Reef Hobbyist Magazine Q3 2013

macna2013.com

RHM is proud to sponsor: Reef Hobbyist Magazine October 12-13, 2013

reefapaloozashow.org

1

2

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

3

features

6

A PEPPERMINT IN PARADISE Adam Mullins, co-owner of The Mystic Reef in Riverside, California, returns from Hawaii with the story behind Waikiki Aquarium’s highly coveted and ultra-rare Peppermint Angelfish.

10

ZOA ADDICT Josue Matias, a zoa addict with a collection of over 300 zoa and paly morphs, shares his top 7 tips for success with these vivid and challenging corals.

20

REEF CLUBS – GOING BEYOND THE FRAG SWAP Richard Ross, a biologist at Steinhart Aquarium and the banquet MC for this year’s MACNA, offers 10 ideas to help keep your club relevant, keep members engaged, and make a real impact on the hobby and community.

26

Copyright© 2013 Reef Hobbyist Magazine. All rights reserved.

announcements We would like to thank all of our advertisers and distributors (wholesalers and stores) who have helped to put Reef Hobbyist Magazine into the hands of 45,000 hobbyists each quarter for free. Please contact our advertisers and let them know of your appreciation and support them by considering their products on your next purchase! Don’t forget to support your local fish store where you pick up Reef Hobbyist Magazine!

RHM Sponsored events (latest issues available at these events) • Marine Breeders Workshop: July 13, Bloomfield Hills, MI – mbiworkshop.com • Space Coast Reef Conf.: July 20, Melbourne, FL – screefconference.com • MACNA 2013: Aug 30-Sept 1, South Florida – macna2013.com • Carolina Aquarium Expo and Frag Swap: September 21, Columbia, SC columbiamac.org • Reef-A-Palooza: October 12-13, Costa Mesa, CA – reefapaloozashow.org • Reef-A-Palooza Orlando : April 26-27, 2014, Orlando, FL – raporlando.com

FREE Online Subscription Sign-up Be the first to know when a new issue is released online! Scan this QR code to sign up for our online subscription and you’ll receive an alert with article previews, new product releases, and a link to the latest issue as soon as it’s online!

on the cover COLORING UP! ALL DELIGHT’S ACAN JOURNEY Darrell Wakashige, a hobbyist from California with an extreme passion for acans, highlights his journey as a collector and shares invaluable husbandry tips and pictures of his highly-prized acans.

Cover image by author.

32

CREATURES OF A CARIBBEAN CUBE Eugene Weldon, a hobbyist from New Jersey with 6 years of reef keeping experience, looks back at his 7 gallon biotope that housed over a dozen different species, all sourced from the reefs of the Caribbean.

36

FROGSPAWN, TORCH, HAMMER, OCTOSPAWN – OH MY! Mindy van Leur, a reef hobbyist of almost 20 years, reviews Euphyllia spp. corals, including some of the newer, more colorful morphs that are reigniting interest in these reef tank mainstays.

40

4

third QUARTER 2013 | Volume 7

KEEPING LARGE TANGS Richard Aspinall, editor of UltraMarine magazine of the UK, talks about the requirements of keeping large tang species. From tank size and compatibility to large tang diets, Richard helps you determine if you and your tank are ready for one of these big beauties.

WANT RHM IN YOUR STORE? Increase your store’s foot traffic and sales by offering Reef Hobbyist Magazine to your valued customers! We help you educate your customers even when they’re not in your store. Plus, we never publish etailer ads! Contact one of our distributors below or email us at retailer@rhmag.com to get stocked.

• • • • • • • •

A&M Aquatics – www.amaquatics.com All Seas Marine – www.allseaslax.com DFW Aquarium Supply – www.dfwaquarium.com Exotic Reef Imports – www.exoticreefimports.com Pacific Aqua Farms – www.pacificaquafarms.com Quality Marine – www.qualitymarine.com Reef Nutrition – www.reefnutrition.com Segrest Farms – www.segrestfarms.com

Come visit us online www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com

Find full access to RHM archives.

Download any issue in PDF for your PC or iPad. Sign up for a FREE online subscription.

Read our “exclusively online” articles. www.facebook.com/reefhobbyistmag

RHM Staff President Harry Tung Executive Editor Jim Adelberg Advertising@rhmag.com

Art Director Yoony Byun Graphic Designer II Dave Tran Photography Advisor Sabine Penisson

comments or suggestions? comments@rhmag.com

A Peppermint in Paradise

Paracentropyge boylei

Image courtesy of Waikiki Aquarium.

T

Adam Mullins

his past summer, one of my good friends told me he wanted to go back to Hawaii where he was formerly stationed as a Navy diver. One of the first thoughts I had when I found out he was staying in Waikiki was of the public aquarium there, a particularly special aquarium for reef hobbyists. The Waikiki Aquarium is one of the oldest in the U.S. and blessed with

unlimited access to tropical seawater. It is well known for the many important husbandry breakthroughs that are attributed to its staff and curators. This aquarium houses some of the oldest and largest giant clams in captivity (aquacultured and shipped to the aquarium when they were a little more than half an inch in length) and also displays enough rare fish to fill all but the largest of camera memory cards, including rare angelfishes like their nine Genicanthus personatus. So when I was invited to join my friend in Waikiki, I jumped at the chance.

The star attraction at the aquarium, in my opinion, is their Paracentropyge boylei, otherwise known as the Peppermint Angelfish. Considered to be one of the rarest of angelfishes, it was even featured in Hawaiian Airlines’ inflight magazine, Hana Hou! I didn’t think I would ever lay eyes on a live specimen, and it’s not likely I’ll see another unless I go back to Hawaii or possibly Japan.

though all of these amazing angelfishes can also be found at the Waikiki Aquarium. The Peppermint is truly special for fish nerds.

The fish is described by Richard Pyle as “…the most spectacular of angelfishes, so bright-red-you-can-barely-look-at-it-bright-red, and the brightest white stripes you can imagine against them… fantastic.”

This isn’t your run of the mill Flame Angel or elusive Potter’s or Bandit…or deeeeeep water (down to 400 feet or so) Abei’s Angel,

This angel’s home tank is tucked inconspicuously towards the back of the aquarium building, relatively small in comparison to

6

Image courtesy of Waikiki Aquarium.

some of the other displays but a crystal clear beauty nonetheless.

It is well suited to showing off this piscine royalty in a calm, serene environment and is lit perfectly well enough for flash-free photography. Also living with the Peppermint was another deep water rarity, possibly one of the most obscure angels in the hobby due to its relatively pale coloration: the Abei’s Angel. The display contains live corals and is maintained at a temperature of 74F. The fish are fed the Waikiki Aquarium gel diet and frozen Mysis four times weekly, which isn’t too far off from most home feeding regimens.

What makes this fish so rare as opposed to other rare fish in the trade? Can’t I just go down to any of the 20 or so fish importers in L.A. and find at least one swimming about in their tanks? No way… these little beauties live at a far greater depth than just about any other fish caught for the aquarium trade. How deep? Peppermint Angels are found as deep as 400 feet (and probably deeper) where the deepest of the deep reefs occur. While some of the fish we more commonly encounter in the trade also live at those depths, they are almost always caught in much shallower water.

