Reef Hobbyist Magazine Q2 2007

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SUMMER 2007 | Volume 1

Part 2

Zenand theArt

of...part part 22

win reef stuff @ www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com cover photo by Wayne Lai

Features

Summer 2007 | Volume 1

RHM Staff President

Harry T. Tung

Executive Editor Jim Adelberg

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Zen and The Art of New Tank Decision Making Jim Adelberg is an advanced hobbyist and industry professional from the San Francisco Bay Area. In this article, the author guides us through the details of planning for a new tank.

Photo by Wayne Lai.

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The Clowns Have Eggs!

Robin Bittner is a professional clownfish breeder in Northern California. Here Robin shares his extensive knowledge of clowns with his fellow hobbyists. In this article, Robin provides an in-depth look at the equipment required to raise baby clownfish. Photo by Khem.

On The Cover

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Art Director

Tamara Sue

What’s on Your Bottom?

Richard Ross is a San Francisco Bay Area coral farmer and cuttlefish breeder. He has kept many different types of sand beds and here, shares some of his expertise. This article is a must-read for new hobbyists making substrate decisions!

Photo by Khem.

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The A-Team

Special Thanks Greg Rothschild gregrothschild.com

Norman Tom Monica Hong Kalyakorn “khem” Kasemsri Kalyakorn.Kasemsri@gmail.com

Wayne Lai

Tell us what you think: comments@rhmag.com

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• • • • •

Steve Tyree’s AWESOME STONY CORALS

Steve Tyree grows some of the rarest and most desirable corals in our hobby and has been an avid collector of rare corals for many years. In this installment, Steve shares his fascination with the genus montipora. Photo

by Wayne Lai.

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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TANK DEVELOPMENT

Zen and the Art of

New Tank Decision Making

photo by Khem

by Jim Adelberg

lanning for a new tank can be a fascinating experience, however, at times it can also be very frustrating. The choices you make during this planning process are the choices you and your animals will have to live with. Let’s start with a top down question: why are you setting up this tank?

Certainly there are as many answers to this question as there are tanks and hobbyists, but examining the question in detail will aid in our planning process. If it’s to be a utilitarian tank (hospital, quarantine, prop tank etc...), it may be planned more for ease of use than aesthetic considerations, but the same planning process will still be helpful.

For many people starting out in this hobby, just like anyone else in a new hobby, there can seem to be a bewildering array of choices.

And, like any technology intensive hobby, there are new items on the market every day. Having a grand vision of what you would like to achieve will guide you to make appropriate equipment and livestock choices.

For a tank to be what I would call “successful” it has to be appropriate for everyone involved. Fish, coral AND hobbyists must be considered carefully during the planning. We’ll talk to the corals and fish a bit later, but for now I ask you again: why are you setting up this tank? Is there a picture in your mind of what you want to see? Do you want the same type of tank you saw in the store?

Inspired by a dive location? Perhaps there is a fish species you just love, or maybe seeing long sinuous tentacles swaying in a gentle current is just the ticket. Think hard about this because you will be making some decisions right away that may have to be specific to one vision or another and changing your mind later can be costly.

While we are speaking in generalities, I would new reef hobbyists about believing everything and about trying many different things in rapid and succeed. Corals love stability, and often the

also like to warn they read online, succession to try perfect solution is

abandoned in a race to the next quick fix. If you change something, give it a few months before judging the outcome.

photo by author of a reef crest in Tonga

Budgeting, space and maintenance concerns should be addressed early on and appropriate compromises made based on the final vision for the tank. As said earlier, corals love stability. Larger volumes of water are inherently more stable. Please choose the largest system volume whenever possible. You will never regret having extra gallons!

That said, there are a number of fine saltwater ready nano tanks (6-29 gallons) available for limited spaces or budgets.

