Bob Fenner Guest Speaker for NCPARS 2012 Spring Frag Swap

NCPARS That Fish Place Winter Frag Swap 2012

This year's North Central Pennsylvania Aquarium Reef Society and That Fish Place Winter frag swap was a great success! If you missed it, join us on April 28th at the Williamsport, PA high school for our Spring frag swap with special guest Bob Fenner.











Enjoy the rest of the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/feliciamccaulley/sets/72157629204066315/

Sea Star-Eating Nano Shrimps

One of my favorite aquariums is my 10 gallon nano reef aquarium. It contains only corals, crustaceans, and other invertebrates, so it's easier to keep clean. Some of the most interesting crustaceans in this tank are the sea star-eating shrimps: Harlequin shrimp Hymenocera elegans and Bumblebee shrimp Gnathophyllum americanum.

Bumblebee shrimp are a perfect livestock choice for a nano reef. They don't eat corals, are safe for fish, and grow less than an inch long. When it comes to feeding, they are not as picky as Harlequin shrimp or Bongo shrimp. They are carnivores who love to eat the tube feet of echinoderms like sea stars and urchins, but will also eat some small bits of frozen mysis or Cyclop-Eeze. If you provide enough sea stars, they will easily survive the attentions of a pair of Bumblebee shrimp. It's also a good idea to stock your nano with some Stomatella snails, as the Bumblebee shrimp snip pieces from the Stomatellas to eat without killing the snail. My Bumblebee shrimp is often seen harassing one of my many quickly-reproducing Stomatella snails.

Harlequin shrimp make are a great "showy" creature for a nano reef. Their beauty is surpassed by few other crustaceans. Harlequin shrimp are large enough that they are easy to spot, but small enough (only a couple inches) that they can be kept in a nano aquarium. They can be kept singly, but it's much more interesting to keep a pair. They seem to use their giant, paddle-like chelipeds to communicate with one another, perhaps coordinating their sea star attacks.

It is very easy to sex Harlequin shrimp. Females have tiny, color-spotted swimmerettes on the underside of the tail. Males have a clear, colorless underside. Two males or two females should not be housed together, but males and females pair easily and without aggression.

Unlike the Bumblebee shrimp, Harlequin shrimp consume the whole star, not just the feet. They use their large front claws to pinch and pry the legs of sea stars from their substrate, then force the sea star onto its back where it is helpless. They can keep a sea star alive for long periods of time while feasting on them.

Harlequin shrimp only eat sea stars. They don't eat brittle stars, however. The most readily available food sources for Harlequin shrimp are the tiny, hitchhiking Asterina stars, Chocolate Chip or African Knob, Linkia, Fromia, or Sand sifting stars. Linkia and Fromia stars are difficult to keep in captivity and more expensive. Remember, though, that the hardy, inexpensive Chocolate Chip and African Knob stars are not reef safe. It is possible to house a few Chocolate Chip stars separately from your nano aquarium and cut a leg off to feed the Harlequin shrimp, then allow the removed legs to grow back.

Hawaiian Harlequin shrimp are the most colorful, but they command pretty high prices and are more rare. The Indonesian variety is a little less expensive and may be purple, blue, or a combination.

Bongo shrimp are related to Harlequin shrimp, and eat both Sea Stars and Brittle stars. They are much smaller, growing to only an inch. They're also much more rare and command a price between $100 - $130 a pair. Here is a video by Liveaquaria.com of Bongo shrimp eating brittle stars.

Mark M's aquariums

DSC_0331, a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

I recently photographed my friend Mark's African Cichlid, South American Cichlid, and nano reef aquariums. Enjoy the photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feliciamccaulley/sets/72157627595995298/

MASNA Live Interview with new BOD members, Ret Talbot on Hawaii, and MACNA wrap-up

October 2011 - MACNA wrap-up, MASNA BOD, & Ret Talbot on Hawai'i

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-74311/TS-549252.mp3

I was honored to be voted in as the new Vendor Relations on the MASNA Board of Directors for 2012. Check out this interview with 4 new MASNA BOD members (including yours truly). Get MASNA Live podcasts and become a member of MASNA today!


Why should you join MASNA?

"MASNA is a non-profit organization composed of marine aquarium socieities and individual hobbyists from North America and abroad, totaling several thousand individuals.  

MASNA's goals are to:

• Educate our members with online and published material, the MACNA conference, and other sanctioned events
• Assist in forming and promoting the growth of clubs within the hobby while ensuring a sustainable future for the marine environment
• Support the efforts to eliminate abuses in collecting and transporting marine organisms through education, assistance and encouragement
• Encourage the ethical growth of the marine aquarium hobby and support captive breeding/propagation efforts

MASNA operates from a central Board of Directors elected each year by the delegates from the member societies at the Marine Aquarium Conference of North America, (MACNA).

In our efforts to ensure a sustainable future for marine environments and the marine aquarium hobby. MASNA provides its members:  

• Access to a speaker database
• A quarterly newsletter
• An annual conference (MACNA) and logistical support for host clubs
• Material resources to help conduct club business and found new clubs
• A large repository of educational resource materials
• Partnerships with funding and conservation organizations, fellowship opportunities, volunteer activities, and a scholarship fund
• Links, partnerships and resources to existing breeding and aquaculture facilities and organizations
• An extensive bookstore and merchandise store with discounts for members
• Practical tips for saving the world’s oceans from within the hobby and through personal action
• A collective voice in national and international initiatives
• Strategies, resources and online materials to improve husbandry, aquarium keeping and reduce mortality
• Large resources for conservation related activities and information"

Luke G's 150XH Reef

Amphiprion ocellaris and Montipora hodgsoni, a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

Yawning Ocellaris Clownfish

Recently I was able to photograph my friend Luke G's amazing 150XH reef. The most amazing part is he just set it up in July after moving to a new place. Luke is an Acropora fanatic and takes great care of his aquatic pets. I can't wait to see the tank more grown in. See the full album here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feliciamccaulley/sets/72157627895945034/

Seahorse Drawing

A special thanks goes out to one of Felicia's Aquarium Adventures' young readers, Jonathan, for this beautiful seahorse picture. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Liomera sp.

Liomera sp., a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

Strawberry crabs are considered to be reef safe "with caution." As far as crabs go, this species is one of the more coral safe crabs.

This little crab was found as a hitchhiker at The Hidden Reef in Levittown, PA. It now resides in my 10 gallon nano tank. So far it is not bothering any of the corals or its peaceful crustacean tank mates.

Naxiodes taurus

Naxiodes taurus , a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

Sometimes called the Soft coral crab or decorated horn crab. Commensal on soft corals, gorgonians, and sea fans. This one was found in the folds of a Leptoseris at The Hidden Reef in Levittown, PA.

I put this crab in my 10 gallon nano tank. This tank has no fish in it, only corals and small, reef safe crustaceans.

McCosker's Flasher Wrasse

McCosker's Flasher Wrasse, a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

Hybrid Limia super male

Hybrid Limia super male, a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

RighPet.com

RightPet.com is a site that allows members to write reviews of species and breeds of pets. This allows new pet owners to read the first-hand accounts and reviews of real people who have kept the species or breed they are interested in before they buy/adopt it. Make sure you sign up and add your 2 cents on your favorite (or least favorite) species kept as pets. Your experience could help new pet owners decide which pet is or is not right for them.

This month Felicia's Aquarium Adventures is the featured member! Check out our reviews of saltwater fish (and other critters).


http://www.rightpet.com/fish/saltwater-aquarium-fish

How to Kill Hydroids in Dwarf Seahorse and Fry Tanks

Hydroids are tiny jellyfish-like creatures that infest tanks with low flow, such as seahorse fry tanks and larval rearing vessels. The bad news is, they can sting and kill dwarf seahorses and fish fry that get too close to them. Hydroids love to eat baby brine shrimp and can be introduced to the tank on almost anything, including the shells of brine shrimp eggs.

There are a couple things you can do to prevent contamination of your tank with hydroids. Make sure you are using decapsulated brine shrimp eggs, or decapsulate them yourself. You can buy already decapsulated brine shrimp from seahorsesource.com.

Your best weapon against hydroids is a drug called Fenbendazole (Panacur). However, you should familiarize yourself thoroughly with this drug before using, or better yet, talk to your veterinarian first. Reeftools and its colleagues can not be held responsible for any result of you reading this blog and using Fenbendazole. Personally, I’ve used this drug safely with dwarf seahorses and Fundulus heteroclitus Killifish. I’ve read that it can be safely used with other fish fry such as Clownfish. In low doses it can be safe for clean up crews such as Nassarius snails, cleaner shrimp, and hermit crabs. Be careful and do lots of research before using Fenbendazole.

Any living creatures or plants you want to add to your dwarf seahorse or fry tank should be treated with Fenbendazole first. Keep in mind, most invertebrates and corals DO NOT tolerate Fenbendazole and will die. Macroalgae such as Caulerpa and Chaetomorpha as well as the beneficial nitrifying bacteria in live rock handle treatment with the drug very well. Fenbendazole is by no stretch of the imagination considered to be reef safe. So don’t dose your reef tank with this stuff. Fenbendazole also tends to absorb into glass and rock, leaching into your tank forever. The granules seem to leach worse than the liquid does.

What should you do if you find hydroids in your dwarf seahorse tank or fry tank? Fish seem to tolerate Fenbendazole treatments well. Unfortunately, hydroids don’t even flinch from other common parasite treatments like low salinity, Praziquantel, or formalin baths. So far only Fenbendazole has proven an effective treatment.

Where can you get Fenbendazole? There are plenty of online or local farm animal feed stores that carry it. I use Safe-Guard Fenbendazole/liquid Goat Wormer by Intervet (fenbendazole) Suspension 10% (100 Mg/ml). It’s very important to choose one that is not flavored. Make sure you have done plenty of research and are aware of the risks of using this medication before you proceed. The dosage for fry tanks is 0.2 ml per 10 gallons. Repeat the dosage every other day for a total of three dosages. By the third dose, all hydroids should be dead.

Fenbendazole can also eradicate Aiptasia, bristleworms, and other marine worms.
http://reeftools.com/news/how-to-kill-hydroids/

Jsoh79's Reef Tank

Acan lord closeup, a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

I recently took some photos of my friend Josh's tank. Here's a teaser pic, if you want to see the rest, go to the Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/feliciamccaulley/sets/72157626814724924/with/5763863666/

hybrid guppy endler pintail

hybrid guppy endler pintail, a photo by Felicia McCaulley on Flickr.

This is one of my favorites. He is an old man now; he even moved from Wisconsin to PA with me in January. His father is an albino endler hybrid created by Adrian HD and his mother came from a line of yellow snakeskin doubleswords I'd been breeding for many years.