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wow, that's high praise. thanks.
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Well, my battle with Cryptocaryon irritans continues...
I'm now doing 30 minute dips as the standard. Have done it to a Flame Hawk, Clowns, and all my Tangs (Powder Blue, Naso, Yellow, Blue/Palette/Hippo/Regal/Royal). After freshwater dips at night, the fish look great through to next morning, but by evening their spots have returned. So I got sick of catching them (if I can) out of this: http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...66647760_n.jpg This one I believe deserves a Klondike bar. I caught all my tangs out of the 65 gal reef without dismantling any rock work. The bigger tangs were easy as I know their paths of escape into the rock work, so I just bait the other end of the tank with their nori clip, and quickly move a net into place along their travel path between them, the rocks, and the glass. The little blue tang took about 3 hrs of chasing around with wooden dowels throughout the rock work, until he got under a rock that was near the top, I quickly shut off the lights to confuse him, and chased him into a black coloured net. I've since removed my frags/hermits/snails/rack and turned the 25 gal cube into a holding tank for easier catch & FW dips. No medication, considering lowering salinity to 75-50%... but not as low as true hyposalinity. In the dip/bath bucket, I'm using a bit of Herbtana (came with a bunch of crap I got in package deals) aprox 1/3 cap full, along with Stress Coat (for chlorine) aprox 5ml, and just tap water (aprox 2-3 gal)... 30min bath once daily (twice if I have time). http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...54780883_n.jpg http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...11462434_n.jpg While I have the camera out... Blastomussa that had receding tissue and exposed skeleton continues to look good after relocation to a dimmer spot on the sand bed http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...62719892_n.jpg Acquisitions from Tidal_Waters over the weekend looking solid. They were Acropora formosa, Acanthastrea, and (no photo) Pocillopora. http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...15977365_n.jpg http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...60166773_n.jpg Other photos from around the tank... Acanthastrea from Lee9 this summer, my other Blastomussa that did not get light shocked, and some amphipods having sex. http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...70568769_n.jpg http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...36976324_n.jpg http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...94969475_n.jpg |
An update to my battle with Cryptocaryon irritans.
it was Oct 19th when I got really sick of catching my fish at random (whenever I had success catching them) for several minutes of freshwater baths. Oct 19th, I caught all the infected fish, turned my frag tank into an isolation tank (no medicine), and house them for easy catching and daily dips. This is in essence a mix of pseudo-hyposalinity and pseudo-tank-transfer method. I left behind in the main display: my fake hawkfish (Geometric Hawk), my real hawkfish (Flame Hawk), my two mandarins (Green & Blue), and my Royal Gramma. I was unable to catch them and/or they showed no spots. Today (Oct 22, day 4 of treatment) the infected fish show 95% spot free with a few at 100% spot free. Treatment as follows: 1) isolation tank held at pseudo-hyposalinity at 20 ppt. Noticed my amphipods and isopods in the live sand weren't happy upon dilution (emerging and swimming frantically) but many are still alive when I dig in the sand/rubble. I also see a chiton still trucking along the glass. At the very least, the lowered salinity made the infected fish (w/ parasite ridden gills) more comfortable at osmo-regulation, and may have curbed infectious phase parasite viability. 2) fish continued to eat like nothing was wrong... nori, frozen Artemia enriched with Spirulina for HUFAs, and frozen Mysis. 3) daily freshwater baths at 30 minutes on tangs & clowns, using water conditioner to neutralize chlorine (StressCoat and then AquaPlus when I ran out), matching temperature but otherwise tap water with Calgary tap water pH. A few times I added Herbtana to the baths but not sure that it really did anything. I'll likely treat one or two more days and move them back to the main display. Two tangs have already returned. I've increased my isolation tank salinity to 26 ppt as I don't want to kill my live sand biodiversity and bio filter critters. |
It's been a little while since I updated my journal. I went away for a fantastic vacation to Costa Rica. Thread here with photos: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=90538
Nearing my departure date, I was still at the winning end of a battle with Cryptocaryon. When vacation day came... well, flights are booked so here we go... Came back with many fish not making it, but most corals ok. Pretty dejected for a while. Oh well. If I fear for my tank, I'd never go on vacation... life's too short to miss out on seeing the world. Anyway, things have come back to normal now since that late October trip. On Nov 19, I added a second light to my 65 gal reef. Now it has two Innovative Marine 92 watt LED tablet Skkye lights (dual spectrum model). Got the new unit from Wai's for $500 + GST and was pretty pleased, as this unit sells for $581 USD mail order out of US and Pisces in Calgary sells for $675. BEFORE: http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...54412133_n.jpg AFTER: http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...05778592_n.jpg I've recently added an Elegance coral. Picked this up on Black Friday at Pisces for $80, though it wasn't on sale. The size of its skeleton is the size of a regular hard shell taco... actually I told my wife it was a taco coral... silly non-aquarium folk. This piece was a good deal, as Ocean's wanted in excess of $110 for his piece that was not neon green with pink tips... he has a few like that too but said those were more expensive and I didn't bother asking further. http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...57849610_n.jpg Full tank shot 65 gallon Nov 24: http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...10293931_n.jpg 25 gal cube frag tank currently housing 5 new acquisition fish under observation, using herbtana. There's a Powder Brown Tang, a Naso Tang, a Yellow Tang, a Flame Angel, an Arc Eye Hawkfish. http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...30033839_n.jpg |
Nice! Love that elegance! Might have to visit the OC and tell him the big P is selling theirs for $80 :-D
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IMO OC's pricing is pretty fair. He doesn't under price nor over price and he's often consistent from one shipment to the next. Sometimes I feel bad telling him someone else is cheaper as I'm not trying to nickel and dime him... I'd just as well say nothing and buy at the cheaper place if the price difference is worthwhile and all else is equal. But I often also don't mind paying a few bucks extra (<$10) at OC, he's a friendly guy and gives honest opinions. I also think he tries to get his prices to end in the number 8 for Chinese superstition, and that makes me chuckle. |
So I got sick of ineffectively quarantining new fish in my frag tank using Herbtana. It's just not working. Lost my Flame Angel this week to Cryptocaryon. So I stripped down my frag tank, took out the sand, frags, frag rack, power head, and now it's a quarantine tank with Cupramine. Screw you protozoans! It's on!