These systems are quite appropriate for miniature displays and as long as they are not overstocked, can be quite successful. For more on these tanks, please visit the nano forum at www. reefhobbyistmagazine.com.

photo by author at Atlantis Aquarium

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I generally prefer shorter, wider tanks to taller tanks for two reasons based upon increased surface area: oxygen exchange and heat exchange. Most oxygen exchange in home reef tanks occurs at the surface of the display tank. This is also true of evaporative cooling especially if your sump area is not well ventilated.

Protein Skimmer

In a very real way, your protein skimmer is the life support system for your reef. It takes poisons out of your tank that would otherwise injure or kill your sensitive fish and coral and allows your animals to breathe and grow without choking on their own waste. A high quality protein skimmer for a reef tank is a large part of the total system cost. I generally advise people to plan on spending almost as much for the skimmer as for the lighting. Always get the largest skimmer you can fit in the sump.

Once you have chosen a tank, stand and sump combination appropriate to your space and budget, you will still have some important equipment choices to make.

Lighting

Choosing between the different types of reef lighting is a decision you will have to make right at the outset.

Essentially you will choose between metal halide lighting or some sort of fluorescent lighting, PC’s , VHO’s, T-5’s and others.

Water Movement

Metal halides are extremely bright and run extremely hot. They generally cost more than fluorescent lighting, however the bulb replacement schedule and cost are roughly comparable. Some of the most desirable corals in the reef-keeping hobby can only be kept under very high intensity lighting so ask for advice from friends, fellow reef club members and aquarium store owners before choosing a lighting system. If you choose metal halide lighting for your reef tank, be aware that you may need to purchase a chiller as well and be sure to budget for one if needed.

The current standard reef setup involves the use of at least two pumps for water motion. The first pump provides the return from your sump moving water back up into the display, and is often the smaller of the two pumps.

The larger pump is used in a configuration called a “closed loop” which is simply an external pump plumbed directly into the display. The water goes from the tank to the pump and back to the tank in a closed loop. Essentially the pump functions as a large, external powerhead. In-tank powerheads are another popular option for water movement in reef tanks and can be used to relieve localized dead spots in the tank’s water flow.

In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the need for higher flow paradigms in our reef tanks, even at the expense of random, turbulent flow. In the wild, reef crest corals, which include many of the most popular acroporids and some of the popular LPS, are exposed to many different types of currents from pounding surf to upwelling surge, and high velocities of linear water flow that could never be duplicated in our home tanks. Buying a slightly larger sump return pump is often a good idea as it will allow you some extra options later besides just increasing flow without buying a new pump. Many of our favorite toys (chillers, reactors, fuges etc...) are easily driven by small taps into your main return line. Leave your options open as much as possible.

In the next installment of this series, we will walk through the initial set-up of a reef system. See you in Issue 3! -Jim Adelberg

?

If you have questions about your set-up, ask Jim and fellow reefers for advice in our Q&A forum at www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com.

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ISSUE 2 TOPIC: “SHRIMPS and CRABS” Photo by Khem

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SANDBEDS

What s on Your Bottom?

photo by Khem

by Richard Ross

eciding what to put or not to put on the bottom of your new reef tank can be daunting. Proponents of several popular methodologies make it seem like if their way is not used, your tank is doomed. Allow me to alleviate this anxiety at the outset – ALL the methodologies can work. This article will attempt to give you a general understanding of what is involved in the most popular methods. As with everything in reef-keeping, the key to success is understanding the limits of each method, choosing the method you feel will work best for you, and taking steps to make sure you keep up the maintenance on the method you choose.

Many people believe having sand on the bottom of their tanks makes their tank look more natural. After all, the bottom of the ocean is covered with sand. Even though that may be the case, it isn’t necessarily true that the corals you choose to keep occur anywhere near sand in nature. Most stony corals in the wild seem to actually do their best to get as far away from sand as possible; they grow up and away from the sand, each generation of coral growing on top of the previous generation. Sand is abrasive, so in storms, or during normal wave action, being right on the sand can feel like the inside of a sand blaster. In almost all of the wild reef systems which I have had the pleasure to dive, most of the corals have been several feet above the sand, often on rocky outcroppings far above the bottom.

