Archives for August 2009 |

Archive for August, 2009

Cerith Snail

by admin on Aug.28, 2009, under Invertebrates

Cerithium sp.

Family: Cerithiidae
Range: Mexico
Size: Up to 1½ inches
Diet: Omnivore
Tank Set-up: Marine: Coral, live rock, sand
Reef Compatible: Yes
Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Temperament: Peaceful
Venomous: No
Care Level: Easy

The Cerith Snail is a small scavenger with an elongated spiral shell that is usually black with tiny white dots covering the entire shell. One of the most ideal scavengers, detritus eaters, and algae eaters, this snail is perfect for the reef aquarium, quickly devouring detritus, uneaten food, decaying organics, fish waste, and several types of nuisance algae. Cerith Snails will often bury themselves in the sand, which will help maintain adequate oxygen levels in the substrate.

The Cerith Snail prefers an established aquarium with live rock and a deep sand bed. These snails are sensitive to high nitrate levels and copper-based medications.

The Cerith Snail is extremely difficult to breed in captivity.

aquariablog’s take: This snail is a great worker and a valuable part of my cleanup crew. They clean everywhere..on the glass, rocks and they help to turn the sand.

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Shrimp Profiles

by admin on Aug.27, 2009, under Invertebrates

Sexy Shrimp	Anemone Shrimp	Peppermint Shrimp
Cleaner Shrimp	Harlequin Shrimp	Blood (Fire) Shrimp

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Fish Profiles

by admin on Aug.27, 2009, under Fish

Mimic Tang	Goby's	Pajama Cardinal
Sixline Wrasse	Blue-Green Chromis	Oscellaris Clown
Saddled Toby (puffer)	Eels	Rusty Angelfish

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Rusty Angelfish

by admin on Aug.25, 2009, under Fish

Centropyge ferrugatus/ferrugata

Family: Pomacanthidae
Range: Western Pacific; Japan to the Philippines
Size: Up to 4 inches
Diet: Omnivore
Tank Set-up: Marine: Coral or rock, plants
Reef Compatible: With caution
Tank Conditions: 72-78ºF; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Minimum Tank Capacity: 30 gallon
Light: High
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Swimming Level: No specific level
Care Level: Moderate
Reproduction: Egg Scatterer

The Rusty Angelfish is aptly named for its predominate red or amber coloration punctuated with black dots that decrease in size from dorsal to anal and pelvic fins. The anal fin is dark and both the dorsal and anal fins are rimmed in bright, sapphire-blue.

The Rusty Angelfish requires at least a 30-gallon tank with large amounts of live rock for hiding and grazing. Not a good reef dweller, the Rusty Angelfish is prone to nip at stony and soft corals (sessile invertebrates) and clam mantles. It is best kept as the only Dwarf Angelfish in the tank.

The diet of the Rusty Angelfish should include Spirulina, marine algae, high-quality angelfish preparations, mysid shrimp, and other meaty items.

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New 55 gallon Reef

by admin on Aug.23, 2009, under News

News

New 55 gallon Reef under construction. See it here. Your browser must have the latest JAVA plugin & you must have a broadband connection to see video. Please email me if you have trouble seeing the video.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

55 gallon planted freshwater & 30 gallon reef retired.

Over vacation my AC quit raising the temperature in the room that was home to my 30 gallon reef dramatically. The prolonged raised temps devastated the reef and I lost several corals including all my Frogspawn, Hammers & Ricordea. I also lost the Zebra Goby & several Sexy Shrimp. Just terrible.

3 Tanks was becoming too much for me and I had always planned on retiring the Planted Freshwater and moving the inhabs of the 30 gallon into a larger tank. Now seemed like the time. I found homes for my freshwater fish including the TireTrack Eel ( my wife is very upset that he’s gone), donated the plants to my neighbors Koi Pond and completely broke down both the 55 & 30…transferring the surviving inhabs, sand & live rock to the 55.

Several hours later the new 55 gallon reef seems stable & I’ve boosted my cleanup crew and added a Dwarf Angel. I’m now looking for a proper lighting system and taking an inventory of equipment for the is new tank.
Very excited. Enjoy the quick video of day 1 and stay tuned for much more. Also, enjoy the new live cam on this tank!

[IMG]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/pjewett/IMG00196-20090823-2110.jpg[/IMG]

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New York Aquarium at Coney Island (Brooklyn, NY)

by admin on Aug.07, 2009, under * Aquariums & Habitats

Due to a downed SQL server back at work my wife and I’s vacation (and more to the point – our trip to Boston & the NH Seacoast) was interrupted. Instead we made a trip to the New York Aquarium @ Coney Island in Brooklyn. Not as impressive as the original trip would have been but an inevitable profile to be added to aquariablog. Pics & video on the way.

Enjoy!

While not on the level of some of the other public aquariums to be profiled here this is nice to have local. The kids and their often inept parents like in many other public access facilities…were MURDER. However there are some very nice exhibits here and at $14 for Adults ($25 parking includes 1 adult admission) it’s well worth it.