Reef Ramblings

The imminent availability of the new JBL Floaty XL Blade has prompted me to put together a few thoughts on cleaning the reef aquarium.

Glass cleaning.

It’s important for your viewing pleasure to keep the front pane of the aquarium free from bio films. The frequency with which this is required will depend on a number of variables including the maturity of the reef tank, water parameters, feeding regime, and the unique assemblage of animals.

Types of bio films.

With out going into unnecessary detail, there are two basic types of bio films that we have to deal with, soft and hard.

Soft bio films can be bacterial or algal in nature, with algal films, comprising green micro-algae, hair algae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, etc. and are usually easy to remove.

Hard bio films are comprised of various species of coralline, or calcareous, algae and, if allowed to persist can be more difficult to remove.

Coralline algae are red algae belonging to the order Corallinales, phylum Rhodophyta.  They are distinct, from other species of Rhodophyta in their rock like appearance and texture resulting from the incorporation of calcium carbonate into their cell walls. Although usually encountered in shades of pink and red, they can also be coloured green, blue, purple, yellow, white etc. depending on species. Although attractive in colour and texture they have no place on the viewing pane of the aquarium, particularly on the viewing pane of an acrylic or plastic one.

The age of the aquarium is often implicated in type of bio film encountered. Newly set up reefs will typically start off with blooms of diatoms covering every surface in a yellow through brown to gold film (also associated with water changes and evaporation top up where high levels of silicate are present i.e. When using tap water rather than Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtered water). Over time, different species of algal films are seen, one taking over from another (algal succession) culminating in the appearance of coralline algae.

Any bio film can reappear if the conditions in the aquarium alter, usually when maintenance is neglected and water parameters deviate from target levels.

Glass cleaning.

Essentially for this task there is a choice between two different tools: algae magnets or bladed scrapers.

Algae magnets

Algae magnets have two components, the one with the cleaning surface goes inside the aquarium glass while the second is positioned on the outside of the glass, opposite the first. The magnetic attraction allow you to move the cleaning magnet across the glass f from outside of the aquarium enabling you to clean algal films for the glass without getting your hands wet. The outer magnet usually features a soft cloth surface to prevent the outside of the glass from scratching,

The cleaning surface is generally a Velcro like surface that is mildly abrasive, hard enough to remove algae without scratching the glass. Note: algae magnets designed for use with acrylic or plastic aquarium use different materials to reduce the chance of scratching.

Glass tanks

Standard algae magnets are fine for general maintenance and will usually cope with all but coralline algae.

Take care though to avoid picking up sand, gravel, or bits of coral form the substrate as this can become trapped on the cleaning surface of the magnet and result in the glass becoming scratched on the inside.

Acrylic or plastic aquariums.

The material these tanks are made from is much softer than glass and more prone to scratching. Make sure that you buy the right algae magnet for the shop – one designed for use with acrylic or plastic.

The danger of scratching the inner surface is much higher than with glass, take care when cleaning and avoid picking up material from the substrate.

Quality

Higher quality algae magnets have at least two important features: they float and they use non-ferrous magnets.

Floating magnets are easier to work with. If the magnet inside the tank becomes separated from the outer controlling magnet it simply floats to the surface making it easier to retrieve, Non-floating magnets however can end up getting stuck amongst the rockwork in a reef and be difficult to recover.

Cheaper magnets use ferrous-based magnets; these should not be left permanently in the aquarium as they rust, in the process often distorting the casing rendering them useless.

Non-ferrous magnets use the rare earth material neodymium, they are far stronger, less likely to become separate in use, and rusting is not an issue. Because of their greater strength you should be careful when handling them outside of the aquarium as a moment of inattention may result in getting a finger trapped between the two magnets, a potentially painful experience so do keep them away from children.

The use of rare earth magnets explains the higher price of these items but the extended life and higher performance more than makes up for the price. At the time of writing, availability of rare earth materials is driving up the price of aquarium products utilising these materials such as algae magnets, high-end pumps, and magnetic pump mounts.

