbyist. 6a. Orphek DIF 50 (blue+UV) and DIF 100 (20,000K white) Pendant The Orphek DIF50 (blue+UV) Pendent and DIF 100W (20,000K white) pendants were tested only at 24", due to the length of the pendants and the ability to accommodate them in the light testing setup. As tested the DIF 50 drew 31W and the DIF 100 drew 86W. Discussion with the Orphek representative revealed that this was most likely a adjustment error on the part of the manufacturer and they should be running closer to 50W and 100W respectively. Running at higher output would increase the light output. Figure 8: Light distribution for the Orphek DIF 50 and DIF 100 Pendants 6b. Ecoxotic 100W Photon Cannon The Ecoxotic 100W Photon cannon is another example of the multichip LED. As seen from the data in the figure 9, the light output at 24" is comparable to that of the Orphek DIF 100. As tested the Ecoxotic 100W Cannon drew 93W. Figure 9: Light distribution for the Ecoxotic 100W Photon Cannon Conclusions As LED lighting moves further into the mainstream, there a lot of new choices available to the aquarist. Hopefully this data will help the aquarist make an informed choice on what to expect from the individual LED fixtures and how best to utilize them to achieve the desired coverage and light intensity. In my experience a target of approximately 100 micromoles/m2/sec at the bottom of the tank will provide enough of a light gradient to satisfy a wide range of corals. Multiple fixtures will provide regions of overlapping light distributions which provide an additive effect thereby increasing the light intensity and area covered. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Fl!pper is a new patented glass and acrylic cleaner that has the ability to flip working surfaces in your tank simply by rotating the outer handle. How cool is that?! No more getting your hands wet scraping the glass to get rid of that encrusted coralline algae. Razor blade attachment. The unit comes with two work surfaces: A scrub pad for general scrubbing An attachment for either a stainless-steel razor blade for glass or a specially designed serrated ABS blade for acrylic tanks This scraper uses high-strength rare earth magnets to couple the inner and outer sections together and can handle glass up to 1/2 inch thick. It is also designed in such a way that it will remain upright at all times for easy retrieval if the two sections become separated. Scrub pad. Not only can you flip sides but you can also flip the inner scraper around corners by using the same flipping technique which the second video below demonstrates. The unit will cost $19.99 (limited time offer) and will be available from FlipperCleaner.com on January 30, 2012. The below two videos demonstrate the dual cleaning action of the Fl!pper and how to flip the scraper in your tank without getting your hands wet. Let us know if you pick up one of these units and what you think of it. (via Matt Rogers / 3Reef) View the full article

Click through to see the images. Fl!pper is a new patented glass and acrylic cleaner that has the ability to flip working surfaces in your tank simply by rotating the outer handle. How cool is that?! No more getting your hands wet scraping the glass to get rid of that encrusted coralline algae. Razor blade attachment. The unit comes with two work surfaces: A scrub pad for general scrubbing An attachment for either a stainless-steel razor blade for glass or a specially designed serrated ABS blade for acrylic tanks This scraper uses high-strength rare earth magnets to couple the inner and outer sections together and can handle glass up to 1/2 inch thick. It is also designed in such a way that it will remain upright at all times for easy retrieval if the two sections become separated. Scrub pad. Not only can you flip sides but you can also flip the inner scraper around corners by using the same flipping technique which the second video below demonstrates. The unit will cost $19.99 (limited time offer) and will be available from FlipperCleaner.com on January 30, 2012. The below two videos demonstrate the dual cleaning action of the Fl!pper and how to flip the scraper in your tank without getting your hands wet. Let us know if you pick up one of these units and what you think of it. (via Matt Rogers / 3Reef) View the full article

Fish parents can pre-condition their offspring to grow fastest at the temperature they experienced, according to new research. View the full article

Fish parents can pre-condition their offspring to grow fastest at the temperature they experienced, according to new research. View the full article

Scientists have revealed details of the world's most extreme deep-sea volcanic vents, five kilometers down in a rift in the Caribbean seafloor. The undersea hot springs, which lie 0.8 kilometers deeper than any seen before, may be hotter than 450 °C and are shooting a jet of mineral-laden water more than a kilometer into the ocean above. View the full article

Scientists have revealed details of the world's most extreme deep-sea volcanic vents, five kilometers down in a rift in the Caribbean seafloor. The undersea hot springs, which lie 0.8 kilometers deeper than any seen before, may be hotter than 450 °C and are shooting a jet of mineral-laden water more than a kilometer into the ocean above. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Purchase it now! The latest book, like the others, is a full-color compilation self-published through CreateSpace.com and sold on Amazon.com. It measures 8" x 10", is 122 pages in length, and comprises all of the magazine's content from July through December 2011 (minus blog posts). Mitchell Brown took the photo for the cover and it looks stunning! To check out all the great articles in this volume, take a look at the Table of Contents (pdf). The book contains great articles by Dana Riddle, Kenneth Wingerter, Sanjay Joshi, among many others. It is currently available from our CreateSpace storefront and from Amazon.com for $25.95. As always, the purchase of any of our books (or for that matter our PDFs as well) goes toward the upkeep of AdvancedAquarist.com and helps keep this website free for everyone to read. Support Advanced Aquarist by buying a book today! View the full article

Click through to see the images. A large majority of the seafloor in Bay County is sandy, so the hard surfaces of the new artificial reefs will provide much needed breeding grounds for reef fish as well as a suitable substrate for corals, sponges, and other benthic life to grow. The new artificial reefs will be constructed about 10 nautical miles from the entrance to St. Andrew Bay at a depth of about 88 feet. Each reef will be composed of four premanufactured concrete and steel pods arranged in grid pattern about 600 feet apart Governments now recognize the high financial return of installing artificial reefs. Last year, a comprehensive Sea Grant Study found Southwest Florida counties reaped over $253 million in 2009 as a result of artificial reefs which were installed for minimal costs (read more about the study). FWC has allocated approximately $700,000 for the construction of artificial reefs in 2012, so expect more good news to come. This is money well spent! [via Panama City News Herald] View the full article

Selling my 5" French angel due to aggressiveness with other angel. Looking at 180.00. Eat pallets and any frozen foods. Fish has been trap and ready for collection, no reserve and priority given to those who can collect fast. Viewing/ collection at Cck ave 3.

Click through to see the images. RIPFIN: "Battle Scars" is a 2.5 minute video by Joe Romeiro of 333 Productions. The video is produced predominantly in black and white and shows breathtaking video of a battle-scarred Great White Shark around Isla Guadalupe, which lies roughly 160 miles off the coast off Baja California and over 220 miles southwest of San Diego, CA. This area is supposedly one of the best locations to dive with Great White Sharks due to their sheer numbers and the clear waters. Make sure to watch Joe Romeiro's incredible shark-handling video. View the full article