Besides aesthetics, the main argument for putting a sand bed in a tank is for biological filtration. Sand offers a great deal of surface area for aerobic (oxygen using) bacteria to colonize. These bacteria are responsible for converting toxic ammonia from animal waste and decomposing matter into toxic nitrite and then to less toxic nitrate, a process called nitrification. Denitrification is a similar process driven by anaerobic (non-oxygen using) bacteria that takes place in anoxic, low oxygen areas. Sand beds offer both oxygen rich

photo by Khem

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areas and oxygen poor areas for these types of bacteria. It is important to note that the biological filtration capabilities of sand can also be provided by live rock so sand is not the only option for biological filtration.

A general benefit to a sand bottom is that the light color of the sand reflects light back up from the bottom of the tank, making the tank look brighter. It may be the case that this reflected light also aids in the growth of photosynthetic corals.

When I talk about sand, I am primarily referring to aragonite sand, as it is the most widely used. There are other alternatives, but aragonite is most widely used for a number of reasons which are outside the scope of this article.

Deep Sand Beds (DSB s) A DSB is exactly what the name purports – a deep bed of sand. The top layers of sand provide a lot of surface area for nitrification, while the deeper part of the sand bed provides a good environment for denitrification. However, it can be difficult to tell exactly how deep the sand bed should be, and hobby literature is filled with ideas. Some say that the anoxic zones needed for denitrification can occur in as little as one inch of sand, but many proponents of DSB’s recommend 5 inches or more. I have seen some display tanks with as much as 10 inches of sand!

Regardless of the argument regarding the optimal depth of a DSB, most agree that the deeper the sand bed, the greater the potential for denitrification.

Lots of interesting, tiny animals including starfish, copepods, worms and other

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sulfide can build up in the anoxic layers of a DSB. If these layers are disturbed by moving rocks that are deep in the sand, or by a fallen power head, it is possible that hydrogen sulfide can be released into the water, possibly killing animals.

A field of xenia over a poured, faux sand bed. Photo by Jim Adelberg at New Alameda Aquatics- Alameda, CA.

crustaceans will populate a DSB. These critters arrive in your tank either as hitchhikers on live rock and corals, via inoculation of live sand from another reefer’s tank, or from commercial microfauna “kits”. Some DSB advocates claim that the population of these microfauna is critical to the proper running of a DSB because they help break down detritus, and periodic microscopic sampling of the bed is recommended to ensure proper population levels. Many people who run DSB’s say that the microfauna that populate sand beds will produce food for fish and invertebrates, but it is unclear how much food can and will be produced and what overall effect this food will have on the system. Regardless, these tiny animals can be interesting to watch, many of them emerging only at night to go about their business of eating and breeding.

Over time, generally between 3-5 years, tanks with a DSB can begin to decline or “crash”. This kind of event has been loosely termed “old tank syndrome”. Corals begin to die back, grow slowly or have tissue recession while nuisance algae species begin to thrive. At the same time, water tests may show that ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and even phosphate are within acceptable levels.

Most likely, this problem is due to the incorrect idea that a DSB is a “set it and forget it” method, and since no maintenance of any kind was done on the DSB, it wasn’t able to process all of the waste. There are many theories as to the exact mechanism responsible for these tank crashes including phosphate build up in the sand, heavy metal build up in the sand, or simply an over abundance of detritus that filled up the sand in the same way that detritus fills up a filter pad. Regardless of the mechanism, proponents of the different DSB methodologies agree that some kind of upkeep is necessary, but what that upkeep consists of depends on which DSB methodology you agree with. Some claim that you should never disturb the sand bed, some claim you should “siphon vacuum” the bed, some claim you should “siphon vacuum” only part of the bed. Some say microfauna populations are key. Some persist in the “set it and forget it” idea. Details about each of these ideas (and more!) are beyond the scope of this article, and I urge anyone considering a DSB to do lots and lots of research before making a decision.

Remote Sand Bed (RSB) The RSB is very similar to the DSB except the sand is not in the show tank, rather in an auxiliary vessel plumbed into the system.

