56. Reef aquarium

84 Pages·2011·23.48 MB·English

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Ultramarine
Issue 1 Dec 06/Jan 07
Ultramarine publications, Welcome
18 The Marlborough,
1a Cramner Street,
Nottingham,
NG3 4GH
England
t o U l t r a m a r i n e
Tel: [phone]
www.ultramarinemagazine.com
>The MD/Editor
Keiran Hart
[email protected] Hello!
>Design, layout, illustration Well, it’s finally here! After months of hard
Christopher Hart work and planning Ultramarine issue 1 is com-
[email protected] plete. I have been a marine hobbyist for 4 years,
currently owning a 180gal Reef Tank. (Pictured
>Subsciptions/back issues below is my maroon Clownfish ‘Charlie’!) I also
Ruth Ashton own a 100gal Freshwater Kribensis aquarium,
[email protected] several lizards, a tarantula and a python!
>Printers I hope in publishing this magazine I will con-
Pensord Press Ltd, tinue to learn along with you; the readers, all
Pontllanfraith, Keiran - Editor about this engaging hobby.
Blackwood,
Gwent, Ultramarine is essentially a two man band;
NP12 2YA myself as the editor and my brother Chris deal-
ing with the design of the magazine. Although
>Writer/Photographer Credits we are a small team we have been supported all
Tony Wu the way by a number of people we would like to
Scott W. Michael personally thank:
Alf J. Nilsen
Bob Fenner The staff from Wharf Aquatics, especially
James Fatherree Chris - Designer Tom Edgar- who has looked after my fish on
Mark Strickland a number of occasions, Toma Habashi (Pen-
Eric Borneman sord Press,) and all the contributors for their
Clayton Smith fantastic work and words of encouragement. I
Keiran Hart would also like to thank my family for being so
Christopher Hart supportive; and last but not least my girlfriend-
Ruth Ashton Ruth for putting up with me!
Whilst every care is taken to ensure Until next time...
accuracy of content,
ULTRAMARINE publications will Keiran.
not be held responsible for any inac-
curacies within supplied articles. All
rights reserved. No part of
ULTRAMARINE magazine may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys-
tem, transmitted in any form, or by
any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or other-
wise without prior written consent of
the managing director.
>Front cover image
Tony Wu
www.tony-wu.com

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Contents issue 1
08. Your first Corals
Eric Borneman—The first in a series of articles looking into the correct coral choices for
beginner reef keepers
14. Trade News
Ultramarine
16. Hobbyist Profile

Ultramarine—We take a look at Keith Shaw’s 7ft reef in Oldham
20. Golden Wentletrap Snails
Mark Strickland—Ever Seen a bungee jumping snail?
24. Keeping Coris
Scott Michael—Scott Michael profiles the ‘big three’ members of the family. Coris Aygula,
Coris Formosa and Coris Gaimard
30. Using ozone in marine aquaria
Clayton Smith—The benefits and potential dangers of using ozone in a marine setup
34. Public Aquarium profile
Ultramarine—We take a look at the National Sea Life Centre
38. Hawkfishes in the aquarium
James Fatherree—James Fatherree profiles this popular species of aquarium fish
44. Unnatural selection
Tony Wu—Why are some fish becoming so small?
08 24
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Contents issue 1
46. Q + A
Ultramarine—Q + A with Bob Goemans
48. Breeding tropical marine fi sh
Clayton Smith—The first article in a series explaining how to successfully rear juvenile fish.
54. Marine Forums
Useful internet resources
56. Reef aquarium

Ultramarine—Watch the ongoing progress of A Reef aquarium.
64. Pest Organisms On Live Rock
Alf J nilsen—Alf Nilsen investigates the organisms which arrive on live rock
70. Moveable Feast!
Mark Strickland—Mark Strickland encounters something strange on a dive…
72. Triggerfi sh of the Red Sea
Bob Fenner— in-depth profile
78. We want your Photos!
Ultramarine—submit your photos here