One day I'll set up another frag tank with the metal halide lamp. http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...29265558_n.jpg |
You've got some super nice acans and i love that Caulastrea too! Hope your battle with the sick fish turns around for you.
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thanks. me too!
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In Reality, its not aggression, or being 'to crowded' in a 3 foot 65 gallon tank with 4-5 tangs in it.... it's the fact that they need lots of swimming room, as they are an active, continuously swimming fish. Just because fish stores cram 6 tangs in a 20 gallon tank, dosn't mean that morally, you should too. With that much rock work, there is probably only 30-40 gallons actual swimming room in there for them. Thats not a suitable habitat for them at all. If you are in the "fish/aquaculture business" as you say, then you should truely know better, or at the very least, sympathize with these animals a little more. Sell the tangs. Theres a lot more fish out there that you can keep. Wait until you have a bigger, better setup for the tangs. Just a thought.. |
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Those tangs are long gone via outbreak during my vacation to Costa Rica. The current tangs are 3" only.
Fish Business / Aquaculture business doesn't have anything to do with morality. I'm not going to get into a debate on morality here as it's always a matter of perspectives. A non-fishkeeper would just as well call all confinement immoral. Let's pass on this topic. |
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The 3 tangs and hawkfish are in a quarantine tank w/ Cupramine running with Rena canister filter. Main display is a Berlin system.
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Nuff' said! |
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Any business’s first objective is to create shareholder value. Shareholders can range as anything from common stock buyers of a public company to a sole proprietor. Either way, if the company does not align its activities to create value for its owners, it will cease to exist as a going concern, or it’s not a business (it’s a charity rather). Next, a company would be wise to hold mission statements (and have tangible actions) in corporate social responsibility, holding values that matter to those it does business with and to those within communities that drive their business. Being corporate-socially responsible is not necessary for any company to remain a going concern, so it is not a mandate so much as a very wise and right thing to do. Now transferring this to the aquaculture / aquarium business. The people employed in the aquarium business are everyday people, some of whom aren’t even hobbyists. The degree to which any given individual employed in this business "cares about animal welfare" varies as much as any hobbyist. Assuming that one must be conscientious or a conservationist would be just that, an assumption that is no more valid when applied to any other person. The aquarium business and aquaculture IS a fishery, only the end consumers do not eat the harvest. That said, there’s a whole lot of mortality among capture rates leading to the provision of the strongest specimens that survive to the market (capture, hold until landing, hold until export, hold until import, hold until shipped, hold until tanked at LFS, hold until your tank). So participation in this hobby is not an act of conservation nor compassion. Putting this back into a fair perspective, however, most species are those of sustainable wild populations and many (not all) are caught using sustainable practices. So just treat it as such, hobbyists are consumers of a fishery, but hobbyists are not noble providers of shelters. Hobbyists, however, would be wise to learn where poor fishing practices exist and avoid buying species from those regions, and would be wise to avoid species that are unsuitable for captivity. Now onto the issue of stocking density. The objection is that 3 tangs at 4”-5” and 1 tang at 2” is overstocking a 65 gallon. This is as debatable as can be. You could put up a poll and likely the split would be 40-60 or 30-70… and many hobbyists exceed this without wanting to cause ripples here so publicly. At the very least, someone from the fish business is not likely to err on the conservative side of stocking density. It’s in fact ongoing improvement to push the envelope on stocking density through sound husbandry practices. You will see the same thing at public zoos and aquariums that are nationally accredited (e.g. AZA). So to clarify this point, the fish business is first and foremost about business and science. It can be compassionate and conscientious, but it is not a prerequisite. I did not mean to sound so harsh. By way of mention, the Cryptocaryon outbreak is not a stocking density issue. It is my fault, but not a stocking density problem. The fish were undergoing treatment at the LFS, and the owner was hesitant to sell so soon. So he had me wait and wait, and I grabbed them as soon as he'd let them go. So they were clearly not fully cured. The outbreak occurred within days of their arrival. My fault is that I rushed, plus I did not have a full quarantine tank set up. It's my fault for being too brave and impatient. I was used to using pharmaceutical grade chloroquine, chloramphenicol, and formalin which are more effective at protozoan eradication, and I over estimated whatever the LFS was using. In treatment, I tried to short cut using freshwater dips and Herbtana, but my 1 week vacation did the fish in. Since then, I now have a full quarantine tank where I can use copper. The new fish, have never lived one second in the main display, so one can knock the Berlin system all they want, but it has no influence on fish that never lived there. |
To learn more about the aquarium fishery, see this article
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2j...jRieDNlcnQyU2M |
That was a wordy way of saying "other people don't give a f__k, why should I?"