There are only a small handful of people skilled, experienced, brave, and perhaps crazy enough to dive that deep, and they don’t typically do it to provide fish for your local fish store. One such person, Richard Pyle, told me he was actually misquoted in the Hana Hou! article as saying he considers himself brave. He actually considers himself crazy, within reason. In a TED talk given by Pyle, he states that in some areas at great depth, they are collecting an Reef Hobbyist Magazine

7

average of “…12 new species an hour,” with an estimated third of all marine fish species at these depths still undiscovered. These are astonishing estimates as there’s probably no other area left in the world where one can find that level of undiscovered biodiversity.

Some of the extra fish these divers catch do make their way into the aquarium trade after holotypes have been collected, but they are not cheap, often many thousands of dollars each. Diving on a closed circuit re-breather is not a cheap hobby! Because of their extreme cost, most of these deep water fish make their way

to Japan where hobbyists are willing to pay the premium price required to own them. I have only heard of a few Peppermints in captivity and have heard that they fetched prices in the $20,000 to $25,000 range. I was told by Rick Koublacher, our tour guide at the aquarium, that many people call in looking just for the Peppermint, and someone once called in and offered $30,000 for the fish (if it could be acquired).

Pyle originally described the Peppermint Angelfish in 1992 and named it in honor of Chip Boyle, who first discovered and collected the fish in Rarotonga. The Waikiki Aquarium’s Peppermint was collected in Moorea (at a depth of 330-360 feet, with water temperature in the low 70’s F), which was a first, because up until that point, they had only been known from the Cook Islands and Rarotonga.

Pyle directed me towards an amazing YouTube video of the collection environment in Moorea, with no less than four Peppermint sightings during less than 5 minutes of video. Throughout the video of this observation dive, we see many anthias, predominately P. tuka and P. ventralis. In about 10 seconds of video frame, you can see a Peppermint Angel, a larger Genicanthus sp. angel (possibly G. bellus), two Multicolor Angels, and one very large Polleni Grouper, as well as countless anthias swimming in the background. The deep water angelfish in the video seem to be fairly social in this bustling, deep reef world.

Peppermint Angelfish at Waikiki Aquarium.

8The Image by author.

Scan to watch video.

On the collection dive the following day, Pyle decompressed over a period of a few hours together with a Peppermint he caught during the dive. The total dive time was around 4 hours, with roughly 45 minutes being spent at depth.

Waikiki’s Peppermint is actually owned by the Smithsonian Institution, as it was collected under their permits during the Moorea Biocode Project, an effort to catalog all life on and around the island.

Fortunately, this fish was not euthanized and sent off to join the museum collection in Washington.

For the greater good of fish nerds such as myself, Pyle arranged for the fish to be kept alive and sent to Waikiki. There, it can live out its days until a natural death claims it, at which point it will be preserved and shipped off to the museum. Having worked for the Waikiki Aquarium once upon a time, it’s become something of a tradition for Pyle to give the aquarium rare fish (such as the Abei’s Angel mentioned above, which Pyle also collected at a depth of around 400 feet in Palau).

Thanks to Richard Pyle and the Waikiki Aquarium, you can go and feast your eyes on rare aquatic life whether you are an angelfish aficionado, coral and clam connoisseur, or even a freshwater aquarist (they feature a nice freshwater section with red arowanas and Amazon stingrays). It seems fitting

Image by Richard Pyle.

that the Peppermint exhibit was at the end of my tour, as it was an appropriate culmination. For some, it’s the main reason they come, though surely not the only thing they remember once they leave.

I would like to extend my tremendous gratitude to the staff of the Waikiki Aquarium, Mary-Lou Foley, Rick Koublacher (now a curator at the Florida Aquarium), Dr. Andrew Rossiter, and Richard Pyle for sharing the details of this great fish tale.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

9

ZOA

addict

10

Josue Matias

M

y name is Joshporksandwich, and I’m a zoa addict. For me, the addiction started 2 months into the hobby. I had contacted a fellow hobbyist and arranged to acquire some corals from his home setup. Up to that point, I hadn’t met a zoa collector. As I started seeing all the magnificent colors of zoas and palys available, it lit a fire and sent

me into a neon fantasy world filled with endless possibilities.

My tank is 125 gallons, 72”x24”x18”, and a very simple setup. I have two 1” drains on the corners: one side drains to a 15 gallon refugium filled with Chaetomorpha and Caulerpa (lit by a 13 watt, compact fluorescent, 6,500K light) and the other side drains to a 20 gallon wet-dry filter. The refugium gravity-feeds into the sump of the wet-dry filter. My skimmer is a Coralife 125, and I run a PhosBan reactor with half carbon and half ROWAphos. My lighting system consists of a Hamilton 3 x 250w (20,000K Radium bulbs) metal halide fixture with a 72” Super Actinic VHO lamp and 2 x 60” blue ReefBrite led strips. Temperature for this system is maintained with a 300 watt titanium heater, and peak temps are limited by the 77F setting of my house AC. The tank temperature ranges from 76F at night to 80F during the day. Flow from the return is distributed with long strips of Loc-Line all throughout the tank, and I have two Tunze 6095’s in wave mode, controlled by an Apex Lite. I dose Brightwell Aquatics trace elements once a week with excellent results.

MY PARAMETERS: pH: 7.6 (day), 8.1 (night) Calcium: 450-500 ppm Magnesium: 1300-1400 ppm Nitrate: .02 ppm to undetectable Phosphate: .15-.25 ppm I use a Hanna test kit to test for phosphates and Salifert test kits for everything else. I try to keep my parameters as stable as possible.

I only have 15 fish: 1 Yellow Tang, 2 blennies, 1 Sixline Wrasse, 2 clownfish, 3 Yellowtail Damsels, 1 Green Chromis, and 5 anthias.

I don’t have many inverts either. I have 1 sea cucumber, 3 brittle starfish, 2 Emerald Crabs, 2 black sea urchins, 1 Coral Banded Shrimp, 2 Harlequin Shrimp, and a basic reef cleanup crew.

The LPS corals I have include a few spawning dendros, a rhyzo, Hammers, Torches, Frogspawns, a few chalices, and a few acans.

The SPS corals I have include a Red Planet, Purple Planet, blue tort, Darin’s Bonsai, Romel’s Watermelon Milli, and various monti caps.

And now, we get to the heart of my addiction. I have over 300 different morphs of zoas and palys. How did it get that way you ask? The majority of my collection started as one or two polyp, high-end, expensive frags. I patiently waited until they grew and multiplied, and I now have colonies which I can trade to acquire morphs I don’t already own.

Of course, a lot of people say that zoas and palys are beginner corals, but I can show you hundreds of emails and private messages where I’ve spent countless hours trying to help people keep their polyps alive. Through this experience, I’ve been able to learn a lot about these corals. Below is a list of my top 7 tips for zoa and paly keepers.

Tip #1: DO CONSISTENT WATER CHANGES The most important tip, in my experience, is to do consistent water changes. I do a 20% water change with D-D H2Ocean salt every 2 weeks. I started with a one-touch automated water change system

The author’s 125 gallon tank.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

11

where the water was changed with the flip of a switch. A few weeks after my tank’s one year anniversary, a fire burned the water change system to the ground. I started slacking with the water changes as it was a pain to go from flicking a switch to carrying heavy buckets.

