An earthquake has hit off the Indonesian Island of Bali early Thursday morning causing many injuries and property damage throughout the island. The U.S geological survey said the earthquake was a 6.0-magnitude and hit about 62 miles southwest of Bali. So far 50 people have been taken to local hospitals with only five suffering from major injuries. Indonesia is located on the "Ring of Fire" which is a arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin. This makes the area prone to earthquakes from the constant motion of the faults moving on each other. In fact, Indonesia suffered a 9.1-magnitude earthquake that occured underwater and caused a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 2004. For this earthquake the U.S Geological Survey has issued no stunami alert and hopefully those who have suffered will recover soon. Picture from www.worldwidehomestay.com Continue reading

Due to the popularity of my An Introduction to Freshwater Puffers I decided to do one for saltwater because everyone should be able to experience the joy of having a puffer. So, lets quit messing around and bring on the puffers! But, before I start introducing these amazing saltwater puffers I want to make a few points that every hobbyist should keep in mind before purchasing a puffer. 1. puffers are extremely messy fish = HUGE filtration system required 2. puffers are semi-aggressive to aggressive in behavior = keep only one puffer per tank and research tank-mates heavily (usually species only tanks) 3. puffers get big = very large tank required (no 10 gallons here) Now that you have been educated on the key points to remember when looking at these adorable fish, lets learn about some amazing puffers! The first puffers that I think saltwater hobbyist tend to forget are the sharpnose puffers (aka tobies). These puffers are in the same family of Tetraodontidae but in a subfamily of Canthigastrinae and do not get as large as the other members of Tetraodontidae. 1. Blue Spotted Puffer (Canthigaster solandri): These little puffers are great! The max size these little guys... Continue reading

So it is officially Shark Week on the Discovery Channel where they are highlighting "shark attacks, killer sharks, rouge sharks" and every other negative aspect about sharks that a human can concentrate on. I feel as though the entire week is garbage and is used to draw audiences through "fear". The Consortium for Ocean Leadership posted an article regarding the population decrease of sharks in the ocean due to human activities. I found the article to be very interesting and I would like to highlight specific parts of the article. Many people have completely irrational fears of shark attacks when they swim in the ocean. But you argue "how come I hear about shark attacks on the news?" That is because 1. the news focuses on anything dangerous, bad or horrible happening to any person and 2. more & more people are getting in contact with sharks, not the other way around. More people are living near the ocean than ever, with 16 million people living in Florida it is inevitable that people will be in the ocean the same time sharks are. The article "Foreign Policy: Sharks Swimming With The Fishes?" is where much of my information for this... Continue reading

A study in Science put in perspective the current decline of predators and the affects of their loss on the environment. The study was conducted by a international team of scientists whom looked at predators in terrestrial, freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. The study concluded that "the loss of apex consumers is arguably humankind's most pervasive influence on the natural world." and claims that humankind has only seen the beginning changes that are occurring in ecosystems. See why below! Basically, the delcine of apex predators (sharks, lions, killer whales and wolves) causes a large change in the ecosystem in which they belong, this is called a "trophic cascade" where a chain of effects continues down the food web. This can be seen in many ecosystems around the world, for example the decline of sea otters in kelp forests have cause a increase in sea urchin populations which in itself causes a decline in kelp forests. This just shows how humans can change their environments without realzing the total affects which are very apparent in these studies. I urge everyone to read the entire article here (and more trophic cascade examples) and read how these studies can tell the future of our... Continue reading

Marine Habitat Magazine launched in the UK on the first of this month, as did their website and blog! The mag is dedicated to saltwater aquariums and marine ecology, and I'm looking forward to a more advanced, quality publication (even if it'll be a bit harder for us here in the states to get our hands on a copy). Our own Mike Maddox is a launch columnist of this new publication, as well! Straight from the Marine Habitat Magazine website: "Marine Habitat is a new and very exciting printed magazine dedicated to the marine fish keeping hobby and the on-going support of marine conservation. Marine Habitat will be published bi-monthly and will be packed with facinating articles writen by a selection of the best marine experts from around the world. Marine Habitat has 2 faces, the printed magazine publication and its sister online website, together aiming to provide an all round resource for readers. The magazine will be packed with articles and amazing images but sometimes there just isn’t enough room and so the website will offer additional content, in the form of extra article text, additoinal photos and more over video footage to support printed articles. The website will... Continue reading

The results of the moratorium on fishing in the gulf are starting to come in, and they look very promising. All species sampled have experienced a population rebound, especially in species with a short life cycle. There's always been debate over how fishing affects population levels, and now there's clearcut evidence to prove that the ceasing of commercial fishing, even for a short period, allows for dramatic population recovery! This is good news for groups and scientifist urging for regular moratoriums in certain areas, who now have something definitive to offer policymakers. In the graph to the left you can see that commercial catches increased by a huge margin after the oil spill and subsequent closure to commercial fishing. While certainly not good for the environment, luckily the spill did not have a detrimental impact on the species sampled. Unfortunately, numbers will likely return to their pre-spill statistics if responsible fisheries management (and responsible seafood consumerism - nothing will change if you don't change how you spend your dollar!) is not implemented. So - be an eco-friendly consumer, and support local legislation that positively impacts the gulf ecology! Continue reading