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I don't understand how you interpreted I don't give a f__k.
I'm trying to say that the state of it is very different from what we believe. We would be wise to learn more about what and where we support and be smarter consumers. You cannot ignore that we're challenging wild populations, and hobbyists are the demand that drives this. If we choose to stay in the hobby, then we must be aware of our impact. It's not a "let's quit the hobby" issue... it's a "being an aware consumer" issue. |
Of course you don't, and that's more or less the problem being enunciated here.
In any case, carry on :) |
I'm sorry that you are getting that impression. You are wrong.
Here's some eye openers from my article in Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine (FAMA): https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2j...jRieDNlcnQyU2M The point is... the hobby can be a sustainable wild fishery so long as wild captures are properly monitored, enforced, and managed. Within the article, you will read about MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) that serve to protect small regions of the whole area, and also provides recruitment to the surrounding areas. Outside the article, hobbyists would be wise to be aware of what and where they support. There are nations that have poor records of fisheries management, and there are nations that have achieved sustainable fisheries. -Two divers used to be able to harvest 1000 Mandarins in 3 hours, now two divers typically catch about 30 in 3 hours. -Average size of mandarins caught is 3 cm (down from 6 cm), this is near sexual maturity -118,000 Banggai cardinals are exported per month, but this is after an 85% mortality rate post-catch -Arraial do Cabo (Brazil) used to land 600 Condylactis per week, now they are locally extinct -Cebu (Philippines) have protected and unprotected areas. Differences between fished and unfished Sebae anemones (Heteractis) is density (1 per 200 square yards vs 1 per 40 square yards) and size (16-32 square inches vs 64-80 square inches) -same comparison above for clownfishes... density (1 per 10 square yards vs 1 per 200 square yards) and size (6 cm vs 2.5 cm length) |
Maybe I haven't articulated the corporate social responsibility part well enough? I'm trying to convey that while a company does not have to be engaged in extended social-community programs or hold such values (as we see many examples of this around us), I am by no means advocating this. I've worked for 7 different employers, 3 of whom are fortune 500 companies. The most successful have been those with proper corporate social responsibility mandates.
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I don't expect to get everyone's alignment, nor do I claim to be a saint. If I can leave you with one practical one-liner--
As much as you can, support shipments out of Hawaii and Florida because US fisheries are (largely) properly managed. Yes, landed costs are typically higher, that's why LFS still source from Indonesia and Philippines. |
What does this have to do with four tangs doggy paddling in a crowded 67 gallon tank? This entire tirade has been a big straw man stuffed with equal parts false dichotomy and call to authority. Like, literally, the entire schlong of arguments are non-relevant, but in the most verbose manner possible. It's almost... museum worthy in its grandiose self-importance.
I mean, hey, if you're gonna do it, do it and have the cajones to say "you know what? You guys can go take your self righteousness and shove it." But standing from the pulpit and delivering this oratory? Too funny. <3 |
Didn't realize you're still stuck back at the stocking density thing. You weren't very specific as to what I "don't give a f__k about."
Yeah, if you're talking about the stocking density, I still don't feel I'm over stocking. I've spawned 69 species of marine fishes in captivity so I know what works and what doesn't. If you're talking about people talking about compassion for fish without understanding that hobbyists are driving an uncompassionate fishery, that I care a great deal about. |
Must.... resist.. urge.. to ... troll....
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whatever. I don't even know what that means.
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nevermind.
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Just sayin'. |
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Oh, I don't actually care about the tangs. It's a free country and the customer is always right.
No, that's a non-issue. But the sermon of silliness was worthy of having a lengthy documentary made and graded. lol |
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Just to add something....I don't know why people always point fingers at this hobby saying this hobby is threatening lives under ocean while industries are carrying out sequestration to the ocean and billions of people love seafood. Pity! |
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Yes... there are HUGE other issues around the world... but thats really not relevant here at all. How many tangs do you have in your 20 gallon Nano? NONE... because you have the common sense and decency not to do something silly. |
Arghh I hope nobody looks in my tank lol
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