Additional features offered by higher quality magnets include things like angled edges to protect silicon seams of the aquarium and protruding cleaning surfaces to enable you to clean behind in-tank equipment.

Sizing

Algae magnets are usually sized according to the thickness of the glass that they will clean. When purchasing an algae magnet make sure that you know the thickness of you aquarium glass and buy the appropriate sized magnet.

• Too weak a magnet, one for thin glass, the more often it will fall off inside the aquarium and the less efficient it will be at removing algae.
• Too strong a magnet may be almost impossible to move on glass of less than the recommended thickness.

Bladed magnets.

Some algae magnets, such as the JBL Floaty XL Blade, come with a blade that lets you remove the more stubborn coralline species that ordinary cleaning-pad algae magnets cannot deal with. Using a blade is also kinder to much of the micro-fauna inhabiting the inside surface of the viewing pane, cleaning-pad magnets can end up killing many of these small species by crushing them while a blade just pushes them off the glass.

Bladed  Scrapers

Generally T-shaped, the down stroke being the handle, with the blade mounted across the top. You have to get your hand into the tank to use these but for smaller tanks these are probably the most efficient way of removing stubborn coralline algae, particularly if it has been allowed to build up over time.

Blades

JBL Aqua-T Triumph

Blade quality is important with these. Corrosion resistant stainless steel is claimed by most manufacturers but some blades do seem to be less resistant to corrosion than others. You can extend the life of the blade by rinsing it in freshwater then drying it after use. Its best to remove the blade for rinsing otherwise corrosion can take place inside the blade holder.

Double-sided blades offer greater usable life than a single sided blade and of course you do want a scraper where replacement blades are readily available.

Build quality

For reef use look out for an all-plastic handle. Beware of steel handled scrapers with a plastic covering as these corrode unnoticed until suddenly the handle fails under the pressure of use.

Easy removal of the blade for cleaning and replacement is essential, some designs if not kept scrupulously clean can be very difficult to open for blade removal once corrosion has set in.

Size

Tends to be a choice between a hand scraper i.e. handle just fits to the hand or scrapers that can accept a longer handle (often not supplied). Some manufacturers offer a range of scrapers with different length handles.

Cleaning Tips

Take a close look at the inside of the glass while you are cleaning it; you may be surprised to find the occasional primary polyp of a newly settled coral growing there. Spotting a primary polyp before cleaning it out of existence allows you to preserve it and let it grow to a handle able size before carefully removing it and mounting it on a piece of rock.

Close observation also allows you to assess the number of different species living on the glass allowing you to gauge the bio-diversity of your reef.

Regular cleaning of the front glass every two or three days puts micro-algae, copepods, and other benthic zooplankton into the water column making them available to your aquarium inhabitants as food.

When cleaning a neglected or overgrown front pane you may want to consider syphoning out the excess material rather than leaving it to break down inside the aquarium increasing the nutrient load. This is particularly important when you are dealing with an outbreak of cyanobacteria.

Be careful not to damage any silicon seams with a blade. Blades and scrapers are designed to be safe in use but nonetheless take care. I tend to leave a 5 – 10 mm margin uncleaned near the seams as a precaution.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Coming soon, the JBL Floaty XL Blade is a new addition to the German manufacturer’s ‘Floaty’ range of algae magnets.  A fairly hefty item for the larger aquarium weighing in at 440 grams and measuring 130 x 265 x 60 mm (l/h/b), this floating algae magnet is designed for use with aquarium glass of 20 – 25 mm thickness. The blade is excellent for removing the most persistent films such as calcareous or coralline algae while presenting no risk of injury from cuts to the user.

Replacement blades are available in packs of two (JBLBlade 2x) and can be replaced in just seconds.