The Smithsonian Museum's Invertebrate Exhibit has succesfully sexually propagated Urticina anemones! Unlike 'splitting' or 'fragging', the sexual propagation involves the fertilization of gametes and the successful growout of the anemone from larvae stage to adult stage, something that's much more difficult to do. I performed some research at A&M University that involved the study of Metridium anemone larvae, and let me tell you that raising them to adulthood hasn't been done! From the Smithsonian: "Washington, DC - The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has become the first in the zoo and aquarium community to use coral larvae settling techniques to successfully grow two species of anemones—an accomplishment that will provide the Zoo a unique opportunity to learn how anemones grow. We have many questions about how to care for these animals as they grow from larvae to adults,” said Mike Henley, an animal keeper at the Zoo’s Invertebrate Exhibit who applied the technique to the anemones after they had spawned. “The oceans are not an infinite resource and so anything that we can learn about the captive management of coral and anemones will go far in our ability to conserve them.” The anemones—both of which are commonly called Tealia red anemones under... Continue reading

So you've bought your first freshwater aquarium, installed the filter, got your decorations, and now you want to add fish...but you have to wait 4 to 6 weeks. That's no fun! Want to shorten the wait? Here are three things you can do to your aquarium to jump start the cycling process in your new aquarium, and get you closer to those adorable goldfish you have your eye on! 1. Add Bacteria Many products are in LFS and online that have beneficial bacteria in a bottle. One of these products, once added to an aquarium can, help establish the beneficial nitrifying bacteria that break down fish waste into less harmful substances - getting you closer to buying fish. I recommend Seachem's Stability. 2. Borrow from a friend If you have a friend who has a cycled aquarium, ask them if you can add a sponge filter to their tank for a week or so, or borrow some biological media from their established filter. Sponge filters are great for using as a home for beneficial bacteria to attach and grow on. In a few days you can remove the sponge filter from your friend's aquarium and add it to yours. Now... Continue reading

Advanced Aquarist, literally the best aquarium magazine available (and available for free!) is now being printed in high-quality book format which you can get at Amazon.com. This means you can get the best and most accurate aquatics information in a beautiful book format with high quality printing, binding, and images! (Yes, we're big fans of AA here at Captive Aquatics, can you tell?) This also means our own Mike Maddox is now appearing in a book, as he wrote a feature article for Advanced Aquarist a few months back. Check out the details of the new book here, or check out the nifty animation on the left for the Captive Aquatics blog recommended reading list! Share: © Captive Aquatics™ / Captive Aquatics™ Blog / Sponsor Info Continue reading

When a local magazine (Texas Cats & Dogs™) decided to expand into the realm of more exotic pets (birds, reptiles, amphibians, and ornamental aquatics) they chose international aquatics author Mike Maddox to write their monthly aquarium column. Mike is currently Tropical Fish Hobbyist's lead contributing author, and is a regular contributor to the Conscientious Aquarist and several other publications. The magazine is distributed free of charge to Houston residents, so sign up for free today! Continue reading

One of the most active fish in freshwater aquariums are zebra danios. These guys will spend countless hours zipping around your aquarium never slowing down. Zebra danios are some of the easiest fish to kept and are highly recommended for beginners. Here is a quick overview of their care. Scientific Name: Danio rerio Origin: Eastern India Life Span: 5 years Water Parameters: Requires pH of 6.5 to 7.0 and water temperature at 64 to 75 degrees F. Zebra danios are a must have for any beginner to the freshwater hobby due to their versatility and hardiness. They only require 5 gallons as a minimum tank size and do not require any specific water parameters. Zebra danios do require adequate swimming space near the top of the aquarium. Being omnivores, zebra danios eat a variety of meaty and vegetable based foods. A complete fish flake or pellet food with the occasional mysid or fresh vegetable treat would be perfect for any hungry danio. Breeding zebra danios in the home aquaria is possible and commonly occurs. Males and females mate for life and spawn at temperatures of 78 degrees F, easily producing 500 to 800 eggs. The adults will eat their eggs,... Continue reading

The best part of owning an aquarium is feeding the fish, because it is the main form of interaction that you will have with your fun aquatic pets. But, you ask, how hard is it to feed fish? I am not saying that it is difficult to do the actual feeding part, but you do need to follow a few guidelines to best satisfy your fishes appetite. First of all keep in mind that when feeding fish, no matter what species they are, they are always hungry. Fish can easily eat themselves to death if they were allowed, which is why you have to dictate when and how much they are allowed to eat. Thus, it is recommend to feed fish only once a day. They do not need a breakfast, lunch and dinner nor do they need treats like the family dog. It is better to set a specific time in the day that is convenient to your schedule and stick to it. But, how much do I feed them you ask? Well, this depends on the number of fish in your tank and the type. Larger fish will require a larger feeding portion while the smaller fish will... Continue reading