zygote2k June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 1) Your fish will only grow to the size of the tank they are kept in. 2) Garlic will help cure a sick fish. 3) Corals get all their needs from light. 4) Bristleworms are harmful. 5) Bioballs are nitrate factories. 6) Mantis shrimps can smash a glass tank. 7) Clams need to be burped. 8) Micro bubbles cause Pop-eye. 9) Water changes prolong the cycle. 10) Lower salinity lessens the chances of disease outbreaks. 11) Moonlights. I'm sure there are many more- can you name some? Some of these might not be myths- if so, is there any evidence that proves them?
smallreef June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 okay question.. .moonlights? what about them? OH the best myth is... if you made it work in your own tank for 6 months it should be fine indefinitely, lol
Origami June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Re: Nitrates and bioballs. Randy Holmes-Farley gave a good explanation relating nitrates and bioballs. Summarizing the points: Bioballs have high surface area which can a) trap detritus which can decay and b) host aerobic bacteria which process ammonia (from decay) into nitrate (via nitrite) releasing it into the water column. Nitrates in the water column tend to last longer before processing to nitrogen gas because, in contrast to nitrates produced in live rock (for example), is farther from the anaerobic bacteria responsible for converting nitrates to nitrogen. This can lead to a build up of nitrate in the water column. Here's what Randy said in this post: http://reefcentral.org/forums/showpost.php?p=20201707&postcount=13 I think there some confusion on what bioballs do and why they may be considered by some to contribute to elevated nitrate, and I want all "New to the Hobby" readers to be on the same page on that issue. One reason is they trap detritus. That is not their function, but it can happen. Whether that is an issue depends on what otherwise might happen to that organic detritus. If it just goes elsewhere and stays there and decays, it makes no difference where that happens. If the organic detritus is otherwise removed somehow, then that would lead to less nitrate. BUT, there is another aspect to bioballs that can lead to higher nitrate with them than without them in the same system, and that gets at EXACTLY what their intended purpose is, which is to allow bacteria to convert ammonia into nitrite then nitrate. Such filters do a fine job of processing ammonia to nitrite to nitrate, but do nothing with the nitrate. It is often non-intuitive to many aquarists, but removing such a filter altogether may actually help reduce nitrate. So slowly removing them and allowing more of the nitrogen processing to take place on and in the live rock and sand can be beneficial. It is not that any less nitrate is produced when such a filter is removed, it is a question of what happens to the nitrate after it is produced. When it is produced on the surface of media such as bioballs, it mixes into the entire water column, and then has to find its way, by diffusion, to the places where it may be reduced (inside of live rock and sand, for instance). If it is produced on the surface of live rock or sand, then the local concentration of nitrate is higher there than in the first case above, and it is more likely to diffuse into the rock and sand to be reduced to N2. So the overall rate of elimination of nitrate is increased without the bioballs. Technically speaking, you want bioballs to be nitrate factories. That's exactly what they're for: Converting ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrite. If you had to choose, wouldn't you rather have elevated nitrate rather than elevated ammonia? BTW, it takes a somewhat large mantis to break a tank, but it has happened. I posted a link sometime back with some (stomatopod) researcher's personal experience with it.
Chad June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Another one: Mandarins will not accept frozen food and need an established large tank with lots of pods.
steveoutlaw June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 (edited) Do you know for a fact that garlic doesn't help cure a sick fish? It does have good stuff in it that helps to boost the immune system. So wouldn't that be helping to cure the sick fish? Oh, and just because someone has managed to pull something off, doesn't make the opposite untrue. If you have something that happens 95% of the time and a small percentage of folks have managed to show the opposite.........that doesn't debunk the myth. Edited June 5, 2012 by steveoutlaw
Coral Hind June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Do you know for a fact that garlic doesn't help cure a sick fish? It does have good stuff in it that helps to boost the immune system. So wouldn't that be helping to cure the sick fish? I agree. Garlic also seems to help with appetite and a fish that eats more becomes healthier faster.
extreme_tooth_decay June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 (edited) Another one: Mandarins will not accept frozen food and need an established large tank with lots of pods. +1 I am 3/3. Edited June 5, 2012 by extreme_tooth_decay
Chad June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Here is my take on the garlic one. Fact: Studies on garlic indicate that allicin is the chemical in garlic that has potential health effects of anti bacterial and anti fungal properties. Fact: Allicin breaks down very quickly by heating (pretty much all preparation processes) into diallyl disulphide, which does not have the strong anti bacterial and anti fungal properties of allicin. The one study I know of (Hendal's) that looked specifically at the effect of garlic on ich showed no conclusive effects from the garlic. Diallyl disulphide is believed to have some health effects (lowered cholesterol and increased circulation), but nothing I have seen is conclusive. Overall, I don't think garlic helps unless you are slicing up fresh, raw garlic and feeding it that way.
extreme_tooth_decay June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Oh, and just because someone has managed to pull something off, doesn't make the opposite untrue. If you have something that happens 95% of the time and a small percentage of folks have managed to show the opposite.........that doesn't debunk the myth. Problem with myths is, people get to saying it so much, people never try it...and you get to a point where 95% of the people saying it are just saying what they heard, and never tried it, etc...
steveoutlaw June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Problem with myths is, people get to saying it so much, people never try it...and you get to a point where 95% of the people saying it are just saying what they heard, and never tried it, etc... Good point!
Coral Hind June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 4) Bristleworms are harmful. They are very harmful, to fingers when grabbing corals and rock in the tank.
mogurnda June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 They are very harmful, to fingers when grabbing corals and rock in the tank. As are vermetids. Myth: Crustaceans need iodine to molt. Zero in the scientific literature to support it. Even the claim that excess iodine will force a molt is dubious.
wogga June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Problem with myths is, people get to saying it so much, people never try it...and you get to a point where 95% of the people saying it are just saying what they heard, and never tried it, etc... +1 people love to sound knowledgeable.
SunWyrm June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012 Ah, thanks for clearing that up for me. I have a baseball sized colony and was perplexed at what the poor little guys to do to anyone. I'll watch my fingers!
Ryan S June 6, 2012 June 6, 2012 Good myth.. LEDs las ten years.... True! 85,000 hours for a CREE LED / 3,650 hours a year on a reef tank = They will last 23 years! That 10 year myth has always bugged me too!
sen5241b June 6, 2012 June 6, 2012 To say that something is a myth because it has not yet been proven is completely unscientific although this attitude is prevalent even among many scientists. I intend to continue with Garlic'ed food. Its never hurt my fish and it may help.
trockafella June 6, 2012 June 6, 2012 True! 85,000 hours for a CREE LED / 3,650 hours a year on a reef tank = They will last 23 years! That 10 year myth has always bugged me too! Whatever helps you sleep at night. ..
Incredible Corals June 6, 2012 June 6, 2012 Whatever helps you sleep at night. .. Isn't there a half life though?
Integral9 June 6, 2012 June 6, 2012 Overall, I don't think garlic helps unless you are slicing up fresh, raw garlic and feeding it that way. I don't know if it's common for the manufacturers of the garlic products to cook the garlic. But I can say that the recipes I've found for making your own garlic extract only involve crushing and chopping. While that does impart some heat to the clove, I do not think it's enough to cook it. Also, to me the smell of garlic changes when its cooked and I feel that the garlic products I have, smell more like raw garlic than the cooked variety. Perhaps an "*" with a note saying it needs to be raw is a more appropriate label here; as opposed to "Myth".
Marc Weaver June 6, 2012 June 6, 2012 (edited) Isn't there a half life though? The "L70" in the chart here is the standardized way to measure LED lifetime. It means that the LED is predicted to reach 70% of its brightness at that amount of time. http://cool.conserva...reliability.pdf Edited June 6, 2012 by Marc Weaver
Jan June 6, 2012 June 6, 2012 Agreed. Fresh garlic is not cooked. Most cooking oil that has garlic has been infused. Pure extract would involve only pressing, crushing and chopping and the container, usually blue or borwn bottle, is supposed to say "essential oil" for oils and "cold pressed". I know this because I used to work with essential oils and make my own massage oils using pur extracts from flowers. herbs and leaves. Expensive! I don't know if it's common for the manufacturers of the garlic products to cook the garlic. But I can say that the recipes I've found for making your own garlic extract only involve crushing and chopping. While that does impart some heat to the clove, I do not think it's enough to cook it. Also, to me the smell of garlic changes when its cooked and I feel that the garlic products I have, smell more like raw garlic than the cooked variety. Perhaps an "*" with a note saying it needs to be raw is a more appropriate label here; as opposed to "Myth".
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