OUsnakebyte

I should add that I let the eggs and sperm sit for an hour or more in the tank, hoping to increase chances for fertilization. Then, I started skimming eggs off the top: Here is where it gets labor intensive. The membranes tend to tear easily for the first 12-18 hours, or so it seems. After that, you can add gentle aeration. You can rear them in a static bin - just water, no bubbling, but you will need to stir them every hour or so. Or, more easily, you can add them to a home-made kreisel to make maintenance easier. Either way, try to keep the developing embryos from clumping together. When they clump/bind, you tend to get very high mortality. Static bin - you can add aeration to this later: Kreisel - small water jets stir water in a circle with a pump: A low power stereo scope is VERY useful to monitor fertilization rates. Here is a shot under the scope showing various cell division: Here is a shot from the morning after of those that I kept in the 50 mL vial over night. You can see by the fold how much they clumped: And then a shot after, under the scope. You can see how bad the membranes look from the binding: Then... I just waited. Depending on species, they will fall from the water column in a few days and start crawling around looking for a place to metamorphose. Mine all settled on the bottom and sides of the glass tanks and kreisel I had them in. I find anemones easier to deal with than stony corals b/c they can be moved post-metamorphosis. Here is a two-headed one (maybe from fusion...?) Here is a look at the U. columbiana (pink) three months later: More on zoox and feeding later - gotta get back to work. Cheers Mike

First thing - AWESOME! Gotta love that sexual reproduction in the aquarium. Next we need to learn how to predict it - other than when many anemones start spawning, others will typically follow suit. For larval rearing, I have been meaning to post information related to this for some time, so thanks for making me get on it... Ideally, you would concentrate sperm from various males and place eggs in with that to do your fertilizations. Since most ex situ reproduction happens without proper warning or prediction, the best you can usually hope for is nature to take its course in yout tank. This is what happened to me last May 2010 when, on three separate occasions in the span of about 10 days, I had two species of Pacific Nowthwest anemones - U. columbiana and U. crassicornis - spawn, releasing TONS of gametes into the water, and instead of flushing them, I gave it the 'ol college try and applied the same coral larvae rearing techniques to the anemone gametes/larvae. Long story short, I still have baby anemones almost a year later, but dang do they ever grow slowly... Here is what I did: Came in to work, and the tank looked like this, so I shut off all the pumps, air and dump bucket: With various clumps of eggs looking like this: And dispersed like this: Males were still releasing sperm: And you could squeeze the females and thousands of eggs would spew out: I was able to remove some to concentrate gametes: I used a turkey baster to siphon out concentrated sperm from from some males and put it in a vial, to which I added eggs: I let these sit for an hour or two, then rinsed the eggs with fresh sea water to rinse off any dead or dying sperm. I did, however, put the eggs/embryos back into the vial to keep them separate. Then, I just started skimming eggs/hopefully fertilized eggs off the top of the water. This is getting too long for one post, so I'm going to have to break it up into multiple posts - sorry. More to come. Cheers Mike

Here is what we use - Multi-SeaCam in Titanium from DeepSea Power and Light. Deep Sea Power and Light Cheers Mike

We have one on the Octopus cam - submersible and goes real time, but I think it's pricey. I'll email the IT guys and see if I can get the make/model for you. Cheers Mike

My mystery wrasse snaps at them, and the stink bugs, from the top of the water. Bug gets pulled down and ripped apart by all the other fish wanting a piece... Invert food...

Oh ho hum... Aren't you trekking through Europe right now, all under the guise of "studying abroad"? What you need to do is take my Coral Reef Ecology class at Mason, remotely. Another at your school is doing it, and we can transfer the credits... Just sayin'.... Just have the scuba cert in hand...