JBL Floaty XL Blade               RRP £78.45

JBLBlade 2x (Floaty XL)            RRP £ 8.99

For those of you whose interest in seeing footage of coral reefs was awakened by the recent BBC2 Great Barrier Reef series, here’s chance to take a glimpse at a healthy Caribbean reef.

Back in December 2011 prestigious CBS news magazine ‘60 Minutes’ showed a 12 minute feature focusing on the plight of the world’s coral reefs, Correspondent Anderson Cooper visited Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) with the Ocean Foundation’s Senior Fellow, Dr. David E. Guggenheim to take a look at a uniquely preserved ecosystem that illustrates the way a healthy coral reef looked like compared to the majority of reefs in the region which have becoming seriously degraded over the past 50 years.

The Gardens of the Queen have been described as one of the world’s most vibrant coral reefs, an anomaly at a time when many of the world’s reefs are in danger – or already dead.

Click on the link to below  to view the 12 minute feature:

The Gardens of the Queen

This is interesting viewing for reef aquarists for many reasons.

Caribbean coral reefs, along with the rest of the reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, are markedly different to those of the Indo Pacific. Alcyoniidae, the leather corals that we are familiar with from the Indo Pacific are largely absent; in their place are an abundance of Holaxonia, the sea fans and gorgonians.

It is an inspiring program to watch if you are contemplating putting together a biotope based on this region. Although we don’t have access to stony corals from the area there are plenty of other interesting invertebrates and colourful fishes available that can be made into a fascinating reef display refreshingly different from the usual mishmash of Indo Pacific species.

It is encouraging to see a healthy reef, showing little degradation, although on reflection most reefs shown on television are either ‘pristine’ or devastated.

This program caused much debate amongst coral reef scientists, some of it nit-picking, but I think the consensus was that it was a positive event with at least 18 million Americans seeing this film on the night it was broadcast. The biggest problem facing coral reefs today continues to be the lack of awareness among the general public regarding their deteoriating condition and the causes of that condition. Anything that helps to get this message across, as with the recent BBC2 Great Barrier Reef series, is invaluable to reef conservation.

The fish, particularly the groupers are stunning. Also watch out for the short segment showing what looked to be Periclimenes species shrimps engaged in cleaning activity.

Again, one to watch and to recommend to friends and colleagues to increase their appreciation of coral reefs, and their awareness of the issues affecting them.

Additional links:

CBS ’60 Minutes’ – The Gardens of the Queen

Dr. David E. Guggenheim

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Since its launch in 2005 the magazine Amazonas, edited by Hans-Georg Evers, has been widely considered to be one of the finest aquarium hobby publications in the world.  Up until now it has only been published in German. This year, 2012, sees the launch of the long-awaited English version with Volume 1, Issue 1, dated January/February 2012.

Amazonas issue 1, January/February 2012.

It’s fair to say that no better publication currently exists for dedicated freshwater hobbyists. Each issue featuring cutting-edge articles on fishes, invertebrates, aquatic plants, field trips to tropical destinations plus the latest in husbandry and breeding breakthroughs by expert aquarists, all accompanied by excellent photography throughout.

From the publishers of Coral magazine, this is a freshwater-only magazine with the same excitement and cover-to-cover excellence as Coral. Richly illustrated with high quality colour images and packed with in-depth articles by renowned authors, Amazonas appears every two months.

Coverage includes: new species, new ideas, new expert accounts on keeping and breeding freshwater fishes and invertebrates, planted tank aquascaping, travel to tropical source countries, visits to the fish rooms of legendary home aquarists and breeders, aquarium practice, biological background reports, aquarium technology and chemistry, interviews and much more. All printed on high-quality, sustainably harvested papers and non-toxic, soy-based inks.

The name ‘Amazonas’ is derived from the native Portuguese and Spanish name for the Rio Amazonas, the river that the Western world calls the Amazon.

I have a pre-publication sample issue and have to say that it lives up to the reputation of Coral magazine with amazing photography and in depth articles of a quality not seen elsewhere. If you are a serious fish keeper and value information, rather than the same old aquarium magazine content, you will not be disappointed.

