Reef Ramblings

A new movie from Disney Nature, “Oceans”, is to open on Earth Day 2010.

For the first week of the movie Disney will be donating money on behalf of all moviegoers to help fund a new MPA (Marine Protection Area) in the Bahamas in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt a Coral Reef Program. Disney have pledged a minimum donation of $100,000.

If you’re involved in education there’s a 42 page “Educator’s Guide” available to download. It’s aimed at US grades 2 – 6, ages 7 to 12, and looks quite a useful resource.

To see more about the movie, including trailer and downloads, goto:
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/oceans/

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt a Coral Reef Program goto:

http://adopt.nature.org/coralreef/

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

Genus Trimma and Trimmatom.

Pygmy Gobies

Small colourful fishes ranging from just over 1.5 cm up to 4.5 cm in length, found on reef habitats shallower than 80m.

Diet consists mainly of micro-crustaceans such as copepods and amphipods, etc.

Small cryptic fishes, such as Trimma species, can represent between 45 to 90% of the total fish population across a number of different reef zones; these are fishes with short life spans, fast growth rate, and a rapid generational turnover. Given their abundance it is likely that they represent a very important link in the food chain – think fast food of the reef.

One interesting feature of these fishes is that they exhibit two-way sex change. A fair amount of information is available on Trimma okinawae looking at its sexual behaviour both on the reef and in aquaria. It is probable that this information also applies to many other Trimma species.

Two-way sex change, or bi-directional sex change, means that these fishes can, depending on circumstances, change from male to female and back again whilst remaining sexually functional. Social groups of T. okinawae usually consist of a large male and one or more smaller females, with social groups being separated from each other by a distance of 1-3 m. In the wild, the larger the male, the greater the number of females belonging to the group.

Female-to-male sex change is more common than male-to-female sex change and occurs when the male disappears from the group through predation; in aquarium usage this would be expected to also occur but be due to the male reaching the end of its life span. In the wild either the largest remaining female changes sex to male or a large female from another group joins and changes sex to male. Larger individuals appear to benefit from becoming male because they can maximise their breeding opportunities with several females, as reported in other protogynous fishes. Sex change from male-to-female only occurs when a solitary male joins a new group as a subordinate member.

As with Eviota species, life span is of concern, with Trimma rubromaculatum and Trimma tevegae, being reported to live for between 12-20 months.

Accurate identification of Trimma species is difficult unless you’re a fish taxonomist; as a result fishes in the marine aquarium trade are likely to be misidentified. Consequently you may find yourself purchasing a fish at high cost that may only have weeks to live.

At a later date I hope to update the table to include details of lifespan.

Some of the more common aquarium species:

Trimma cana – Red Striped Goby

Trimma macrophthalma – Flame goby

Bottom-dweller on seaward reefs

Trimma okinawae – Okinawa rubble goby

Inhabits clear coastal reefs, near sponges to about 30 meters depth Usually found upside down in small caves on the reef

Trimma rubromaculatus – Red Spotted Goby

Inhabits rubble slopes at the base of vertical cliffs. Typically hovers vertically or obliquely, several centimetres above the bottom

Trimma striata – Stripehead goby

Usually lives in caves and crevices of outer reef slopes as well as occurring in deep lagoons and protected seaward reefs.

Trimma 63 species described

Ref, www.fishbase.org, Randall and Delbeek,

Genus Trimmatom

Trimmatom nanus

In 1981, at the time this species was described, it was claimed that  Trimmatom nanus was the smallest living vertebrate, with females reaching maturity at 8 – 10 mm SL.

Trimmatom 5 species described

Ref.  www.fishbase.org, Winterbottom and Emery.

Tim Hayes,

Midland Reefs

©2009

Genus Eviota.

The Pygmy Gobies

Small fishes ranging from just over 1 cm up to 4 cm in length.

Diet consists mainly of micro-crustaceans such as copepods and amphipods, etc.

Small cryptic fishes, such as Eviota species, can represent between 45 to 90% of the total fish population across a number of different reef zones; these are fishes with short life spans, fast growth rate, and a rapid generational turnover. Given their abundance it is likely that they represent a very important link in the food chain – think fast food of the reef.

Accurate identification of Eviota species is difficult unless you’re a fish taxonomist; as a result fishes in the marine aquarium trade are likely to be misidentified. Consequently you may find yourself purchasing a fish at high cost that may only have weeks to live, see Eviota sigillata, below.

At a later date I hope to update the table to include details of lifespan.

