Harlequinmania

When a red-bellied dace and a finescale dace (freshwater fish in the carp and minnow family) mate with each other, they produce a hybrid with a very special ability: it can reproduce asexually. This asexual hybrid should have a tremendous evolutionary advantage over its sexually reproducing forefathers. So why doesn't the hybrid dace take over? View the full article

In modern ecology, the removal or addition of a predator to an ecosystem can produce dramatic changes in the population of prey species. For the first time, scientists have observed the same dynamics in the fossil record, thanks to a mass extinction that decimated ocean life 360 million years ago. View the full article

Sharks, tuna, billfish and other oceanic top predators have suffered major population declines in recent decades, causing many researchers to consider them the species at the highest risk of extinction. But now researchers have found that anchovies, sardines and other small fishes are at an equal or greater risk of suffering a collapse. View the full article

In modern ecology, the removal or addition of a predator to an ecosystem can produce dramatic changes in the population of prey species. For the first time, scientists have observed the same dynamics in the fossil record, thanks to a mass extinction that decimated ocean life 360 million years ago. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Mauritius is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean in close proximity to Madasgascar. Due to its distance from the United States, few Mauritius fishes make their way State-side (especially when the Asian market usually commands higher market prices). Mauritius is home to many fish species (some endemic) which are rarely seen in the aquarium hobby. Only recently have Mauritius fishes become accessible. Randy Donowitz reports at Reefs.com on the first shipment of Paracheilinus piscilineatus to hit the US aquarium trade. Diamonds of the Reef obtained a pair over the weekend. The photos are a bit blurry, but you get the idea for the beauty of this species. As a rare fishes fan (and an even bigger wrasse fan), I hope we see more shipments come this way. male female On a related topic, I have not forgotten about my Cirrhilabrus earlei write-up which I promised a while ago in my C.rhomboidalis post. via: http://www.reefs.com/blog/2011/05/01/mauritian-flasher-wrasse-lands-in-u-s-for-first-time/ View the full article

Click through to see the images. Mauritius is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean in close proximity to Madasgascar. Due to its distance from the United States, few Mauritius fishes make their way State-side (especially when the Asian market usually commands higher market prices). Mauritius is home to many fish species (some endemic) which are rarely seen in the aquarium hobby. Only recently have Mauritius fishes become accessible. Randy Donowitz reports at Reefs.com on the first shipment of Paracheilinus piscilineatus to hit the US aquarium trade. Diamonds of the Reef obtained a pair over the weekend. The photos are a bit blurry, but you get the idea for the beauty of this species. As a rare fishes fan (and an even bigger wrasse fan), I hope we see more shipments come this way. male female On a related topic, I have not forgotten about my Cirrhilabrus earlei write-up which I promised a while ago in my C.rhomboidalis post. via: http://www.reefs.com/blog/2011/05/01/mauritian-flasher-wrasse-lands-in-u-s-for-first-time/ View the full article

Click through to see the images. Mauritius is small island nation in the Indian Ocean in close proximity to Madasgascar. Due to its distance from the United States, few Mauritius fishes make their way State-side (especially when the Asian market usually commands higher market prices). Mauritius is home to many fish species (some endemic) which are rarely seen in the aquarium hobby until recently. Randy Donowitz reports at Reefs.com on the first shipment of Paracheilinus piscilineatus to hit the US aquarium trade. Diamonds of the Reef obtained a pair over the weekend. The photos are a bit blurry, but you get the idea for the beauty of this species. As a rare fishes fan (and an even bigger wrasse fan), I hope we see more shipments come this way. male female On a related topic, I have not forgotten about my Cirrhilabrus earlei write-up which I promised a while ago in my C.rhomboidalis post. via: http://www.reefs.com/blog/2011/05/01/mauritian-flasher-wrasse-lands-in-u-s-for-first-time/ View the full article