Following the lead of Coral, the cover subject is dealt with in detail through extensive photo-reportage, accompanied by several in-depth accompanying articles.

As with the early issues of Coral, this first issue of Amazonas is sure to become a collector’s item.

See Midland Reefs: Amazonas

Retailers, if you are interested in stocking Amazonas, please contact us at Midland Reefs.

Tim Hayes, Midland Reefs, January 2012.

Friday 30th December 2011.

Watch out for the new BBC2 series about the Great Barrier Reef, ‘Nature’s Miracle’, starting at 8pm on Sunday 1^stJanuary 2012.

The three-part series presented by Monty Halls explores the 2000-kilometre length of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world and the largest living structure on our planet.

The first film explores the complex structure of the coral reef itself, the wildlife that lives on it, and features underwater photography showing scenes that have never been filmed before.

To find out more about this new series see BBC Great Barrier Reef.

If you go to Great Barrier Reef clips you can see 18 videos connected to the series ranging from just under a minute to a series preview of almost eight minutes in length. Included are some web exclusive videos.

Part of the success of the series was due to a partnership with James Cook University in Cairns. Their scientific research facilities include a giant reef tank where a variety of reef animals are studied.

The facilities here enabled the team to capture specialist close-up shots that would not be possible in the wild. Look out for the sequence capturing the first stages of a coral’s life when a free-swimming coral polyp settles and begins growing its stony skeleton.

Being able to precisely control light and nutrient levels, whilst leaving cameras running for days at a time, enabled series cameraman and marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick to film time-lapse sequences of corals. A first here is footage showing how corals bleach, expelling their symbiotic partners, the zooxanthellae that give them their colour, a feat that hasn’t been achieved before in a wildlife documentary.

Please tell your friends, family, and colleagues about this new series highlighting the many wonders of the reef environment.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

A recent piece of research delivered as a poster presentation at the annual American Geophysical Union meeting during December 2011 brings into question the formulation of the aquarium foods with which we feed our fish. See LiveScience for the original story that prompted me to write this article.

The poster by Greg Michalski, an assistant professor at Purdue University, highlights a quirk of science that although amusing, may be of concern to aquarists wanting to ensure their fish are fed an appropriate diet.

The poster presentation was a report on research based on chemical analysis of nitrogen isotopes in the food chain. The heavier isotope nitrogen-15 accumulates with each level on the food chain whilst the lighter form, nitrogen-14, tends to be excreted. An animal retains the heavy nitrogen from the animals it eats, while losing some of the lighter nitrogen. With each step up the food chain, the ratio of heavy to light shifts in favour of nitrogen-15. So, a plant would have the lowest levels of heavy nitrogen, and a top predator, say a shark or a tiger, would have the highest. This is a similar mechanism to the accumulation of the toxic element mercury in animals higher up the food chain

Michalski, who uses isotopes to study pollution and nitrogen cycling, had his students test seafood as a training exercise. Not surprisingly, they found that filter-feeding animals, like clams, came up with relatively low nitrogen-15 levels. Fish at the top of the food chain, like tuna and swordfish, had the most. However, as they studied a wider range of subjects they discovered an anomaly when they found some of the highest levels of heavy nitrogen ever recorded in …

 … the common guppy!

Tim Hayes Midland Reefs ©2007-11

The nitrogen enrichment being studied is expressed as the ratio of heavy to light nitrogen in the air. In the guppy, however, they found an increase in heavy nitrogen of 0.149 percent relative to that ratio. By comparison, they analyzed a sample from a thresher shark, a predatory shark, and found it had a 0.143-percent enrichment. Comically this turns the humble guppy into a predator at the very top of the food chain.

