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Zenand

theArtof...

Zenand

theArtof...

FREE!

SPRING 2007 Volume 1

win reef stuff @ www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com

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Join Us!

Features

On The Cover

Spring 2007 | Volume

Steve TyreesAWESOME STONY CORALS

RHM Staff

Executive Editor

Jim AdelbergArt Director Tamara Sue

Advertising Dave Tran

Images

Greg Rothschildgregrothschild.com

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Steve Tyree grows some of the rarest and mostdesirable corals in our hobby and has been an avid

collector of rare corals for years.In this series of in-depth articles, Stevewill highlight some of his personal favorites.

Clownin

Around: a Basic Guide

to Clownfish Care

Part 1. Robin Bittner is a

well known, professional

clownfish breeder in

Northern California.

Here Robin shares his

extensive knowledge of

clowns with his fellow

hobbyists.

Deadly

Beauty: Zoanthids.

Norman Tom is a

respected enthusiast

in the zoanthid hobby,

where he is better known

as Mr. Ugly. In this

article, Norm introduces

us to the deadly side of

the beautiful creatures

he loves.

Zen and the Art

of...Jim Adelberg is an

advanced hobbyist and

industry professional

from the San Francisco

bay area. This series

of articles will examine

the fundamentals of

successful reefkeeping.

10 12 4

5

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And see what we have to offer you!

Read Reef Hobbyist Magazine online.

Ask our editor questions in the Q & A section.

Watch and submit videos in our video library.

Participate in our photo contests for cool reef prizes.

Communicate with other reefers and manufacturerson our forums.

RHM WANTS YOU!Were constantly looking for the best

writers and photographers to contributeto our free magazine. We believe that free

quality information is the key to helping our hobbyadvance. If youd like to join us in our mission, please

contact our editor Jim Adelberg via email: jim@rhmag.com.

Refill

E-mail us at distribution@rhmag.com with your LFSs name andphone number and well make sure they have copies available foryou in the future.

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Come visit us online at

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hether youre a brand new marine hobbyist or a

salty old reefer we all must confront the same basic

issues in order to keep our tanks healthy. The first and

most important concept is one of balance.

Keeping any animal that comes from a really large body of water

in a much smaller body of water is a delicate matter of balancing

a number of different concerns and priorities. These issues are all

relatively easy to understand and learning just a bit about them will

help you keep your tank in top condition.

I try to start by looking at the differences between a tank and the

ocean from the animals perspective. The biggest difference is clearly

water volume and the consistent, high water quality the oceans

provide for most of the animals living there. Maintaining high water

quality should be every hobbyists primary concern. After all, there

are lives depending on it!

Regular, partial water changes

are the backbone of any

successful tank but exactly

how much and how often

will vary greatly, tank to tank.

Anywhere between 25%weekly and 25% monthly

seems to be the norm. Heavy

protein skimming and light

feeding will allow your water

quality to stay higher for a

longer time between water

changes, but at least some

feeding is required for most of

the animals we keep.

Foods, and feeding issues,

are next on the priority list and

luckily, the hobby has come a

long way in this field. There is a

large selection of commercially

available foods, which are

designed to specifically feed

certain fish, corals etc...

The problem with feeding

is that, without the massive

dilution effect of the ocean at work, the waste products can build

up pretty quick! Without adequate water quality, marine animals

dont do well. Without adequate and appropriate feeding marine

animals dont do well. Achieving the right balance between feeding

and water changes is critical. Good skimmers and filters can extend

the periods between water changes, but in the end, more feeding

means more water changing.

Another way of feeding photosynthetic animals is by exposing

them to the right intensity of the right spectrum of light. This allows

the zooxanthellae living inside the animal to photosynthesize and

produce simple sugars, which the animal can consume. There are

currently only a few high intensity lighting options available in the

hobby and all the highest output bulbs are either metal halide or

high-pressure sodium bulbs. Light levels are measured in 2 ways for

ZenandtheArt of...

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aquaria, Lumens and PAR (photosyntheticly active radiation) and PAR

is the more important value since thats the one the zooxanthellae

respond to.

Another balance that must be achieved is related to stocking levels

and overall bioload in the tank. Almost all reef tank creatures

from the smallest bacteria on up, consume food and oxygen and

produce waste products and CO2. Some of these waste products

and gases can be consumed and bound up in the growth of plants

and anaerobic bacteria (in the case of a deep sand bed) but much

of it just builds up in the tanks water and must be diluted throughwater changes. This is a good time to mention that most of the gas

exchange in home reef tanks occurs at the surface area of the display

tank and tanks with a higher surface area to volume ratio (squatter,

wider tanks) will naturally have a higher dissolved oxygen level. It is

the dissolved oxygen in your tank water that allows your animals to

breathe and use nutrients to grow. Although it is very difficult to keep

the D.O. (dissolved oxygen)

levels at or above saturation

like in the ocean, low D.O is

often what limits our animals

growth in captivity. The easiest

way to keep your tanks D.O

at an acceptably high leveis through the use of various

water pumps and powerheads

designed to move the water

in the tank so that low D.O

water is brought to the

surface to be re-oxygenated

A strong and well-maintained

protein skimmer will also be

useful here because protein

skimmers remove the dissolved

organics from the water which

otherwise would reduce the

waters oxygen carrying ability

Naturally, water changes also

help in this regard.

In future installments of this

series, well go into more

detail regarding the specifics

of each of these issues but for

now theres one other major

challenge we all face and it bear mentioning here.

Marine tank hobbyists are well served by a healthy dose of patience

Once someone has spent a bunch of time and/or money assembling

a tank, there is a very natural expectation that it should look good

right away. Unfortunately that simply cannot happen for a few

reasons. First, due to the process of cycling which every tank must

go through. The patience required during the initial cycling of a new

tank, and the slow stocking of livestock can at times be frustrating,

but is critical to the long-term success of your system. The second

reason is that, much like planting a terrestrial garden, time is required

to achieve the grown-in look that is so satisfying.

In the next edition of this series, well dissect and analyze the

decision-making process that goes into a new tank set-up.

4

By Jim Adelberg

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It may seem shocking to new

captive reef aquarists, but there was a timein the recent past when Reef Building Stony Corals were

actually considered to be impossible to keep. That was the

original challenge that many of the pioneering stony coral

aquarists had to overcome about 15 years ago. After we

had actually acquired our first captive Acropora specimens,

the impossible to keep label was quickly discovered to be

a misnomer. Although these stony corals were more difficultthan soft corals and fish, there were some basic reef keeping

techniques that allowed us to successfully maintain Reef

Building Stony Corals. Proper calcium additions and proper

carbonate buffer maintenance not only maintained their

health, but quite a few of those first Acropora specimens

actually grew at decent growth rates. While witnessing stony

coral growth in our captive systems some 13 to 15 years

ago, we were amazed to realize that actual reef structure

was being created within captivity. That was the first real

attraction or first real buzz that Reef Building Stony Corals

created within the captive reef market.

The mainstream reef community acknowledged our

success, but we were still unfortunately considered to be

the odd or weird hobbyists who were strangely attracted

to those boring Reef Building Stony Corals. Some of the

common complaints I heard 12 years ago were, They have

no color and They do not move. Some of us oddball

hobbyists still found the corals interesting and while we

were improving our understanding of the corals captive

requirements, a strange transformation began to occur with

these boring oddballs of the captive reef world. Many of

the Reef Building Stony Corals began to extend their polyps

during the day. This was an adaptation within captivity

caused by the lack of natural coral polyp predators within

our reef systems. On natural reefs these corals typically do

not extend their polyps during the day. So now these non-

moving boring Reef Building Stony Corals began to show

movement as many species extended their soft polyps

during the daylight photoperiod.

There was however still one more challenge to overcome

before the mainstream reef community completely

accepted Reef Building Stony Corals. These corals were

still considered to be the drab colored ugly ducklings

of the captive reef world. Compared to the bright green

Sinularia, the blue and red Mushroom corals, the colorfu

polyp soft corals and even the bright green hammer corals

Reef Building Stony Corals were primarily colored drab

brown with only the possibility of developing some green

pigments. The main problem back then was in maintaining

the corals natural pigmentation. Many of these corals were

arriving here in the United States with brilliant pigmentation

but these original pigments were quickly fading in captivity.

Then about 10 to 12 years ago, some new spectrum lights

with higher wattages were introduced to the captive reef

market. The original metal halides had emitted a color

or spectrum of light that roughly approximated light at

the surface of natural reef waters. These new lights were

emitting colors or spectrums of light that better matched

the type of light that corals were experiencing at depths

between 15 and 50 feet. Those of us who quickly switched

to the higher wattage and better spectrum lights, began

250 or 400 watt Metal Halide Bulb

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is imported, but at other times specific corals have developed

incredible pigmentation only after being maintained within

captive reefs for a period of time. Collector markets exist

where stony aquarists either purchase known awesome

corals or they conduct searches for hidden gem corals

that are originally drab colored when imported or acquired

A true hidden gem coral will develop or intensify hidden

pigments and can turn a diamond in the rough into an

awesome living gem.

The first Reef Building Stony Coral featured within this

Awesome Stony Corals Series is one of the most incredibly

pigmented LPS corals ever seen within captivity. The coral

is called the Watermelon coral (see image 1-A) and its

brilliant fluorescing pigmentation patterns can quite literally

make it the centerpiece of a captive reef display. The first

true Watermelon coral was acquired and maintained by

Ron Johncola. Ron called the coral Watermelon because it

contained a brilliant fluorescing green colored edge, while its

inner surface areas were colored bright fluorescing pink. The

coral has also been called the Watermelon Alien Eye coral.

Ron traded some of his first Watermelon coral fragments

to Hugo Zuniga (snipersps) who added the phrase Alien

Eye to the corals name. Hugo added the term Alien Eye

because this coral possessed the same brilliant green cora

polyp pigments that are also contained within the origina

Alien Eye Echinophyllia coral found by John Susbilla (Tubs)

When the polyp mouths of these corals are open, they can

develop a strange Alien Eye appearance. The Tubs Alien

Eye coral also contains a bright green colored edge or

growth rim. That coral can be seen on the left side of the

Three Alien Eye coral image (see image 1-B). A closeup of

the original Watermelon coral is located on the far right side

of that image.

New coral species and morphs containing different color

patterns similar to the original Watermelon pigmentation

have recently been acquired or found by captive aquarists

>> Awesome Stony Coral Series

Three Alien Eye Corals (image 1-B)Image taken by Steve Tyree from Hugo Zunigas reef. On the left is the

original Tubs Alien Eye coral. It has a bright green edge and bright green

corallite centers. The newer Red Watermelon coral is located in the

center. The original Watermelon coral is located on the right side of this

image.

Enter the Blue Life sponsored photo contest at www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com and show off your photo skills!

Original Watermelon Coral (image 1-A)Image taken by Steve Tyree. This was Hugo Zunigas colony that was grown

from a Ron Johncola original fragment. Note the thick fluorescing green

growing edge pigmentation. The main body is primarily colored bright pink.

The typical Alien Eye look can be seen in the left green corallite which has

its polyp mouth slightly opened.

TheAwesomeWatermelon Corals

>>

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Hugo Zuniga discovered the Red Watermelon Alien Eye

coral, which has a bright red base pigmentation instead of

the brilliant pink. This new Red Watermelon morph can be

seen in the center of the Three Alien Eye image (see image

1-B). Another Watermelon morph has been discovered and

developed by Greg Carroll. It is called the Jaydas Yellow

Eyed Watermelon and its corallite centers or eyes contain

yellow pigments (see image 1-C) which give the corals eyes

a yellow coloration. This Watermelon-like colored species

also has slightly elevated large round protrusions or ridges

around the corallite eyes, while both the original Watermelon

and the Red Watermelon corals lack large corallite ridges or

protrusions.

Another new morph of Watermelon coral was recently

acquired by John Dakan. It is called the Bazooka Joe

Watermelon coral and its main base coloration is a

mixture of pink and blue (see image 1-D). This new pink

and blue Watermelon coral has very prominent large ridges

or protrusions around the corallite centers. These large

protruding corallite ridges along with an unusually high

density of corallite eyes, help to give the Bazooka Joe

Watermelon a very unique appearance.

When the original Watermelon coral was imported into

the U.S., its amazingly brilliant pigmentation was already

apparent. A closeup examination of the green corallite

centers and green growth edge of this coral also reveals

amazing spots or dots of colorful pigmentation. The

Bazooka Joe Watermelon also arrived from nature with

its brilliant pigmentation intact and fairly intense. Although

the newer spectrum and higher wattage metal halide

lamps have helped to maintain these original pigments,

the Watermelon corals seem to prefer to be located near

the bottom of brightly lighted reefs. Coral exporters have

also become aware of the fact that brilliantly pigmented

corals are highly desirable to collectors and farmers.

Whole imported coral colonies containing awesome

pigmentation patterns typically have very high wholesale

prices. There are however less expensive ways to

acquire awesome corals. Aquarists can purchase small

captive grown fragments or they can try their luck at

discovering a hidden gem. Both the Red Watermelon

and the Jaydas Watermelon corals discussed within this

article were originally brownish colored when imported.

They only possessed a faint hint of pink pigmentation.

Both of these corals turned out to be hidden gems that

were developed into living jewels within captive systems.

In some cases hidden Watermelon gems may lack the

green edge or green eyes, but still possess some base

pink pigmentation. In other cases the corals can have the

green corallite centers or eyes and will develop the pink

base pigments and bright green fluorescing growth edge

after being maintained within captivity. Aquarists should

note that not all pinkish or green edged Echinophyllia-like

corals have the ability to develop intense pink or red base

pigments. Only true Watermelon corals will develop those

awe inspiring pigmentation intensities.

>> Awesome Watermelon Corals

Jaydas Yellow Eyed Watermelon Coral (image 1-C)Image taken by Steve Tyree. This rare Yellow Eyed Watermelon coral also

contains the normal bright green leading growth edge along with some

brilliant pink main body pigmentation. Greg Carroll named this coral after

his daughter Jayda.

Share your reef vidoes and browse our video collection at www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com!9

Bazooka Joe Watermelon Coral (image 1-D)Image taken by John Dakan. This Watermelon coral has a pink and blue base

pigmentation. Corallites also have well developed ridges or round mounds

that surround each polyp. It can also develop an amazing number of corallites

or alien eyes on its surface.

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Deadly BeautyZoanthids

Limu Make O Hana, the Deadly Seaweed of Hana, grew ina secret Hawaiian tide pool. Local warriors used the LimuMake to prepare their weapons for battle. Any spear tip, once

brushed with the Limu Make, would bring instant death upon findingits mark.

According to ancient legend, villagers discovered a shark god livingin disguise amongst them. The creature had been preying upon thevillagers and was found to be responsible for numerous mysteriousdisappearances.

Once revealed, the shark god was torn to pieces and burned untilnothing remained but ashes. The villagers threw the ashes into anearby tide pool whereupon its seaweed became poisonous.

This seaweed became known as Limu Make O Hana. We now knowthat this seaweed actually is not a plant, but a zoanthid of the speciesPalythoa toxica.

Zoanthids, also known as button polyps and sea mat, are relativelyhardy. With proper precaution, these corals are easily kept by thebeginning reef hobbyist. Available in a myriad of colors and patternsand various combinations thereof, zoanthids can be used to form anattractive reef aquarium display all on their own or along with otherreef invertebrates. They can be particularly striking when displayed ina desktop nano tank where one can appreciate their brightly coloreddetails up close.

Types of zoanthids commonly maintained in the home reef aquariuminclude those from the genera Zoanthus, Palythoa, Protopalythoa, andParazoanthus. All of these are photosynthetic and contain symbioticzooxanthellae.

In general, polyps of the genus Zoanthus feed by absorption of dissolvednutrients, whereas Palythoa, Protopalythoa, and Parazoanthus activelytake in particulate food material. Though tolerant of less than pristinewater conditions, all benefit from regular water changes, good waterquality, and good water circulation.

Zoanthids do well under a variety of lighting systems, from powercompacts to metal halides. The latter, though not required, do seemto enhance color depth and highlights.

Recent years have seen an increasing interest in collecting andmaintaining unique zoanthid morphs. Todays zoanthid fans havetheir own websites and online forums dedicated to sharing all thingszoanthid. Some coral vendors, taking note of zoanthid popularityamong hobbyists, have chosen to specialize in providing exoticspecimens to their customers.

Each collector has his or her own favored zoanthid morphs that maybe of an interesting color or pattern. Prized morphs may bear multiplebright colors, an eye catching metallic sheen, a sparkly stardustpattern, colorful striations, or some other unusual or uncommonlybeautiful characteristic. Some hobbyists have become specialized

propagators of these corals in order to share and trade with others.

Zoanthids, like any other marine animal, may harbor pests or be subjectto disease. The reef aquarium hobbyist should inspect newly acquiredzoanthid specimens for such things as predatory nudibranchs,zoanthid spiders, sundial snails, foramaniferans, asterinas, redplanaria, fungus, and white zoa pox. These may be remedied bya variety of treatments including manual removal, fresh or salt waterbased dips of iodine, hydrogen peroxide, fluke/flatworm medicationsor Furan-2, depending on the predator or ailment.

Due to the possibility of palytoxin exposure, one should always washones hands with hot soapy water after handling these animals. Besure to avoid contact to eyes, cuts, mouth and/or abrasions whenhandling zoanthids.

Palytoxin, the neurotoxin first isolated from Palythoa toxica, is said to

be the most toxic organic substance known. A complex molecule witha chemical formula of C129H223N3O54, palytoxin has been estimated tobe lethal to humans in dosages of as small as 4 micrograms. Note thata single crystal of table salt weighs approximately 65 micrograms!

Palytoxin disrupts the ability of cell membranes to control ion flow.The heart muscle is particularly sensitive and poisoning results inconstriction of the blood vessels of the heart and lungs. Additionally,the toxin causes rupture of red blood cells. Symptoms of palytoxinexposure include chest pains, breathing difficulties, racing pulse,and unstable blood pressure. Death can occur within minutes afterpoisoning. One recommended antidote is papverine injected directlyinto the heart.

As potentially deadly as it may be, palytoxin may one day play animportant role in saving human lives. Scientists frequently have turnedto nature in searching for complex biological compounds that mightprove useful to mankind.

Zoanthid palytoxin has been found to have anti-tumor and anti-cancer effects. University of Hawaii cancer researchers recently havebeen experimenting with attaching palytoxin molecules to antibodiesdesigned specifically to attack cancer cells.

The diversity of our natural reefs provides much more to be appreciatedthan just eye candy to reef hobbyists.

Ask our advertisers questions about their products in our forum at www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com! 10

By Norman Tom

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> >

Clownin around:A basic guide

to clownfish

care

Likely every marine aquarist considers at one

time or another the addition of a clownfish to their

aquatic menagerie. For some this results in just another colorful

resident in their little slice of the ocean, while for others the attraction to

this friendly little fish becomes so strong that a saltwater aquarium just wouldnt seem

complete without one (or a pair) of these characters. Part of the appealing nature of the clowns is

their engaging behavior, but their generally hardy dispositions make many of them good candidates

for the novice as well as the experienced aquarist.

Helping push the popularity of these fish is their nearlyubiquitous presence in the aquarium industry, as it is a

very rare store that doesnt have at least a handful of

specimens from the roughly 2 dozen species of clowns

commonly available. This popularity was further fueled

by the release of the Finding Nemo movie a few years

ago, which focused on the adventures of an Ocellaris

(False Percula) clownfish off the coast of Australia.

While aquarium purists still cringe whenever a child

(or adult for that matter!) passes a tank of clownfish

and squeals, Oh look, NEMO!!!, this movie helped

increase the popularity of saltwater aquariums morethan any other single event over the past few decades.

Of course, as the star of the movie, Nemo (aka Percula

and Ocellaris clownfish) also increased in popularity

and became the desired pet of tens of thousands of

budding aquarists.

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By Robin Bittner

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Despite the relatively large number of clownfish species

available, the clownfish family can be broken down into

five general groupings the clarkii, tomato, skunk,

Percula, and maroon complexes. Each of these groups

exhibits varying levels of behaviors and needs, but ingeneral the tomato, clarkii, and maroon groups are the

most aggressive while the Percula and skunk groups

are smaller and more peaceful. However, this is not to

say that the smaller fish cannot be quite aggressive also,

as any owner of a Percula clownfish will agree if theyve

been nipped by an overprotective clown while cleaning

the tank!

Theres More Than Just One To Choose From

Typically the clowns seen most often in aquarium storesare the clarkii variants (brownish body and yellow belly

with 2 white stripes), assorted tomato clowns (reddish

body with a bare or single white stripe on the head), and

the Percula/ocellaris clowns (orange body with 3 white

stripes and varying levels of black). Although the tomato

and clarkii clowns are very common, the ocellaris clown

can arguably be crowned as the most popular clownfish

due to its small size, relatively hardy nature, pleasant

personality, and endearing wiggle as it dances above its

favorite spot in the aquarium.

With recent advances in marine breeding and rearing

technology, all of the common clownfish species

are now currently being captive bred and raised at

commercial facilities in the U.S., Australia, England,

and the Caribbean. Although these captive breeding

efforts have contributed significantly to the supply ofthese highly desired fish, demand still is outstripping the

captive supply such that wild caught clownfish remain

one of the bread and butter staple imports of the

aquarium trade. This high demand for clownfish has also

led to the formation of a cottage industry of hobbyists

who typically have 5-10 tanks dedicated to the breeding

and raising of one or two species of clownfish. In our

next article, well take a closer look at one such hobbyist

setup to better understand what it takes to experience

the joy of raising these fun little fish.

WhereDo They All Come From?

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>>Clownin Around

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