Scientists have combined embryological observations, genetic sequencing, and supercomputing to determine that small disk-shaped animals that once were thought to represent a new class of animals are actually starfish that have lost the large star-shaped, adult body from their life cycle. A computational biologists used a supercomputer to help support his contention that class-level status of Xyloplax does not reflect their evolutionary history. View the full article

Click through to see the images. The team comprising of Japanese and Australian engineers and scientists will explore the waters off Osprey Reef. The submarine will explore the shallow waters and sea bed (600+ meters deep) and everything in between. Osprey Reef is a remote open ocean reef atoll 200km (125 miles) northeast of Cairns, Australia - part of the Coral Sea Islands (the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef); Osprey Reef includes dramatic reef walls dropping thousands of kilometers to the ocean floor. In 2005, D. Wade Lehmann writes about The Great Barrier Reef and Osprey Reef for Advanced Aquarist. The expedition will be filmed by Digital Dimensions as part of a documentary for the BBC, co-produced by the Discovery Channel and Channel Nine. via http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/05/02/161631_local-news.html View the full article

Click through to see the images. Cubicâ„¢ is a relatively new company based out of the United Kingdom that specializes in unique saltwater aquarium systems for jellyfish and non-photosynthetic (azooxanthellete) corals. In addition, they also manufacture equipment such as media reactors, protein skimmers, and other filtration devices that are staples in the hobby with a unique spin to their design. One new item that they've been developing for well over a year is a unique tank specifically designed for jellyfish. This particular tank measures 23.6" x 23.6" x 9.8" and contains three moon jellies, Aurelia aurita. The design is based off of a kreisel aquarium which keeps the jellies suspended in the tank but away from the filtration intake area. From their blog post: When designing this aquarium, an emphasis was placed on build quality and usability. High quality cast acrylic is used throughout. The aquarium is designed to be silent running, allowing you to relax whilst watching your hypnotic jellyfish effortlessly pulsing around the tank. The LED lighting system was custom designed by Light Synergy, a UK based lighting company who specialize in unique LED lighting systems. You can change the colour and intensity of the light by remote control from your chair. A specific colour can be selected, or the lights can be set to slowly fade through an infinite range of colours. In addition, Cubicâ„¢ will be using Italian-made New-Jet pumps for water circulation in this system as they have found them to be reliable and quality pumps. As these are prototypes, they are not yet available for purchase. However if you would like to either obtain more information on the tank or be put on the waiting list for one, send an email to Cubicâ„¢ at info@cubicaquarium.com and they'll notify you when the tanks are ready. Also you'll be given the option for a 10% pre-order discount by being placed on their waiting list. In addition, they are also compiling a LFS directory of stores that sell jellyfish. If you know of one or are a LFS that carries jellies, please email them at the above-mentioned email address to be added to their directory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NPBNZ4t3KU&feature=player_embedded Also, if you are interested in keeping jellies, we reviewed Chad Widmer's How to Keep Jellies in Aquariums which goes into detail on tanks, species, and specific husbandry skills. This book would be a great item to buy before setting up a jelly tank. (via Cubic Aquarium Systems) View the full article

Marine biologists show that highly complex interactions in ecosystems can intensify the impact of climate change within a relatively short period of time. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Incredible 8000L (2000+ gallon) Portugal Coral Farm Nothing is more rewarding for me than seeing successful breeding and propagation systems, which is why I am extremely pleased to help showcase the "selected reef tank" at www.h2oplusomething.com: Machado de Sousa's 8000L Coral Farm. Read more... Palytoxin, the World's Second Deadliest Poison, Possibly Available at Your LFS In an article published yesterday in the Public Library of Science journal ONE, scientists from the US FDA identified that palytoxin, one of the deadliest toxins known to man, can be found in zoanthid colonies readily available in the aquarium trade." Read more... Man Poisons LFS Tanks, Kills $8,000 of Livestock! This may be the most disgusting hobbyist story I've read in a long while. A man walks into Underwater World in Helena, Montana (not to be confused with the wholesaler in Los Angeles) and sprinkles a mysterious white powder into their holding tanks, killing 70 fishes, corals, and inverts. Read more... The Basin Tank Reef Aquarium of Kyle Verry Here at Advanced Aquarist, we like to showcase unusual and unique aquarium builds and this one definitely fits that category. I've never actually seen a hobbyist tank quite like this one. Read more... First Look: Neptune System's new Apex Jr controller! Advanced Aquarist has received the first look at the upcoming Apex Jr: Neptune System's latest aquarium controller. The Apex Jr incorporates the controller hardware into the body of an EnergyBar4. The new controller uses a web-based interface (no display on the unit itself). Read on for more information and the confirmed feature set. Read more... DIY: Prevent Overflows in your Reef Tank For all of you with overflows, you know the fear: you're away from your tank and you get the dreaded call that your tank overflowed. One enterprising DIY'er came up with a solution. Read more... Maybe the cutest Arcuatus Angel you will ever see [video and photos] Blue Harbor continues to receive some of the most amazing fishes available in our hobby. Over the weekend, they posted photos and a video of a baby Apolemichthys arcuatus ... must-see for any angelfish or rare fish fan! Video after the jump. Read more... Three more beautiful reef aquarium videos + bonus dive video From time to time, Advanced Aquarist will post the best recent aquarium videos we find. Here are three more beautiful reef aquariums (plus a bonus dive video) for your weekend viewing. Read more... Palythoa toxica Poisoning - One Reefkeeper's Personal Experience With Palytoxin Poisoning “Why you should always keep a notebook listing all of the animals in your tank.” This post is by Adrienne Longo-White, a reefkeeper since 1992. At the time of this incident, Adrienne was working for Marine Depot Live. Read more... 'Time-lasped' video of a Plate Coral feeding Len stumbled across a fascinating, sped-up video of a Plate Coral (likely Fungia sp.) feeding on pellet food. Watch as the pellets are moved by the coral from the outer tentacles to the central mouth where they are ultimately consumed. Read more... Incredible Shark Handling Video - Nina Salerosa Joe Romeiro of 333 Productions has produced an incredible shark handling video on YouTube. Read more... View the full article

Click through to see the images. For all of you in the hobby, you are no stranger to Eric and his many contributions. These include books, speaking engagements at events such as MACNA, forum participation, and coral research - in addition to writing for Advanced Aquarist in years past. This information came as a complete surprise to me when I first learned of it tonight on AquaNerd.com, corroborated with a report in the Houston Chronicle. According to the police report, on Wednesday, April 27th at 10 AM police were called to a local residence in Sugar Land, Texas after someone called in a suspicious person report to the Sugar Land police department. Upon arrival at the residence, police found Eric swimming in the pool and when they tried to question and eventually arrest him, he ran. After searching, police eventually found him hiding in a nearby house. The Houston Chronicle states that he was "being booked on multiple charges, including burglary of a habitation, criminal trespass, evading arrest, resisting arrest, failure to provide identification, and two counts of criminal mischief." (via AquaNerd, Houston Chronicle) View the full article

Click through to see the images. According to the Helena Independent Record, a man enters Underwater World and engages in a friendly conversation with shop owner, Bob Kavajecz. Later, while Kavajecz was tending to other business, surveillance video catches the man sprinkling a mysterious powder into several tanks, then exits the shop without saying goodbye to Kavajecz. Shortly after, Kavajecz notices mass mortality in his holding tanks. "This guy was throwing it in and watching to see if they were dying yet" Kavajecz believes the chemical may have been dry chlorine bleach. “This guy was throwing it in and watching to see if they were dying yet,” he said. "“When you see it, it is sickening. I can hardly watch it without crying." If you have any information about the man shown in the video snapshot above, please contact Helena police at 406-442-3233 or leave an anonymous tip via Crimestoppers by calling 406-443-2000 or visiting www.helenacs.com. Please "like" or "send" or tweet this to get the word out. Let's serve justice to this pitiful excuse for a human being. source: http://helenair.com/news/article_e67a5fdc-72ef-11e0-99fb-001cc4c002e0.html View the full article

Click through to see the images. Nudibranchs are often called "sea slugs" and their name comes from the Latin nudus (meaning "naked") and Greek brankhia (meaning "gills"). Back in 2007, we published a detailed article "Nudibranchs: Beautiful but Dangerous Marine Creatures" By Mª Victoria Bengoa Ruigómez which detailed various species, their anatomy, as well as their defense mechanisms. We also covered the stunning photography of David Doubilet a couple days ago here on Advanced Aquarist. In this installment, David showcases the variety of color variations in nudibranchs with his 4.5 minute video titled Living Color: (via Cubic Blog) View the full article

Click through to see the images. According to the release on iTunes, the goal of the game is to: Help the squid avoiding the grueling monsters of the deep in this roller coaster ride of a game. With only one life to spare this rumored relative of the ancient Cthulhu needs all the help he can get! Only your sharpened reflexes and super-human reactions will keep him alive. Instructions Manual? -Slide finger. Avoid danger. The below video will give you an idea of the game play for this app: The thing that I like about how this game is designed is that you use your finger to guide "Pearl" (my name for the main character named for the squid on Finding Nemo) instead of tilting your phone like in Doodle Drop. You'll avoid sea monsters and obstacles of progressively harder difficulty as the game play progresses. The game is available from iTunes for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch for $0.99 and so far the game has gained a 4.5-star rating. If you happen to purchase the game, sound off in the comments and let us know what you think of it! (via SmartAppDevelopers, Nor Eagle) View the full article

Click through to see the images. The new CR series Cree LED lighting systems are meant as retrofits for commercial use; With higher output LEDs of the appropriate spectrums, this design has potential for aquariums as well. What makes the CR series unique is it utilizes a "high efficiency mixing chamber" to mix the light output of multiple diodes, providing a softer, more even output compared to the usual emitter arrays of today's LED fixtures. Say goodbye to "spotlight" effects, especially in mixed color arrays. This is essentially a LED "soft box." As with any good LED fixture, the Cree CR series is dimmable (to 50%) and rated to "at least" 50,000 hours. The fixtures are available in 2x2', 2x4', and 1x4' configurations. The CR series is UL rated for damp locations. Using a mixture of red and yellow diodes, they will be introduced only in warm white CCT (3500K, 4000K). The output is also insufficient for most corals (5000 lumens for the 4x2' model, drawing 50 watts). However, with some modifications, this design could prove to be an exciting lighting option for reef aquarists. The Cree CR Series is slated for "late 2011." Read more information on Cree's CR Series website. View the full article

The Mormyridae, a family of African fishes that communicate by means of weak electric discharges, has more than 200 species. New work shows the fishes evolved a complex signal-processing brain before a burst of speciation. Together with other evidence the finding suggests brain evolution triggered diversification. View the full article

Researchers eavesdropping on complex signals emanating from a remote Wisconsin lake have detected what they say is an unmistakable warning -- a death knell -- of the impending collapse of the lake's aquatic ecosystem. Researchers have found that models used to assess catastrophic changes in economic and medical systems can also predict environmental collapse. Stock market crashes, epileptic seizures, and ecological breakdowns are all preceded by a measurable increase in variance —- be it fluctuations in brain waves, the Dow Jones index, or, in the case of the Wisconsin lake, chlorophyll. View the full article

The fishing industry usually discards fish livers, but a team of researchers has confirmed that they are a good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are beneficial to health. Anchovies are one of the fish whose livers contain the highest levels of these substances. View the full article

The fishing industry usually discards fish livers, but a team of researchers has confirmed that they are a good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are beneficial to health. Anchovies are one of the fish whose livers contain the highest levels of these substances. View the full article

Click through to see the images. Teco's E-Chill will be available in 3 models (a single fan, a dual fan, and a triple fan configuration): E-chill1 suitable for tanks up to 500 liters (130 gallons), consumption of 8W, weight of 0.5 kg (1 lb), and a size of 130×220x200mm (5x9x8") E-chill2 suitable for tanks up to 800 liters (210 gallons), consumption of 14W, weight of 0.75 kg (1.5 lb), and a size of 260×220x200mm (10x9x8") E-chill3 suitable for tanks up to 1,500 liters (400 gallons), consumption of 20W, weight of 1 kg (2 lb), and a size of 390×220x200mm (15x9x8") An optional remote control will also be available. According to Teco, these fans can save up to 30% of electricity costs compared to operating a chiller alone. Whether or not the E-chill can live up to this assertion will greatly depend on ambient humidity and tempreature since fan-based cooling systems rely on evaporation for their cooling effect. Visit Danilo's blog for a lot more photos of the E-Chill line-up. View the full article

Fish and marine species are among the most threatened wildlife on earth, due partly to over exploitation by fishing fleets. Yet there are differences in assessing trends in worldwide fishing stocks which, researchers argue, stem from inappropriate use of time trends in catches. View the full article

Click through to see the images. If you have a website, I am sure there have been times that you have wanted to have a couple of different widgets showing content from outside sources in the sidebar. Twitter, Facebook, etc. are examples of websites that allow you to embed outside content from their sites into yours. Thinking about this a bit, we decided to show you, our readers, how you might accomplish this with our content. In an effort to make it as painless as possible, I have opted to show you how to implement this using Google's AJAX Search and Feed service. I chose this way as it is simple and it runs on Google's servers meaning that they will take care of serving the appropriate files as well as taking care of caching the article listing. Before I go into the code, here is what it will look like once implemented on your website: Loading... The widget auto-scales to your width and if you hover over an article, the display will auto-rotate to that particular article. The code is below. Copy/paste this into your website's HTML where you want the article listing widget to show up: <!-- ++Begin Dynamic Feed Wizard Generated Code++ --> <!-- // Created with a Google AJAX Search and Feed Wizard // http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/wizards.html // http://www.google.com/uds/solutions/wizards/dynamicfeed.html--> <!-- // The Following div element will end up holding the actual feed control. // You can place this anywhere on your page.--><div id="feed-control"> <span style="color:#676767;font-size:11px;margin:10px;padding:4px;">Loading...</span></div> <!-- Google Ajax Api --><script src="http://www.google.com/jsapi?key=notsupplied-wizard" type="text/javascript"></script> <!-- Dynamic Feed Control and Stylesheet --><script src="http://www.google.com/uds/solutions/dynamicfeed/gfdynamicfeedcontrol.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <style type="text/css"> @import url("http://www.google.com/uds/solutions/dynamicfeed/gfdynamicfeedcontrol.css");</style> <script type="text/javascript"> function LoadDynamicFeedControl() { var feeds = [ {title: 'Latest from Advanced Aquarist', url: 'http://www.advancedaquarist.com/index_html/RSS' }]; var options = { stacked : false, horizontal : false, title : "Latest from Advanced Aquarist", numResults : 10, displayTime : 5000, fadeOutTime : 1000, scrollOnFadeOut : true, linkTarget : google.feeds.LINK_TARGET_BLANK, pauseOnHover : true } new GFdynamicFeedControl(feeds, 'feed-control', options); } // Load the feeds API and set the onload callback. google.load('feeds', '1'); google.setOnLoadCallback(LoadDynamicFeedControl);</script><!-- ++End Dynamic Feed Control Wizard Generated Code++ -->There are some basic items that you can control with this script: Widget Title (title) Number of articles to list in the widget (numResults) Delay between articles (displayTime) How quickly the articles fade (fadeOutTime) If the rotation will pause if someone places their mouse over the article (pauseOnHover) If you choose to implement it on your site, please let us know in the comments below! View the full article

Marine biologists have found that oceanographic and prey measurements can be used to identify beaked whale foraging habitat. View the full article