The end is nigh... Field of BTAs Top shot... Holy coral coverage You KNEW I'd have another table coral in the mix... Love these angels And for the grand finale!!! One of the few topside pictures I took while on the island - but he was cool... To quote Porky Pig, "Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks." Cheers Mike

We are nearing the end, folks... Evil... but part of the ecosystem, I understand... Evil caught in the act - with stomach out! Eggs! From a nudibranch, as I understand. Porites lobata, I think. Man this thing was huge - wonder how long it has been growing...? Hiding out in the hole - daring me to investigate with my finger... NO WAY! These next three were taken while on the boat - above water, just to appreciate how calm it was AND the clarity of the water. Depth is about 10-15 feet to the bottom. Cheers Mike

Re newly hatched brine - it's easiest if you hatch them out on your own, and I recommend decapsulating the cysts first. If you get a poor hatch rate, corals (and many fishes) will still feed on the decapsulated cyst whereas they will typically reject them if the hard outer shell is sitll on the egg. Imagine removing the hard shell of a chicken egg with only the inner membrane left. The brine shrimp has an easier time hatching. Hatching out brine is very easy - all you need is an empty 2-3 liter coke bottle and air pump w/ line and a brine net. Brine Shrimp Direct has instructions on how to hatch. For decapsulation, I hydrate about a tablespoon of cysts in fresh water for about 15-20 minutes, drain them, and then bubble them (with the air pump) in about a liter of bleach for two minutes. (You can use less of all this recipe for your own needs). Follow your brine hatching instructions (mixture of salt and fresh water), and in about 24-48 hours, you will have MANY nauplii (juvenile brine) to feed out. They will keep in the fridge (in water) for a few days. I also feed sps corals a few hours after lights out or early in the morning before lights on, as this is the natural time for sps to feed in the wild (and thus why you see greater polyp extension at night). Cheers Mike

I keep my 'rates 0-10ppm. I certainly wouldn't pour my skimmate back in, I would just feed a little more - your fish and corals will thank you for it (especially feeding your sps some newly-hatched brine shrimp). Cheers Mike

Well, it really doesn't work like that. Adaptation happens on the population level, not the individual level. You would need a steady dose of captive sexual reproduction of corals to see this happen. Though, I guess perhaps with corals given their ability to asexually fragment, there *might* be some wiggle room for somatic cell mutation fueling adaptation in a given individual... though... as I think about this, that is a stretch. But, I don't like to think something is impossible. What's more, captive conditions - especially for something like corals - are so far removed from wild conditions with multiples of variables that it would be hard pressed to compare to wild conditions and adaptations. We don't even see wild-type diseases showing up in captive conditions (and vice versa going from captive to wild). The one thing that might work in their favor is being able to internally shuffle around clades of zooxanthellae to those clades that are more "heat tolerant." But, from what we understand, not all corals can do this. Science Daily Article Of course, this shuffling of zoox doesn't address the looming possibility of increasingly acidifying oceans. Cheers Mike

This is exactly my thinking as well. I don't pay much heed to the, "they will be gone in 10, 20, 50" or whatever years. There is absolutely no doubt that reefs are in steady decline almost everywhere, and that is unacceptable.

Did you by chance visit the Seaquarium? SECORE's new outpost is being run out of the facility for settlement, growth and outplanting of the raised palmata and cervicornis. Also supposed to be some nice dive sites just off the shore from there. Looks like a great time! Cheers Mike

I share many of the same sentiments - great meeting and insightful talk. Cheers Mike

Are we talking Fungia or Heliofungia? But, I'll echo everything Daniel says. And yes, they like to eat. If you have problems with fish stealing food, as I do (stupid wrasses are relentless food stealers), every few days, I put an agg crate "cage" over the coral, target feed, let it sit for maybe 1/2 hour or so (or until I see the food disappear) and then remove the cage. I do this with brain corals and my elegance as well. Cheers Mike

I guess I'm going to have to find and name that, crimson and cream colored, Boomer Sooner Acro, huh? Oh, and uh... the 'Canes (I would have put the little puking smiley up, but it looks like we don't have one... the only thing worse than 'Canes are Golden Domers and puke-orange Longhorns...)

"With 75% of the world's reefs situated near human settlements -- whose populations are expected to double over the coming century -- the situation can only deteriorate if no action is taken, which poses some uncomfortable questions, Mora thinks. 'Human overpopulation is a very sensitive topic across endeavors from science to religion and politics. Unfortunately, we find again and again that our global population cannot be sustainably supported with the deterioration of the world's natural resources...' Mora said." Yup, treat the problem, not the symptoms. But... it's more that just a "touchy" subject, I agree. "'In coral reefs we found the complete opposite. Ecosystems work much better if they have more biodiversity. Every single species has a unique contribution to how well an ecosystem functions.'" Exactly. Competitive exclusion principle - and this has been documented several times. Loss of Diadema urchins (compounding a century or more of overfishing) in the Caribbean -> algal reefs. Loss of sea otters on the west coast from hunting -> increased urchin populations -> loss of kelp beds The examples are numerous. Mike

You HAVE to know which one I'd go for... INVERTEBRATES RULE! 98% of animal life on Earth!!!!!!!!!!! Fish are there solely for maintenance...

Did you look at the crochet coral reef? I must admit that last summer when they started that project, I was more than a little skeptical and didn't see how it could possibly look like anything remotely resembling a reef. Wow, was I ever wrong - corals, sponges, sea stars, urchins, a "swim-through" arched reef formation. I think it is awesome. Oh yeah, and the tank is looking great too. Cheers Mike

HA HA HA HA HA!! Now THAT was funny! Nice... Soaking pellets with oil from the capsules. Never thought of that - I'll give it a try. Cheers Mike

Cool! Thanks all! Cheers Mike

A dremel. Excellent for when you need precise cuts on a coral. Can't live with out a turkey baster either. Big clamps for holding a hose in place when doing a water change.

This is on my list of places to visit - for sure. I was talking to the zoo's nutritionist (he use to be one of the nutritionists at the Georgia Aq), and he was telling me that apparently the filtration system of that 6 million gallon whale shark tank can turn over the entire volume in ~45 minutes. (I bow to the aquatic engineers on that one...) He was also telling a story that when they first got their whale sharks, they were trying to get them to feed. They flew in $75,000 worth of live copepods/zooplankton, and he had a bucket that he was walking with and feeding the sharks. He said that he wasn't looking at the tank, just the sharks, and as he poured the 'pods in from of the sharks, nearly the entire bucket's worth went down the overflows to the filtration system. $75K, quite literaly, down the drain..... O... M... G... Cheers Mike

If I did, I never meant to imply that someone needs a degree, or multiple degrees, to be a good observational biologist or contribute to our overall body of knowledge. The most famous example I can think of is Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin coming up with almost the exact same theories of evolution by natural selection at almost the same time, despite vastly different backgrounds. I think it is a wonderful story. I could care less if you are an electrician, astronaut or professional wrestler. I realize that I might nitpick on fine points, but... it's a habit I have grown to have after a few years of grading papers, and I am a natural skeptic. Perhaps I should be more fastidious at pointing out things I DO agree with in lieu of only pointing out the things I question. I was away the day you came to speak at the club, so I am sorry I missed your talk. Since this started as a "what do fish eat" thread, I'm wondering if you would mind posting any fish food recipes you use (I think you may have done this before, but I can't remember) and, if possible where you get the ingredients - regular grocery store, asian food markets, pull straight from the ocean, etc. I realize the foods and recipes may vary given the variety of fishes. Cheers Mike Oh, and blood pressue is returned to normal...

What? I… don’t… I just… (sigh - bangs head against wall, pinches corners of his eyes with index finger and thumb while shaking his head side to side...) Paul, you're killing me. Okay, let’s review the thread one more time b/c I'm sure everyone thinks we have not yet beat this dead horse enough... You explained to us earlier that fish eat other fish – to which we all agree. You then told us that fish don’t have fat like mammals and that it is oil - remember squeezing the fish vs squeezing the cow? (solid fat = adipose tissue). This didn't make sense to me, so I contacted the zoo’s head veterinary pathologist, who explained that yes, they do indeed store solid fats – a point to which you even agreed. Fish eat fish + Fish have solid fat = Fish have the chance to eat an animal with solid fat. It’s contradictory statements like the one quoted above that drive me absolutely bonky………………. Seriously, is someone playing an April Fool’s joke on me today? But, if you want another means to which a tropical fish might be exposed to "solid fats," then consider that many reefs have evolved in conjunction with mangrove forests. Baby birds often fall from the nest into the surrounding waters (your post of the piranha reminded me of that). Now, I would NEVER claim that the majority of reef fish diet is composed of baby birds from a mangrove nor do I believe we should all start chucking freshly-plucked chicken into our tanks, but this is just one scenario in which a fish just might be exposed to adipose tissue. But, we do know that mangrove forests are one way for reefs to receive natural influxes of nutrients. Furthermore, I was just at happy hour with the aforementioned veterinary pathologist (and a few other vets from the staff), and I asked the question - just for clarification - "can fish digest and utilize solid fats." The answer was a resounding, "Of course! Why wouldn't they be able to?" (Tim is a really nice guy, and didn't make me feel too dumb for asking the question....) After 40 years of reefing and 60 years of living, you have made several EXCELLENT observations. You have then formulated various hypotheses and attempted to find evidence and support for the developing theory. This is all great, fine and dandy. What I am calling into question is not your observations (whether diving, you dissected and/or ate a fish or have had a reef tank for 40 years) but rather your conclusions. The conclusions of fatless fish and the liver out-performing the swim bladder for buoyancy function are just dead wrong conclusions. That’s all – just the conclusions. And by the way, I do agree with many of your other conclusions. Seriously? I hope you are being facetious. Of course incorrect information can be printed (and nowadays even more easily posted on hobbyist forums....). But, that's what the peer review process in journals and the editorial process is supposed to limit. That's also why you see "Editor's Notes" sometimes inserted - they need to clarify something or partially correct a generalization, for example. If it's really bad, expect a retraction. But, consider your soucre - i.e. the supermarket tabloids vs. National Geographic. Of course, this is a hobbyist forum, but it doesn’t mean that we should spread misinformation or cannot be held accountable when something wrong is said. I would expect to be corrected if I said that the world is flat, the moon is made of cheese, or that the BCS is the most legitimate means of determining a college football champion. I don't think everyone needs a PhD to post here, nor do I think everyone has to reference peer-reviewed articles to state a conclusion. Heck, a simple google search cleared up the misinformation about salmon not having adipose tissue AND I found a hot European science-chick with the same click! I say this with respect and kindness - Paul, you in particular need to be careful of what you write and how you phrase your thoughts. With your lengthy time in the hobby, many people are going to look up to you and take the information you give as factual, without ever questioning it (whether right or wrong, many people are sheep and will blindly follow). And, as I have said, there is a lot of good information you do have to offer. But, you - perhaps more so than others, whether fair or not - need to be careful when you say things b/c someone, as posted above, IS going to take it all as fact and then claim it should be made a sticky for all to read and see when you have in fact posted things that JUST ARE NOT TRUE. Okay, okay... I fully admit that I should not have referenced Wikipedia. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to hunt. I never let my students cite it in their research papers; nor should I. My bad. I realize it is superfluous and at this point I'm sure no one cares, but here is a book that talks about shark buoyancy. Shark Buoyancy But, it wouldn't really be fair if I didn't correct myself, now would it...? Above, I made it sound as if ALL sharks will sink if they stop swimming. Apparently, according to the author of this book, "some deep-water sharks have enough liver oil to achieve perfect neutral buoyancy, but they are the exception." So, I now stand corrected too. But even more important than that, I just learned something, which is pretty cool. Cheers Mike