You are sitting in your big comfy lazy boy recliner watching “Da Bears” in one eye and your reef in the other. The window begins to shake vigorously as your team is getting creamed like usual, so you assume the booing coming from your surround sound is responsible until a massive bolt of lighting strikes the transformer right outside your window. All of the sudden your house is black, “Da Bears” are off, and you hear a bubbling sound coming from your reef tank followed by loud slurp caused...
There are tons of variations of most types of coral. The Symphyllia coral is no exception. It has a great reputation for being an easy coral so almost anyone can be successful with one. Low to moderate flow is best for these beauties. They are found at varied depths, so the best way to determine lighting is to start the coral at the sand bed and slowly move it around until it looks good to you. They are naturally nocturnal, but like most corals can be trained to come out in the day to feed...
For starters, This is no home for a tang!!!
World’s Smallest Reef Tank
image via reef2reef member @jjreeftank
Are you considering a stocking list for your aquarium? Probably not. If you are like most hobbyists you wish for fish but buy what you have available during that spontaneous moment, often leading to a future of regret and endless nights trying to capture your mistake. If you have not been in that situation than you are one of the few who do actually plan! We can’t all spend...
Introduction
The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no where near simple. This task is going to take patience, a ton of reading, and a ton of patience. It takes the whole household to have the perfect setup, so if you live with people make sure to tell them things that you learn that apply to them. If you or your house mates like to spray air freshener or light candles...
So you got yourself a fish and he doesn’t want to eat that delicious pack of mysis shrimp that the rest of your tank inhabitants love, and even fight over. What ever shall you do?! Well first let us take a look at why a fish would not want to eat.
Fish caught from the wild often hunt for live food or are accustomed to a particular species of algae or seaweed from their environment. Fiji’s ocean has much more food to choose from then the box of water I have here in Indiana, even when I over...
The art of coral grafting is very risky. It involves fragging corals, which if you have any knowledge on that know it can come with some dangers. They can contain toxins that could potentially kill someone. With proper safety you can cut any fraggable coral with confidence. Once you become a skilled frag master you can start to experiment with the pieces. Let me clear up the notion that grafting corals is the same as grafting trees. A coral will not be genetically altered, it wont grow weird...
Cyanobacteria is said to be responsible for the end of Oxygen intolerant life forms on the planet Earth. Before our atmosphere was extremely low on Oxygen. The Bacteria is photosynthetic, which means it turns light into energy, making Oxygen as a biproduct. After the Cyanobacterias first Earthly epidemic the composition of our atmosphere transformed into the Oxygen rich air we know today. Today’s plants are even thought to have evolved from early forms of Cyanobacteria.
This photosynthetic...
These corals are not here to lead the country, they are here to serve it. Captain America Palythoas are a comic book nerd’s dream coral, well one of them. The coral resembles Captain America’s famous red, white, and blue shield. Due to varying circumstances in individual aquarium, the color scheme may be morphed to a green hue or the red may turn pink. The one thing that stays as true as the superhero is the pattern of the colors themselves.
image via reef2reef member @Nanofins
You do...
This Article is Sponsored by @uniquecorals
I was sort of pondering the state of the hobby in a recent philosophical moment, and I realized that we are at a sort of “crossroads” in the hobby and industry, with very real pressures on us from outside forces who know little of what we actually do.
As a group, marine aquarium hobbyists have a good sense of the responsibilities that come with acquiring and caring for aquatic animals, don’t we?
We understand the impact of irresponsible...
No, I am not talking about Madonna! The Sunburst Anemone is much more interesting, at least more family friendly! This anemone was actually created in Colorado, not the sea! It is a strain of Ectacmaea Quadricolor, but not your every day rose. This bad boy is ORANGE! There is another anemone in the sea that lives off the California coast that is a whole other monster and should not be confused with the Bubble Tipped version.
sunburst bubble tipped anemone image via reef2reef member...