A RSB is used for denitrification purposes only, does not need microfauna, and should be kept as free from detritus build up as possible through “vacuuming” or prefiltering the water before pumping it into the RSB vessel.

One of the main concerns with DSB’s is the space they take up in a display tank. If you have a 55 gallon aquarium that is 20 inches tall with a 5 inch sand bed, and you realize that a running aquarium is filled generally to an inch below the top of the tank, you are left with only 14 inches of space for fish and corals. Sand also displaces water, so the more of it you use, the less overall system volume you have and the smaller the system volume, the less stable that system is in terms of water quality. The investment in real estate that’s used to display coral, combined with having to look at the dark matter that grows between the sand and the front of the tank are two of the reasons often cited for avoiding DSB’s.

There are two DSB dangers that are small, but still important to note. First, DSB’s can consume a lot of oxygen. This concern generally only comes up during a power outage, when the water in the tank is stagnant for any length of time. As the oxygen depletes, animals that need oxygen begin to suffer, and may die as they compete for oxygen with the sand bed. Secondly, hydrogen

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Shallow Sand Bed (SSB) SSB’s are generally 2 inches deep or less. SSB’s are used primarily by people who like the look of sand, but don’t want to lose too much display area. Some microfauna will colonize the sand, but the shallow depth has less potential for denitrification than a deeper sand bed – this does not mean that sufficient denitrification won’t occur. Most people who run SSB’s agree that “vacuuming” the sand, or a portion of it, is necessary for regular maintenance.

tank – most often a material called starboard. Initially, white starboard was used to add the same upward reflectivity of light that a sand bed provides, but people have started using black or other colors depending on personal preference. The choice of color may not matter in the long run since starboard will also become covered with coralline algae over time. Starboard also has the benefit of protecting the bottom of the tank from breaking in a catastrophic rock collapse (though the necessity of such protection is questionable).

The shallow sandbed of a reef in Derawan, Indonesia. Photo by Khem.

A bare bottom reef in Derawan, Indonesia. Photo by Khem.

Bare Bottom (BB)

Faux Sand Bed (FSB)

A BB system is exactly what it sounds like – no sand on the bottom of the tank. Maintenance can be simple; change the water regularly and siphon out any detritus that collects on the bottom of the tank.

The FSB is simply making the bottom of a BB tank look like it has sand. This allows for the benefits of BB while keeping the aesthetics of sand.

Recently, BB methodology has focused on high water movement in the display tank to keep any detritus in suspension, combined with aggressive skimming to remove the detritus before it has a chance to break down into any toxic substance. Most BB tanks also contain “live rock” for nitrification and denitrification.

Some find the BB system look ugly, but many proponents of BB disagree because without the sand, your eye focuses on the coral – the main reason why most people set up reef tanks in the first place. Often coralline algae will quickly cover the exposed glass or acrylic giving the tank a nice pink/purple bottom. Some people add an inert, marine safe material to the bottom of the

There are basically two ways to make an FSB - cast a mixture of marine safe epoxy mixed with sand directly into the tank or glue sand to something like starboard. Casting it directly into the tank can be problematic because the heat of the hardening epoxy can cause the tank to crack, so it is important to apply several thin layers. Gluing sand to starboard requires that the starboard be scuffed, and the glue or epoxy needs time to cure and offgass any volatile compounds left over from the glue. FSB’s will also become covered with coralline algae over time, so some people add a few cupfuls of sand to the tank. This loose sand moves around due to the water flow, and helps prevent the coralline from taking hold. If you are interested in making an FSB, please do some research for the latest information and methods.

The author’s faux sand bed reef tank.

