List of Coral Reef Tank Pictures
Prediction for 2022
Hi friends!
Many of you may not know this, but the reef tank hobby goes through waves of trends (get it?). A few years ago scollys' were the big expensive coral going around. Not long after that bounce mushrooms were a bit hit. Rockflower anemones' had a short time in the lime light. And of course how can we forget about all of the designer zoanthids.
A lot of the trendy coral that makes its way into the hobby also depend on oversea regulation. Indonesia (where most coral is shipped from) placed heavy regulations on ocean harvesting and trade over the last year in part due to covid and in part due to over fishing.
My big bold prediction for 2022 is that there will be a wave of "desk" tanks as the next trend. This would help move the hobby forward in many ways.
1. It would take focus away from office betta tanks that are not suitable for fish. Fish need a lot more space than most people believe. A betta fish is recommended to have at least 5 gallons, a heater, and a filter.
2. Office tanks are typically simple set ups with little maintenance. This is a perfect fit for some coral! Coral does not have specific tank size requirements like fish do. So we can put a bunch of easy to grow coral in an old small 1-2 gallon betta bowl. Easy to grow coral (typically softies) are normally easy to propagate. This may help reduce harvesting stress on the ocean as more coral is aquaculture in an office setting.
3. It would look really cool.
Imagine having a fishbowl of skittle colored zoanthids on your desk.
Thats pretty rad. The top picture is of "Halle Barry" Zoanthids. The
bottom left is "white zombie" zoanthid and the bottom right is
"Radioactive dragon eye".
-FFF
Popular posts from this blog
Hypothetical: What if coral became the new "Betta" fish?
Hi friends! I have a question for you today! What if coral became the new "betta"? What do I mean by this? Well, betta fish are sold in small cups in stores across the country. This is because they sell them so fast (they claim). It leads people to believe they do not need a bigger home too. Along with this, companies market small containers and wild gadgets that really do not promote the health of the fish. So what if we changed betta for coral? At first I was not sure what that would do... But now I actually think it would be an amazing achievement. See, coral do not need a certain size container to live in. As long as they have light and good water they should be able to grow healthy. I think this alone would reduce the ethical issues around bettas in a cup. Coral in a cup! The downside to this is I do not see it taking off. Everyone likes a fish because it swims around and "does stuff". It is active and bright and catches people's attention. Coral ten
Randy Holmes-Farley, A profile of the community
Hi friends! Today I would like to introduce you to a person that helped me deep dive (get it?) into the reef tank hobby. Randy Holmes-Farley is a chemist by trade that is very active on reef tank forms (primarily Reef 2 reef). He has been in the reef tank hobby for a little over 30 years and has helped advance the hobby to where it is today. He has a BA in chemistry and biology as well as a PhD in chemistry. He breaks down a lot of water chemistry and parameter topics into something easy to understand and use. Water chemistry is a fundamental part of excelling in the reef tank hobby. There is a difference from having your tank functioning and surviving to thriving and glowing. An understanding of water chemistry will help you know what the coral and fish will need and how to keep things stable and safe. If your alkalinity is low, for example, your coral may have stunted growth. Knowing how much of what to add (I use ashe water for alk drops because of him as well), how slowly, and wh
Sneeze: Learning Biology/Chemistry basics
Hi friends! I get asked a lot of questions every week about my reef tank. One of the more common questions I get asked is along the lines of: "How do I get to the next level in reef keeping?". I LOVE vague questions like that. Everyone's reef tank experience is different and everyone learns at different paces. So this is a hard question to blindly answer for everyone. But if I were to give a general blanket statement, I would recommend everyone brush up on their biology and chemistry. Learning the basics of these two sciences can greatly expand what you know and connect all of the dots. There is a lot of overlap for the two, so it helps to know a little of everything. First, if you have not checked out my posts about cycling a tank, check them out here: Cycling a tank Ways to cycle a tank Its the nitrogen cycle! These links will help you understand a little more about the biology process going on inside of the tank and why things such as live rock are so important