The corals suffered and started to get smaller or melt away. As soon as I resumed the water changes, everything returned to its usual healthy condition.

Tip #2: GET YOUR LIGHTING RIGHT I think my light schedule is one of the reasons why the zoas and palys in my tank grow larger than in other tanks. I can’t offer any scientific proof or supporting research; it’s just based on

A rainbow of polyps in the author’s tank.

Ravers

Pink Ring of Death

Bowsers

12

Rastas

comparisons between my tank, a frag tank lit with LEDs attached to my main display, and some of my friends’ tanks. My light schedule is as follows: 8:30am - 11:30am (20,000K metal halides) 11:15am - 12:30pm (Super Actinic VHOs) 12:15pm - 9:30pm (blue LEDs) In my opinion, zoas and palys benefit mostly from white light. I believe that my polyps have grown larger in order to absorb as much white light as possible since it is only offered for 3 hours a day. Until someone proves to me otherwise, I will keep believing my own fairy tale that shorter periods of white light have made my polyps grow larger.

God of War

14

A Montipora nestled among polyps.

Tip #3: PAY ATTENTION TO PLACEMENT People often buy coral with a certain placement location in mind.

Yet the coral doesn’t thrive in that location or maybe even melts.

The reason is that not all corals are the same, and no two zoa or paly morphs want exactly the same conditions. My way of dealing with this issue is by getting a frag with at least two polyps and seeing how it does in its designated area for a few weeks. If it does not look happy, I simply move the frag to a spot with more or less light or split it into two or three frags and place them in different spots around the tank.

For example, I had some Wows and fragged them into two smaller colonies. I placed a frag of five polyps high up in the tank at around 250 PAR (medium-high PAR) and another frag at around 100 PAR (low PAR) in a lower section of the tank. The polyps of the frag that was high up decreased in size and grew two babies in 45 days; the polyps of the frag in the lower section increased in size and grew 10 babies in the same amount of time. If you put zoas or palys too low, you will notice that they stretch to reach for light. If you put them too high, they will shrink and melt in a matter of days if not moved quickly.

Tip #4: FEED THE RIGHT FOODS IN AN EFFICIENT WAY I make my own food for my fish and corals, and they seem to be happy with it. My recipe consists of various seafood, spinach, carrots, garlic, Spirulina powder, and Seachem Fuel blended in my wife’s food processor. I freeze the food in mini ice cube trays and feed five cubes daily. I have friends that target feed and swear by it, but I don’t have the time to individually feed hundreds of polyps, so I just shut off the return pump and let the food swirl through the tank for 10 to 15 minutes. During this process, I see most of the palys close and the zoas open their little mouths. (Warning: people with low-nutrient systems who have tried my recipe have had algae outbreaks.)

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

15

Tip #5: ADDRESS HEALTH ISSUES PROACTIVELY My first advice when someone has a sick or infected colony is to first dip it in iodine (Lugol’s solution). I’ve also used various dips such as ReVive Coral Cleaner and Coral Rx with success. Next, change the frag location. Remember, if the colony looks stretched, it could be starving for light. If this is not the case, move the colony to an area of lower light for a few days. I’ve had great success with this simple technique.

I do weekly inspections in the morning before the lights turn on or a few hours after the lights turn off. When zoas or palys aren’t doing well, sometimes it’s due to bad critters like zoa-eating nudibranchs or zoa-eating spiders. Other times, I’ve found that a baby brittle starfish or copepod is the culprit. For these reasons, inspection is easier when the lights are off and the polyps are closed.

Tip #6: STOP INFECTIONS BEFORE THEY SPREAD The majority of the infections in my tank have been from new frags, newly added colonies, or fresh cuts. The fungus known as zoapox is one that, if not treated immediately, can go from rock to rock and kill every zoa and paly polyp in your

Zoapox

Blue Rhinos

16

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

17

A nice grouping of different sized, colored, and patterned polyps.

tank. My first line of defense is usually to remove the fungus. To do this, you must take the infected polyps out of the tank. Remove the fungus with a hose and fresh water. I spray every little bit of the fungus off and cut off any rotted polyps with a razor blade to ensure only the healthy ones remain (remember to always wear protection as some zoas and palys can be extremely toxic). If that first treatment doesn’t work, I use a Furan-2 dip. Furan-2 is an antibacterial/antifungal medication used to cure various fish diseases, and it works on zoapox as well as many other types of fungus. As a last resort, I do a hydrogen peroxide dip – 2 caps of the brown 2% peroxide found in a pharmacy to 1 gallon of water for 15 minutes or until I see bubbles forming on the polyps.

Tip #7: KEEP FRAGGING I try to keep my colonies elevated from the rocks by putting them on tiles with frag plug cutouts underneath. When one colony tries to take over (overgrow) another, I can easily move it to a different location of equal light and flow or bless my friends with frags. Most of my friends have frags of my morphs as backups.

When fragging zoas, I cannot stress enough the need to wear eye and hand protection. Zoas and palys have a defensive secretion called palytoxin which, if introduced through a cut, your eyes, or mouth, can cause a very serious reaction. Sometimes, zoas and palys will spit like a water gun, so please wear adequate face shielding. One time when I was fragging without gloves, I cut my finger, and it swelled to the size of a fat sausage. I had to go to the

18

Latin Lovers

hospital and take antibiotics for a week. I have another friend who gets hives all over his hands if he frags without gloves.

CONCLUSION I added a satellite frag tank around 6 months ago with 3 watt LEDs over it, and the growth and coloration has been so amazing that I decided I will change to all LEDs on my main display. Hopefully, in a few months, everything will look great and I won’t end up with a bunch of empty rocks.

All in all, corals need a balanced system and will not start thriving until they are acclimated to each person’s tank. It surprises me that

Pretty Ladies

so many people love my tank and even dream of having a tank like mine, full of zoas and palys all over. Most people go crazy over SPS systems, but to me, zoas and palys have a lot more color variation and iridescence.

So be careful, stay safe, and enjoy the amazing world of palys and zoas!

Acknowledgements: I want to thank my wife for loving me so much that she became a zoa addict herself. Thanks to Rich, Cesar, Victor (Coral Kingdom), my gramps Miguel and Xiomara, Rick, Eric, Carlos (Southside) and Marke The Coralmafia for their wisdom and advice.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

19

National and international conferences are great resources for clubs and club members alike. It’s in everyone’s best interest to send people to conferences to liaison and gather information on new techniques.

Reef Clubs – Going Beyond the Frag Swap Richard Ross

I

n the ongoing discussions about the challenges that face the saltwater hobby, the saltwater industry, and wild reefs themselves, the voices of reef clubs seem oddly absent. The trade that supplies our animals is under scrutiny (both justified and not), and ocean environments and the animals in them are under real pressure from human activity and environmental changes. However, I’ve noticed over the

last decade that some reef clubs seem to have become more concerned with group buys, raffles, and securing vendors for events and less concerned with education and public outreach. Perhaps it’s time for reef clubs to harness their latent power and look beyond the next frag swap. Think of the good work clubs could do for the whole hobby community and the wider world as well.

20

Reef clubs could be a huge source for vision and change in our hobby. They are widely distributed, technically savvy, well informed, full of passionate members, and poised to practically organize and utilize those members’ various skills. And not only can clubs generate funds, but they are often sitting on a surplus of funds that is being saved for something yet to be determined. Furthermore, many reef clubs are 501(c) tax-exempt organizations, and reaching out to the wider world would seem to be a responsibility of holding such a designation.

Below are 10 suggestions for reef clubs to consider if they want to make the reefing world, and therefore the world at large, a better and more responsible place. These are only suggestions; your reef club can and should come up with its own ideas as well.

PROMOTE BEST PRACTICES One of the benefits of joining a reef club is having access to the practical experience of other members. Most clubs have online forums where people new to reef keeping can ask questions. While this is great, clubs could do far more to promote best practices and responsible saltwater aquarium keeping. For example, a few pages on the club’s website that discuss what the club generally feels are the best methodologies for reef keeping would provide an easily accessible resource for beginners in the hobby.

With the impending release of the Finding Nemo sequel, clubs could work with local media to inform the public about responsible reef keeping. Clubs could co-host movie nights with ocean-themed films at local libraries, schools, public aquariums, or theaters and use the opportunity to provide educational materials about reef keeping and the club.

LFS – PROMOTE THE GOOD, HELP THOSE IN NEED Clubs have a vested interest in keeping good fish stores in business, and the best way to do that is to encourage members to shop at those stores. Once a quarter or once a year, clubs could host a shopping and social LFS crawl where members carpool or pile into a bus for a tour of the great stores within driving distance.

This is an opportunity for clubs to educate members on why low price isn’t the best criteria on which to choose an animal and why healthy livestock is worth the extra money. This also demonstrates the club’s support for local businesses which are an integral part of their reefing community. Some club events could be held at stores, and the club could offer to present reef keeping workshops and seminars at the store, open to the public. This is a win-win as the store benefits from the additional business and the club gets to promote itself and its vision of responsible reef keeping.

Everyone knows there are good fish stores and stores that need help to reach their full potential. A reef club can let members know not only which are good, but why they are good. Clubs could even make the effort to help the stores in need of improvement - anything from constructive advice to offering to build and donate quarantine systems to the shop. Of course, not all shops will accept such help, but the effort really counts and makes club members aware of the issues at the local fish store level.

FUND AND PRODUCE A STUDY There are many methodologies in reef keeping that haven’t been tested directly. For instance, there seem to be no simple side-byside studies of solid carbon dosing, no data on the accuracy of different heaters, and no efficacy ratings for different additives. It would be very easy for clubs to conduct such studies, and the results would benefit the hobby as a whole. This information would help reef keepers make informed decisions about which products to purchase and which methodologies to employ. All that is needed are two similar aquarium setups, one running with the item to be tested and one without – let them run for a few months while testing water parameters and write up the results for all to see. If the items needed for the study aren’t already lying around in club members’ garages, the club could easily purchase the equipment and reuse it over and over again to do different tests.

Running a simple study can be fun, social, educational, and a really helpful way to add evidence to support or reject practices and beliefs in vogue today throughout the hobby. Such studies may not be scientifically rigorous, but the results produced would be far more useful than the simple anecdotes that inform most of our

If your club is planning to produce a study on any aspect of reef keeping, please contact us for information on having your study results published in a future issue of RHM (info@rhmag.com).

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

21

hobby and may be good indicators of where further studies are needed. If more rigor is desired, researchers at public aquariums or universities could be contacted to help direct more complicated studies. Imagine the ground that could be covered if 20 different reef clubs started doing such studies and shared the results publicly.

STAY INFORMED OF LARGER ISSUES AND GET INVOLVED The vast majority of all the animals in our hobby are collected in the wild, so it is important for us to keep tabs on how wild reefs are doing and advocate for their care and protection. Use some club resources to keep people up-to-date on what is happening out there in the wider world. Create some publicity in your area, donate some club funds, or have a fund raiser to benefit organizations doing good work in the oceans - Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF), and Sexual Coral Reproduction (SECORE) are just three examples of organizations doing good work. Clubs need to understand and take action on issues that face wild reefs, and it seems to be a good use of club monies to help keep these types of organizations funded.

MAKE THE INDUSTRY BETTER The chain of custody that brings animals from the wild to our aquariums isn’t perfect, but what can be done to make things better? It is unclear that anyone has the answer, but what we do know is that not doing anything will result in no change or changes we might not like. Individual clubs, or coalitions of clubs, might be able to put pressure on suppliers to transparently improve their practices. Clubs could generate funds to encourage real world studies that could make a significant difference in developing better ways to collect, hold, and ship animals. Even simply engaging in the conversation could have positive effects on the well-being of the animals we all care about.

SEND MEMBERS TO NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES Conferences are a great way to gain exposure to different methodologies of reef keeping. Perhaps club funds could be used to send a club member or two (picked by lottery to avoid favoritism) to various conferences with the understanding that they write up or give a presentation to the club about the conference when they get back. Sending club members to conferences will also connect your club to other clubs which can be excellent resources for different perspectives on reef keeping, club management, speaker choices, and more.

PARTNER WITH YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC AQUARIUM

This Hydnophora coral, and others, were donated to the Steinhart Aquarium by a local reef club and help educate over 1.5 million people a year about the dangers facing coral reefs.

22

Public aquariums are often looking for sources of coral to put on display. A reef club could partner with their local public aquarium to farm corals needed for exhibits. This doesn’t even have to be a local aquarium; distant public aquariums often need coral which they have trouble sourcing. Find out which aquariums are looking for coral and get farming! Members could also offer to volunteer at public aquariums to help keep the animals and exhibits in tip-top shape or become docents and help convey information to guests.

Clubs could also work with local public aquariums to develop programs or seminars on any number of reef-related topics. It is

These animals are taking refuge in artificial reefs off the coast of Borneo. Such structures are inexpensive and help protect marine life while creating easily accessible dive spots for tourists. Reef clubs could find ways to help create and maintain such structures.

important to note that each public aquarium handles such things differently, so your best bet in starting this kind of collaboration is to ask the aquarium and offer to help or be involved. If this kind of program does move forward, expect to do some training and paperwork.

BEACH CLEAN-UPS This one is a no-brainer as the connection between saltwater aquarium keeping and beaches is obvious. Be involved with all local beach clean-ups in your area (there are many, so check the websites) or organize your own. Once or twice a year, organize the club, have a picnic, and clean up a local beach. Wear club shirts and use the event to help educate the public. Have some cards made with info about your club and why it is important to keep beaches clean. Invite a celebrity and try to get news coverage.

Don’t live near a beach? Clean up any public area in honor of beach clean-up day.

LAST THOUGHTS In writing these suggestions, it occurred to me that such projects may also help clubs avoid ‘old member syndrome.’ Club members that have been around for a long time tend to become less and less enthusiastic about answering the same basic questions over the years. Often, their participation in reefing events wanes, and their knowledge and experience is lost to the community. Perhaps reef clubs that engage these members to take on bigger issues can help these old salts stay active in the club communities where they are so valuable.

Reef clubs are amazing organizations with incredible potential.

I hope the above suggestions inspire clubs to look beyond their tanks and take action to engage in the larger world.

GENERAL OUTREACH Clubs can be instrumental in helping to educate the general public.

Think about putting together a program to install a reef tank in a local library, a local school, or your city hall. These displays can show how to responsibly care for marine animals by simply having cards, flyers, or an informational panel available to educate passersby. And don’t stop with educating about reef keeping; the realities of the multiple dangers that face wild reefs and the challenges of sustainable/responsible fishing methods are also good topics for public education.

LEGAL STUFF There are legal issues affecting the hobby and industry that we love. Get your club involved so your voices on the issues are heard.

Join and support the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) or the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (MASNA) and make sure all your members know about the issues facing wild ornamental fish and coral collection.

Here, public aquarists work with the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF), a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to creating offshore nurseries and restoration programs for threatened coral species.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

23

Coloring Up! All Delight’s Acan Journey

( Yellow Jacket Acan )

darrell wakashige 26

I

t all started in 2005 when my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) bought me a 24 gallon JBJ Nano Cube. Almost immediately after getting into the hobby, I developed an enormous fascination with acans (Acanthastrea spp. corals). I wanted to purchase as many as I could, as often as I could. Every week, I would visit all the local fish stores in search of new acans, even traveling to search stores that

were far away. I quickly acquired the nickname ‘Acan Guy’ among store owners as my searches became a regular occurrence.

As my collection grew, I began to realize just how significant a factor lighting is in maintaining the magnificent colors of acans. My JBJ system came stock with two power compact bulbs. At the time, I used a half-actinic/half-white bulb paired with a full actinic bulb. A year later, I decided to give metal halides a try, so I bought a Current SunPod 150 watt metal halide fixture. I experimented with many different bulbs but found my favorite to be the Radium 20,000K bulb. I continued to use metal halides even after I upgraded to a 39 gallon CAD Lights tank, but only with partial satisfaction.

A part of me felt there was more that could be done to maximize the acans’ colors. I thought about trying T5s, but the initial cost of purchasing a new light fixture kept me from taking the plunge.

One day, I was presented with the golden opportunity to acquire exactly what I wanted: an ATI Powermodule 6 x 24w T5 system.

After removing my metal halide setup and turning on the T5s, I vividly remember my first impression. I was simply blown away.

The adrenaline was pumping, and to say I was excited is an understatement. I still remember calling my friend and telling him, “I feel like I have been robbed from truly enjoying my acans for the last 6 years.”

This Ktar Bleeding Rainbow was acquired directly from Ktar as a 1.5 polyp frag. It remains the most unique and highly sought after morph by acan collectors. This particular morph is a slow grower.

My current bulb configuration from front to back is as follows:

Bulb #1: ATI Blue Plus Bulb #2: Giesemann Actinic Plus Bulb #3: ATI Blue Plus Bulb #4: Korallen-Zucht Purple Plus Bulb #5: Giesemann Pure Actinic Bulb #6: ATI Blue Plus I’ve tried to use an ATI Aquablue Special, but with a 6 bulb configuration, the colors were washed out. I ended up replacing the Aquablue Special with an actinic bulb. I have yet to try ATI’s Coral Plus but plan to the next time I replace a bulb. According to ATI, the Coral Plus bulb is mainly a hybrid of the Blue Plus and Aquablue Special, with a small blend of Purple Plus.

Filtration is accomplished with a 12 gallon sump containing live rock, macroalgae, and a Bubble Magus NAC 3.5 cone skimmer. I also use Chemi-Pure Elite Carbon, which is changed out monthly.

To remove phosphates, I use ROWAphos in a media bag. The ROWAphos is also changed out once a month. Daily dosing is done manually using ESV B-Ionic 3-Part Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. I keep alkalinity at 8.5 to 9dKH, calcium at 440ppm, magnesium at 1400ppm, and salinity at a specific gravity of 1.025.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

27

Various morphs under metal halides.

The same morphs under T5s.

E. glabrescens (Torch Coral) – a long-tentacled species with branching heads that can easily form independent colonies.

28

Feeding acans once a week does help with growth. I feed them Fauna Marin LPS Pellet Food. I can’t say if there is any benefit to their colors, but they do grow faster. Be careful not to overfeed with this or any other food, or you may get nuisance algae. I’ve also tried feeding Mysis and Cyclop-eeze too, which will also help with growth.

My circulation pumps are an Ecotech Marine VorTech MP10ES and a Tunze 6045 adjustable flow pump. The VorTech pump is set to half velocity on the EcoSmart nutrient transport mode. The flow from both pumps collides 4 inches from the surface of the water in the middle of the tank. My aquascape allows my SPS to receive moderate to high flow, while my acans and other LPS receive moderate to low flow. The flow on the acans is high enough to create polyp movement but low enough to prevent torsion of the extended polyps.

The Rainbow Hillae is a rare find. I acquired this colony over 2 years ago and haven’t seen another one for sale since.

The Bouncing Betty is one killer acan. Purple, orange, and white make a dramatic combo.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

29

Yellow Critter Acan

Orange Flame Acan

CC Highlighter Acan

When I acquire acans and other LPS, I always dip using Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure. After the TMPCC dip, I dip in ReVive for 3 minutes, constantly using a turkey baster to ensure the dip gets to all parts of the coral. I also use both dips for any unhealthy corals, and TMPCC has proven especially effective in fighting acan bacterial infections.

4th of July Acan

For me, it’s easy to love acans. They’re some of the most collectable and colorful corals in our hobby. Keeping those amazing colors dramatic and at their brightest is the goal (and obsession) of every acan collector. The last time I counted, I had 64 different color morphs. In the time it’s taken me to build this collection, I’ve had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about how to keep these beauties colored-up. I hope that by sharing what I’ve learned, I’ve helped you begin your own wondrous acan journey.

Black Hole Sun Acan

30

Rainbow Acans and Their Color-Morphing Tendencies Some of the most beautifully colored corals in the hobby are Rainbow Acans, but maintaining the spectrum of their multiple colors can be a tricky thing. Did you know that bright metal halide lighting has been known to color-morph Rainbow Acans into solid red or solid orange-colored colonies? In my opinion, T5s and LEDs of bluer spectrums and lower PAR are better choices for maintaining the desirable colors of beautiful Rainbow Acans. However, even shifting the odds in your favor sometimes isn’t enough. Rainbow Acans from new shipments are still risky. This is one reason why we’ve come to see many of the established Rainbow Acan strains command a high price. They’ve been proven to hold their beautiful colors in many different captive environments over the years. The security of buying a proven Rainbow lineage comes with a higher price tag but ensures you’ll get to enjoy all of the colors that originally drew you to choose that specimen.

Before

After

Before

After

Top: This Psycho Circus Acan morphed in just 2 weeks.

Bottom: This Rainbow Acan morphed in approximately 6 months.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

31

Creatures of a

I

eugene weldon

Caribbean cube

’ve had a profound love of aquatic life from an early age, and because of this, I’ve kept aquariums most of my life. My early experience had been limited to the freshwater side of the hobby because of my limited budget and a lack of reef keeping knowledge. However, about 7 years ago, I decided to educate myself and take the plunge into reef keeping. I’ve kept many reef tanks since and

experienced numerous challenges, but there have been many successes as well. I can honestly say that I’ll stick with this hobby for the rest of my life.

32

Unfortunately, I lost my previous reef to Hurricane Sandy, so I decided to take a break from reefing and delve into my other hobbies. But soon enough, I began to long for another reef tank and decided to set up a new system. This time, however, I wanted to try a reef like I’d never done before.

Because all my previous builds have been mixed reefs, I thought a biotope might provide a unique and refreshing experience. My main goals with this build were to try a more simplistic approach where I would keep equipment to a minimum and maintain a selection of livestock that would prove hardy yet beautiful. So with these goals in mind, I decided on a Caribbean biotope.

Equipment • 7 gallon ADA Cube • 70 watt metal halide light with 10,000K bulb • Eheim 2213 canister filter • 200 watt Hydor heater • glass lily pipes

Tank Setting up this tank was very straightforward since the cube is so small, and there was barely any equipment to speak of. The aquascape was inspired by wild reef bommies and consists of only one piece of live rock and some Caribbean sand. The tank cycled relatively quickly, so I decided to keep macroalgae in the tank during that process (typically, macros do best when introduced into mature tanks). Once nitrate levels reached zero, I began my search for livestock. Over the upcoming weeks, I scoured the local fish stores to secure Caribbean livestock, which was the most fun part of the process for me. The challenge of stocking with only creatures appropriate for this biotope was interesting because of its limitations. I decided on the animals listed on the next page, and fortunately, all of them got along really well.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

33

Maintenance The canister filter is filled with Eheim Substrat Pro, Filter Floss, and a small bag of carbon. I initially performed 2-3 gallon water changes bi-weekly but later decided to perform them on a monthly basis, with no ill effects to the livestock. The lily pipes were cleaned on a weekly basis to keep them looking and performing like new, and the glass of the tank was cleaned every other day to prevent a buildup of algae. I manually replaced water every few days, but surprisingly, evaporation was minimal. I fed the fish and coral every 2-3 days, which kept them healthy and eliminated the issues that come with overfeeding.

I would also like to point out that I feel the vigorous macroalgae growth was key to this tank’s success. By pruning the macroalgae weekly, I was able to manually remove the nitrates, phosphates, and other nutrients bound up in the plants. My nitrates and phosphates remained below testable levels.

Conclusion Unfortunately, I recently lost this tank in a move due to an unforeseen circumstance, but it was an extremely rewarding experience to assemble a biotope reef tank and enjoy these animals with their natural companions. I take every setback as a learning experience, and each one helps to make me a better reefer. In the meantime, I’m going to take another brief hiatus from the hobby, but I’ll be back soon enough.

Livestock

Coral

• Yellowhead Jawfish (pair) • Chalk Basslets • Rusty Goby • Pederson’s Anemone Shrimp • hermit crabs • clams • porcelain crabs

• assorted gorgonia • Rock Anemones • Ricordea • assorted macroalgae • zoanthids • feather duster Gorgonian

White claw hermit

34

Yellowhead Jawfish

Image by Jeff Coghill.

Frogspawn, Torch, Hammer, Mindy Van Leur Octospawn - Oh my!

T

he graceful flow of these extremely fleshy corals adds interesting and eye-catching movement to a reef tank. Euphyllia spp. corals also come in many tasty colors that are sure to impress both novice and seasoned reefers alike. Once acclimated for a few months, Euphyllia tend to be reasonably hardy and are a good choice for most reef keepers.

Euphyllia spp. corals are Large Polyped Stony (LPS) corals, and even though their flesh is very soft and delicate, they are indeed stony corals. Euphyllia corals excrete calcium carbonate to produce a hard exoskeleton which will remain if the animal dies.

Since Euphyllia are hard corals and help to make up the structural integrity of coral reefs, they are protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) law, just like all other hard corals.

CITES permitting must be acquired when importing or exporting all hard corals (including Euphyllia spp. corals) into or out of North America, including transfer between USA and Canada. Moving these corals across borders without permitting is considered smuggling, with jail time and fines being typical punishments.

When you buy stony corals from your local fish and coral store, the cost for the importer to obtain the CITES import permits is

36

factored into the retail pricing. Euphyllia coral frags (a small piece cut from a mother colony) are also available from some wholesalers and retailers. Here’s a list of the currently recognized species in the genus Euphyllia.

Euphyllia ancora - Hammer Coral Euphyllia baliensis - a recently discovered addition to the genus from Bali Euphyllia cristata - Grape Coral Euphyllia divisa - Frogspawn Coral Euphyllia glabrescens - Torch Coral Euphyllia paraancora - Branching Hammer Coral Euphyllia paradivisa - Branching Frogspawn Coral Euphyllia paraglabrescens - Branching Torch Coral Euphyllia yaeyamaensis - Octospawn or Octopus Coral

Since Euphyllia corals are hard corals, they are most easily kept in prime condition through regular monitoring and dosing of calcium and alkalinity, preferably magnesium as well. A good quality reef salt and a regular water change schedule may keep parameters within reason without dosing, but this should be confirmed with regular testing. Typical reef chemical parameters should be maintained as follows: Calcium: 380-450 ppm Alkalinity: 7-12 dKH (2.5-4.3 meq/L) Magnesium: 1300-1400 ppm Euphyllia do not tolerate ammonia in the water, and both nitrate and phosphate should be kept low. Having said this, I find Euphyllia usually don’t fare too well in SPS (Small Polyped Stony) geared, ultra-low nutrient systems where both nitrate and phosphate are near undetectable levels on high-sensitivity test kits. In my experience, Euphyllia corals do well in low-tech, but well maintained, reef systems.

Euphyllia corals tend to be fairly sensitive to changes in lighting and will often lighten or fade when they are exposed to a sudden increase in PAR. This fading is called bleaching and in extreme cases can be fatal. Bleaching occurs when a coral loses a portion of its Symbiodinium spp. algae, a dinoflagellate algae most commonly referred to as the coral’s zooxanthellae. The relationship between a coral and its zooxanthellae is mutually beneficial. The coral provides a host for the algae, the algae gives the coral energy from photosynthesis, and the coral returns by-products as food for the algae. Euphyllia corals need lots of time to slowly adjust to strong lighting - sometimes many weeks. Place new coral in areas of lower light, and ever so slowly (over the course of weeks), move it closer and closer to the light if that is where you want it. If you notice the coral starting to bleach, move it back a step and wait a bit longer.

A bleached coral is a weakened coral, and steps should be taken to rebuild the coral’s strength and health. The best thing you can do for a bleached Euphyllia coral is to move the coral to an area of lower light and target feed. Euphyllia corals will often take small pelleted coral foods as well as small bits of thawed Mysis or brine shrimp. Most Euphyllia will end up releasing or spitting out pieces of food that are too large. Target feeding a healthy Euphyllia coral will make it grow faster, but is not necessary.

Euphyllia corals are often inadvertent hosts to clownfish. Although many clownfish just love Euphyllia, the constant attention of the fish can irritate the coral and cause it to withdraw its flesh. In extreme cases, clownfish can cause the unintentional demise of the coral.

Covering the Euphyllia coral with a strawberry basket or some such barrier may be required while you distract the clownfish with an attractive new anemone.

(Editor’s note: some clownfish strains exhibit a melanistic reaction to Euphyllia and may end up with black splotches on their bodies as a result of hosting in these corals.)

Euphyllia corals will often lighten or fade when exposed to a sudden increase in lighting. The image on the left shows a bleached Frogspawn. On the right, the same coral has recovered its color after 4 months. Images by author.

An orange Hammer Coral from Australia. Image by Greg Timms.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

37

A collection of some very colorful Australian E. ancora. Images by Colby Bay.

Euphyllia may become infected with pests, like flatworms, or bacterial infections, like Brown Jelly Disease. Care should be taken with new purchases to be sure you don’t unwittingly introduce these pests and infections into your display tank. Of course, quarantine is always the best method of exclusion, and a good quality dip or bath should be considered the bare minimum precaution exercised.

Personally, I have found Euphyllia to be somewhat sensitive to iodine-based dips and prefer to use iodine-free dips instead, like

Coral Rx. Make sure to use a turkey baster or pipette to gently blow the medicated dip into the retracted folds of tissue where nasties can hide.

Flow is another important consideration for Euphyllia corals. They need enough flow to keep their flesh clean and prevent disease, such as the dreaded Brown Jelly Disease, but not so much flow that their delicate flesh is damaged. In too high a flow, these corals will not fully expand as a defensive response to protect their delicate tissues. Over time, this can lead to permanent recession, polyp bailout, or death. Ideally, they should get enough flow so that the fleshy polyps are gently jostled around.

Euphyllia corals can produce sweeper tentacles and sting other corals. Torch Corals are so named because of their shape, but they are also aptly named since they usually pack a heck of a sting and can burn neighboring corals! Torch Corals generally can’t come in contact with any other coral species and may or may not be able to touch other Torch Corals without aggression. This is in

A gold Torch from Australia. Image by author.

38

contrast to most other Euphyllia species which can peacefully come in contact with each other and make a fine looking garden when different colored pieces are grouped together.

There are some really exciting new developments in the Euphyllia world. First, the recent naming of Euphyllia baliensis, discovered in Bali, is very interesting to those of us who love this type of coral.

Also, new (and pricey!) color morphs of Euphyllia corals began hitting the market in the last few years. Yellow Frogspawn and Hammers have started coming in on Indo shipments more regularly.

There are neon green, bright orange, and blue Hammers as well as gold Torches coming from Australia. Who knows what they will dig up next? Certainly, even the Fresh out of the box, this golden yellow Indonesian E. yaeyamaensis will commonly found pink and green color up under good reef lighting. Image by author.

Euphyllia are eye-catching, and despite being less vividly colored, these pieces still have a fluid grace of movement. All in all, there is a wide enough array of Euphyllia corals available to suit any LPS enthusiast, and their collectability, interesting polyp shapes, and ease of fragging ensure their continued popularity with all levels of reef hobbyists.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

39

Keeping

Large Tangs

This group of Naso elegans in the Red Sea live in high energy, oxygen-rich waters. Food is plentiful, and they range across the entire reef crest. To keep these fish successfully, the hobbyist must try to recreate these conditions.

Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

T

here is a great deal of responsibility involved in keeping an aquarium. Not only are we caring for our aquatic charges with diligence and respect for each animal’s welfare, but we are also safeguarding a significant financial investment that we have spent many years tending and nurturing.

This goal, to provide the best and strive to maintain ever better conditions, is paramount in our hobby and is becoming more and more important as we work to minimize our impact on natural reefs. It is even more relevant if we are to drive the hobby into the future and use it as a tool, along with sustainable harvesting and management, to promote protection and care for wild reefs.

Every livestock purchase we make must be well considered and well researched to ensure that each creature’s care is within our ability. Deciding to acquire and care for larger fishes is naturally going to push hobbyists further in terms of financial outlay for the equipment, system volume, and filtration systems required and subsequently in terms of ongoing care – more food in means more waste out after all. We must always be careful to ensure we are not pushed beyond our ‘ability envelope.’

There are few groups of commonly kept fish (except perhaps the Pomacanthus angels) that better illustrate my thoughts

40

Richard Aspinall

on responsible fish keeping than the large tangs. Many of the Acanthuridae grow to be relatively large fish with high metabolic needs. They consume large amounts of foodstuffs and will challenge any hobbyist and their systems to keep them well fed and still maintain excellent water quality.

In this piece, I will provide a short overview of their care requirements and focus on a few of the species most commonly encountered in the hobby.

A Question of Definitions There are several genera of fish within the Acanthuridae that find their way into dealers’ tanks. Many of these are in the Acanthurus genus, with others belonging to the Naso, Ctenochaetus, and Zebrasoma genera. I am omitting several well-known species such as Z. xanthurum, which can be a large fish (especially in the wild), and I’m setting this size fish (at a length of approx. 8 inches) as my

arbitrary minimum limit – over that size, I’m calling it a large tang species which has more demanding requirements.

Acanthurids tend to occupy seaward slopes, reef crests, lagoon areas, and channels where they are found grazing on rich growths of algae, from filamentous species to leafy macroalgae such as Sargassum. In captivity, many species will consume prepared and meaty foods but still need a large and regularly available amount of vegetable matter to thrive. While most species are primarily herbivorous, they often eat planktonic items as well as occasional detritus. Like many human vegetarians, their primary food policy can be swayed by the odd treat.

It is often said that tang digestive systems are inefficient with the implication that they are somehow deficient, but I would argue this is missing the larger point. It is true that tangs do not extract a great deal of nutrition per pound of vegetable matter consumed when compared with the amount some herbivorous species are capable of (I’m thinking here of terrestrial grazing mammals - herbivorous rodents for example). But this is just a different approach; they have such a large and continuously available supply of food that evolution has afforded them the luxury of not needing a highly efficient gut. They are able to prosper in a food-rich environment with smaller, compact digestive tracts that are neither cumbersome nor complicated. Larger, more complicated systems would be a distinct disadvantage.

In the home aquarium, however, this adaptation proves a challenge to hobbyists. While tangs would ideally welcome grazing materials to

Tang mouthparts and dentition are ideally suited to their grazing lifestyle. Seen here is A. tennentii. Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

be provided constantly, aquarists are naturally and understandably concerned about nutrient additions (or at least they should be).

The way to cope with this is fairly straightforward though not always cheap: efficient filtration coupled with large water volumes.

The System At the heart of all large systems able to support large tangs (and other demanding fish of course) are good quality, large-sized

Zebrasoma desjardinii is on the list.

Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

A small Sohal or Arabian Tang (Acanthurus sohal). I have first-hand experience of being attacked by a full size specimen of this feisty species.

Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

41

with some degree of freedom (as they would in the wild), then the bigger the tank, the better. These are often territorial fish that, as they mature, will seek to establish a dominance hierarchy. The highest possible tank volume and the occasional bommie to hide behind may help mitigate the worst of this potentially troublesome behavior. Personally, I wouldn’t want to keep more than one species from either group in anything but the very largest tank. If you are in doubt, then perhaps consider keeping smaller species.

Foodstuffs Well designed and powerful filtration is necessary for the successful care of the Acanthuridae. Efficient skimmers are key.

Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

skimmers, ideally coupled with ozone generators. Additionally, they should have sizeable collection cups and self-cleaning systems that will give the aquarist a little more peace of mind when going on vacation.

Many manufacturers will rate their skimmers in terms of light or heavy loading; tangs contribute to heavy loading, so opting for the higher rated skimmer would be my best advice. Additionally, nutrient absorbing media, macroalgae-filled refugia, regularly replaced physical filtration media, and all the other weapons in the hobbyist’s arsenal must be employed along with a commitment to regular water changes. Tanks for the large tangs are understandably going to be on the large to very large size; 250 gallons would be a minimum for any one of the large Acanthurus species, and if you plan to keep several mixed species and allow them to move

As noted, tangs are primarily herbivorous and require significant amounts of food. Most writers argue that this should be algae (and other foods of marine origin), such as Porphyra seaweed. Porphyra is sold with nutrients added and can be found in fish stores or as sheets of nori for making sushi rolls. Porphyra is an excellent foodstuff, rich in protein, vitamin C, and iodine. Nori is substantially cheaper, but I wonder if it is not as rich in nutrients. To overcome this, nori can be treated with enrichment solutions that contain vitamins and fatty acids before being offered to the tangs.

Feeding fish terrestrial greens, including lettuce, broccoli, and zucchini, is not advised these days. However, I have met at least one successful European professional still feeding terrestrial greens who swears by a large head of lettuce provided daily for his numerous tang species.

As with all things, variety is best. Prepared and pelletized feeds, as well as meaty foods, are welcome additions to tang diets, as is the occasional piece of live algae that can be sourced from the

A small Sohal Tang.

Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

42

refugium. I have experimented with feeding live Porphyra and Ulva species from the seashore to my tangs before, and I have noted that live macroalgae species are becoming commercially available as tang treats.

One technique that is always useful is placing a piece of live rock in a refugium until it becomes covered in algal growth before returning it to the main tank. Then watch your tangs (and other fish) relish the tasty morsels covering it.

Some aquarists have bought tangs expecting them to deal with particular algal issues in their tanks; this alone is not as likely to work unless the root cause of the algae bloom is also addressed.

Ultimately, the additional nutrient load resulting from the new tang may do more harm than good if no other concurrent remedies are employed.

A small A. lineatus. Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

Pests and Diseases Tangs are particularly sensitive to skin parasites, including white spot. Poor water quality, shipping and handling stress, poor health from lack of nourishment, bullying, and so forth will all contribute to increased disease risk. You should always employ quarantine tanks or properly installed UV sterilizers when introducing new fish.

My Favorite Large Tangs Is a large tang right for you? Can you supply one with all it needs and cope with its potential to reach its maximum size and bully its tank mates? If so, then these are a few of my faves.

An Orange Shoulder Tang. Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

43

A fully grown, wild specimen of A. lineatus.

Image by Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, Creative Commons.

Achilles Tang. Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

Zebrasoma desjardinii seen here swimming amongst a shoal of goatfish.

Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

Powder Blue Tang. Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

Sohal Tang - Acanthurus sohal This is a feisty character that will dominate a tank. In the wild, this species reaches about 16 inches. The male and his harem of females will defend their territory against all interlopers (including scuba divers – I speak from first-hand knowledge). Needless to say, maintaining a breeding harem of many individuals is not a proposition for the home aquarist and would even challenge many public aquaria.

The Sohal is found in a fairly limited range consisting of the Red Sea, around the Arabian Peninsula, and into the Gulf of Arabia.

Lined Surgeonfish – Acanthurus lineatus Also known as the Clown Tang or Blue-Banded Tang, A. lineatus has the reputation of being a little easier to live with than its close relative A. sohal and is equally, if not more, attractive. It is still best considered as semi-aggressive though. It occupies the same ecological niche as A. sohal, being a fast swimmer that ranges across the well-lit reef crests of the Indo-pacific.

Like most fish, it will not reach its full potential size in captivity, but

44

will still reach 12 inches and push 16 inches in the wild. Again, look to a tank of 250 gallons or more with open swimming areas.

Sailfin Tangs There are two easily confused species that have identical care requirements. Zebrasoma desjardinii is found across the Indian Ocean, with Zebrasoma velifer replacing it across the Pacific and Western Indian Ocean.

Sailfins, like the rest of the Zebrasoma species, have a more delicate facial structure ideally suited to reaching within crevices, cracks, and into coral skeletons to pick off morsels and algae. It swims deeper than many other tang species, being found down to 100 feet on occasion.

Sailfins are often sold as small specimens that are very cute – all fins and eyes – but they grow rapidly. Fortunately, they are relatively peaceful and considered one of the most easily kept species of the genus. They have been accused of nipping the occasional coral or two, but in a large system are unlikely to cause too much harm.

Sailfins will reach around 16 inches but seem content in smaller systems than their cousins; 200 gallons would suffice.

This Naso lituratus sports two pairs of spines on either side of its caudal peduncle. Derived from the Greek word Akanthos, meaning thorny, these weapons of war have given the group many names, including Tang, Thorn Tail, Doctor Fish, and Surgeon. N. Lituratus is also known as the Lipstick Tang for obvious reasons. Image courtesy of triggerfishphotography.com.

Powder Blue Tang – Acanthurus leucosternon Powder Blues (and their close relatives, Acanthurus nigricans and Acanthurus japonicus) are included here due to their occasional potential to achieve large size and the fact that whilst they are not the largest of the fish presented here, they can be quite delicate and require the very best of care.

Powder Blues are particularly prone to disease, especially when stressed, and watching a much-loved specimen succumb can be very upsetting (I speak from personal experience).

N. vlamingii. Image by B. Gratiwicke, Creative Commons.

except to fish of their own species. Several authors observe that the natural diet of these fish, being Sargassum, Dictyota, and other brown, leafy macroalgae, should be replicated to ensure their health, though, as these fish mature, zooplankton becomes more important in their diet.

Large tangs can be a joy, but they are also a challenge. Research before purchase; ensure you can meet their needs, and all will go well. Buy a cute fish on impulse for a tank that is too small and trouble will surely follow.

They can also come to dominate other tangs and will quickly rise through the ranks to become top dog. They are worth it though; those strong colors really do impress. Several authors also note that A. nigricans will adapt to aquarium life better than A. japonicus – if ever there was a case for research before purchase, this would be it.

Achilles Tang – Acanthurus achilles The Achilles reaches around 10 inches in captivity but manages to be an absolute stunner with that rich purple/black, stunning brick red, and delicate white detailing.

The Achilles is found in Hawaiian waters where it lives amidst surge zones and other high energy areas. Like most of its genus, this species will welcome swift water movement. Again, it is classified as semi-aggressive with other species and will adapt well to tanks of 200 gallons or so.

The Naso Genus There are several species within the Naso genus that are available within the hobby. Naso lituratus, elegans, brevirostris, and vlamingii seem to be the most commonly seen, though Naso tuberosus and Naso unicornis can often be seen at some public aquaria.

The Naso species are typically at the upper end of our large scale, reaching in excess of 18 inches on occasion. They have fixed spines on their caudal peduncles yet are not considered aggressive Reef Hobbyist Magazine

45

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

47