Reef Ramblings

SAIA, the Sustainable Aquarium Industry Association, the European organisation for everybody interested in an ethical and sustainable Marine Aquarium Trade and Industry, has published a list of unsuitable and unsustainable fish species.

This document can be freely downloaded from the SAIA website.

This is a consultation document and SAIA welcomes feedback and discussion from all aquarists regarding the listed species.

The primary objective of the list is to raise awareness for a responsible, ethical, and sustainable hobby and trade by considering the difficulties in keeping certain organisms alive in captivity. The list identifies species where there in no justification for their being traded in volume.

In the first instance, the aim is to raise awareness in the average hobbyists who bear the disappointment and cost of choosing an unsuitable species.

For the industry the list should serve as guideline on what to avoid when placing an order, with the exception of where the listed species is requested by a buyer with either proven record of being capable to keep such specimens or for the purpose of breeding or research. Such buyers are not the average hobbyists.

SAIA would like to point out that the number of species listed as unsuitable or unsustainable is represents a small proportion of what is traded, so no significant loss to business and economy would result from adhering to this list, nor does it restrict the hobby significantly in the variety of species on offer.

The majority of the species concerned are available only from the wild, and it has to be questioned why such species, which do not survive for long in captivity or are threatened with extinction, should be traded. The intent of the list of unsuitable & unsustainable species is not to totally ban the listed species from trade, but rather to raise awareness and hence decrease the demand for such species.

Before reading the list I would suggest first reading the criteria for inclusion, reproduced below from the SAIA website, to enable the reason for listing to be put into perspective.

Note: where a family or genus is listed, the criteria in question relates to all members of that family or genus.

Criteria for unsuitability:

• Diet: Require a specialized diet that is difficult to duplicate in captivity e.g. coral polyps, sponges, tunicates, etc.
• Habitat: Require a specialized habitat which is very difficult to simulate (e.g. deep sand bed, depths of more than 10 meters)
• Aggressive: Extremely aggressive, have large territories in the wild, and are unsuitable for community aquariums. Note: aggression in fish is not anger but is due to territorial behaviour.
• Size: Grow too large for home aquariums, may require 4000 litres or more. It is not enough to merely provide a tank where the organism is well covered with water, an adequate habitat appropriate to the species requirements should also be provided.
• Stress: Those species that are sensitive and stress easily, do not transport well, and are susceptible to parasites and disease. This classification also includes species that only seem to survive in an aquarium when kept in large shoals and those that are collected from deep water, often improperly.
• Potentially harmful: information on venomous/harmful species will be provided shortly.

Criteria for being unsustainable:

• Rarity:  If it is difficult to find a species in the wild this may be an indicator of rarity. The minimum criterion is data deficiency on stock status. The industry does not want to stand accused of collecting a species to extinction.
• Destructive collection methods: collection of these species might lead to destruction of the habitat e.g. cyanide/drug use.
• Stock Status: the species is threatened in its population by other activities e.g. by catch of food fishery, habitat loss.
• Source: species being readily available from culture/breeding should not be taken and offered from the wild.

Some species might hit several categories and criteria, some only one. Nevertheless, species marked as unsuitable or unsustainable should not be demanded by or sold to the average hobbyist.

The list is not exhaustive, it is a work in progress, currently only covering fish species, which will be updated and extended, over time.

If you have any comments regarding this list please contact SAIA directly through the SAIA website. If you have any queries regarding SAIA in the UK, please feel free to contact me.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2010

SAIA

©2010

In this article I’m going to discuss a few commonly available species that are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain in captivity.

People often complain about the cost of the reef aquarium hobby, well one way you can save a little money is by only buying species that are within the capabilities of you and your reef system, avoiding those that are more difficult to maintain and, to be blunt about it, destined to die prematurely in captivity. Some more advanced reefkeepers may quibble with my views and there is always that exception to the rule, the aquarist who has managed to keep some impossible to maintain species for many years. That does not negate the fact that the vast majority of these species will die in the hands of less experienced reefkeepers.

Why Don’t These Species Thrive in the Aquarium?

Nutrition

In nearly every case, the problem is one of nutrition. The majority of the species listed below are heterotrophic, that is organisms that, unlike photosynthetic (or zooxanthellate) corals cannot manufacture their own food. This can be further broken down into the amount of food required by a particular organisms or whether there is a specialised feeding requirement.

Quantity.

It may be possible to maintain some heterotrophic species long-term if they are fed large quantities of planktonic food, phytoplankton and or zooplankton, but this has the downside of producing a polluted environment requiring an onerous amount of tank maintenance.

This mitigates against keeping these organisms with nutrient sensitive corals species.

Specialised Feeding Requirements.

This includes many factors: particle size, diets restricted to a single food source often a specific algae, sponge, or other invertebrate such as a coral species.

Specialised System Required.

In particular, this applies to jelly species; with one exception, all jelly species need to be kept suspended in the water column. This requires the use of a specially designed system known as a Kreisel, which imparts a circular flow to the system, keeping the jellies in suspension.

Short Life Span.

Many of the animals discussed in this article have a short life span, depending on species this can be as short as a few months up to a year, possibly two, as a maximum. Although some aquarists may accept keeping an animal with a short life span, the major problem here is that is almost impossible to tell how old these organisms are; you may find you’ve been fortunate enough to have purchased a juvenile but you’re just as likely to have bought a specimen on the verge of senescence.

Commonly Available Species to Avoid.

Porifera - Sponges

The majority of the decorative sponges do poorly in captivity, they are heterotrophic animals i.e. organisms that, unlike photosynthetic (or zooxanthellate corals) cannot manufacture their own food. The exceptions to this tend to be the autotrophic sponges coloured green, through blue, to purple, that contain symbiotic blue-green algae which can utilise light, contributing towards the sponge’s nutritional requirements much as in zooxanthellate corals.

Heterotrophic sponges however are filter feeders and are reliant on a combination of dissolved organics, bacteria, and phytoplankton. For their aquarium maintenance, I would suggest feeding with a quality live phytoplankton such as DT’s.

Many sponges produce toxins as a form of defence, hence limiting the number of animals that predate on them. Dead sponges can release these toxins to the detriment of soft corals.        On the whole it’s difficult to say which sponges are heterotrophic, which are autotrophic, which are toxic, etc as, with the exception of a handful of distinctive species, these are difficult animals to ID with any certainty. This also makes it difficult to make recommendations on placement, although many sponges will benefit from lower levels of light, there are also those which can be found in shallow water even though they have no photosynthesising symbiont.

A further factor in lack of success with sponges may be that of Silicate limitation owing to the widespread use of RO water in reef aquaria.

Cnideria

Hydrozoa.

Stylaster and Distichopora species. Common Name: Lace Corals

These hydrozoan corals don’t have as powerful a sting as their close relations, the Fire Corals, what they do have though is vivid colouration making them attractive to aquarists. Unfortunately, these azooxanthellate corals are very difficult to maintain owing to their dietary requirements of plankton and possibly nutrients absorbed directly from the water. The colours, blues, violet, pink, through to red are derived from foods rich in the caratanoid, astaxanthin, so perhaps CyclopEeze FreezerBar may be a useful addition to their diet. They are also adapted to strong current, which may also be a factor in their poor survival in the aquarium.

Scyphozoa

Cassiopaea species. Common Name: Upside-down Jellies. Aurelia species. Common Name: Moon Jellies.

Whereas Upside-down jellies can be accommodated in a conventional aquarium if attention is paid to their requirements, all other species of jelly need to be kept suspended in the water column.

Jellies have a complicated life cycle and none but the most advanced aquarists or public aquariums will have much success in raising these animals. Life span is dependent upon species and environment, can be from months up to a year in the wild. Note: Aurelia species are cold water, not tropical.

Pennatulacea

Cavernularia species. Common name: Sea Pens

In addition to being a heterotroph requiring targeted feeding of planktonic food, sea pens need a very deep substrate. These unusual and interesting soft corals dig their peduncle or “foot’ into the substrate as an anchor, this can be more than half the body length of the animal, depending on species, and considering that some species can grow to a height of 40 cms or more, we can be looking at a considerable depth of substrate, deeper than some aquaria.

Nephtheidae and Nidaliidae

Stereonephthya, Scleronephthya, Dendronephthya, Siphonogorgia species. Common name: Carnation Corals

Heterotrophic. These gorgeous, brightly coloured corals are difficult to accurately identify to genus, let alone species level. All require large amounts of food if they are to be kept alive for any length of time but all are destined to waste away over time

Poritidae

Goniopora species.

Sometime over the last couple of years a long-time US aquarium writer, I can’t remember whom, made an observation to the affect, “Back in the eighties, when corals led short lives in the aquarium, we used to feel that we’d done well when a specimen of Goniopora lasted as long as twelve months. Today we can keep most corals indefinitely, yet Goniopora still rarely survive for more than a year!”

Unfortunately, this species remains one of the corals imported in greatest quantities and one of the species least likely to last out a year.

Goniopora species contain zooxanthellae but even that is not enough for the coral to survive without wasting away. There is speculation that a large part of their food take up in the wild consists of a combination of phytoplankton and small particle zooplankton.

Caryophyllidae

Nemenzophyllia turbida. Common name: Fox Coral.

Another zooxanthellate coral that does poorly in the reef aquarium. Again, it is possible that like Goniopora it has a particular feeding requirement that cannot be easily accommodated in the aquarium, in this case the animal may be reliant on absorbing nutrients from the water.

Additionally there is concern about the restricted distribution of this coral; hence, sustainability of collection is in question

Dendrophylliidae

Tubastrea species. Common name: Sun Corals.

This is a heterotrophic or azooxanthellate coral, and is completely dependent on receiving sufficient zooplankton to survive. I have mixed feelings about this coral as, although it is azooxanthellate, it is also the species I’d recommend to any one interested in trying to maintain heterotrophic corals. I would categorise it as being the easiest non-photosynthetic coral to keep alive long-term but to do this requires real dedication to its care. The finest example of an aquarium featuring this species belongs to Swiss aquarist, Daniela Stettler; her dedication is such that she feeds each individual polyp with artemia every evening.

Platyhelminthes

Pseudoceros species. Common name, Flatworms

Gastropoda

Phylidiidae species, Hexabranchus species, Chromodoridea species. Common Name: Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs.

Both Flatworms and Nudibranchs are often difficult to identify. They share the two main limitations of diet and longevity. They may have very specific diets relying on one single species of algae or animal and these foodstuffs may not be present in the aquarium. Although some of these animals may have vivid colouration making them attractive to aquarists, they appear to have short life spans so, even if you were fortunate enough to have the appropriate diet available, you may be dealing with a species that lives for six months or less. Some species may also be toxic with the potential to pollute the tank when they die.

Bivalvia

Lima scabra. Common Name: Flame Scallops. Spondylus species. Common Name: Thorny Oysters.

Heterotrophic. Another couple of animals that require large amounts of food if they are to be kept alive for any significant length of time. Both species feed predominantly on phytoplankton although the addition of small particle size zooplankton such as rotifers may increase survival.

Flame scallops are short lived, maximum of three years, so given retailers preference for stocking bigger animals it may be that most of those in the trade are of an advanced age, explaining why they rarely survive for more than six months.

Cephalopods

Order Octopoda - Octopuses, and Order Sepiida - Cuttlefish

These highly intelligent molluscs have specialised requirements for housing. Nearly every public aquarium, livestock supplier, and retailer that has kept octopuses will have tales to tell of these Houdini’s of the deep. These animals are master escapologists, capable of squeezing through the smallest gap and there are many stories of mysterious fish losses that have eventually been traced back to an octopus leaving it’s tank at night for a takeaway meal, then returning to it’s own aquarium afterwards.

Octopus and cuttlefish have short lives, living for one year, possibly two at the most. It can be distressing seeing these fantastic animals fade into senescence towards the end of their life and knowing that there is nothing you can do to help them.

Echinodermata

Crinoidea Feather Stars and Ophiuroidea Basket Stars

These close relatives of the more familiar Sea Stars and Brittle Stars are filter feeders that rarely survive in captivity for any length of time. It is currently unknown whether this down to lack of food or selectivity of diet.

As they die there is a tendency for their arms to fragment, which can often be seen to continue moving after separation.

Holothuria

Pseudocolochirus species. Common name:  Sea Apple

Heterotrophic. A brightly coloured member of the holothurids this animal is highly toxic. If not fed sufficient quantities of food it will waste away and die, this frequently results in the death of any fishes in the aquarium as the powerful toxin, holurathin, is released.

The Exception to the Rule.

There are a couple of possible explanations for those reports of aquarists having managed to keep seemingly impossible to maintain species long-term, which may hold out some hope of being able to maintain some of the animals in the future.

Identification.

Given the difficulty in identifying many reef organisms accurately there is the possibility that these species may have been misidentified and that they have different requirements to the species in question. This includes the possibility that some look-alike species that do survive longer than usual in aquaria are undescribed species.

Origin.

The animal in question may have been collected from a different part of the reef to where it would normally be found, and has adapted to conditions differing from its usual habitat making it more suited to life in the aquarium. For example, it has been reported that crinoids living in plankton poor environments may have arms that are longer and more highly branched than those inhabiting plankton rich environments.

These animals collected from abnormal habitats along with their adaptation to the environment, may mean that we are seeing organisms in the process of evolving into new species.

Afterword.

Although I have highlighted a number of factors that may improve the chances of keeping many of the animals discussed for longer periods, I do want to emphasise that the overwhelming majority of the animals listed will die in the marine aquarium within a few months of introduction.

Glossary.

Azooxanthellate coral - a coral that does not have symbiotic zooxanthellae in its tissues.

Heterotroph - an organism that cannot manufacture its own food, and therefore requires external sources of energy.

Hydrozoa - a class within the phylum Cnidaria, contains five orders that include colonial forms with massive aragonite skeletons, fire corals and Lace Corals.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2010

The reef aquarium industry comes under threat again as scientists call on the US to stem the ecological impact of trade in coral reef wildlife.

A paper in the journal, Marine Policy, from a team of 18 scientists says that International law has failed to protect coral reefs and tropical fish from being decimated by a growing collectors market, but that U.S. reforms could lead the way in making the trade more responsible, ecologically sustainable, and humane.

Using data from the United Nation’s conservation monitoring program the authors say trade in coral and coral reef species is substantial and growing, removing 30 million fish and 1.5 million live stony corals a year. The aquarium industry targets some 1,500 species of reef fishes. Many die in transit, leading collectors to gather even more animals to compensate for their losses.

“Our actions have a big impact on these coral reef ecosystems, which are already hit hard by global warming, ocean acidification, and over fishing,” said Brian Tissot, lead author and professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Washington State University, Vancouver. The result is some species have gone “virtually extinct,” citing as an example the Banggai Cardinalfish, unique to a remote Indonesian archipelago, which has had its numbers reduced and even eliminated through much of its range after it became a popular aquarium fish in the late 1990s.

The paper’s origin goes back to a meeting of more than 40 scientists, NGOs, and policy experts during the 2009 International Marine Conservation Congress. When the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) took no action on key groups of corals this March, concerns grew. Authors include experts from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Humane Society International, the Pew Environment Group, and the Environmental Defense Fund.

The U.S. accounts for more than half the world trade in live coral, fishes, and invertebrates, the authors recommend using U.S. market power to reduce the trade’s environmental effects. They suggest laws to protect a wider variety of species, enforcement that includes tracking a product’s chain of custody, and reforms in source countries. Also recommended are changes in marketing to promote the sales of species certified as being humane and sustainable. The authors add, “The U.S. should assume its role as an international leader in coral reef conservation and take steps to reform the international trade it drives.”

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

2010

This article about protein skimmers covers a bit about what they are, how they work, and a look at the design philosophy of a number of skimmer designers.

Now before I start, a quick reminder that I am something of an agnostic when it comes to the subject of skimmers, so you can be assured I have no bias when it comes to make or mode of operation.

Also, I feel I have to yet again repeat my usual proviso, used previously in connection with lighting and water flow: there is no “Best”, only what is most appropriate. When it comes to protein skimmers, there is only the piece of equipment that is best suited to the needs of your particular reef set up. For example, you can have two highly regarded skimmers, one from each of two different manufacturers, if your system doesn’t have a sump and only one of the skimmers is usable without a sump, then that will be your choice. It doesn’t make it the “best skimmer” but of the two skimmers it is the most appropriate for your reef.

What is a Protein Skimmer?

So what is a protein skimmer? A protein skimmer is a filtration device that removes certain dissolved organics, and other potential pollutants from water, through the effect of fine air bubbles on these substances. It can be considered primarily to be a form of chemical filtration but in operation, some incidental mechanical filtration will also be taking place.

How Does a Protein Skimmer Work?

The principle behind why a skimmer works is that certain molecules called surfactants (surface-active molecules) are attracted to the surface of air bubbles. Fortunately for marine aquarists, many of these are the molecules of organic waste we’d like to remove from our aquaria. They are polar at one end (hydrophilic) and non-polar (hydrophobic) at the other; the hydrophobic end is attracted to the surface of an air bubble, where it can be away from water, adhering to the bubble it will rise to the surface helping to form the organic foam that is collected in the skimmer cup.  The incidental mechanical filtration comes about as inevitably some fine particulate material, plankton etc. can be pulled into the skimmer and be removed by either becoming “gummed up” with the organic waste or just by being pumped up the skimmer column in the same manner as water is pumped up an old fashioned under gravel filter air up-lift.

At its simplest, a protein skimmer works by pushing fine air bubbles, through water, up a column. The air bubbles collect molecules of organic waste from the water and as they reach the top of the column they are pushed out of the water and up into a collection cup. The simplest of skimmers therefore is just a cylindrical tube, suspended in water, with an air diffuser positioned at the bottom of the tube and a collection cup at the top of the tube above the water level. This is a design that works but it is by no means a very efficient design.

Beyond this very basic skimmer configuration, skimmers have evolved over time with a number of design improvements being made, effectively producing different classes of skimmer.

The basic design described above, utilising an air pump and air diffuser, is usually termed a co-current skimmer; the air travels in the same direction as the water flow. By changing the design, so water travels down the column as the air goes upwards we have a more efficient design with increased contact time, a counter-current skimmer.

Venturi skimmers can be co-current or counter-current, these do away with the air pump and draw air in through a venturi valve. With a venturi valve, pressurized water from the pump enters the inlet where, by passing through a tapering aperture, it is constricted as it goes into the injection chamber, changing the flow into a high-velocity jet stream. This increase in velocity results in a decrease in pressure, which sucks air in through the air inlet. As the jet stream is diffused through the expanding injector outlet a multitude of small diameter bubbles are produced, mixed in with the water.

Needle/pin wheel skimmers draw air in through a dedicated pump that uses a special design of impellor, the needle/pin wheel, to “chop” the air up, forming very fine bubbles of a size smaller than that produced by a venturi. These impellors are formed with numerous narrow projections instead of the usual six to eight flat blades commonly found in pumps. These projections can be radial in design or mounted parallel to the pumps axis of rotation, depending on manufacturer. It’s these projections that chop up the air.

Downdraft skimmers, not very common in the UK, this design uses a tall vertical column, filled with bio-balls, connected to a sump with an internal baffle plate. Water is introduced at the top of the column, it then repeatedly smashes down over the bio-balls, and by the time the water reaches the sump at the base, the water is a sea of white foam. The baffle plate creates dwell time, allowing the organic laden foam to rise up a wide-mouthed tube into the collection cup. This is really only suitable for very large tanks and for dealing with large volumes of water.

Design Factors.

So, what factors affects the efficiency of a skimmer?

Here is a list of some of the different variables that need to be taken into consideration in the design and selection of a skimmer:

• Volume of water passing through the skimmer in a given time.
• The number of times the volume of the aquarium travels through the skimmer in a given time.
• The height of the skimmer column.
• The diameter of the skimmer column.
• The volume of air being introduced into the skimmer column.
• The diameter of the air bubbles being used.
• The length of time the bubbles are in contact with the water.

All these variables can interact with each other, giving an immense number of different possible combinations of parameters around which a skimmer could be designed.

There is little in the way of hard scientific information available to the aquarist, most writing in magazines and books is more in the form of simplified explanation of the principles involved, plus some description of what the writer believes to be the key parameters. Usually the emphasis is put on the volume of air being used, the height of the skimmer column, the contact time, etc. For this article I decided to try and take a different approach. Instead of just summarising my own knowledge, and possibly making false assumptions about what is important, I asked the real experts, the guys who actually design and build the skimmers we use, to contribute their opinions. The following is based on a series of interviews carried out in 2005.

Design Philosophy.

Aqua Medic.

Dr. Manfred Schluter, the designer of the ab AquaMedic range of skimmers:

We want to get a high airflow rate with small bubbles so that we have a huge air/water surface. We want to keep these air bubbles in contact with water for the longest possible time and we want to make the skimmers as high as possible. This increases the time the bubbles spend rising in the water column and also the pressure at the bottom. Higher pressure means higher solubility of gases, faster gas exchange and also smaller bubbles, as the air is compressed.

To achieve this, the skimmer would be tall, with the air bubbles injected in at the lower end. Skimmers like this are very effective (e.g. our Turboflotor 5000 Twin). But for many applications, they are too tall. Customers want shorter skimmers that fit under the aquarium in a cabinet. Here, we do not get the long retention time of the air bubbles in the water. In order to still get good skimming results, we have to increase the flow rate of the air and also the turnover of the water. The Turboflotor 5000 Shorty injects, with one pump, as much air as the Twin with 2 pumps.

The turnover of the water is another parameter. As a rule of thumb, for the tall skimmers, with aquariums up to 3 - 5000 litres, a turnover time of once per hour gives good results. For the shorter skimmers with medium sized aquariums, the turnover should be increased to 2 - 3 times per hour to receive the same skimming results.

This is the reason, that we recommend for both the Turboflotor 5000 Twin (153 cm high) and the Turboflotor 5000 Shorty (50 cm high) the same flow rate of water - approx 3.000 l/h).

What is the ideal size of the bubbles?  This depends on the counter current and the water flow. They should be as small as possible, but big enough to rise under the conditions of the specific skimmer. A tall skimmer with a large volume and comparatively low water flow can use much smaller bubbles, than a short skimmer with high water flow and short retention time of water in the column. Here, if the bubbles get too small, they “escape” through the outlet. To make it more complicated. The bubble size is not completely defined by the physical parameters of the skimmer (Needle wheel construction, air diffuser), but also by the chemical composition of the water. Water that is highly loaded with organics produces smaller bubbles, than water low in organics. This means, if you connect a new skimmer to an older, or poorly skimmed aquarium, at first the bubbles are smaller and you may get problems with bubbles entering the aquarium. But after some days, when the concentration of organics is reduced, the bubble size increases and bubbles no longer enter the aquarium. Compared to the concentration of organics, the change of bubble size caused by the salt concentration is rather small - at least, if we look at seawater of, say, a specific density from 1.0020 to 1.0030.

Bubble size will also change within a skimmer. The smallest bubbles are at the deepest point with the highest pressure. As they rise, the diameter increases, giving more area for organics to attach to. This is the reason, that the bubbles should not be pressed downwards again, once they have been up. On their way down, the bubble size and the surface decrease again, and the attached organics may be lost.

Deltec.

If you ask Wolfgang Weidl, the designer of the Deltec range of skimmers, for his main criteria when it comes to skimmer design you’ll get an answer to the effect, “There are three main criteria to be taken into consideration - Air, Air, and Air!”

Looking at the way the Deltec skimmers are designed you’ll see fairly short skimmer bodies with large volumes of air being introduced, characterised by collection cups with large diameter necks to accommodate the high air flow. As a rule of thumb, they find that an airflow of 500 to 600 litres per hour for each 1000 litres of water volume works well. Although Deltec do make tall skimmers, mainly for the commercial market, the short-bodied skimmer tends to be the one of choice for the hobbyist because of the necessity to position it out of sight in a cabinet under the aquarium.

Wolfgang also pointed out a number of useful bits of information for you to consider when choosing a skimmer.

When it comes to manufacturers sizing their skimmers according to aquarium volume, just bear in mind that it may not be so much the tank volume that’s important, rather it’s the organic load of a system that’ll dictate the size of skimmer required.

Be wary of the dangers of overskimming. If your tank and skimmer combination is working well for you, don’t think you can make it even better by increasing skimmer size. Overskimming can lead to the removal and oxidation of trace elements, resulting in a nutrient poor aquarium that can be detrimental to your animals unless appropriate steps are taken.

When a skimmer is operating correctly, the lower forty percent of the of the neck of the collection cup should contain an even, cream like foam, with no signs of turbulence. Above this the bubbles should be larger, starting to break up, and showing the colouration from the organic load being removed.

Beware of turbulence in a skimmer. This brings about the danger that the organic pollutants will be returned to the system rather than being removed.

Ratz.

In conversation with Mario Ratz, designer of the Ratz range of skimmers, at the UK trade show last year I was made aware of a couple of design issues that may effect the efficiency of needle/pin wheel type skimmers.  I was interested to learn that there may well be a phenomenon taking place when needle/pin wheel impellors are used that enhances the skimming capacity of these designs. The theory is that the chopping motion of the specially designed impellor results in an electrostatic force being imparted to the bubbles being produced and that this in turn increases the ability of the air bubbles to attract hydrophobic molecules to their surface. Think about how a plastic ruler can be charged with static electricity by stroking it with a cloth and how it then has the ability to attract small items to its surface.

One thing Mario was a little concerned about was the orientation of the pumps used in this design of skimmer. The worry being that if the pump was positioned with the air being introduced at the bottom of the pump that there was the possibility of air being trapped high up in the pump, excluding water and potentially leading to failure through overheating.

Tunze.

Tunze, another German company have always taken a slightly different tack with their designs, here Roger Vitko, of Tunze USA, explains.

Our company was one of the first to develop a protein skimmer.  In the early days of the aquarium hobby the main focus was soft corals and macroalgae which needed a certain level of nutrients and plankton to thrive.  To avoid overskimming we incorporated a recirculating loop.  The water simply recirculated inside the skimmer.  By osmosis proteins diffuse into the skimmer for removal.  This effect is very simple to understand.  Imagine adding sugar to a glass of tea, even if you don’t stir it the tea will be evenly sweetened given sufficient time.  Dissolved matter is evenly dispersed throughout a solution and for this reason even without active flow through, the skimmer will remove wastes that diffuse in to keep the solute levels even in the solution, the solute levels will always be lower in the skimmer due to the skimming action so waste is constantly diffusing in to even the concentration gradient and is then removed.  By avoiding contact of the pump with the aquarium water the plankton are not exposed to the destructive shearing forces.  Because they are not dissolved, but rather living suspended in the water, they do not diffuse in or enter the skimmer in any great number.  This year we are introducing a new skimmer line which also has the option to run as a traditional open loop skimmer.

Well there you have it, a lot of information to chew over. And a lot of different approaches. As one of these designers said, “All skimmers work, it’s just a matter of how well”.

I’d like to thank every one who contributed to my request for information to enable me to put all this together. The amount of space given over to any particular manufacture doesn’t reflect on the importance of the contributions, many people made similar comments about some aspects of skimmer design which it would have been pointless to repeat.

Tips.

If you’re looking to purchase a skimmer but are also thinking of upgrading to a larger reef in the future, then consider buying a skimmer with the capacity to work on a greater volume of water.

When you’ve got a skimmer keep it maintained, that doesn’t just mean emptying the collection cup! A well maintained, inexpensive air driven skimmer can easily outperform a far more expensive pump driven skimmer where maintenance has been neglected.

Protein Skimmer Maintenance.

It goes without saying that every time you empty the collection cup of a skimmer that you should clean both the cup (so you can see what waste is being produced) and the inside of the cup’s reaction pipe. When you clean the cup it’s worth leaving the skimmer off for half an hour or so; this gives an opportunity for any build up of salt in the air injection nozzle/venturi to dissolve. If you notice any reduction in air flow this is the area to look at, if leaving the skimmer off for a short period doesn’t work try either injecting R.O. water down the air intake or stripping down the pump and soaking the air injection nozzle/venturi in vinegar.

Every few months clean the inside of the reaction tube and if there is a build up of coralline algae allow affected parts to soak in vinegar to aid removal.

Skimmer Pumps and Power Heads.

All centrifugal pumps associated with your skimmer will need occasional cleaning and servicing to maintain performance. Pump pre-filters should be cleaned regularly as required to ensure maximum water flow at all times. Periodically strip all pumps to enable cleaning of the impellor and impellor chamber where you’ll probably experience a build up a bio-film of some sort.  Check the impellor shaft for wear (or corrosion) and replace as necessary. Remove any animals who have set up home in the interior of the pump.

Some makes of pump - Aqua-Bee and AquaMedic - may have a concealed pump flap in the part of the pump housing leading to the outlet; this flap and the surrounding housing should be cleaned of any calcium deposits to ensure that the flap can move freely.

Air-Driven Skimmers.

Wooden air diffusers need to be changed every four to six weeks depending on make, depth of water, and the pressure output of the air pump. When changing, check the end of the airline for any salt build up.

Replace any airline showing signs of deterioration e.g. hardening, cracking, or discolouration.

Tip - When you replace a wooden diffuser make sure you’ve got air running through the new one before immersing it. From the moment a diffuser is placed into water it starts absorbing water, the wood then swells, constricting the pores that the air travels through, hence restricting airflow and resulting in poor skimming.

Air pumps: Wooden air diffusers produce a lot of backpressure, which can lead to diaphragms failing. If your pump starts to become noisy this is usually the cause. Either strip and examine the pump regularly or make sure you have a spares kit handy ready for when it fails.

Protein Skimmers and Ozone.

Ozone is usually introduced into a system via the skimmer, being drawn in instead of atmospheric air. Ozone can improve skimmer efficiency by around ten percent.

Ozone is potentially dangerous both to you and the animals you keep. Treat it with respect and follow the manufacturers instructions at all times. If carbon is used with your ozoniser make sure you change it at the specified intervals. Periodically replace all airline used with an ozoniser, making sure you use airline hose of the correct grade. Ozone will rapidly degrade unsuitable plastics - do not use plastic airline valves in conjunction with ozone they will melt!

From our research when coming up with the Reef Scientific ozoniser I came to the conclusion that most people are applying too much ozone. I’d suggest starting off with a very low level of ozone and then gradually increase it over 10 to 14 days until you reach the point where the skimmer no longer produces foam, now gradually back off the amount of ozone until you reach a satisfactory compromise.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2005 - 2010

While starting to research unsuitable fishes for SAIA, I remembered this article from a couple of years back. Hopefully this should explain some of the rationale behind restricting the availability of certain species of fish. Personally I would not want to see the trade in these species banned, rather that availability should be restricted to:  those with the capacity to provide suitable accommodation - in the case of large species, advanced aquarists  - in the cases where it’s a matter of nutritional limitations.

Criteria for Unsuitability.

SAIA’s criteria for unsuitability include: size (organisms growing too big for the average hobbyist tank), feeding (specialist feeders), and sensitivity to transport conditions. We believe that as part of our goal of an ethical and sustainable marine aquarium trade that we can reduce the demand for unsuitable species by making information available to both the trade and the hobby. Below are a few further comments on some of the criteria for unsuitability.

Generation replacement time.

Many fishes have a slow generation replacement time; meaning collection for the aquarium trade can affect the sustainability of the breeding population.

Rarity in the wild.

Some very desirable species are comparatively rare in the wild.

Limited natural range.

A good example of course being the Banggai, a limited range implies a small population that can be easily over-exploited by the aquarium trade.

Method of capture.

Owing to their habitat there are fish species, which are difficult to capture, fishes such as dwarf angelfishes and mandarins come to mind. Cyanide is still in use, along with a number of other chemical agents that are used to knock out fishes to make collection easier.

Nutritional requirements.

If you can’t feed it, you can’t keep it!

Just because some retailer tells you, “No problem, it’ll eat anything” it doesn’t mean that they’re correct. Research fishes’ nutritional requirements, if you cannot accommodate a specialist feeder do not buy it thinking it’ll acclimate to aquarium food in time, it won’t, it’ll starve to death!

Size.

This is of particular importance in view of the public aquarium Big Fish Campaign, launched in 2006, which aims to educate aquarists about the potential sizes of fishes in the trade and point out that public aquaria cannot be relied upon to take care of poorly thought out purchases, when they outgrow home aquaria.

Remember, when you buy a fish it shouldn’t just be something to keep until it outgrows your system, you should be making a commitment to keep that fish for the length of its natural life, something that in many cases should be measured in decades not months!

On the subject of size, there is also the question of what size fish should be collected for the trade, this can affect the sustainability of the breeding population of a species. Size can also have an influence on how well a particular species survives the process of collection and transportation.

10 Marine Fishes You Shouldn’t Even Think About Buying.

Elasmobranches.

Elasmobranches, sharks and rays, should remain the provenance of public aquaria. The only exception to this rule is if you can provide facilities similar to those of a public aquarium, both in scale and in technology.

I’d particularly like to draw your attention here to the Blue-spotted stingray, Taeniura lymma. This is an animal that is being put into danger by collection for the marine aquarium industry and features in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It’s of particular concern as it has a poor record in captivity with a significant number of those brought in for public aquarium display failing to survive the acclimation process. If public aquaria, with their knowledge and facilities, find these difficult animals what chance do hobbyists have of keeping them alive?

Carangidae (Jacks).

Few, if any, fishes from this family are suitable for the home aquarium. The Golden Trevally, Gnathanodon speciosus, is my poster fish for animals that should not be imported unless ordered specifically for a public aquarium display. It is completely irresponsible for these fishes to be imported and held as a matter of course, it’s inevitable they’ll end up in the wrong hands (i.e. outside the public aquarium industry) when picked by people ignorant of the size of these fishes. At 6 -7 cms it’s a cute colourful fish, full grown at 120 cms, it becomes something that smaller public aquaria may have problems housing.

Wild Caught Clownfishes.

You might find this one a bit of a surprise but it makes complete sense. Every Clownfish taken from the wild means the potential demise of its host anemone, a potential that becomes even greater when it’s a pair that’s been collected.

All Clownfishes can be bred in captivity with differing degrees of difficulty, and contrary to uninformed opinion the colours of captive bred fishes can be just as vibrant as those of wild ones.

Ribbon Eels.

Rhinomuraena quaesita, with its nasal extension is a very striking fish. It’s unique amongst the Muraenids in displaying sexual dichromatism, males and female being differently coloured. It’s a protandrous hermaphrodite starting off life black, as it changes to male it takes on the very attractive blue colouration associated with this fish, finally becoming female at around 85 cms when the colour changes to yellow or yellowish green/blue.  These fish are difficult to feed, rarely surviving for more than a year in an aquarium; consequently, the female colouration is seldom seen in captivity.

Wild Caught Banggai Cardinalfishes.

Perhaps another surprise, but this is a classic example of an animal that is easily bred in captivity yet endangered in the wild by the aquarium industry. This fish inhabits a limited range; it produces small broods, and is limited in the number of broods it can produce over the course of the year.

Obligate Corallivores.

Unless you’re prepared to devote a separate aquarium to coral cultivation, one that can keep up with the demands of the fishes being kept, you shouldn’t buy any obligate corallivores. These are fishes that are obliged to eat coral polyps as a mainstay of their diet. Typified by Butterflyfishes plus the gorgeous Blue-spotted filefish Oxymonacanthus longirostris.

Mandarinfishes.

This one is difficult for me as, along with many other aquarists, this is one of the fishes that attracted me to the hobby in the first place. There are two concerns about Mandarins the first is a question of nutrition but if carefully considered there’s no reason why these fishes can’t survive their natural lifespan in an aquarium. The second is harder to defend and is concerned with the manner in which these fishes are collected. There is a tendency for the largest males to be targeted for collection, which has been proved to have a deleterious affect on the local population.

Cleaner Wrasses.

Labroides dimidiatus, the familiar blue cleaner wrasse, is a perpetual concern. They’re commonly seen for sale at a moderate price yet the majority of them are doomed to death by malnutrition. They’re obligate cleaners that feed on external parasites, mucus, and fish scales. To survive long-term they need to be kept with a large community of fishes. There is no excuse for an aquarist with an average sized reef to go out and purchase one of these fishes as, even though these fish will be seen to feed, they are unable to properly assimilate aquarium foods and will die prematurely.

Importantly, they cannot be considered a cure for diseases such as white spot - one of the main reasons hobbyists purchase this fish.

Cowfishes & Boxfishes.

Ostracion cubicus, Yellow or Cube Boxfish, Lactoria cornuta, Longhorn Cowfish, etc. are often seen as cute little “croutons” about 2 cms cubed, hovering in dealers’ sales tank, these are not fish to be taken on lightly. With an adult size of around half a metre, and the potential to wipe out a complete system with the toxic slime that they exude when stressed, they certainly represent a species unsuitable for the average marine aquarist.

SAIA

As I said at the beginning of this article, I’m currently compiling a list of unsuitable fishes for SAIA, if you would like to suggest any species that you believe should be included in this list please contact me at: tim@midlandreefs.co.uk

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2008 ©2010

The Indian government has effectively banned the reef aquarium hobby with the publication of a 72-page document entitled, Aquarium Fish Breeding and Marketing Rules.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has drafted new rules pertaining to the breeding, selling and display of fish in aquariums in India. These rules appear to apply to all in the hobby and industry, retailers, aquarium keepers and anyone who keeps fish for public display (presumably meaning public aquariums). None of this applies to fish caught and sold for food.

The ministry stated ‘Breeding and selling of aquarium fish has become big business. In this process coral reefs have been damaged and many fish brought to near extinction. There is a tendency to regard fish as non-beings therefore they are sold as commodities, kept in unsuitable ways and in unsuitable places,’

Under the proposed rules, inspectors can visit anyone with an aquarium for regular checks with the aim of the rules being to ensure that people keeping or selling fish must have knowledge and a good understanding of the species-specific requirements of the animals.

I have no problem with the introduction of regulations aimed at improving the quality of life of the organisms kept in the industry and the hobby, hence my commitment to the Sustainable Aquatic Industry Association (SAIA), but the proposed Indian rules will effectively ban the reef aquarium hobby.

Item 9 states: No establishment may keep or sell corals. That, along with the list of prohibited species makes the outlook for reefkeeping in India very grim.

The regulations that have been suggested appear to be very mixed, some make perfect sense, some make no sense at all, while others may be difficult to comply with in India owing to the costs or technology involved. The prohibited species list is also mixed, many of the fishes listed I would also consider restricting in the EU to all but advanced aquarists, yet other species listed seem to be unnecessarily prohibited.

I would be interested to know the provenance of this list, are there local collection issues being addressed, are species included because they are venomous?

I find it particularly sad that that this is happening in India, a country where the hobby of reef keeping and marine aquariums is in its infancy.

This issues brought up by this document are exactly those that SAIA is trying to address in the EU. With SAIA we are endeavouring to produce a list of Best Practices put together by aquarists with hands on knowledge of the organisms, rather than see the hobby at the mercy of legislators and academics with no practical knowledge of aquatics.

I believe that it is in the best interests of marine aquarists throughout Europe to join in and support SAIA to prevent legislation of this sort being imposed on us by those outside of the industry and the hobby.

Click to see the full extent of the proposed Aquarium Fish Breeding and Marketing Rules.

Appendix A.

It is prohibited to keep or sell the following species:

(Note spelling is as per the draft document)

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2010

The 1^st of June saw the first annual conference of the new coral reef aquarium initiative, the Coral Aquarist Research Network (CARN) take place at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

CARN was formed in October 2009 as a network to foster the exchange of knowledge, expertise, and experience between coral reef researchers and those working in the various fields of aquarium related industries such as suppliers, public aquariums, coral growers, and hobbyists. It is hoped that the creation of this network will provide opportunities for the various coral industries to collaborate with the world class coral and reef biology research community in the UK.

This first conference included presentations that were both research and industry orientated, highlighting the status of knowledge, technology and importantly gaps in our understanding of coral physiology, ecology, transport, growth and sustainable harvesting.

A special issue of the JMBA, one of the UK’s leading marine biology centric journals, will be devoted to the proceedings of the conference.

The day started of with an introduction to the conference by Philippa Mansell from the University of Essex, project manager of CARN.

The conference was split into four sessions of talks, each session based around a theme. Although some of the talks were of a scientific nature the bulk of them were easily accessible to the keen hobbyist. Concluding each session there was a period set aside for questions and answers, enabling conference participants to further exchange information or ask questions clarifying aspects of the presentations.

For the purpose of this article, I’m just going to briefly list the presentations with a few comments on their relevance to the hobbyist.

The session on Coral Eco-physiology was fairly technical, looking at: Mechanisms of thermal induced coral bleaching and the implications for reef community structure ( Dr David Smith, University of Essex), effects of trace metals on reef anthozoan pigmentation (Edward Smith, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton) , and the influence of the light climate on colouration of reef corals (Dr Jörg Wiedenmann, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton). The research being carried out here will have a benefit to hobbyists enabling them to keep bright coloured corals and better maintain their colouration.

The second session, Coral Ecology and Biodiversity, included a fascinating talk on Mushroom corals (Fungiidae) and their associated fauna in the Coral Triangle (Dr Bert Hoeksema, Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity), looking at the various animals that live on or in these popular aquarium corals. The Importance of Symbiodinium diversity: implications for the aquarium trade (Patrick Brading, University of Essex), was about the various species of symbiotic dinoflagellates, the zooxanthellae that live within coral tissue. Environmental influences on coral growth – from Indonesia to the Caribbean (Professor James Crabbe, University of Bedfordshire), gave an insight into how the environment affects the way that corals grow in nature and how this might affect their growth in aquaria.

The session looking at the coral industry and conservation examined issues of conservation, sustainability, and management of resources with presentations on the trade in reef corals (Dr Elizabeth Wood, Marine Conservation Society), the UK trade in ornamental polychaetes or Fan-worms (Joanna Murray, University of Portsmouth), and whether the coral industries can play a role in the future conservation of coral reefs (Philippa Mansell, University of Essex). An important issue, greatly affecting the future of the hobby.

The conference finished of on the subject of aquarium based research and workshops and featured a talk on Coralzoo (Dr Ronald Osinga, Wageningen University), an initiative looking at four years of public aquarium research on stony corals, my own presentation discussing Coral Nutrition in the Captive Environment (Tim Hayes, Midland Reefs), and a report on the 5^th SECORE workshop, a program investigating sexual reproduction in stony corals (Jamie Craggs, Aquarium Curator, Horniman Museum).

CARN is an initiative that welcomes you, the hobbyist, to join in and share your experiences of keeping corals in your reef aquarium. You can do this by going to the CARN website, http://carnuk.org/getinvolved.aspx, there you can share information about the corals and other reef organisms that you’ve kept, with top reef scientists who are very interested in looking at how these fascinating animals fare in the captive environment in comparison to how they live in the wild. For advanced hobbyists it could also offer the opportunity to ask questions of reef scientists based on observations of your reef aquarium.

Together we can take the reef aquarium hobby forward through the exchange of information, perhaps in the process improving long term survivability of reef organisms and the sustainability of the hobby.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2010

Reef Scientific Calanoid Copepods

The highest quality frozen natural marine zooplankton available anywhere!

High Nutritional Value!

High in protein, in omega3, Phospholipids, DHA & EPA, and Astaxanthin.

Although other companies market the calanoid copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, the nutritional quality of these is poor owing to the presence of autolytic enzymes that degrade fatty acids and proteins after freezing. With Reef Scientific Calanoid Copepods, these autolytic enzymes have been deactivated, consequently extending the storage time of the food from as little as one month to in excess of a year with no loss of nutritional value!

Non-polluting!

100% clean. Needs no pre-rinsing before use. The product is pasteurized for bio-security and sealed, using natural components from crustaceans, minimizing nutrient leakage in the reef aquarium. Can be thawed and kept in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.

Suitable for all saltwater and freshwater fish, corals, and crustaceans.

Originally developed in Norway as an initial feed for larval and juvenile stages of marine aquaculture species, it has since proven valuable for ornamental aquarium species. Trials have shown them to be particularly useful in larvaculture since almost all larvae of fish or crustaceans have high nutritional demands during their early stages of development,

This range of marine zooplankton is produced in land-locked bays in Northern Norway and, characteristically of high latitude calanoid copepods, are rich in phospholipids, essential fatty acids and proteins along with the caratanoid Astaxanthin. The fatty acid, DHA, is only produced in marine algae and is accumulated in zooplankton as they graze in a process of natural enrichment.

Although it’s not widely known, there is a problem associated with the preservation of zooplankton through freezing without the degradation of fatty acids and proteins. Zooplankton contains large amounts of autolytic enzymes that continue to degrade their fatty acids and proteins post mortem. These enzymes remain active when zooplankton is frozen; consequently, the maximum storage life is one month before valuable Phospholipids in the zooplankton become degraded.

Our Norwegian partners have succeeded in deactivating the autolytic enzymes present in the zooplankton; consequently, the storage time of the food has been extended to more than one year without loss of nutrients.

Furthermore, they have developed a method of coating the zooplankton with an ultra thin membrane derived from natural components of crustaceans that prohibits nutrient leakage from the food particles. This results in a frozen food of very high nutritional quality that will not pollute the aquarium by leaching nutrients into the water.

Size Range.

The food ranges in particle size from 2mm down to 0.1 mm. Currently only the 2mm size is generally available, although if you are a breeder please talk to us about the smaller size fractions. With the exception of the 2 mm zooplankton, C. finmarchicus, a number of different species are present in each sizing, providing a rich variety of different nutritional profiles. The smaller size fractions of our feed can be used to substitute the use of live feed such as rotifers and artemia. These are available, in small volumes, in the following size fractions 65-80, 80-150, and 150-200 µm, covering the size range of rotifers.

Although other companies market calanoid copepods, specifically Calanus finmarchicus, the nutritional quality of these is poor, as the autolytic enzymes have not been deactivated.

Aquarium

Aquarium shops in Norway trialing the product have been unambiguously positive. After 2-4 weeks feeding, all fish species responded with stronger and more intense coloration. Wild caught fish, fed with this food when first received, had a higher survival rate.

Clownfishes

The smaller-size food particles have a documented positive effect on fish and crustacean larvae.

In co-feeding experiments, clownfish have shown 100% higher growth compared to a diet solely with enriched rotifers and artemia. Survival has increased by 50%.

Norwegian ornamental fish breeder, Thomas Engels, has done extensive testing of the product and has substituted the artemia feeding period of clownfishes by 2-3 weeks using this product, finding it be the best food he’s ever used.

Dr. Ike Olivotto at the university of Ancona, Italy, is shortly to publish a paper showing this food to be superior to live feeds such as rotifers and artemia. His research involved comparing two groups of clownfish larvae, one group fed a standard rotifer/Artemia nauplii, diet, the other fed a combination of rotifers/copepod nauplii and Artemia nauplii/copepodites-copepods.

Analysing gene expression in clownfishes, growth promoting factors increased by 2.5 times, whilst growth-inhibiting factors (myostatin) decreased by 5 times. His research showed 100% higher weight along with 30% length increase in clownfishes 10 days post hatching, compared to fish given a diet consisting of enriched rotifers and Artemia. 15 days post hatching, larvae fed with the copepod enhanced diet had a 62% survival rate compared to larvae fed a conventional rotifer/Artemia nauplii diet with a 41% survival rate.

Aquaculture

A Norwegian lobster hatchery, Norsk Hummer AS, trialing the 500-700µm frozen food, found that the survival rate of lobster larvae during the three weeks prior to settlement, increased to approximately 15% from less than 1%! This increased survival rate was evident even when the lobster eggs were of poor quality.

In the UK, after an initial trial, the National Lobster Hatchery are now using the 2.0mm Calanus finmarchicus as part of their raising protocol.

The food is currently being trialed on newly hatched cod larvae with further testing on growth and survival planned for other species such as halibut, turbot and cleaner fish.

Midland Reefs, Unit 10 Mount Rd. Trading Estate,

Burntwood. Staffordshire, WS7 0AJ. UK.

Tel: +44 (0) 1543 685599

Zooplankton Technical Data.

Table 1. Size and Species

Table 2.

Fatty acid profile (mg/g dry weight and % of total fatty acids) of the 2 mm size fraction of copepods.

Fatty acid profile may vary depending on season, locality, and plankton species grazed.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2010

The Coral Aquarist Research Network (CARN) is holding its 1^st Annual Conference on the 1^st June 2010 at the Royal Geographical Society, London.

CARN, formed in October of last year, was created to facilitate and initiate the exchange of knowledge, expertise and experience between coral reef researchers, coral growers, national and public aquaria, and reef hobbyists. This network is in place to structure opportunities for coral industries such as suppliers and growers to engage with, utilise and collaborate with the world class coral and reef biology research community in the UK.

This first conference will include a number of presentations that are both research and industry orientated highlighting the current status of knowledge, technology and, importantly, gaps in our understanding of coral physiology, ecology, transport, growth and sustainable harvesting.

Indeed, I will be delivering a presentation looking coral nutrition in the captive environment.

This conference provides substantial networking opportunities and a chance to discuss ideas, address queries or simply take interest, and potentially become involved in, impact-led research initiatives from an economic and sustainability perspective as well as from an enhanced coral growth, coral diversity and improved conservation measures viewpoint.

If you think you might have something to contribute (many hobbyists are ahead of educational organizations and public aquaria when it comes to growing corals) or would just like to come along and learn, please get in touch with me ASAP so that I can communicate with the organizers to ensure that name badges are printed, ready for the event.

Oh, and just because it might sound a bit advanced or scientific, please don’t be afraid to come along. I can promise you that there will be accessible content and that it’ll be a great chance to talk with enthusiastic like-minded individuals.

CARN is a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded project, within the the University of Essex’s Coral Reef Research Unit (CRRU).

www.carnuk.org

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2010

Apologies for the lack of articles over the last few weeks. Recently nearly all our time has been taken up with preparation for exhibiting at the Interzoo pet trade show in Germany.

Interzoo is held every 2 years and is probably the largest pet and aquatics trade show in the world. This was Midland Reefs’ first time exhibiting at an international trade show, a lot of hard work but very rewarding.

We went to the show to introduce the Reef Scientific range to the international market at the same time as launching two new product ranges, MarinePure - filtration media, and Reef Scientific Calanoid Copepods - frozen food of the highest nutritional quality. Read more about these two new ranges in future posts.

A small part of the Reef Scientific range along with MarinePure.

Here’s a shot of the booth during a quiet period at the show with Jon talking to a couple of customers from Switzerland.

If you live outside of the UK and are interested in any of our products, please get in touch. We hope to now be able to direct you to a Reef Scientific retailer or distributor in your own country.

Now that we’ve returned from Germany after a successful show, normal service is once more resumed, there’s a backlog of articles waiting to be both written and published on Reef Ramblings, so get ready to read!

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2010