AlexReef » fish

MACNA 2010- Orlando Photo Links

Alex — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:20:20 +0000

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend MACNA, held in Orlando, this year. Below are some forum/photo links showing some nice pictures people took. Enjoy!

http://s229.photobucket.com/albums/ee246/GeekPhysique/Macna%202010/?start=0

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1901368&highlight=macna

http://www.njreefers.org/forums/index.php/topic,25753.0.html

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1902144&highlight=macna

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ORA Spotted Mandarin Update

Alex — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:19:47 +0000

Although ORA claims that their mandarins eat frozen, pellet, etc…I haven’t seen mine eat any of these foods yet. So far, I’ve tried feeding cyclopeeze, frozen PE mysis (chopped up), blackworms, & Spectrum small pellets. I’ve noticed that my fish hangs out in the lowest flow area of my frag tank, where the most pods seem to be. Since I haven’t witnessed it eating anything I’ve given it; and it’s been 3 weeks; and it’s not dead yet; I can only guess that it’s eating my pods. On ReefCentral, there’s a thread were people have lost their fish due to starvation. It’s sad, but I think ORA may have over promised and under delivered on this one. My official stance is that when buying an ORA Mandarin, you’re getting a Captive Raised Fish period and it will be just as difficult to raise as a wild caught one.

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ORA Canary Blenny

Alex — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:08:09 +0000

I recently picked up a ORA Canary Yellow Blenny. I wanted a yellow fish and a yellow tang was out of the question (my Sohal would eat it alive!). This fish is very lively and likes to swim all over the place. I haven’t seen it eat anything yet, but hopefully it will soon.

ORA Description below:

Canary Blenny – Meiacanthus ovalaunensis

The Canary Blenny’s striking yellow color makes it an excellent addition to a reef aquarium. This exotic fish is found in the currents of lagoons and reefs off Fiji and Tonga where it feeds on zooplankton.

The Canary Blenny is a natural choice for a reef tank because it mixes well with other fish, the only exception being similarly shaped blennies, and it will not disturb corals. This fish should be kept in a tank of at least 20 gallons with ample places to hide. It may act aggressively toward other fish if provoked but is generally peaceful in a large aquarium. The Canary Blenny reaches a maximum size of 4″-5″ (10 – 12 cm).

Picture below is my blenny getting acclimated in the overflow box.

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ORA Spotted Mandarin Goby- Captive raised!

Alex — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:15:24 +0000

Just picked up a newly introduced ORA Spotted Mandarin Goby from one of my favorite LFS, The Frazer Zoo. ORA has a very limited supply and is only providing 2 fish per store. I’ve seem prices vary greatly on this fish, but expect to pay around $50-60 per fish. Anything higher is too much. (I got a nice little deal on mine!)The fish I brought was very small, around an inch & a half. Unlike wild caught mandarins, these aren’t very active. They don’t appear to search for food constantly. I’ve put this fish in my frag tank, which has a lot of pods, and it doesn’t really seem to be grazing like I’d expect. From what I’ve read on Reefbuilders, these fish have been raised on Hikari Blood Worms, Nutramar Ova (prawn eggs), fish roe, baby brine shrimp, and New Life SPECTRUM Small Fish Formula pellets. I think I’m going to place this fish in an isolation basket to manually feed it and figure out what food it likes. Here’s some pictures of it getting acclimated.

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Zeovit.com’s Third Dream Tank of the Quarter 2010

Alex — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:11:29 +0000

Check out the Third Dream Tank of the Quarter 2010 on Zeovit.com website. Although there are still skeptics out there, who think Zeovit is worthless, how can anyone argue these results?

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20690

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More fishes added: Hector’s goby, 5yr old Clarkii Clownfish, Blue Chromis

Alex — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:28:57 +0000

I’ve recently added a few fish into the fold. The first is a Hector’s goby(Amblygobius hectori)that grazes on algae all day long. It likes to hang out in the back of the tank, where there’s less flow and doesn’t get bothered by anyone. Another new addition to the tank is a 5yr old Clarkii clownfish, given to me by a local fish keeper that took down his tank. This fish is the size of my Hippo tang and has made a home for himself in my RBTAs. He’s alittle aggressive toward fish swimming near his home, but other than that, has been a model citizen. Also given to me was a blue chromis that’s also old, about the same size as the chromis I already have.

Total fish is the tank: 14(Sohal Tang, Hippo Tang, Borbonius Anthia, 2 Lyretail Anthias, 2 Percula Clowns, Clarkii Clown, 2 Chromis, Lawnmower Blenny, Striped Fang Blenny, and Hector’s Goby).

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Aquatek- Austin, TX

Alex — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:17:40 +0000

There are a few local fish stores in Austin, but the one that probably impresses me the most is Aquatek on Burnett. The main reef display tank, as you walk into the store, is a sight to see. Bruce, the owner of the store, is one of the most knowledgeable people you will ever talk to. Ask him a question, and he will explain to you in a very detailed and scientific manner, quoting specific measurements, all off the top of him head. His display tank uses the Polyp Lab Reef-resh system which he strongly believes contributes to the intense colors he gets from his corals. The colors are very similar to the colors seen in full blown Zeovit tanks. This makes perfect sense because both systems are based off of low nutrient, bacteria driven processes. Another plus to the store is their strong ties w/ Tunze and many of their products are stocked here. Below are some pictures of the display tank taken w/ my iphone.

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MACNA 2009- ORA Displays

Alex — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:39:57 +0000

ORA had awesome displays at MACNA NJ. They were displaying their aquacultured corals and fish. The colors were amazing, especially considering they were using standard Current USA fixtures w/ standard bulbs. Unfortunately they weren’t there to sell corals and fish, which saved me a lot of money! Here’s some videos I shot:

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MACNA 2009- AquaticLife Light Fixture Video

Alex — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:25:31 +0000

Here’s a video of the AquaticLife Life Fixtures. These things are pretty cool because they use the latest 150w HID bulbs. What makes these so special is that the bulbs are so small and they’re designed for parabolic reflectors giving a spotlight effect. The fixture allows the reflectors to swivel to point the light where it’s need. Supplemental t5′s round this fixture out. another cool feature is that the ballasts are mounted on the fixture but there’s space between the ballasts and the reflectors to vent the heat upward. Also the glass shield on the reflectors have slits that allow air to pass though for cooling. Like I said, cool fixture indeed.

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Fish and Coral Feeding

Alex — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:47:14 +0000

I like to feed my fish and corals a mixed diet of dried and frozen foods. I feed frozen mysis(mysid), freeze dried cyclopeeze, small pellets (Oceans Nutrition Formula 1 & 2), flake (Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef), nori (dried seaweed), DT oyster eggs and cut up raw shrimp. I don’t have a set schedule on what gets fed, just whenever I feel like it. In general, only pellets and flakes get fed daily. When I feed the other foods, I feel like it makes my water dirty, so I time these feedings with my water change schedule. I’ll feed the ‘messy’ foods and then I’ll do my weekly water change, about an hour later.

I also use an automatic fish feeder because I keep anthias, which like to be fed a bunch of times a day. This feeds a mix of pellets and crushed up flakes twice a day. The best feeder I’ve ever used is the eheim 3581. It’s on sale on Drs. Foster right now for $33. Best price you can get for these. Here’s a link: Eheim fish feeder.

My acan lords (LPS) get spot fed w/ cyclopeeze and mysis a couple of times a week and my anemones get fed raw shrimp, once every few weeks. I also use some Zeovit suppliments for the corals, such as amino acids. Other than that, I’ll feed the tank whatever I have lying around. If I have fish roe (eggs) for my sushi, I’ll feed the tank this as well.

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