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STONY CORAL SERIES Part >>2

Awesome

Stony Coral Series

photo by Wayne Lai

by Steve Tyree

The Amazing Montipora The different growth forms within the Montipora genus of corals define it as one of the most diverse groups of corals to be found within the SPS Reef Building Stony Corals. In general the polyps for most species are very small, but this group of corals includes species that develop almost every different stony coral growth form. There are massive, encrusting, plating, whorling, columnar and branching species. Many of the Montipora species can even develop into multiple distinct growth forms. For example, some plating and encrusting species can also develop branching growth forms. We have also found that this genus of corals contains a very diverse assemblage of pigmentation patterns.

Polyps frequently develop pigments that are distinct from the main body pigmentation. Sometimes the polyp center can also contain pigments that are different from pigments found within the polyps’ tentacles. Some Montipora corals can also develop leading growth edge pigments that are distinct from the main body pigmentation. The Awesome Stony Coral Series begins our coverage of the Montipora stony corals with a discussion of three very popular and very colorful corals. We will primarily identify these corals with their common marketing label because accurate species identification has yet to be performed.

photo by Wayne Lai

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Sunset Monty The ‘Sunset Montipora’ or ‘Sunset Monty’ is one of the most brilliantly colored Montipora corals that we have maintained in captivity. The base pigmentation on the surface of the coral is a brilliant fluorescent orange. The coral has very large polyps for a Montipora and they are a brilliant fluorescent green. The two distinct colors give this coral a spectacular color pattern (see image 2a). We are referring to this coral as a Montipora, but we have not done an accurate species examination and the coral has some very unique characteristics. When the coral is stressed from fragmentation or transportation, it can retract living tissue deep into its calcified skeleton. If extremely stressed, the coral can actually appear to be dead. The basic form of the corallite’s structure is also rather distinct and is only visible when the coral is stressed and tissue is retracted (see image 2b). The corallites have a funnel shape to them similar to the corallites found within the Montipora venosa. When the coral is completely healthy with tissue expanded and polyps extended, the corallite structure cannot be seen (see image 2c).

Hugo Zuniga acquired the original imported Sunset Monty colony in a reef store in Fountain Valley, California. A section of the original coral colony was purchased by three collectors (Hugo Zuniga, Steve Tyree and Frank Burr) and this section itself was divided into three parts. The Sunset Monty has been distributed on a limited basis and has a strong demand. Reef aquarists and collectors should be aware that there are corals that are similar to the original Sunset that do not develop its spectacular pigmentation or intensity. An orange Montipora efflorescens has been imported for years from the Solomon Islands, but that coral’s polyps are smaller and do not develop the intense green pigment levels.

There are also different morphs of the Sunset Monty species. For example, a white polyped Sunset has also been maintained in captivity (see image 2d). Collectors and aquarists should exercise caution when purchasing a “true” Sunset Monty. By making your purchases from reputable coral farmers, and asking for images of the actual coral fragment before it is shipped, you can avoid getting Sunset-like corals.

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2a:

Tiny Sunset Montipora fragment close-up image taken by Steve Tyree.

The brilliant orange base color as well as the brilliant green polyp color are very apparent within this close-up image. This image represents the true spectacular pigmentation that can develop within the original Sunset Montipora coral. The coral in this particular image was being maintained under a 14,000 K Hamilton Tech 400 Watt Halide.

2b: Original imported Sunset Montipora colony image taken by Steve Tyree.

The funnel-shaped corallites are plainly visible within this image. On the extreme right edge of the coral there is a severely stressed region where the tissue has significantly pulled back into its skeleton structure. When this happens to a small fragment the coral can appear to be dead for a day or two. Complete recovery and expansion of the tissue will often occur.

Rainbow Monty

2c:

Completely healthy small Sunset Monty colony image taken by Steve Tyree. When this coral is completely healthy and fully colored-up it can be quite spectacular. The Sunset name was given to this coral because the orange base color is similar to a Pacific Ocean sunset. Healthy Sunset Monty corals can develop new encrusting growth at fast rates. The best pigmentation is developed under moderate to strong lighting levels and metal halides are recommended.

2d: There are different color morphs of the Sunset Montipora coral species. This image taken by Steve Tyree is of a white polyped Sunset coral where only new growth polyps developed a white pigmentation. Old growth polyps lacked any pigmentation.

The base orange color within this particular morph was also not as intense as the true Sunset Monty coral.

The Rainbow Montipora was one of the first captive Reef Building Stony Corals that displayed the unusual ability to develop polyps with multiple pigmentation patterns. At about the time that Matt Juner found the Rainbow Montipora, the only other corals that displayed multiple pigmentation patterns were a few Acropora corals. These corals were developing green polyps in their new growth areas that later developed into other colors as they aged.

The Rainbow Monty has the unusual ability to develop orange and red colored polyps in new growth areas that later turn into green colored polyps as they age (see image 2e). Polyps located between the leading growth edge areas and the inner older sections of the coral can develop a rainbow pigmentation pattern that varies across the color spectrum from red to orange to yellow to green. When first imported the coral originally had a greenish colored base, but after one month in captivity it developed a bright blue base coloration.

We currently believe the coral is probably a Montipora danae species. The early first generation fragments of this coral were very sensitive to changes in light intensities. These early fragments would frequently bleach when transported to captive systems with different light environments. Within the past year, we have seen some very healthy third and fourth generation captive fragments that are very robust. They appear to have fully adapted to captivity. Some of these newer morphs have also adapted to strong metal halide light intensities. These brighter light morphs

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have developed orange and red polyp pigments within larger areas of the coral colony (see image 2f). The newer, more colorful morphs can handle light intensity changes better and have developed some fast growth rates. We are currently seeing this newer morph become more widely distributed throughout the captive market.

True Undata

2e: Rainbow Montipora Seed Colony image by Steve Tyree. Note the orange

colored polyps located within the new growth areas. Older growth polyps located within the center section of the coral have a bright green coloration.

Between these two areas there are polyps with orange and green pigments that can develop a slightly yellowish coloration. Note the bright blue base pigmentation.

2f:

Image by Steve Tyree shows why Matt Juner called this coral the Rainbow Montipora. This new morph of the Rainbow Montipora has fully adapted to brighter metal halide light and the polyps’ pigments have intensified into a multiple rainbow of coloration. Some of the polyps located within areas between the green and red polyps clearly have red tentacles with green centers.

Another one of the Amazing Montipora species is the Montipora undata coral. This coral occurs in many different growth forms that range from horizontal and vertical plates to thick columns and branches. The surface of the coral contains tuberculae (bumps) that can fuse together into longer smooth ridges. One of the most incredible looking growth morphs of M. undata has a smooth surface that contains scattered fused smooth ridges over its surface. Captive coral farmers call a specific morph of that growth form the “True Montipora undata” or True Undata. The True Undata also has bright whitish colored polyps that are very distinct (see image 2g). The color of these polyps can vary from bright white to greenish white. Growth edges and fused ridges of the True Undata develop solid purple and blue pigmentation. When very healthy and maintained under bright metal halides, the base of this coral can develop purple and blue pigments across its entire surface.

The coral also develops a weak green fluorescence within its lower light sections.

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The original True Undata was exported from Indonesia and imported by Eddie Hanson who owned a retail reef shop located within the San Francisco Bay Area. That particular morph now has the ability to develop very strong purple and blue pigmentation across the coral’s surface when exposed to strong light levels.

Captive grown fragments from the original True Undata have been distributed on a limited basis since the summer of 2004.

We have just recently begun to see cultured Montipora undata corals imported into the US from an Indonesian coral farm. These newly imported cultured corals appear to be very similar to the True Undata. We have not, as of yet, seen these corals develop purple and blue pigments over their entire surface. These new True Undata corals appear to develop a primarily purple colored pigmentation across a majority of their surface area. The original True Undata is able to develop some intense pigmentation patterns (see image 2h). It is possible that corals maintained within captive systems for long periods are able to better adapt to the artiďŹ cial light sources. This adaptation might include enhanced pigmentation capabilities. We have seen that type of morphing occur within the Rainbow Monty. It is theoretically possible that pigmentation enhancement could occur as recently imported second and third generations of True Undata are maintained for a longer period in captive systems. As of right now, the original True Undata appears to have the ability to develop a stronger coverage of purple and blue pigments, while the newly imported True Undata corals can develop purple pigments across a majority of their surface. We will report any observed changes in future sections of the Awesome Stony Coral Series.

2g: The distinctive polyps of the True Undata can clearly be seen in this image

by Steve Tyree. This particular fragment is from a second-generation imported True Undata morph. Note how the coral has developed purple pigmentation over a majority of its surface area. It is possible that these second and third generation imported True Undata corals might develop the more intense purple and blue pigmentation over time.

2h: This True Undata captive grown coral has developed some incredible

pigmentation. The purple and blue pigments have developed on every area of the coral that is exposed to intense light levels. That pattern can clearly be seen in the green spots that occur around the corallite centers. These spots have developed because the coral actually shaded these areas when it extended its polyps during the daylight photoperiod. Image taken by Steve Tyree.

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15

CLOWN FISH

The Clowns Have Eggs!

photo by Khem

by Robin Bittner

Hey, What’s That?!?

For many aquarium enthusiasts, the true holy grail of the hobby is to create an artificial environment that closely duplicates the best features of nature. While in the eyes of some hobbyists this includes neon gravel and sunken pirate’s chests with glow-in-thedark skeletons, there has been increased movement in recent years towards creating aquatic dioramas with rocks, plants, and invertebrates that come from a specific area of the world or section of the reef. However, once an aquarist recreates a portion of a deep water Caribbean reef wall or an Indonesian tide pool, the question still remains – how truly “real” is the aquarist’s creation?

Fortunately, the answer is readily provided by the animals residing in these underwater artistic creations.

signifies that the parents are so happy in their captive artificial world that they have decided to make more of themselves. For those hobbyists trying to recreate a little slice of the wild ocean, there is nothing quite as rewarding as finding hundreds of tiny fry in the tank after the lights go out in the evening, or seeing a pair of fish vigorously defending a nest against their tank mates. Usually these discoveries are made by chance (and often by someone other than the hobbyist), so the big event usually proves to be quite an exciting time.

My Fish Had Babies...

What do I do Now? As the arrival of a nest or fry is usually unexpected, the hobbyist is often ill-prepared to take care of the fry. This often results in great sadness on the part of the hobbyist, for while it is hard to lose an adult tank resident, it is absolutely excruciating to let several hundred cute babies expire. On any given day a quick scan through the species specific forums on various aquarium websites will usually contain a posting or two entitled “HELP!!! My Fish Had Babies, What Can I Do?”. While there is not much that can be done in the case of pelagic spawners (angelfish, butterflies, anthia, etc.), the good news is that clownfish are one of the easiest marine fish to raise and there is plenty of help available.

Probably the most exciting event for anyone who keeps living creatures – be they fish, dogs, horses or earthworms – is the arrival of a bunch of “little ones”. Not only is this tremendously exciting since the new arrivals generally are really, really cute, but the event

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The first thing the aspiring breeder should do is take a step back and conduct a bit of background research on the adventure that they are about to embark upon. While in some cases this may be a bit painful since this means sacrificing the current batch of fry, it may be possible to put together a suitable hatching and grow-out setup if the happy clownfish pair have recently put down a new nest. With a nesting period of 8-10 days and a typical nesting cycle of two weeks, it is quite reasonable to assume that a simple system can be setup and early stage foods purchased online before the fry’s hatch date. This also gives the new breeder a chance to purchase various reading materials on breeding, conduct online research, and speak with fellow hobbyists while assembling a new set of tanks and exclaiming, “But I can’t just let the babies die!”

Enter the Blue Life sponsored photo contest at www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com and show off your photo skills!

Not Quite As Simple As Guppies In Mason Jars For clownfish, the size and sophistication of the hatching and grow-out system really depends upon the amount of time and money that the hobbyist intends to invest. In the vast majority of cases where the hobbyist is simply interested in trying to raise a batch or two of fish for fun and the sense of accomplishment, the overall system can be quite simple. However, baby clowns can be highly addictive, and when the hobbyist sells their first batch there usually is a renewed enthusiasm to return home and setup more tanks! For this reason it is important to think about the following questions when contemplating your setup: • What are my goals in breeding?

• How much time can I dedicate?

• How much money am I willing to invest?

• What will I do with the babies if I’m successful?

A Basic Hatching & Grow-out System For Under $150 Any grow-out system must be able to care for the babies from the time they hatch to when they are ready to go to market (a minimum period of 4-6 months for most clownfish). Since many of the commonly available clowns (Ocellaris, Tomato, Clarkii, and Maroons) can put down nests of a few hundred to several thousand eggs twice per month, the number of nests that can be collected will depend upon the size of the nest and the amount of space that you have available for grow-out.

Taking the simplest and least expensive approach when a nest is taken out every six weeks, the basic grow-out system must have a few tanks in which to grow-out the baby clownfish to market size, and a place to grow the food needed for the earliest stages of fry. Under such an approach, your list of needed equipment would be as follows: • 1–10 gallon hatching tank with darkened sides, heater, light aeration, and overhead light for hatching nests and growing out fry to the post-metamorphosis stage • 3–10 gallon bare grow-out tanks with heaters, sponge filters, and lights for various sizes of larger fry • 2–5 gallon buckets with light aeration to maintain rotifer cultures • Air pump to aerate the tanks and buckets • GFI protected electrical supply and moisture resistant power strips • Ready supply of aged salt water for daily water changes in the hatching and grow-out tanks • Level, clear, and readily accessible location to place the tanks and supplies • Bare floors and plenty of towels to clean up all the drips from frequent water changes!

Assuming that you’ve discovered a nest of clown eggs and want to take the conservative approach to breeding and raising the fry, then your effort could be quite simple. In fact, even if you have a couple of old 10 gallon tanks with silicone sealed cracks sitting in your garage, you could be well on your way to being a bona fide breeder! Many, if not most, successful breeders started with old, worn equipment and then re-invested the proceeds from their sales back into new and improved equipment. Using this approach over time, you can fund your expansion into bigger and better equipment without adding a lot of extra money from your own pocket.

The above materials can be purchased for a surprisingly low sum. Many local fish stores (LFS) will sell bare 10 gallon tanks for $10-$15, while an economical heater can be purchased for around $15-$20. A simple air pump and sponge filters can be purchased from your LFS, while an outdoor power strip and a basic 48” shop light to light all the tanks can be purchased quite cheaply from a local hardware store.

Once all the equipment is purchased, set up, and tested, the hobbyist can sit back and let the clownfish parents take care of the process until the eggs are ready to hatch. This is an excellent time to catch up on your research and also to prepare yourself for the flurry of activity that will follow the hatching of the babies.

In the next installment of this series, we will talk about how to recognize when the babies are ready to hatch, methods for collecting the newly hatched fry, and how to care for them during their early days. Until then, get those tanks ready and catch up on your reading!

Rotifer Cultures

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New Product Spotlight Arcti-Pods

by Reef Nutrition Arcti-Pods® are large, nutrition-packed planktonic copepods (~3000 microns) harvested fresh from arctic waters. No other product excites your fish like ArctiPods! Even the most finicky fish go crazy for them.

Great for invertebrates too!

LPS corals, anemones, zoanthids, brittle stars and more. Arcti-Pods is a preserved product available in 6 ounce, 16 ounce and 32 ounce bottles.

Phyto-Feast

by Reef Nutrition Produced by the marine microalgae experts PhytoFeast® is made by Reed Mariculture, the world leader in micro algal hatchery feeds. With six species in 5 classes, Phyto-Feast provides a diversity of Phytopigments, lipids, omega-3’s, amino acids, carbohydrates and cell sizes. Phyto-Feast is a preserved product available in 6 ounce, 16 ounce and 32 ounce bottles.

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Find answers at www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com in the “magazine related” section.