The reason for the anomaly turns out to be the aquarium fish food fed to the guppies. Their analyses revealed that fish food is positioned in the middle of the food chain, in the vicinity of salmon, mahi mahi, octopus or cod. Generally fish food comprises the leftovers from commercial fisheries: fish heads, guts and fins, the heavy nitrogen contained in it becomes further concentrated when eaten by the top predator, aquarium fishes, in this case, specifically the common guppy.

Although we don’t know what make of aquarium food was being fed to the guppies in the study it does open up questions about the formulation of fish foods and how appropriate they are for the species that they are being fed to.

In nature guppies are fairly low in the food chain, digestive tracts of wild guppies, Poecilia reticulata contain mainly benthic algae and aquatic insect larvae, a diet far different to the one rich in fish represented by the aquarium food in the above study. That’s not to say that all fish foods are poorly formulated, companies such as JBL go to great lengths to produce nutritionally appropriate foods with an increasingly species specific range of foods. See PDF presentation about the JBL Novo food range

For some time now I’ve been pointing out that the majority of fishes kept by reefkeepers are not fish eaters, rather they have a diet comprised of small zooplankton. Similarly the majority of the popular small fishes in the freshwater hobby are not fish eaters.

When you choose a food for your fishes do some research, examine the manufacturers literature and the content on food labels to ensure that you are feeding your fish an appropriate diet. You may find that you need a variety of foods to accommodate the diets of the different species that you keep.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2011

During 2011, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 140 new species including 72 arthropods, 31 Sea slugs, 13 fishes, 11 plants, nine sponges, three corals, and one reptile.

Proving that there are still plenty of places to explore and things to discover on Earth, the Academy scientists along their international collaborators made their finds in six continents and three oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian). Their results, published in 33 different scientific papers, add to the record of life on Earth and help advance the Academy’s research into two of the most important scientific questions of our time: “How did life evolve?” and “How will it persist?”

Discovering new species, formally describing them, and determining their evolutionary relationships to other organisms provide the crucial foundation for making informed conservation decisions at a national level. Earlier this year, Academy scientists embarked on the largest expedition in the institution’s recent history, a 42-day journey to the Philippines to survey the shallow water, deep sea, and mountain habitats of Luzon Island. Early estimates indicate that they may have discovered as many as 500 new species. While it takes months and even years to formally describe and publish a new species in a peer-reviewed scientific journal (the reason they are not included in the 2011 total), Academy scientists had enough initial data to provide a formal recommendation to Conservation International and the Philippine government outlining the most important locations for establishing or expanding marine protected areas. Formal species descriptions in the coming years should help the scientists bolster and refine their initial recommendations.

Below are the aquatic highlights among the 140 species described by the Academy this year. For a full list of species, including geographic information, see: www.calacademy.org/newsroom/releases/2011/new_species_list.php.

Four New Sharks

Academy research associate David Ebert and his colleagues described four new species of deep-sea sharks. The African dwarf Saw shark, Pristiophorus nancyae, was collected via a bottom trawl at a depth of 1,600 feet, off the coast of Mozambique. Notable for its elongated blade-like snout, or “rostrum,” which is studded with sharp teeth and used as a weapon, the Saw shark will swim through a school of fish swinging its rostrum back and forth, stunning and injuring prey, then swim back to consume the casualties.

Ebert and his colleagues also described two species of Lantern shark: Etmopterus joungi from a fish market in Taiwan, and Etmopterus sculptus from trawling at depths of 1,500 – 3,000 feet off the coast of southern Africa. Like their name suggests, Lantern sharks emit light on various parts of their body, probably a strategy to camouflage themselves from upward-looking predators and also to interact with others of their own species.

Finally, a new species of angel shark, Squatina caillieti, was described from a single specimen collected in 1,200 feet of water off the Philippine island of Luzon. Angel sharks have flattened bodies and large pectoral fins resembling wings.

A Bounty of Arthropods

There are more species of arthropods – insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other joint-legged creatures – than any other group of animals on Earth, and more are being discovered every day. So it’s no surprise that over half of the new species on this year’s list consists of arthropods: 43 ants, 20 goblin spiders, six barnacles, and three beetles. In addition, Academy scientists took it to the next level by describing six new genera (“genus” being one classification level higher than “species”). These include three new genera of barnacles (Minyaspis, Pycnaspis, and the fossil Archoxynaspis).

Sea slugs

Despite the common name of “Sea slug,” nudibranchs are breathtaking in their beauty and diversity. Every colour of the rainbow is represented among nudibranchs, in a wide variety of patterns, making them a favourite for underwater photographers. These animals use colour as a warning sign — predators learn to associate their vivid colours with their toxic or unpalatable nature, and so they avoid eating them.

More than 3,000 nudibranch species have been discovered and described to date, and scientists estimate that another 3,000 species are yet to be named. Academy Dean of Science Terry Gosliner and his colleagues did their part to increase our knowledge of nudibranch diversity by describing 31 new species this year.

CORALS

SPONGES

FISHES

SEA SLUGS

ARTHROPODS

Adapted from materials provided by the California Academy of Sciences.

Editor’s note:

It’s great to see new marine species being discovered and scientifically described even at a time when the oceans are deteriorating owing to the many anthropogenic (man made) pressures that they are subject to, over fishing, temperature changes, acidification, pollution, etc.

That new species are being discovered when so many known species are being reported as under threat does not obviate the fact that the oceans are deteriorating, rather it is a reflection of how little is still known about the underwater world given the difficulties of exploring this endlessly fascinating environment.

Edited by Tim Hayes, Midland Reefs.

Marine aquarium fish collector Steve Robinson was sentenced to 45 days in prison on Thursday15th December for smuggling dozens of exotic fish from a small island near Mexico. He is facing prison after pleading guilty to smuggling a rare species of fish that can worth up to $10,000 per animal by claiming they were a more common species.

© D Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Federal prosecutors accused Robinson of collecting 52 Clipperton angelfish in April 2009 off Clipperton Island. The Clipperton angelfish Holacanthus limbaughi is endemic to the area, growing to 25 cms total length, and is listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened (NT). Clipperton Island is an uninhabited atoll southwest of Mexico under French authority where fishing requires permission from the French government.

Federal fish and wildlife investigators found that Robinson then imported the fish into the United States while falsely claiming to authorities that they were a different, more common species.

Robinson pleaded guilty in August and is scheduled to begin serving the sentence January 30. The presiding United States Magistrate also ordered Robinson to pay a $2,000 fine and a one-year period of supervised release.

Tim Hayes,

Midland Reefs

©2011

Over the 14-16th December the European annual quota will be announced in front of the world’s press in Brussels.

The Fish Fight team is placing their Fish Fight Counter as close to the proceedings as possible so that it sits in view in the back of news clips.  They need the number on the counter (i.e. number of people who have signed the Fish Fight petition) to rise as much as possible over that time.

If you’ve not yet signed the petition (see link below), I would urge you to do so. Please pass the link to the petition on to your friends and colleagues, and ask them to sign up too!

After you’ve signed up your name will be displayed on the fish fight counter outside the European Parliament building in Brussels!

www.fishfight.net

 Thursday 15^th December 2011

FISH FIGHT has gone live this morning with the ‘Send a letter to your MEP’ appeal.

At the time of posting nearly 50,000 letters have been sent so far!

It’s currently a key moment in the next stage of the reform process as MEPs debate the details of the new Common Fisheries Policy.  FISH FIGHT would like you all to email your MEP letting them know how strongly you feel about a radical reform of the laws that govern our oceans.

FISH FIGHT has made this really easy to do. All you have to do is follow the 3 step guide at http://www.fishfight.net/meps

• First enter your name and address.
• Then choose which of your MEPs you want to write to.
• Then either write your own message, or use the template provided.

Your E-Mail Could Make All the Difference!

Please circulate this call to action to as many of your friends and colleagues as you can.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs