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The Basis Of Our Hobby

May 13, 2009

hawkfish

It’s very easy to identify the basis of the marine hobby that is so fascinating to so many aquarists. The basis of course is the wild coral reef which, despite increasing coral propagation and fish breeding, is where the majority of our livestock comes from.

There’s a lot of doom and gloom about all sorts nowadays including the coral reefs, and also including just about every natural domain there is, especially the rainforests. An area the size of a football pitch disappears from the rainforests about every four seconds! Makes the brain start thinking, the rainforests are often called the lungs of the earth and have a very large diversity of life.

A ‘head in the sand’ stance may be comfortable for a time but is not going to change anything, the facts that prevail will still be there when the head emerges again. I’m a realist with an optimistic leaning and certainly not a pessimist. I like to know what is happening generally and in particular on the coral reefs.

I’ve stated before and I’ll state again that I believe that the marine hobby is able to assist Mother Nature by coral propagation and fish breeding and it’s great to know that this is increasing within the hobby, and commercial interests are hard at work and also increasing. The more that is propagated and bred the less is taken from the wild reefs.

I’ve provided a link to a website that gives the facts on the coral reefs. There are also some more facts, which could be surprising, about how high economic dependency is on the reefs and how many people depend on them as well. The link goes direct to the page where photographs are available, click on them to increase their size. On the left hand side is a list of website areas, the ‘Coral Reef Facts’ are there plus other areas.

The majority of marine aquarists are doing just what they should be doing; keeping their aquariums in tip top condition and providing a habitat that should ensure health and long life for the livestock. This in itself is of direct benefit to the wild reefs.

http://www.nature.org/joinanddonate/rescuereef/explore/photos.html

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The Coral Reef

April 30, 2009

Coral Reef

For the most part marine aquarists are interested in the wild coral reefs. These reefs offer a diversity of life that challenges, or perhaps exceeds, the rainforests.

Very many corals are now being propagated and fish, once thought impossible to breed are also being bred in increasing numbers of species. These actions are occurring with home aquarists and commercial organizations, a great benefit to aquarists and the wild reefs.

The problem that sometimes arises with reading material about the wild coral reefs that goes into any depth is that the material becomes entangled with science. Unless the reader is a scientist then interest is rapidly lost in the material. What is wanted is something beyond a hobby book that advises ‘how to’, though these are of course very important themselves (how many fish and corals are lost because the habitat when initially created was below standard?). The information should advise on what happens on a coral reef, habits and instincts, reproduction, in fact anything that is relevant to a layman, and all the better if the material permits the aquarist to choose the subject that is of interest and ignore any other.

There isn’t a requirement to be a scientist to achieve a successful reef or fish only aquarium, there is only a need to have a basic understanding of what is needed to properly support the life that is to be kept. Beyond this, each aquarist as an individual has more general interest or not.

Here’s a website that gives general information on wild coral reefs covering most of the areas that an aquarist could be interested in. It is written in a straightforward way and not bogged down scientifically, if I can put it that way.

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/coral/index.htm

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Aquarists And The Declining Reefs

March 30, 2009

Coral Reef

There is little argument nowadays over whether or not there is any decline in the health of wild coral reefs. The discussion now seems to be more about the speed of decline. Some reefs remain relatively fine, but others are getting into a sorry state.

Scientists tell us about the acidification, or reduction in pH, of the seas and oceans caused by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They also advise of the slow increase in temperature. Both of these, in the long term at least, are going to cause trouble we are advised.

Imported into the US and Europe are huge numbers of marine fish and invertebrates destined for the marine hobby. They are distributed all over these areas for purchase by hobbyists. Does the import of this reef life accelerate the decline in the reefs? I cannot completely answer that question as I don’t have sufficient facts – but at a considered guess I would say ‘no’.

First of all what of collection from the reefs? Huge strides have been made over the last decade in the correction of unwanted collection practices. Once collectors realized that their future jobs were at stake and subject to there being something to collect, they listened. Though there are still problems that have not been cleared in some areas, collection of fish for example is by net and not cyanide. Holding facilities are much improved. Distribution methods – packaging mainly – has been much improved.

In addition to better collection methods, in the reef areas something is being done about the removal of corals. Collectors are now, though not in all areas, propagating them. They are sometimes laid out on vast undersea trays like seedlings in a gardening nursery. As they mature, they are sold on. Each one that matures is one less taken from the reef.

When the packaged livestock reaches its destination, usually wholesale shops and then retail ones, it is handled in a better way. Though there are some distributors and shops that are poor in their handling practices, most are fine. The packages are opened in dimmed or red light and the livestock permitted time to adjust. This is good, and after all it is in the wholesalers and retailers interest to operate good practices and protect the stock which represents their livelihood.

What of aquarists? Are we guilty of anything? There are those in the hobby who should not be called aquarists. They are a minority fortunately. These are the ones who find a fish dead and go and get another without thought as to why or how it died. Just replace it, doesn’t matter! Of course it does matter, whether it is a coral, a fish or whatever. Fortunately the majority of aquarists can rightly call themselves that. From keen novice to very advanced they care for the livestock properly and maintain a high quality environment for them. Is that enough though?

The first thing is that this hobby is for enjoyment, there isn’t any arguing with that, and there’s nothing wrong with it either. The majority of aquarists maintain their aquariums properly – perhaps I could even say respect their aquariums – and enjoy the hobby immensely. Looking at a good marine aquarium it isn’t difficult to see where the enjoyment comes from. The first requirement to protect the wild reef is to care for captive livestock well. Then more will not be needed to replace it, unless the fish or whatever has reached the end of its allotted time.

Many aquarists, once they have gained experience in successful aquarium husbandry, decide to have a go at propagating easy corals, or easy to start with anyway. This decision may be caused simply because a coral or more have become too large and need reducing in size. The parts removed can be grown into new corals and once the aquarist has taken the plunge it is surprising how easy it actually is. The common name for propagation in the hobby is ‘fragging’. This practice can only be good, as the produced new corals can be taken to the LFS or given to an aquarist friend. This means that the demand for corals has reduced by that much, little as it may be.

Other aquarists go into propagation in a bigger way, by having a shallow dedicated tank for the task. This has a higher impact of course and at the same time could be helping to meet the running cost of the aquarist’s aquarium.

Commercial propagation is becoming more known and with far more facilities this has a big impact on imports and thus the wild reef.

It is not only corals that are being propagated by aquarists and commercial interests, fish are also being bred. It wasn’t that long ago that it was thought that breeding marine fish would be nearly impossible. The belief was based on the simple fact that the fish come from a reef situated in the immensity of the sea or ocean. However, more and more fish are appearing that have never seen a wild reef.

There is another plus with this propagation and breeding. This is that the fish and corals that have only ever had an aquarium for a home appear tougher – more resilient – than their wild counterparts.

As expertise within the hobby and commercially increases, so will the availability of livestock from these sources. At the same time the demand on the wild reefs will reduce. There will always be a demand on the wild reefs as it is quite probable that not all livestock is amenable to commercial and home production. In addition, as more and more propagation and breeding occurs there will effectively be a ‘bank’ for the livestock involved, as the knowledge of ‘how to’ once gained will not be lost.

The advance in knowledge by home aquarists sometimes surprises scientists, and many scientists do not dismiss aquarists as ‘amateur fiddlers’ any more. For example there are many scientists – those qualified in the scientific discipline of marine study – who regularly write for hobby magazines. Another example is taken from the book ‘Aquarium Corals’ by Eric H. Borneman. It is the foreword, written by Dr. J. E. N. Veron, who writes… ‘Just as comets are now being discovered by amateur star-watches rather than by professional astronomers, aquarists are now moving into an area of knowledge that was once the exclusive domain of marine biologists’. Of course this doesn’t apply to all of us but nevertheless demonstrates that aquarists are being noticed, and quite rightly so. Aquarists have hands on experience of salt water life.

No-one is going to try and state that all is right within the hobby and the commercial marine world. It isn’t, there are idiots. The majority however are not, they are careful in the choice of livestock and in its maintenance.

I have a positive view of the position of the hobby in relation to the wild reef. We aquarists are not causing Mother Nature much trouble; we are, albeit indirectly, assisting her. As time passes, this assistance will increase. Livestock imports from the wild reefs need to be sensible and at the same time causes of destructive pollution tackled. The wild reefs are truly wondrous natural areas and deserve our respect.

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Detecting Pollution With A Robot Fish

March 28, 2009

British scientists from the University of Essex have developed a robot fish which has the capability to be able to detect pollution in water.

Robot Fish

Each of these fish has an associated cost of £20,000 and a shoal of five of them are shortly to be released into the Bay of Biscay.

Each fish is around 2 foot long and has various inbuilt sensors to be able to detect various types of chemicals in the water. They run on battery which has between 5 to 8 hours of battery life and due to built in artificial intelligence do not require to be controlled remotely. Instead they are able to swim around using their own navigational abilities whilst avoiding objects.

The robot fish took three years to develop and although robotic fish have been investigated for over 10 years the developers claim that this one is the smartest yet.

The developers also say that this is not a new design but a design which has been created by hundreds of millions of years of evolution and they hope that if this project is a success they can be used around the world to prevent the spread of pollution.

Moving forwards into the future they hope to increase the robots intelligence and implement features such an recharging stations where the fish will go and recharge itself when it starts to run low on battery.

Some of these robotic fish have been placed into aquariums with live fish at the London Aquarium and some visitors have not been able to tell that it is a robotic fish. A competition is being run by the London Aquarium for child visitors will be able to name the new aquarium inhabitants.

Who knows perhaps in the future these type of fish could be used on and around the coral reefs and provide data back to scientists to identify and reduce pollution threats.

Actually here’s another idea – how about a smaller one for aquarists to use to monitor the internal water parameters of the aquarium?

Below is a video of the fish in action – it is eerily natural, especially when it turns.

Source – BBC News

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Artificial Coral Reefs – Good Or Bad?

October 28, 2008

Speak to just about anyone at all and they will know what a coral reef is in general. What about an artificial coral reef though?

Most when asked the question could make a rough guess, saying it’s one built by people or something along those lines. They may even say it’s one in an aquarium, which is correct of course, and perhaps this is the answer that many marine aquarists would give.

However the artificial reefs in mind here are those that are out in the wild. They’re man-made and, as far as able, mimic the wild reef.

The wild reef is anything from a quite small affair to the huge 1000 mile + length of the Australian barrier reef. Why should anyone wish to create an artificial reef at all, what’s the point? Nature has done a wonderful job over a very long period of time.

Creating a reef may be to enhance the wild fish etc populations in an area, and at the same time help boost tourism by giving scuba and snorkel enthusiasts something to look at. Some scuba people are qualified wreck divers and no doubt really appreciate an extra wreck or two. So there’s a ship available which is no longer economical to run or repair and is ready to be broken up. On several instances these ships, military or mercantile, have been obtained by conservation/tourism interests. They are very carefully prepared, having all oil removed plus any electrical cable or other items that could be detrimental to sea life. Once prepared they are towed to the required area and sunk.

It takes a while for life to appear on the wreck, though the period of time varies. Encrusting algae often takes a hold, and soft corals. Later, hard corals appear. It can be years before the coral population is widespread. Eventually the whole ship is covered in sea life of one type or another. This can be seen on World War 2 ships that were sunk in action in suitable areas – they’re totally covered and in many cases not recognizable as ships. Many ship parts have rotted away but the corals cover the rest and maybe even keep some together. One of the high priorities of fish is a safe sanctuary and a ship offers many hiding places from the word go – once corals are present its even better. So there are myriads of fish present of different varieties approaching the diversity of the natural reef and perhaps in time equaling it.

Another type of artificial reef is one created again for tourism/conservation but this time it is created out of rock. Some land based rock was once part of a coral reef and this rock can be transported for building the new reef. Other land based rock is suitable if it does not disintegrate in seawater and is porous so that the creatures of the reef, including bacteria, can find a home. This rock is taken out to sea and dumped until there is enough for the required reef design. Though I don’t have any figures, I would guess that this is a more expensive option than the sunken ship. Again the same process occurs, with algae and corals of various types finding a home and multiplying. The fish find sanctuary and food and make it their home.

The rock built artificial reef could be a commercial project. The new reef will produce collectable corals and fish given time, and as there wasn’t a reef there in the first place it permits a supply of livestock and at the same time reduces the pressure on nature’s own products. In addition, live rock, which is much favoured by aquarists for filtration and aquascaping, can be collected and exported. When the rock is removed it is replaced by rock which then goes through the cycle of becoming live rock.

There is an artificial reef that has been constructed out of worn out vehicle tyres. It has not been in existence for very long and it will be interesting to see how this progresses and how the reef life reacts to the unusual material. If all is well what a good way of disposing of some of man’s discarded products.

I find it difficult to fault the creation of artificial reefs whether they are ship or rock structures. With proper supervision and given the time to populate, they can only enhance livestock numbers. If used with common sense, they are also of benefit to local people who should find extra revenue from employment that has been created in the export of livestock or in the service of the local tourism industry.

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Are You A Scuba Diver?

June 4, 2008

Scuba divers are those strangely garbed people who flip-flop in an ungainly manner down the beach toward the sea, or roll into the sea from the side of a boat.

Once in the sea it is a different matter. Within safety parameters the diver is free to explore, to cruise along weightless. Nowadays scuba diving has a large following and many head for the reefs. It isn’t surprising really, what better place to explore than a wild coral reef. Down in the domain of the fish, seeing more or less what they see.

I’ve had the good fortune to have had a look at reefs in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Red Sea etc and they truly are wonderful. But not as a scuba diver.

When in the Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean, for a holiday, I intended to take a training course to become a qualified scuba diver. Diving goes in stages, and the initial qualification is to dive to a maximum 60 feet. Then, if desired, further courses can be undertaken for wreck diving etc. Anyway, I wanted the initial course.

It didn’t happen though. I haven’t a problem with my ears until I get into the sea. I should say get under it to any depth. As the depth increases, say beyond 10 feet, the pressure causes considerable ear pain. I tried ear plugs to no avail. The instructors didn’t understand the problem, but of course – no diving course.

An acquaintance on the same course also had trouble, not with his ears but his face. No, he didn’t come out in spots – he had a ‘craggy’ face, deeply lined. When under the sea his face mask flooded and this happened every time no matter what was tried. So no diving course for him either.

I spent my time on the reefs with snorkelling gear. This gives a great ‘overview’ of the reef and everything is still wonderful to behold. I will always remember putting my head down for the first time and seeing powder blue surgeons, what a sight! An Emperor Angel majestically cruising along the reef face. Lots of memories.

I don’t feel as though I’ve missed out at all, I’ve seen some amazing things and got close up to a lot of them. A bit too close sometimes – waves pushing me onto sharp coral was a bit too close, or a large eel appearing in front of my face made me back off. I managed to dive down to perhaps 6 to 8 feet if something caught my eye.

So if you are a scuba diver, I’d have liked to have been in the club. If not or you don’t fancy it, if you’re going anywhere near a reef have a go with snorkelling gear.

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Live Rock and Corals – Excellent!

April 25, 2008

Some conservationists have expressed their concern over the use of live rock in the aquarium hobby. They see this as denuding the reefs, and, if that were shown to be correct, I for one would have sympathy.

As I understand it, much of the live rock is taken as rubble, that is, it is not part of the actual reef, but rock that lies loose. There is an argument to say that this rock should not be touched as it belongs to the reef. The opposite is that the reef is unchanged if it is taken away. I feel fairly certain that some rock may well be taken from the actual reef in some areas, in the same way that cyanide is/was used to obtain fish. Hopefully the latter practice is now minimal or has ceased altogether.

The amount of live rock that is being used nowadays is substantial. It is probably the most used filtration media in reef aquariums, and is often used in fish only aquariums as well. So it is reasonable that some attention is paid to its source. No-one wants damage to be caused to the reefs because of the aquarium trade.

It was a pleasure therefore to read of the efforts of a commercial concern that is providing live rock but is not taking it from the reefs – well, not from the wet reefs anyway.

What is happening is that land based rock that used to be a coral reef is being mined in quantity and then transported out to sea, around 20 miles off-shore. In the sea it has been left as a coral reef allowing it to develop. The area used is in the Gulf of Mexico.

The commercial concern involved has to be congratulated as the rock had to be left for 4 years to develop naturally, so for that period the company had the investment but no profit. That length of time is quite a commitment.

The reef is being harvested now, but not all of it. Part is left intact without interference, and the remainder is recovered in sections by divers, who fill baskets that are raised to the surface for the waiting boat. The areas that have been harvested are re-seeded with replacement rocks from the land, and in this way a continuous supply is available. The amounts involved are substantial. The quality of the rock is described as ‘premium.’

Of course the mining of the rock from the land could be damaging environmentally. I assume that in order to obtain authority to mine the rock, an agreement to landscape the mining areas would be required.

Separate from the live rock enterprise and in a different area of the world is hard coral production. Divers go down to the reefs and selected mother colonies have a part removed. This part is placed in a small tube which in turn is fastened to a small manufactured standard tile. These tiles are then left in the sea to develop. Again, harvesting is delayed pending development, but after a period a near continuous supply of corals can be obtained. The system means the mother coral remains in situ and continues to provide further corals as long as it continues to be deemed suitable.

Much of the coral programme came about through an education exercise, where local collectors have been taught sustainable methods.

With all the gloom about the potential future of coral reefs at the moment, usually with global warming as a foundation, and the known problems of sedimentation, over fertilization, destruction for building needs etc, it is very pleasant to learn of efforts such as those described. True, in the commercial case it may be simply that a profit source was identified but so what, it is a big step in the right direction. Corals are grown (‘fragged’) by many aquarists, but the majority are still obtained from the wild, so the fact that some are now cultured in the wild and at the same time protect the livelihood of local people can only be good.

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