Some of the more common aquarium species:

Eviota bifasciata – Twostripe Pygmy Goby

3.5 cm TL. Inhabits clear coastal reefs and protected outer reef coral habitats. Usually at moderate depths of 10 meters or more, swimming near sponges or corals when feeding on plankton. Hovers in groups above branching corals of protected reefs.

Eviota sigillata – Seven-figure pygmy goby.

3.0 cm TL. A paper in 2005 reported this fish to have the shortest lifespan of any vertebrate, only living for 59 days. The species lives for 59 days at the most, with larvae spending three weeks in the open ocean and maturing within two weeks of settling on a reef, leaving the adults (which are 1 to 2 centimetres long) just three weeks to reproduce. This strategy of ‘live fast, die young’ strategy is perceived to be a response to intense predation. Daily mortality rate, from tag-recapture data, might be as high as 8%. Occurs at depths less than 4 to between 17 and 21 m on sandy bottoms of lagoon reefs.

Eviota – 54 species described

Ref: www.fishbase.org, Martial Depczynski.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2009

Genus Gobiodon and Paragobiodon – Coral or Clown Gobies.

Commensal species usually associated with Acropora species in the wild.

Will happily perch in or on many corals in captivity although probably best to include some branching SPS corals for a more natural approach.

These species are reported to produces toxic mucus as a defence against predatory fishes.

Sex change species, so best to introduce small, young fish to avoid problems of mixing adults where the sex may already be fixed. Pairs off readily.

Harmless to most other species but aggression can occur amongst fishes of the same species and of similar species. Aggression seems to be a product of territorial requirements so this will depend on tank size.

Pairs may strip flesh from SPS corals when spawning to provide a site for the their eggs – not a problem for healthy corals. Good candidates for captive breeding programs.

May help protect SPS species from parasites such as the “Red Acro Bug”

As far as common names go, “coral” and “clown” seem to be interchangeable.

Where a species has 2 common names listed, the first mentioned is the Fish Base Common Name, which I consider to take precedence over aquarium common names given their inconsistency, country to country.

Some of the more common aquarium species:

Gobiodon atrangulatus – Clown Goby.

3.5cm TL

Gobiodon citrinus – Poison goby (Citron Clown Goby).

The giant of the genus at 5.6 cm TL. Has been raised in captivity.

Gobiodon histrio – Broad-barred goby (Green Coral Goby).

3.5 cm TL

Gobiodon okinawae – Okinawa goby (Yellow Clown Goby).

3.5 cm TL. Occurs in aggregations of 5-15 individuals in the wild.

Gobiodon spp. – A number of other species of similar size but varying attractiveness are also available in the trade.

Gobiodon – 20 species described.

Ref. www.fishbase.org.

Genus Paragobiodon

Paragobiodon lacunicolus – Blackfin coral goby (Panda Coral Goby).

3 cms TL. Lives exclusively among the branches of the coral Pocillopora damicornis, sometimes as deep as 20 m.

Paragobiodon melanosomus – Dark coral goby (Black Coral Goby),

3 cms TL. Paired individuals occur in colonies of Seriatopora spp.

Paragobiodon – 5 species described.

Ref. www.fishbase.org.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2009

The new expanded range of EcoSystem Aquarium products includes items not seen before in the UK. The Eco Balling Method, a 3-Part Calcium Supplement plus associated minor and trace elements is a new take on the traditional Balling System. The Eco Balling Method is designed to be easy enough for the newest of reefkeepers to use with success.

Background.

Continual improvements in techniques and advancements in aquarium technology have made the successful maintenance and propagation of more and more corals in the reef aquarium a reality. This has necessitated the development of an effective dosing system to deliver elements, such as calcium and carbonates, which are vital to the well-being of reef-building organisms.

In the early 1970s, a breakthrough in this area was made by German aquarist, Peter Wilkens, who advocated the use of kalkwasser in the aquarium. In this method, a saturated calcium hydroxide solution was “fed” into the aquarium, drop by drop, via a thin tube, but, this technique also caused a significant rise in pH.

In 1994, Ernst Pawlowsky, of Germany, introduced a new method of calcium supplementation, which soon became quite popular in the United States — Calcium part A and Calcium part B.

At around the same time, Rolf Hebbinghaus, of Germany, produced the CO2 calcium reactor, and Hans-Werner Balling developed the “Balling Method” of calcium supplementation.

By 1996, continued improvements in the Balling Method made it the method of choice for dosing reef aquariums with essential elements, such as calcium, magnesium, and other minerals, whilst maintaining adequate carbonate hardness (alkalinity).

When used correctly, all levels of major elements remain constant, with calcium levels at 420 mg/l, magnesium at about 1300 mg/l and carbonate alkalinity at 7 dKH.

The ECO Balling Method.

The ECO Balling Method Calcium A, B and C, has been formulated in Germany by EcoSystem Europe, and is an efficient, easy to use method of maintaining consistent levels of calcium, magnesium, carbonates and trace elements in the reef system.

For soft coral reefs using the Miracle Mud method, the Eco Balling 3-Part Calcium Supplement may be all the supplementation you require apart from those all important water changes.

According to the numerous German aquarists who have been using the Balling Method, although this methodology has accounted for a doubling is size of small-polyped stony (SPS) corals in their aquariums within about 100 days, colouration has been compromised unless the trace elements Iodine, iron, strontium and NF Metal (all included in the EcoSystem range)

So for SPS reefs using the Miracle Mud method, we recommend using the Eco Balling 3-Part Calcium Supplement plus the Eco Trace Elements.

What follows is a comprehensive, step by step, description of the ECO Balling Method for supplementing calcium, magnesium, other minerals and trace elements, and maintaining carbonate alkalinity at natural seawater levels.

Instructions for Use

Step 1

Before using the Eco Balling Method – Calcium 3-Part Supplement, measure all vital parameters in the reef aquarium with commercial test kits, including those for carbonate alkalinity (dKH), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg).

Make the following adjustments in this exact order:

• if the Mg level is below 1300 ppm, adjust to a level of 1300 to 1400 ppm by using a magnesium supplement, such as Eco Magnesium – liquid (for established aquariums with livestock) or Eco Magnesium – powder (for new aquariums with no livestock).

• if the Ca level is below 400 ppm, adjust to a level of 420 to 439 ppm, by using a calcium supplement, such as Eco Balling Method – Calcium Part C (for established aquariums with livestock) or Eco Kalkwasser and Eco Calcium Plus (for new aquariums with no livestock).

• if the carbonate alkalinity level is below 7.0 dKH, adjust the carbonate alkalinity to 7.0 using Eco Balling Method – Calcium Part A (for established aquariums with livestock) or Eco Buffer dKH (for new aquariums with no livestock).

Step 1 should only need to be performed once.

Step 2

To maintain calcium at 420-430 ppm, magnesium at 1300-1400 ppm, and dkH at 7.0 and other important parameters at natural seawater levels:

Add 50 ml/200 litres of actual aquarium water volume per day of each part of the Eco Balling Method – Calcium Supplement Parts A, B, and C separately. This dosage may need to be varied depending on the stony coral population.

Step 3

Use a saturated calcium hydroxide solution, such as Eco Kalkwasser, at night to replace water lost to evaporation.

Step 4

Monitor carbonate alkalinity, dKH, weekly as it tends to decrease due to heavy consumption of calcium carbonate by stony corals.

Step 5

Do regular weekly water changes and monitor the salinity (salt content) of the aquarium water. Salt concentration tends to rise over time owing to factors such as water lost through evaporation and through the use of a protein skimmer.

Step 6

Supplement weekly with Eco Trace Elements – Eco Iodine, Eco Iron, Eco Strontium and Eco NF Metal.

You can see this product range on the Midland Reefs website under EcoSystem Aquarium (Miracle Mud)

Tim Hayes

EcoSystem Aquarium

©2009 -11

“Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse habitats of the oceans and face extinction due to climate change by 2050. We’re hoping that the politicians and heads of state who attend the UNEP 2009 climate change conference in Copenhagen will make positive amendments to global environmental policy and help save coral reefs and ultimately protect the amazing planet we live on.”

This film was put together with the assistance of Dr Heather Koldewey who is the Curator, Aquarium Projects, at the Zoological Society of London and  the Associate Director of Project Seahorse. I include Heather’s titles to emphasise that this film has been put together by people who understand the subject.

I would also add that from my research I believe some of the extinction dates given in the film are optimistic and that I expect many of these animals to die out in the wild at an earlier date.

This film is important not just for those attending Copenhagen but for all who are involved in the marine aquarium hobby.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

2009

I’m pleased to announce that SAIA is now officially registered as an EEIG at the EU.

The website domain is now: www.saia-online.eu.

Please visit the sub-menus under “Who we are” to learn more about our founding, associate and full members as well as about our supporters & partners.
During December the website will be further updated, including a membership application form to enable your participation.

This project started back in the spring of 2008, it’s a great landmark to become an official organisation at EU level but now the work starts.
As with any organisation of this sort we now need to raise funding to be able to operate effectively.
Any suggestions (or donations) gratefully received and I’d like to encourage anyone interested in our aims to become involved.

Cheers,
Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs