Reef Hobbyist Magazine Q1 2009

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FIRST QUARTER 2009 | Volume 3

Feeling Crabby?

Confessions of a Coral Addict pt3: Green Nepthea

SKUNK CLOWNFISH

Product Review: VorTech MP20

CA PT I V E B R E E D I N G

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Thank You Dear Reef Hobbyist We would like to thank all of our readers for their support of Reef Hobbyist Magazine this past year. It has been our goal, beginning with the first issue in May 2007, to provide our fellow hobbyists with quality reef keeping information, professional quality photography, and informational advertisements related to this unique and fascinating hobby.

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A SCORPION IN YOUR REEF?

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Sincerely, Harry T. Tung President Reef Hobbyist Magazine

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MASSIVE

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And lastly, we would like to thank the many writers, photographers, and companies that make Reef Hobbyist Magazine available to you, the hobbyist, for FREE. There are three key groups that help put Reef Hobbyist Magazine into hobbyists’ hands: our distributors, our advertisers, and the local fish stores that carry our magazine. Without their support, the magazine you now hold wouldn’t exist. So, we would like to take a moment to urge you to support our supporters!

ZEN PART 3: THE SEARCH FOR PERFECT FLOW

AWESOME OLD SCHOOL STONIES

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The future of our hobby depends on our willingness as hobbyists to adopt a more responsible outlook on reef keeping. As we progress, we hope to include at least one article in each issue that relates to aquaculturing, fragging, or breeding of animals to educate and encourage behavior that will help our hobby to become more “green”.

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Since our first issue, hundreds of readers have emailed us with kind words of encouragement and gratitude for our free publication. The Reef Hobbyist Magazine team is proud to produce a magazine that is appreciated by so many. We hope that our work helps to encourage hobbyists to not only treat their aquarium inhabitants with the respect they deserve, but also to use our world’s limited natural resources more responsibly.

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Features

FIRST QUARTER 2009 | Volume 3

RHM Staff President

Harry Tung

Executive Editor

6

Confessions Of A Coral Addict pt. 3 – Green Nepthea: Jim Adelberg is an advanced hobbyist and industry professional from the SF Bay Area. In this series, Jim shares his infatuation with different species and highlights their specific care requirements.

Image above by Jim Adelberg.

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Jim Adelberg

Captive Bred Fish

& You: Matt Pedersen, co-founder of Marine Ornamental Fish & Invertebrate Breeders, and an aquarist of 27 years, has personally spawned 14 species of marine fish, and successfully reared 5.

In this article, the author shares his enthusiasm for captive bred marine fish.

22

Tamara Sue

Graphics

David Tran

Skunk Clownfish:

Advertising The A-Team

Robin Bittner is a professional clownfish breeder in Northern California. Robin profiles and highlights the characteristics of the Skunk Clownfish.

Special Thanks Greg Rothschild gregrothschild.com

Image above by Greg Rothschild.

Tell us what you think: comments@rhmag.com Copyright© 2009 Reef Hobbyist Magazine.

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On The Cover

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8

FEELING CRABBY?

Jonathon Stillman is a marine biologist at the Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University.

He is presently working on a wide range of marine organisms, including corals, clams, coccolithophores and crabs. In this article, Jonathon introduces porcelain crabs as attractive and largely safe additions to your reef tank.

Cover Image by Haydee del C. Medina.

Join Us! RHM WANTS YOU! We’re constantly looking for the best writers and photographers to contribute to our free magazine. We believe that free quality information is the key to helping our hobby advance. If you’d like to join us in our mission, please contact our editor Jim Adelberg via email: jim@rhmag.com.

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CORAL

Confessions of a Coral Addict

pt. 3

GREEN NEPTHEA

By Jim Adelberg

A small green Nepthea colony which has healed completely six weeks after being fragged. Image by Jim Adelberg.

I

n previous installments of this series, I’ve shared with you some of the corals I love simply because they’re beautiful, fascinating creatures. And while the green Nepthea is most definitely an attractive addition to any reef tank, my greatest interest in this species stems from its key position as one of our hobby’s earliest successfully propagated corals.

When I first moved to California over a decade ago and found a whole group of people growing and sharing corals, I was elated.

One of the centerpieces of their propagation efforts at that time was the green Nepthea. There was of course lots of xenia being propagated, along with the obligatory 5 gallon buckets of Kenya tree that showed up at every swap. But the green Nepthea, with its pleasing shape and neon green color, combined with its easy adaptability to different tank environments, was a real standout!

The intricate polyp structure of the green Nepthea coral.

Image by Matthew Schmuck.

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Another aspect of my interest in this species was due to the popular belief that this coral was extinct or practically extinct in its original habitat (Palau) and that the only thriving population was the captive one in hobbyists’ tanks. This is a phenomenon that I am all too familiar with from my past work with freshwater killifish.

Many killifish strains come from very small, fragile habitats, which are easily disrupted or destroyed by human development. The general belief at that time was that the green Nepthea had an extremely limited natural distribution and had been over-collected to the point of non-viability of the species in the wild. The absolute truth of this never concerned me because I realized that given the continuing degradation of the natural environment, coupled with the free market mentality of wild coral harvest in general, it COULD be true and certainly WOULD be true in the future for more than just one ornamental coral species.

I was given my first green Nepthea by the President of Bay Area Reef Enthusiasts, Matthew Schmuck. I credit Matt with being one of the early pioneers of the “pay it forward” coral propagation model and feel he did the lion’s share of the work to establish this strain of coral as a Bay Area endemic.

My experience with this species leads me to recommend it unreservedly to almost every hobbyist. The green Nepthea will grow under a very wide range of lighting, flow and nutrient conditions, adjusting its physical characteristics to best exploit the available environment. In high flow, it grows in a more “stumpy” form, while lower flow paradigms allow for longer, more delicate branching growth. This species can also be grown without much supplemental plankton feeding (unlike most neptheids) as it is a photosynthetic coral and can process energy from light. I was at one point interested in finding out the light tolerance for this strain since it becomes greener when grown under more intense lighting. I ended up putting a colony almost directly under a 20K 250w metal halide bulb and it did become the most electric, neon green color I’d ever seen from this coral strain. The interesting part was that the growth rate slowed to nearly nothing. Frankly,

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this is a point in the Nepthea’s favor if it’s to be recommended for intensively lit SPS displays where rampant softie growth could cause real allelopathic problems for a collection of SPS corals.

Another great thing about this coral is how easy it is to frag. I usually just cut a “branch” from the main colony with a pair of stainless steel scissors or shears. Personally, I don’t bother removing the main colony from the display tank unless I’m going to frag a lot of pieces. I will sometimes run some good activated carbon on the tank after fragging but I don’t consider this to be a highly toxic coral like some of the Sinularia species. Once I have a slippery, slimy branch in hand, I try to sandwich it between two pieces of live rock rubble. There should be some room for the coral to expand and contract but it does need to be kept in place.

Utilizing the natural irregularities of the live rock rubble to hold but not crush the little slimy thing is an acquired skill. Once you have a position you’re happy with, rubber band the whole “sandwich” shut and place the new frag back as closely as possible to where it was growing (for a more thorough description of this technique, see Richard Ross’ article “Cutting It Up” in the 5th issue of RHM at www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com).This technique has given me a nearly 100% survival rate of new frags.

When the green Nepthea finds conditions to its liking, the growth rate can be phenomenal. I’ve seen established colonies bud out a new branch and grow that branch to 1” in length in under one month. This may not sound too phenomenal but if a coral colony increases its radius by 1” per month, it will quickly need to be fragged or moved to newer, larger quarters. On the other hand, I have seen large display tanks dominated by mature colonies of green Nepthea and they can be truly stunning.

The green Nepthea can grow to an impressive size in captivity.

Image by Matthew Schmuck.

On a slightly different note, I’d like to thank Seachem USA and Johnny Rodriguez for sponsoring the water changes on the Reef Hobbyist Magazine tank and of course Scott Clark and Truvue for donating the tank in the first place. These companies and individuals deserve much credit for setting me up to be able to write these articles.

So keep fragging and I’ll have something special to tell you next time.

5

INVERTEBRATES

FEELING CRABBY? Article By Dr. Jonathon Stillman, Marine Biologist Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University Petrolisthes galathinus, likely from Florida or Caribbean.

Relatively few crabs make great additions to a reef aquarium. Aside from certain hermit crabs, most other crabs commonly sold at your LFS have the potential to become predators or destructive forces in the reef tank. That is, most other crabs besides porcelain crabs. Porcelain crabs

Petrolisthes edwardsii and P. donario displaying the fan-like feeding appendages they use to catch suspended food particles. Collection site unknown, but likely tropical eastern PaciďŹ c.

are poorly known but are completely safe and colorful additions to any reef aquarium, especially small systems. Porcelain crabs may be one of the least conspicuous critters for sale at your favorite LFS and are often overlooked, so I hope that this article will be a great introduction to these colorful, diverse, and reef safe crustaceans.

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Petrolisthes cinctipes is a common inhabitant of the middle to upper intertidal zone from central California to British Columbia.

Porcelain crabs are Anomuran crabs, meaning that they fall in the group of crabs including hermit crabs and king crabs and are often termed “false” crabs (in contrast to Brachyuran “true” crabs). There are roughly 400 species in the Porcelain crab family “Porcellanidae” with two of the largest genera being Petrolisthes, which contains about 30% of the species, and Pachycheles, which contains about 15% of the species.

Porcelain crabs’ closest relatives are Galatheid crabs which are distributed across pelagic (open ocean) and deep-sea benthic habitats including hydrothermal vents. Porcelain crabs, however, are nearly all found in marine intertidal zones or shallow subtidal habitats, and are rarely encountered below 30m depth. What is remarkable about Porcelain crabs, and the main reason why I study them, is the range of thermal habitats to which they are adapted. Within the genus Petrolisthes, species can be distributed from temperate-zone upper intertidal habitats, where body temperature ranges are large (temperatures vary by 20°C during one tidal cycle, and over 30°C seasonally), to subtidal tropical habitats, such as coral reefs, where temperatures are nearly constant yearround. I study the physiological adaptations of these crabs, but in this article, will primarily discuss their merits as reef aquarium inhabitants.

Most porcelain crabs are small, with carapace (the shell covering their body) widths of 1 to 2 cm. With legs and claws, these crabs fit nicely in the palm of your hand. Some species ReBornQtrPage.QXD:PhosBan Qtr Page.QXD

8/20/08

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Munida quadrispina, a pelagic galatheid crab from Monterey, California, sometimes known as Pacific Red Crabs. These crabs are the closest cousins to porcelain crabs.

Page 1

Born in the wild

Unidentified porcelain crab from the Indo West Pacific.

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Pachycheles grossimanus, a member of the porcelain crab genus that pair-bond, from Las Cruces, Chile.

9

have carapaces that never get bigger than a few mm across, and in their entirety are smaller than a dime. The largest species with carapaces of about 3 cm across are found in the temperate region of the Southeastern Pacific Ocean, along the shores of Chile and Peru.

Many porcelain crab species have dramatically colored exoskeletons, with hues across the spectrum found in different species, and textures that range from smooth to mottled, striated, or hairy. In most species, there are also brilliantly colored spots that can be bright red, orange, blue or violet.

These spots can be found in two places: the apex of the claw (and only visible when the claw is held in the “open” ready to pinch position) and on the mouthparts (and only visible when the crab is actively feeding). The significance of the coloration on porcelain crabs is not known, but may be related to the ability of porcelain crabs to identify others from their own species.

Petrolisthes tuberculosus, a fl attened and very speedy inhabitant of the subtidal zone from Las Cruces, Chile.

Allopetrolisthes angulosus from Las Cruces, Chile. The genus Allopetrolisthes is not warranted since these crabs group within the genus Petrolisthes.

Porcelain crabs have a high tendency to autotomize (drop) limbs if the crabs are threatened. Perhaps their fragility is why they have been so named. So, when handling a porcelain crab, it is best to gently grip the crab’s body or not grip the crab at all but let it rest in the palm of your hand, which it will generally do. If you hold a Porcelain crab by the claw or leg, almost certainly you will soon be holding a claw or leg with no crab attached!

Let’s take a closer look at the anatomy of a porcelain crab.

They are generally dorso-ventrally flattened, a trait that probably gives the crabs an advantage in not being swept off rocks or corals during large wave surges. Perhaps the most obvious characteristic of these crabs is their relatively huge claws, which can be over half of the mass of the crab. In many species, including all Petrolisthes Porcelain crabs, the two claws are of equal size, whereas in Pachycheles, one claw is larger than the other. Although their claws look menacing, most species of Porcelain crabs are relatively poor at using their claws for picking stuff up. Nearly all Porcelain crab species will pinch you (but not likely draw blood) if mishandled, but most do not pinch each other. However, in some aggressive species, I have observed cannibalism, where a freshly molted softshelled crab was eaten by a larger conspecific tank-mate.

I have not observed a porcelain crab using its claws aggressively towards any other tank mates, nor have there been any mysterious “disappearances” of reef inhabitants after additions of porcelain crabs.

What the crabs generally do with their claws is use them in a pugilistic fashion to keep the space around their “face” clear. The need to preserve an open environment in front of their face is related to how Porcelain crabs eat; primarily they are filter feeders. Porcelain crab mouth appendages, the 3rd maxillipeds, are very large and have very long hairs (setae) that form nets used by the crabs to catch whatever is floating in the water in front of their faces. Porcelain crabs either wave their feeding nets around in the water catching stuff, or hold them in a water current passively catching food as it floats by.

10

Petrolisthes edwardsii displaying the fan-like feeding appendages they use to catch suspended food particles. Collection site unknown, but likely tropical eastern Pacific.

Unidentified porcelain crab from the Indo West Pacific.

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Particles that are too small (e.g., unicellular algae) don’t get caught, whereas particles that are too large can be difficult for the crabs to handle (e.g., large chunks of squid). Foods that work well for these crabs include frozen copepods (e.g., cyclop-eeze), frozen adult artemia, live artemia nauplii, and frozen mysis shrimp. We have had great success keeping some species long-term on these diets, whereas other species have not fared well in our tanks and may require additional types of food. Many Porcelain crab species have large tufts of hair on the inside surface of their claws. It is thought that they may use the hairs to mop up food off the rocks, but the tufts of hair may also be used as a “toothbrush” to clean the hairs on the 3rd maxillipeds.

Neopetrolisthes maculatus is one of two species from the Indo West Pacific that hosts in anemones, competing with the clownfish.

Petrolisthes laevigatus from Las Cruces, Chile, is a common middle intertidal zone inhabitant of the southeastern Pacific.

Petrolisthes violaceus from Las Cruces, Chile. This species is both beautiful and massive (for a porcelain crab!).

Petrolisthes violaceus from Las Cruces, Chile, is a common low intertidal zone inhabitant of the southeastern Pacific.

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Porcelain crabs seem to be considered “tasty” by carnivorous fishes. I have observed anthias, basslets, chromis, and cardinalfishes eat small porcelain crabs in my tank when the crabs were first introduced. When you add a porcelain crab to your tank, be sure to do so at night when the lights are off, so that the crabs have a chance to find a protected spot where the fishes cannot get to them. Once the crabs are situated, it is less likely that they will become fish prey.

When your crab finds a good spot in the tank, it will likely remain there for days to weeks before relocating. In nature, a “mark-recapture” study of Porcelain crabs showed most individuals moved less than 1m in a one-month period. Part of the reason for this is that when the crabs move, they expose themselves to predators such as fish, larger crabs, and other hungry creatures. I commonly observe crabs at the same spot in my tank for many weeks on-end. This is especially true in nano tanks where there is less overall room for the crabs to move.

Many porcelain crabs form commensal relationships with other organisms in nature. The most common of these are two Porcelain crab species commonly known in the reef hobby as “Anemone crabs”: Neopetrolisthes maculatus and Neopetrolisthes oshimai. These crabs, both of which have a flat chalky-white background with reddish-brown spots, will compete with other anemone commensals, such as clownfish, for space on the anemone. Likely these crabs gain the same protection as the clownfish from the anemone, but what prevents the anemone from stinging and eating the porcelain crabs is unknown. I have not yet tried direct competition experiments between clownfish and porcelain crabs, but doing so would be a great project for a student of animal behavior. Pachycheles species live in male-female pairs where both individuals are equal in size. These crabs are even more sedentary than Petrolisthes and often are found living in rock crevices that have openings smaller than the crabs themselves!

This observation suggests that Pachycheles may form malefemale pairs very early in life and remain in a monogamous relationship their entire lives, never leaving their “hole in the rock” house. Pachycheles pairs are often found living with other invertebrate species. In the Northeastern Pacific along the Northern California to Alaska coastlines, mated pairs of

the species Pachycheles rudis are often found living with the alpheid shrimp, Betaeus setosus.

Porcelain crabs are found in temperate and tropical regions of the World, so whether you are a cold or warm water reefer, there will be some species of Porcelain crabs well suited for your tank.

Almost certainly, the Porcelain crabs available at your LFS will be tropical species. If you live in a coastal region, you should have an easy time collecting your own crabs. They can be very abundant in wave protected cobble-boulder habitats where, during low tide, you can flip over the boulders and catch your own porcelain crabs. Be sure to place the boulders back how you found them!

In nature, the crabs can be found in very high densities (100s to 1000s of individuals per square meter). In your tank, you need to be sure that there are adequate live rock hiding places for these crabs so that they are not in competition for shelter. Like all wildcaught creatures, appropriate permitting is necessary before you collect (check your local regulations first!). And, before introducing these crabs into your tank, a careful quarantine is recommended.

Some porcelain crabs, including species in Southern California like Petrolisthes cabrilloi, can be infected by a barnacle parasite that “castrates” the crabs, turns males into females, and uses the crabs’ own reproductive anatomy to reproduce themselves. If you collect any porcelain crabs from the wild, I recommend at least a 2-week quarantine to observe the crabs before adding them to your tank.

Most Porcelain crab species can tolerate a wide range of some environmental conditions, including variation in temperature and nutrient levels. However, few Porcelain crab species can tolerate wide fluctuations in dissolved oxygen or salinity.

Porcelain crabs produce a very small number (100-200) of large embryos and larvae. Female porcelain crabs brood for several months while the fertilized eggs develop into mature embryos. Hatching, which often occurs during the early evening at the full moon, is amazing to observe as the zoea larvae have very long dorsal and rostral spines. From tip to tip, the porcelain crab zoea larvae can be 1 cm long. Larvae have successfully been maintained by feeding them small plankton such as rotifers and SELCO-enriched Artemia nauplii, and settled into juvenile crabs. Porcelain crab larval settlement requires (as yet unknown) cues from conspecific adults, as the larvae do not readily settle out of the plankton unless an adult is present. Presently in the aquarium trade, these crabs are all wild caught. But, there is certainly the potential to breed porcelain crabs, and perhaps even produce them in quantity.

Whether you buy Porcelain crabs from your LFS or you collect your own, these are relatively inexpensive and easy reef inhabitants to care for. Any established reef tank should have appropriate water quality and environmental parameters for these crabs. While Porcelain crabs will likely never be the focal point of a reef tank, they are interesting and sometimes very colorful inhabitants that are easy to notice upon close observation of your tank. I hope that you get as much enjoyment out of watching these crabs as I do. Who knows – you may end up as a porcelain crab researcher one day too!

Egg sacs of a parasitic barnacle that has infected this porcelain crab.

The barnacle, Lernaeodiscus porcellanae, will never leave the crab and uses the crab’s reproductive behavior for its own benefit.

A Petrolisthes cinctipes zoea II larvae, about 1cm long from tip to tip. These larvae spend several months in the plankton.

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OPINION

Captive Bred Fish

& You

Thoughts on how captive breeding can change the fate of the aquarium hobby and industry, and why you should care.

Images and article by Matt Pedersen, Co-Founder of MOFIB (Marine Ornamental Fish & Invertebrate Breeders Association) with input from and gratitude to the MOFIB Moderators Cardinalfish broodstock

“Why Care About Captive Bred Fish?”

With such an open-ended question, I’m not going to cite every fact, but will instead present some big picture ideas that may help you choose to purchase captive bred fish or even try breeding yourself. To provide a more diverse point of view in this essay, I invited the moderators from the MOFIB website (www.MarineBreeder.org) to share their own thoughts and opinions. Everything I write here is in the context of captive breeding of fish but can also be applied to captive production of invertebrates as well. It just so happens that I’m a fish breeder, and therefore I write from that point of view.

What is a “Captive Bred” Fish?

A “captive bred” fish has never lived in the ocean. These fish are the result of the spawning of parental stock (called broodstock) that has been maintained in a closed aquarium system. In contrast, “wild caught” fish have been captured from their native environment and shipped to you, often exchanging hands several times. The term “tank raised” is used to describe fish that have been harvested from a native environment as an egg, larvae or juvenile and reared to saleable size in a “tank” environment.

A Snapshot of Captive Bred Fish in the Hobby and Industry When I speak to aquarium clubs on the subject of marine fish breeding, I address a similar question – “Why should I breed fish?” The very notion that I go around to groups of dedicated hobbyists promoting fish breeding as the “final frontier” of the hobby alludes to a profound truth. The vast majority of the marine fish offered for sale, often cited as 95-99%, are collected from wild coral reefs around the world. Compare that to the prevalence of captive-produced or maricultured (ocean farmed) corals in your local stores.

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In the 35 years since the first clownfish were bred in captivity, both the aquarium hobby and marine aquaculture industry have made little progress in advancing the captive cultivation of ornamental marine fish. In the past few decades, most of our brightest minds have been focused on the explosive popularity of reef aquariums (those aquariums that focus primarily on coral and invertebrate life).

The Problems We Face In talking to marine fish breeders around the world, there is one overarching message they want to convey. That message is one of conservation. Stephen Kennedy of the UK and co-founder of MOFIB, wrote, “Looking at the fish that are being imported and the effect this is having on the environment, the act of breeding marine fish will start to lessen the load on the environment, plus allow us as marine keepers to have a self-sustaining hobby.”

That’s not to say that the aquarium hobby is solely responsible for the decline of the world’s marine environments. In fact, the general consensus is that the marine aquarium hobby has a relatively minor impact in comparison to the effects of pollution and climate change. What I see in the remarks of hobbyists is the acknowledgement that regardless of fault, the marine aquarium hobby and industry must be part of the solution.

What is the Solution? (“Plan A”)

There is a “Plan A”. Many groups, including MAC1 , IYOR2 and SAIA3 are already focusing on promoting and installing fair trade and sustainable harvest initiatives. These are efforts I strongly support. However, the marine aquarium hobby and industry can no longer ignore the fact that our coral reefs are disappearing. So I’ll pose a very tough question – what if “Plan A” isn’t enough to solve our problems?

Scientists and collectors are already noting species that are facing problems. Examples include Clownfish and their anemone hosts (decline due to coral bleaching & collection pressures)4, Banggai Cardinalfish (currently listed as an “endangered species” by the IUCN as a result of unsustainable collection practice)5, Mandarins/ Dragonettes (decline due to selective collection practices)6, Harlequin Filefish and other obligatory corallivores (decline due to loss of their exclusive diet – live coral)7, 8, 9. The aquarium industry and hobby can fix the problems faced by Clownfish, Banggais, and Mandarins, by changing collection practices and spreading the burden of demand to captive bred fish that already exist. It is the larger problem - no more coral reefs - that has many truly worried.

Where “Plan A” Falls Short If the coral reefs disappear, so do the fish. In this worst-case scenario, “Plan A” (sustainable practices and fair trade) is a moot point. Everyone who depends on the coral reefs for their livelihoods will be scrambling for a “Plan B”. By that point it will be too late.

With our current level of knowledge, it’s fair to say that very little biodiversity could be preserved if coral reefs continue to disappear and their fish start going extinct. We’d be left with only what we’ve learned to cultivate in captivity today. Given the timeframes proposed by some scientists, we may only have a couple of decades to make monumental advances in captive culture of marine ornamentals before wild harvest is no longer an option.

Long before any of this happens, it is very likely that national and international governmental bodies will step in and regulate or ban the collection and export of wild marine life for our aquariums. Think this scenario can’t happen? It already has. For example, Brazil has already placed the Brazilian Gramma (Gramma brasiliensis) and the Goldline Neon Goby (Elacatinus figaro) on their endangered species list10, and banned their collection and export. CITES (the international agreement that regulates trade in animals and plants) already limits or prohibits trade in a wide range of marine ornamental organisms. CITES-regulated species and families include Seahorses, Tridacna Clams, the Queen Conch and many species of coral 11.

The marine aquarium hobby makes an easy target and an excellent scapegoat even though our portion of blame might be rather small.

It’s easy for governments to condemn what is unquestionably a luxury. The only way our hobby will continue to enjoy the diversity of species we currently take for granted is by working on “Plan B” before the trade in wild fish is shut down.

Many dottybacks have been captive bred

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Page

What Do We Have To Change? (“Plan B”)

Captive Bred Fish Suffer Less Mortality

The marine aquarium hobby and industry need to turn a new leaf.

We need to reduce our dependence on wild caught marine fish to help conserve them. We need to support sustainable practices where appropriate, and also ensure fair prices to local collectors of wild caught fish. This “Plan A” may not be sufficient to protect us from the outcome of coral reef loss, especially considering that only a handful of fish species are being sustainably propagated in captivity.

Kathy Leahy, a clownfish breeder in St. Louis, Missouri, provides one of the most impactful reasons that define captive bred fish as a responsible choice. “With the deterioration of the world’s reefs, we need to do all we can to lessen our negative human impact on them. Every fish I sell to a store means that 4 or 5 get to stay put in the ocean where they belong.” What Kathy writes illustrates a sad truth of the marine aquarium industry – not every fish collected from the wild makes it into a hobbyist’s tank.

We need to support captive breeding as a necessary “Plan B”.

Additionally, we need to foster rapid innovation in breeding, because as a whole we still don’t know how to successfully spawn and rear the vast majority of the marine ornamentals we keep. All of these changes, both Plan A and Plan B, can only occur with your support as a hobbyist. Your support for these changes within the marine ornamental industry will be key as we move towards a higher percentage of captive bred fish available in your local stores.

Depending on the species, mortality in the chain of custody can range from a small percentage, to entire shipments being lost. Often, captive bred fish, especially those locally produced, do not face the same mortality rates that their wild caught counterparts do, as they pass through fewer hands and typically travel less distance.

Wild caught fish are vital at this point. Within the captive breeding community, there will always be a need for diverse genetic stock.

Because the vast majority of species aren’t being produced in captivity, breeders don’t have a choice – they must turn to wild caught fish for broodstock.

Breeders need to take advantage of wild caught fish as long as they possibly can. Therefore, you’ll never see the captive breeding community advocating for prohibition of wild caught fish. Instead, you’re going to hear breeders talk about being responsible and making smart choices.

Clownfish and eggs

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There are many species that local pet stores have stopped carrying due to problems with excessive mortality during and following shipment. Often times, store owners have said that if a captive bred “version” of the species was available, they would be very interested in offering it. So why aren’t intrepid breeders jumping all over these opportunities?

Quite simply, captive bred fish appear more expensive. When it comes to the price on an invoice, yes, captive bred fish typically do cost more, partially because we are not currently fairly trading for some wild caught fish. However, hobbyists and livestock suppliers alike sometimes fail to understand the intrinsic value of captive bred fish.

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Decreased nitrate formation Conversion of dissolved nutrients into microbial biomass (which feeds your system)

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Improved water quality = Improved invertebrate health and coloration

MICROBACTER7 Overview • Complex system of non-pathogenic aerobic and anaerobic microbes, as well as natural enzymes, specifically formulated to establish biological filtration in new aquarium set-ups, and to enhance the rate of nitrification, denitrification, and organic waste degradation in marine and freshwater aquaria through complete nutrient remineralization.

• Benefits are: 1. Rapid reduction of organic carbon, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate.

2. Digestion of uneaten/undigested food, excreta, detritus, and other latent organic material, resulting in cleaner and healthier aquarium substrate (without having to physically clean or disturb the substrate bed).

3. Reduction of organic compounds into nutrients that encourage the growth of photosynthetic organisms (e.g. zooxanthellae, macroalgae, plants).

4. Greatly-reduced hydrogen sulfide production.

5. Increase in dissolved oxygen concentration.

6. Limits availability of pre-existing phosphate to undesirable forms of algae and cyanobacteria.

7. Increased water clarity.

• Supplied in a state of suspended animation for maximum longevity.

• Formulated utilizing extensive data compiled by microbiologists.

Available Sizes 250-, 500-ml, 2-, 20-L

NEOZEO

REEF BIOFUEL

Overview • Unique zeolitic medium for selective removal of dissolved organic compounds through ionic and molecular adsorption, as well as passive uptake via the beneficial microbes that colonize the media; the combined result of these processes yields improved water quality and an important source of food (bacterioplankton) for corals and other suspension-feeding organisms.

• Used in conjunction with Brightwell Aquatics MICRŌBACTER7 and REEF BIOFUEL, helps establish biological filtration and maintain an ultra-low nutrient environment for the express purpose of enabling coral coloration to be perceived without interference from zooxanthellae pigmentation.

• Provides a colonization site for the microorganisms responsible for nitrification, denitrification, and organic waste degradation in marine aquaria.

Available Sizes 1000-g, 4.5-, 11-kg

Overview • Helps maintain a balanced nutrient-limited marine aquarium by enabling the hobbyist to enhance the rate of microbial growth and reproduction, increasing the rate of phosphate-reduction and denitrification; this is of particular benefit in heavily-stocked, well-fed reef aquaria.

• Replaces “vodka method” of microbial activityenhancement with a completely safe and biologically-sound, non-flammable alternative to using vodka or ethanol.

• Indirectly benefits corals and other suspensionfeeding invertebrates by encouraging reproduction of bacterioplankton (an important food source for suspension-feeding invertebrates).

• Encourages polyp-expansion in all corals.

• May be used to help expedite biological filtration in new set-ups.

Available Sizes 250-, 500-ml, 2-, 20-L

It’s more than an aquarium. It’s an obsession.TM

Formulated and manufactured in the USA. © 2008 Brightwell Aquatics. All rights reserved. (v)570.799.5474. answers@brightwellaquatics.com www.brightwellaquatics.com

Captive Bred Fish Result in Less Disease

Choose Captive Bred Fish to Support Progress

Junkai Ong of Singapore explains it best – “Captive bred fish are less likely to be a source of infectious diseases, which currently plague the aquarium trade due to the wild caught nature of most aquarium fish. Examples are Brookynella in Clownfish and the viral disease, which decimates wild caught Banggai Cardinals. Supporting CB fish whenever possible will minimize the introduction of such diseases into the aquarium trade.”

I refer to breeding marine fish as the “final frontier” of the hobby with good reason. This is a field where the unknown vastly outweighs the known. By simply choosing to purchase captive bred fish, you are supporting innovation.

Captive bred fish are simply not exposed to the same diseasecausing organisms that a wild caught fish may harbor. That is not to say that captive bred fish are sterile, but they do not typically carry the full variety of pathogens with them. Unlike their wild caught counterparts, captive bred fish are already well adjusted to captivity (since these fish have always lived in aquariums).

This means captive bred fish do not suffer nearly as much stress during the process of being caught and transported for sale. Less stress and a higher comfort level with captive conditions results in far fewer disease outbreaks, resulting in fewer deaths. These health-related benefits instantly offset the perceived higher price that is associated with captive bred fish.

Captive Bred Fish Offer Reduced Aggression

You’ve heard the adage, “Think globally, act locally.” Purchasing captive bred fish in a local aquarium store supports the whole breeding community and its network of distribution. Many marine fish breeders are hobbyists, and not surprisingly, many breakthroughs happen not at some massive R&D facility or academic institution, but at the hobbyist level.

Christian Hofmann, an ornamental fish farmer from Australia, explains what drives him. “My passion for breeding fish is driven by the desire to breed the unbred. I currently breed clownfish but find more reward in breeding shrimps. I have spawned and attempted to rear Banded Gobies, Royal Grammas, Pajama Cardinalfish and Dottybacks. I have even dabbled with Pipefish.

Trying new things keeps me interested, and the passion alive.”

People like Christian can only innovate if they can stay in business.

By supporting hobbyist breeders like Christian, we can support innovation too!

Captive bred fish are often less aggressive than their wild caught counterparts. In the wild, a tiny fish settles to the reef and starts finding a territory, a home, a source of food, and then defending it from any competitor. In captivity, hundreds of these normally territorial fish instead grow up in large groups with no territorial attachments. There is plenty of food and safety for all, with no territories to fight over, so the need to be aggressive does not arise.

Grow-out tanks

A tank of captive bred Clownfish

Captive Bred Fish Present Fewer Feeding Problems Captive bred fish require no “training” onto aquarium foods. Every fish you purchase should be fully willing to immediately accept the appropriate prepared foods. One of the most notable examples in our hobby is Seahorses. Whereas wild caught seahorses are sometimes finicky, requiring live foods, the captive bred seahorse is typically fully trained to feed on enriched frozen mysis shrimp.

18

Christian also alludes to the difficulty that defines marine fish breeding. I always disclaim breeding by saying ‘you have to be willing to withstand entirely unreasonable amounts of failure’.

Innovation comes at a hefty price. If breeders are not supported through purchases of the fish they produce, we (hobbyist and the aquarium industry) will fail to ensure the innovation required to preserve the very fish we all enjoy.

Buying captive bred marine fish also translates into a big environmental benefit. Unlike wild caught fish, which may be flown halfway around the globe, captive bred fish are likely produced within the same country, and at times even in the same city. That translates into a dramatically lower carbon footprint! It turns out that captive bred fish are truly the “GREENEST” option.

Captive Breeding Can Make Rare Fish Less Rare!

Innovation doesn’t only come in the form of spawning previously unbred species, but also in the production of “rare” species.

Industrious captive breeders have been able to make several rare species more available to the hobby. It is fair to say that any hobbyist who ever owns the captive bred species mentioned below have the respective breeders to thank for the privilege!

I’m thinking of Frank Baensch’s work at Reef Culture Technologies in Hawaii, the only commercial producer of captive bred Centropyge angelfish (currently, production is on hold). Once Frank mastered rearing common pygmy angelfish species, he was able to branch out and raise some extremely rare species such as the Resplendent Angelfish (Centropyge resplendens), Colini Angelfish (C. colini), and the Japanese Pygmy Angelfish (C. interruptus).

More recently, through a single permitted collection, Ryan Dwyer of Ryan’s Reef Australia has obtained and spawned the otherwise impossible to obtain Lord Howe Clownfish (Amphiprion mccullochi). His singular efforts brought this species to the hobby and trade (and public aquaria too!). As time progresses and more captive bred specimens are produced, they should become more accessible to hobbyists everywhere.

Redefining Entire Species through Captive Breeding Innovation is also achieved by fundamentally changing the care requirements of a species. I already mentioned the shift in our hobby’s perception of Seahorses (Hippocampus sp.). It doesn’t stop there.

Consider Breeding Fish Yourself!

Many in the industry repeatedly state that they would buy and sell more captive bred fish if they were simply available! There are plenty of potential species for a prospective breeder to work with.

Carl Kmiec, a fellow hobbyist breeder in Chicago, has many fish he is attempting to spawn in his reef aquariums. Carl has been breeding the Percula Clownfish, and more recently, started working with the Banggai Cardinalfish. When asked about captive breeding, he replied, “I have raised 17 Banggai Cardinals from babies and it has been quite a joy to watch them grow. To know that a few fish raised in my tanks can possibly save one fish from being harvested from its natural habitat is

A spawning pair of Mandarin Dragonettes

I’m talking about captive bred Mandarin Dragonettes (Synchiropus splendidus). The best part? They eat pellets. Several intrepid breeders in Germany, France and the US have produced captive bred mandarins. So why aren’t the stores flooded with them?

Two reasons – first, it’s not easy to produce large numbers of captive bred mandarins. Second, when wild caught mandarins can be purchased for as little as $15 USD, producing captive bred mandarins is not remotely profitable. You, the hobbyist, have the power to change this, with your voice and your wallet.

Another tank of the author’s fish

19

well worth what little time these Banggais have taken to raise. I hope to see many more home hobbyists helping out with basic breeding and tank observations in the future to help do our part in the next right thing.”

Looking For Breeding Advice?

Consider checking out MOFIB (www.MarineBreeder.org), the not-for-profit international organization that encompasses a vast community of fish and invertebrate breeders at all skill levels. This online community and knowledgebase, along with several excellent books (which are described on the site) can get you started on the right track. The most exciting part about marine breeding is that right now, anyone can make the next big discovery!

MAC – Marine Aquarium Council - http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/

1

IYOR – International Year of the Reef 2008 - http://www.iyor.org/

2

SAIA – Sustainable Aquarium Industry Association - http://www.saia.de.gg/

3

A. M. JONES, S. GARDNER, W. SINCLAIR “Losing ‘Nemo’: bleaching and

4

collection appear to reduce inshore populations of anemonefishes” - Journal of Fish Biology. Volume 73 Issue 3, Pages 753 – 761. Published Online: 1 Aug 2008 Pterapogon kaudernii, first listed as Endangered in 2007. B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v) ver 3.1.

5

IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>.

Downloaded on 02 November 2008.

YVONNE SADOVY, GEORGE MITCHESON and MARIA B. RASOTTO, “Early develop

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ment of the mandarinfish, Synchiropus splendidus (Callionymidae), with notes on its fishery and potential for culture”. Aquarium Sciences and Conservation 3: 253–263, 2001. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Terry J. Donaldson. “CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY IN MELANESIA: IMPLI

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CATIONS FOR AND IMPACTS UPON REEF FISHES” – downloaded from the Bishop

So, “Why Care About Captive Bred Fish?”

First and foremost, for the future of our hobby, because someday captive bred fish may be our only option. At this moment in time, we could stand to lose 95% of the species we like to keep. This means that we need innovation and we need it now. Innovation only comes when hobbyists everywhere vote with their wallets and choose to support captive breeders by seeking out and choosing captive bred fish. Of course, choosing captive bred fish also immediately benefits you, the hobbyist. You get a hardy, healthy fish that is already fully adapted to aquarium life. It may be less aggressive and certainly shouldn’t be a problematic feeder. Most importantly, you’ll get the personal satisfaction of knowing you made a wise choice for the future of our hobby, and our planet.

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Museum, November 2, 2008. http://www2.bishopmuseum.org/ccbm/results. asp?stype=Papers&sterm=Melanesia T. Kokita, A. Nakazono. “Rapid response of an obligately corallivorous filefish

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Oxymonacanthus longirostris (Monacanthidae) to a mass coral bleaching event”. Coral Reefs. Volume 20, Number 2 / September, 2001. Pages 155-158.

Dulvy, Nicholas K., et. al. “Extinction Vulnerability in Marine Populations”. FISH

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and FISHERIES. 2003, 4, page 38 Listas de Espécies Aquáticas Ameaçadas de Extinção (List of Aquatic Species

10

Threatened with Extinction)– downloaded from http://www.ibama.gov.br/re cursos-pesqueiros/wp-content/files/list_extincao.pdf - November, 2008 CITES Appendices – downloaded from http://www.cites.org/eng/app/E-Jul01.

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pdf - November, 2008

FISH

SKUNK

clownfish

By Robin Bittner Images by Greg Rothschild

A skunk clown resting happily in a goniopora coral

Scientific Names Amphiprion akallopisos, perideraion, sandaracinos.

Common Names

Skunk Clown, Nosestripe Clownfish (A. akallopisos), Pink Skunk or Pink Anemonefish (A. perideraion), Orange Skunk (A. sandaracinos).

Distribution

Indo-Pacific, in general. A. akallopisos is found from East Africa to the Java Sea, but is not found in the Maldives nor Sri Lanka, while A. perideraion has a more easterly and northerly distribution from Cocos-Keeling in the west to the Great Barrier Reef in the south, Samoa to the east, and the Ryukyu Islands to the north.

A. sandaracinos has the easternmost distribution of the 3 skunk clowns, and is found from the Solomon Islands to Western Australia and north to the Ryukyu Islands.

An Orange Skunk clownfish

22

Size

May reach a maximum size of 5.5 inches (14 cm), with males smaller than females. A. sandaracinos is the largest species in the group, while A. akallopisos and A. perideraion are a bit smaller with maximum sizes of 4.3 inches and 4.0 inches, respectively. All 3 species are commonly available in the aquarium trade from 1 - 4 inches, with most individuals around 2 inches.

Natural Habitat

Skunk clowns may be found in pairs or small family groups in lagoon and reef settings, with A. akallopisos favoring areas of strong currents in depths of up to 50 feet. A. perideraion and A. sandaracinos also can be found in quieter lagoon settings along with seaward and outer reefs like A. akallopisos. Each species has somewhat different preferences in terms of hosts with Heteractis magnifica (Ritteri anemone) and Heteractis crispa (Sebae anemone) the most favored, and Macrodactyla doreensis (Long Tentacle anemone), Stichodactyla mertensii (Merten’s Carpet anemone), and Stichodactyla gigantea (giant carpet anemone) also popular.

A beautiful Pink Skunk clownfish

Distinguishing Characteristics / Variants

Skunk clowns are so named for the absence of body stripes and the single white stripe that runs along the top edge of their body from the base of the tail to the nose. Amphiprion perideraion is the easiest of the three skunks to identify since it has a single thin white bar on both sides of the head that outline the rear edge of the operculum from top to bottom. The top of these so-called “Pink Skunks” boasts a somewhat delicate dorsal stripe that extends only down to a point between the eyes, which is where a cream colored muzzle begins.

Of the two skunks without head bars, Amphiprion akallopisos is sometimes known as a “nosestripe clown” since the dorsal stripe tapers down to a point just above the nose. Amphiprion sandaracinos on the other hand has a very bold dorsal stripe that begins on the upper lip and extends all the way back to the base of the tail. Aside from the boldness and extension of the dorsal stripe, these two species can be differentiated in their body color, which is pinkish to yellow-orange in A. akallopisos, but bright orange in A. sandaracinos (which is why it is commonly known as an “Orange Skunk” clownfish).

Behavior & Care

Skunk clowns generally are good aquarium citizens, and their diminutive size makes them likely candidates for a smaller reef tank or a docile “fish only” setup. They may initially be somewhat timid and shy, so if the aquarist is planning to have several fish in the tank then it might be wise to add the skunks early on. Once a pair becomes established they are reasonably hardy and the female may become slightly aggressive, but in nearly all cases even the most aggressive skunks will seem downright timid when compared with an aggressive tomato or maroon clown. When possible a pair or small group of skunks should be kept with a host, although most of their natural anemone hosts are somewhat challenging to keep in the aquarium. A good alternative may be one of the various types of bubble-tip anemones (E. quadricolor), although even these relatively hardy anemones should be considered only if the tank is well aged and has been operating without any problems for a period of more than 6 months.

An Orange Skunk clownfish is in its host anemone

Skunks tend to have fairly non-demanding diets, so a daily feeding of the standard pellet or processed frozen foods should keep them healthy and well colored. As with any fish, a variety of foods is beneficial and will help ensure that the animal receives an adequate assortment of vitamins and nutrients. In all cases the feeding of a single food should be avoided, especially if that food is either very fatty (as in the case of mysis) or somewhat nutrient limited (i.e. frozen or live brine shrimp). These types of foods do have their place in the aquarist’s cupboard, but they should be used only as an occasional treat.

Breeding

All three species of skunks have been successfully bred, but they tend to be somewhat challenging and thus are not good candidates for the beginning breeder. Consistency and quiet with plenty of space seem to be the key to inducing skunks to start breeding. The main challenge is getting a pair to settle down and start nesting, and even if the aquarist is successful in getting over this hurdle the skunk pair may be unreliable in putting down future nests for some period of time (months or even years). As they are a relatively small clown, their nests also tend to be somewhat on the small side, typically holding a couple hundred eggs rather than the several hundred (or even multiple thousand) egg nests that are put down by the larger clown species. Once the juveniles hatch they are not terribly difficult to raise, and will do well if basic feeding and environmental guidelines (nutritious feeds, regular water changes, etc.) are followed.

Final Thoughts

Skunk clowns are a somewhat unique group of clownfish that are typically well behaved and tend to be hardy after their initial acclimation period. Once settled in, they are generally good neighbors with their tankmates and will come to recognize their aquarist, especially around feeding time. They also display the somewhat endearing feature of “chirping” or “popping”, whereby they snap ligaments in their jaw, which causes their teeth to snap together. A variety of clown species make these sounds, which can be heard quite well outside of the aquarium, and appear to be a form of communication between each other as well as other fish. Skunk owners have often reported this phenomenon which makes this particular group of fish not only nice to watch, but fun to listen to as well!

A pair of Orange Skunk clownfish

23

PRODUCT REVIEW

Product &

Supplies Review and images

by Jim Adelberg

EcoTech MP20

W

elcome to the first Reef Hobbyist Magazine product review. We at Reef Hobbyist recognize that the wide array of reefkeeping equipment and supplies available can seem daunting, especially to new hobbyists. And yet, the proper choice of equipment for your reef is critical to your long-term enjoyment of our hobby. With this in mind we’d like to share our experiences with some products available to help you meet the needs of your reef tank.

Our equipment and supplies reviews will be completely subjective, independent and based only on the reviewer’s personal experience with the product. Other than supplying the product or supply to be reviewed, the manufacturer has no involvement in the review process.

Now, on to the review.

The VorTech MP20 Propeller Pump from Ecotech Marine I have always been a big fan of high flow in my reef tanks, due mainly to the hours I’ve spent on actual reefs both in Florida and the South Pacific. One thing that many reefers fail to understand about water movement in the wild is that it generally occurs on larger scales than in a home reef tank. What I mean by that is that in the ocean you can actually see and feel large “chunks” of water moving in coherent directions, often cyclically. This large displacement phenomenon (often referred to as Mass Water Movement) is particularly difficult to achieve in smaller tanks.

The VorTech MP20 makes this kind of natural water movement possible through the use of multiple wave driver settings, which can be tuned for speed and duration allowing the hobbyist to set up reinforcing waves of pressure inside the tank. I have the unit set up inside my 165 gallon, 6 foot long tank and by adjusting the wave settings I am able to get a 3⁄4” wave displacement at each end as the water in the tank moves in rolling waves from one end to the other. This creates a very natural surge effect all along the

The MP20 mounted on the author’s tank.

The power cord is secured above the unit as a safety consideration.

coral growth surfaces. I am also pleased with the fact that this unit is very quiet and, since the motor is outside of the tank, it doesn’t heat up the water like an in-tank unit. Manufacturer rated at a thrifty 6-18 watts, it certainly delivers more, and more natural flow than any other water movement device I’ve played with. As with any of the programmable wave devices on the market, this unit is not cheap; MSRP is just under $300 but given the quality and volume of the output, the price is well justified. One suggestion I would make to Ecotech is to put some screw mounting holes on the transformer to allow it to be easily attached to a horizontal surface, as they have done with the driver control unit. Setup was relatively easy but please do pay attention to the manual and make sure you go step by step during the install. This magnetically driven, high RPM motor and propeller assembly must be meticulously aligned for efficient and quiet performance. Overall, I’d say this unit is well worth the price and can go a long way in fulfilling your own search for the perfect flow paradigm.

The MP20 ballast.

The MP20 controller box.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEE A CERTAIN PRODUCT REVIEWED, EMAIL US AT REVIEWS@RHMAG.COM NOW!

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