Frogfish Friend

 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

 Hi friends!  As many of you may be learning, there are a lot of ways to accomplish something in the hobby. It typically comes down to what kind of care and maintenance you are willing to do and fit into your routine.  So tell me... What is your favorite way to cycle a tank? My personal favorite is to blind feed an empty tank. In my opinion, this is the most ethical approach to starting a cycle. All you simply have to do is drop 1-3 pellets into the tank every other day. Then you wait for it to decompose which breaks down into ammonia.  Another way to start a cycle is with a fish. The idea is similar. But instead of the food breaking down, the fish eats it and breaks it down directly to ammonia.  In my opinion, that is a cruel way to start a cycle. You are putting a fish in a dangerous environment. The ammonia burns the fish's gills and reduces its lifespan greatly. It is still a really common cycle method which is troublesome. There is virtually no gain from doing this. You do not

 Hi Friends! Today I am going over how we categorize coral in the hobby. The three main groups we use are: 1. SPS (Small polyp stony coral) 2. LPS (Large polyp stony coral)  3. Softy   I will go over each of these categories in their own posts for more specific care and details. Things change often in the hobby and one of the more typical changes is how a coral is named and classified. These are not hard rules. Instead it is a tool to assist people in the hobby. SPS coral are what a lot of people imagine when they think about a coral reef. It is typically seen as a "reef builder" and it makes up a lot of the structure on the reef. The small polyps sit over a calcium carbonate skeleton. As the polyps stretch and expand towards the light they secrete the materials to grow their skeleton and tissue. Here are two examples close up. Below is a green Acro with small polyps. Above is a red Monti.   Typically the calcium carbonate skeleton grows first, followed closely by the tissue

  Welcome readers! I am excited to show you my slice of the ocean. I would like to introduce you to my good friends Creme and Brulee, the clownfish. They are both Ocellaris clownfish with special markings and patterns. They are "Designer" clownfish. Brulee is the larger of the two and has orange on her face. She is known as a "Mocha Storm" clownfish. Creme is all black and white, and he is known as a "Black Storm" clownfish. These two live in a mature 29 Gallon saltwater fish tank. In the hobby we would refer to this type of tank as a "Mixed Reef" because it has a wide variety of coral and invertebrate. This tank has a flourishing ecosystem from the smallest of algae and copepods to the larger fish and coral colonies.  Creme and Brulee are the only fish in this system. The lower fish population makes it easier to control the biodiversity from the top of the chain down. Nutrient import and export are important factors to consider in order to k