80. Subscriptions
Ultramarine—Subscribe to Ultramarine magazine today!

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Contributors
Alf Jacob Nilsen
Alf Jacob Nilsen (born 1954) lives with his wife Lise at “Hidra”, a small island on the south-western
coast of Norway. He is educated as a teacher from the Academy of Teaching in Stavanger and as a biolo-
gist from the University of Bergen. He now works as a teacher in his local community.
For many years Alf J. has taken an interest in coral reef biology and worked the coral reef aquarium. He
has visited reef areas all around the world and has studied the natural coral reefs habitats up close. To-
gether with his co-author, Svein A. Fosså, he has published a number of books dealing with the coral reef
aquarium. He has given lectures in many countries and also written a lot of articles on the biology and
techniques of reef biology and the coral reef aquarium.
Alf J. also takes an interest in nature photography and runs the photo agency Bioquatic Photo
(www.biophoto.net). His photographic works spans from photographing the universe through telescopes
to the macro-life of the marine aquarium seen through a microscope.
Scott W. Michael

Born in Fremont, Nebraska, Scott W. Michael studied marine biology at the undergraduate and gradu-
ate levels at the University of Nebraska. He is an internationally recognized writer, underwater pho-
tographer, and marine biology researcher specializing in reef fishes. He has been involved in research
projects on sharks, rays, frogfishes, and the behaviour of reef fishes.
Mr. Michael has served as a scientific consultant for National Geographic Explorer, the Discovery
Channel, and French educational television. He is also a partner in a massive web site project,
www.coralrealm.com

Eric Borneman
Eric Borneman is a Ph.D. candidate supported by an NSF fellowship in the Department of Biology and
Biochemistry at the University of Houston. Eric’s primary research area is in the field of apoptosis and
stress-related factors in coral disease. Eric received the “Aquarist of the Year” award by the Marine
Aquarium Societies of North America in 2002 for contributions to the field of coral husbandry, and has
written two books on the subject, including the acclaimed book, Aquarium Corals. Eric is also involved
in aquarium trade sustainability issues, sexual and asexual coral culture for research, diseases and
reproduction in captive corals, and is currently conducting coral disease research at the Texas Flower
Garden Banks. He hosts the new Corals and Coral Reefs Forum, an advanced coral husbandry forum
at Marine Depot, having hosted six similar forums over 15 years, and is a science editor of ReefKeeping
magazine and Reef Hobbyist Online. Eric has contributed hundreds of articles to both the scientific and
the international reefkeeping communities and has lectured worldwide on the subject of coral
husbandry. He has been diving and photographing coral reefs of the world since 1978.
Robert Fenner
Bob has “lived” the science, hobby and business of aquatics in the Philippines, Japan and United States.
All phases: collector, wholesale, jobber, retail, design, construction and maintenance. All levels: man-
ager, owner, hatchery work, retail clerk, technician. Published works include several studies on aquatic
biological and chemical questions, and an extensive publishing and photographic background in the
industry and hobby of aquatics in general.
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Tony wu
Tony’s images have received international awards in Japan, Europe and the US, and his writing appears
regularly in publications worldwide. His first book, Silent Symphony, received the award for “Best Book
of the Year” at the 28th annual Antibes Festival of Marine Images in France. Tony actively promotes
marine conservation issues, and among other achievements, organised efforts that led to the removal of
sharkfin soup from the in-flight menus of two national airlines in Southeast Asia. He believes that edu-
cation is the key to change, and adopts a cooperate non confrontational approach.

James Fatherree
James Fatherree has been an aquarium hobbyist since childhood, has been keeping marine aquariums
for well over a decade, and has spent many days diving in Florida, Hawaii, the Bahamas, Japan and
Indonesia. He also managed a large retail aquarium store, owned and operated an aquarium design,
installation, and maintenance business for several years, and spent a summer working as a diver/collec-
tor/slave for an aquarium livestock wholesaler in Florida. James has also published well over 100 arti-
cles and 1,000 photographs in various aquarium magazines in the U.S. and Europe, and has written and
illustrated five books on the topics of reef organisms and marine aquariums, too.
If you’d like to know more about the author, visit his homepage at www.fatherree.com/james.
Clayton Smith

I started keeping fish 24 years ago and corals and inverts 17 years ago. I have been lucky enough to
study zoology and marine biology at Liverpool University and to work at public aquariums both in Aus-
tralia and the UK as well as studying coral reefs first hand in the Philippines. I am now endeavouring to
use this knowledge and experience to bring you the UK’s first dedicated marine aquaculture business,
Reefworks.
For more information on reefworks visit the website: www.reefworks.co.uk

Mark Strickland

Growing up in Florida, Mark Strickland’s life-long interest in the sea has included over 10,000 dives
and careers as an ocean lifeguard, boat captain, and diving instructor. His passion for underwater pho-
tography has led him to many of the world’s best diving areas, including Thailand, where he spent 17
seasons as Cruise Director / Photo-Pro on the live-aboard vessels “M/V Fantasea” and “Ocean Rover”.
Strickland now resides in California, where he is trying to adjust to cold water diving. An avid marine
naturalist, Mark has discovered several nudibranch species, including one named for his wife Suzanne,
Reticulidia suzanneae, and his own namesake, Halgerda stricklandi.
Mark is represented by several stock photo agencies including his own, Oceanic Impressions
(www.oceanic-impressions.com)
Bob Goemans
Bob has been in the aquarium hobby for over fifty years and set up his first marine aquarium in 1956.
As a member of the Jamaica, New York Aquarium Society he was the first in the USA to own and use
an undergravel filter and has collected some of his own aquarium specimens from the Caribbean to the
South China Sea.
Bob became a well-known author when writing for Marine Fish Monthly for over fourteen years and
presently has monthly columns and/or various articles in Freshwater And Marine Aquariums, Tropical
Fish Hobbyist, and Practical Fishkeeping and Marine World in the U.K. He’s an independent aquarium
supporter often appearing at aquarium shop openings, question and answer sessions, aquarium society
meetings, symposiums, school events and even on TV and has established one of the most popular ma-
rine aquarist websites in the world (www.saltcorner.com).
Dec 06-Jan 07 | 07
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Your first Corals
Choose wisely or you could regret it!
The first purchase of corals for a new When Is The Aquarium Ready For biological and chemical changes are oc-
reef aquarium is an exciting time. Corals? curring. Algae, sponges, worms, crusta-
There are hundreds of species that are all ceans, echinoderms, bivalves, and other
beautiful in their own right, each practi- Tank maturity seems to be a source of organisms will be dying and decompos-
cally begging to be displayed as the first much confusion. Contrary to what is ing. Many of these are actually within
coral in a new tank. A new aquarist then commonly believed, told or written, an the rock and cannot be seen. This is the
faces the daunting challenge of deciding aquarium that has completed the initial time when the existing bacteria are able
which of the many choices will be the “nitrogen cycle” so that hobby test kits to grow to levels that are capable of using
right ones for their aquarium. Choices of- read “zero” for ammonia and nitrite, are nitrogen from waste and decomposition
ten hinge on a number of factors, includ- neither mature nor stable. They are not within the normal “cycling” time of a
ing price, availability, and beauty. Hope- really even at a stage where it is safe to few weeks to a month or so. The growth
fully, another factor enters the aquarist’s add fish or invertebrates, regardless of rates of bacteria are such that if left un-
mind; will the coral survive? the fact that the water itself is not toxic checked, the tank would be packed full
with ammonia or nitrite. of bacteria with no room for water. That
Ironically, perhaps, the survival of the means something is killing or eating bac-
coral, in turn, depends on a number Assuming that a reef aquarium has live teria, or that bacteria are dying.
of other factors, and the survival and rock present and was not established us-
subsequent growth of these initial corals ing existing rock from a tank, it is either It is also important to realize that when
may paradoxically limit or hinder future relatively free of anything alive from a tank has constant decomposition hap-
choices of corals that the aquarist makes the shipping and “curing” process, or it pening at a rate high enough to spike
as the tank ages and as the aquarist gains has some living organisms and a whole ammonia off the scale of a test kit, there
more experience. For these reasons, it lot plant and animal life dying or about is a lot of bacteria food; far more than
is important to choose wisely from the to die. From the moment the substrates will be present when the initial decom-
beginning. are added to a new aquarium, dynamic position slows. In other words, the more
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Your first Corals
Pa r t 1
By Eric Borneman
All images ©Eric Borneman
bacteria food, the more bacteria present not detected by hobby test kits and so it
and the less bacteria food, the less bac- is important to wait many months after
teria present. In a new tank that has ammonia and nitrite tests read “zero”
just begun to test “zero” for ammonia in order to limit the mortality of fishes,
and nitrite, bacterial growth may have corals and other invertebrates during
caught up with the level of nitrogen being the very unstable initial phases of a new
produced, but things are still dying; the aquarium. Algal successions are com-
levels read zero because there are enough mon, with blooms of cyanobacteria often
bacteria present to keep up with the ni- followed by blooms of turf or “hair”
trogen being released by the decomposi- algae. Once these blooms have subsided,
tion. It does not necessarily mean things the tank is becoming more stable, and
are finished decomposing or that ammo- then it is time to plan the first coral ac-
nia and nitrite are not being produced. quisitions.
A greater problem arises in that during Initial Stocking of a Reef Aquarium
the time when plants and animals are dy-
ing and decomposing, they are releasing My advice on starting the stocking proc-
more than ammonia. Many of the algae, ess of a new aquarium is to plan the habi-
sponges, microbes and invertebrates tat desired and then to find the animals
contain toxic metabolites, natural anti- and corals that are found in that habitat.
biotic compounds, and other substances It is important to learn about the tiny
that are sometimes toxic to things we area of the reef that an aquarium is set
want alive, and sometimes to things we up to recreate, and to recognize that it is
don’t want alive. These compounds are not possible to recreate a whole coral reef
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A colony of zoanthids is isolated on a single rock surrounded by sand. Allelopathic
competition has allowed the also rapidly reproducing blue mushrooms (Discosoma
sp.) to invade the zoanthid colony.
in one tank. First, the aquarist must pur- Choosing The First Corals are difficult to impossible to maintain
chase the equipment required to emulate even by advanced aquarists, and all too
that environment. Then, the appropriate All too often, a new aquarist is tempted often they are also the most colourful
types and amounts of substrate (sand, by many beautiful corals. Trepidly, the and tempting to the uninitiated. For ex-
rubble, rock) are added, and then long aquarist may learn or be told to choose ample, the commonly imported carna-
after “the tank water tests fine,” fish and “hardy” species as their first corals. tion corals of the genus dendronephthya
corals are added. First, herbivores should Among these are many of the soft corals is a very poor choice for almost any
be added to check algae growth and wa- (Table 1), corallimorphs (mushrooms) aquarist. It is therefore important to
ter quality should be maintained. Then, and zoanthids. It is often the case that know which of the soft corals are indeed
some of the invertebrate and coral species new aquarists want to start with soft cor- easy to maintain, and which are not.
appropriate to the habitat, or niche, rep- als and later move towards a tank with Yet, even with those that are indeed easy
licated by the tank can be added. These hard corals after proving their metal with to maintain, there are numerous caveats
species help create the environment the easy species. Sometimes, aquarists as to why they might not be good first
itself, and also photosynthesize, add bio- also erroneously believe that there are corals for the aquarium.
diversity, stabilize nutrients, and perform categories of hard corals loosely termed
normal ecological roles. Finally, fish “LPS” and “SPS” corals, acronyms for Many soft corals are known for their
can be added because at this point they large- and small-polyped stony corals. production of potent toxins, or second-
will have a reef as their new home. They Unfortunately, misapplication of termi- ary metabolites, that serve a variety of
will have a stable tank with real reef-like nology and grave misinformation occurs functions to the corals. Among them
habitat, but this stocking method is quite at this stage. is the chemical defence of space, also
contrary to what is normally done; that called alellopathy. Soft corals are not
is, fish are usually added as soon as there In terms of the soft corals, there is a potent stinging animals and they depend
is no detectable ammonia or nitrite and great variation in the group with some on chemicals for defence, usually to the
then corals and invertebrates are added species being very easy to maintain (the detriment of other species. Some of the
later. This outdated line of thought re- family Alcyoniidae, some members of compounds are extremely toxic, even
garding stocking might have been appro- the family Nephtheidae, some members to humans. This trait also applies to
priate in marine fish-only aquariums, but of the family Xeniidae, and some mem- the zoanthids and corallimorphs. If an
it is distinctly wrong for reef aquariums bers of the Scleraxonia group). However, aquarist stocks the tank with corals that
that emulate ecosystems. within these same groups are species that produce these compounds, it may im-
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