Fish Spotlight:
Golden Assessor
For the passive fish or reef hobbyist seeking a unique an
interesting fish, the Assessor flavissimus or Golden Assessor make a great addition. The
most unique thing about them is their ability to free swim upside down. This is mainly due
the fact that they tend to inhabit the cave and overhang areas of the Pacific coral reefs.
They are mostly yellow in color with outlining orange highlights and blue-green markings
around the eyes. They are not aggressive and make a great addition to a reef tank. They
will feed readily on meaty small frozen foods and small pellets. Groups tend to stay close
to each other, making them interesting inhabitants for the tank. They seldom reach lengths
of 3 inches.
Fox Coral
This coral is often overlooked by hobbyist. The Nemenzophllia
turbida or Fox coral has a very narrow and fragile calcareous skeleton. It is truly a very
easy to maintain coral, provided you place it in a very low waterflow area. When expanded,
some say it looks like a bouquet of flowers. It is best positioned in the bottom of the
aquarium nestled in a sheltered area. Placing them directly in the sand proves to be
ideal. It's lighting requirements vary from low to medium, which is why it does so well in
the bottom of the tank. Although it has numerous tiny mouths all along it center, it does
not have any tentacles, thus feeding is best left to the lighting with supplemental
additions of phytoplankton. Do not place them near corals that may sting them as they have
no means of defending themselves against aggression.
AquaTouch News:
Holiday Update
We hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable holiday season.
We greatly appreciate all your support over this last year. We are still committed to
providing the healthiest livestock and quality drygoods for the discerning marine
hobbyist. Here are just a few of the new items that have been added to our shelves. Many
were requests from you, our customers. The AquaC skimmers are proving to be quite a
performer, with the EV line and their hang-on Remoras. Two Little Fishies has a new
feeding clip that holds up much better than others, it also floats if it comes off! The
new concentrated DT's Phytoplankton is quite a space saver in the fridge and cost much
less too! 2001 Annual of Marine Fish & Reef magazine just hit the shelves. And don't
forget about Modern Reef Aquarium volume 3, it's now available to add to your reference
library.
Q: What is a refugium? What benefit would there be to setting up one?
A: Refugiums have become popular as reef keepers strive for ever-greater biodiversity
in their systems. Even in the largest home aquariums, it is often difficult to maintain
high populations of beneficial micro-fauna, such as amphipods, copepods, mysid shrimp,
etc. A refugium is simply a volume of water separated from your main aquarium. It acts as
a safe-haven in which beneficial flora and fauna can grow and reproduce without predation
from fish and inverts. They can be as simple as a partitioned section of your main
aquarium, or as complex as a completely separate aquarium connected to the main tank.
Many hobbyist have modified their existing sumps to allow for the inclusion of a
refugium by simply seeding this portion of your sump with small pieces of liverock,
livesand and a fast growing macroalgae, such as caulerpa. Lighting can be a single
full-spectrum fluorescent bulb, but multiples work well too. Use a timer to run the
lamp(s) opposite the day/night cycle of the main aquarium. This helps minimize the pH
depression that normally occurs during the lights-off hours of the main system.
As the algae grows, it becomes a perfect habitat for many species of beneficial
creatures. These reproduce quickly in their predator-free environment. Their larvae (and
occasional adults) are then returned to the main tank via the circulation pump, where they
become a regular source of planktonic food for the fish and corals. Periodic harvesting of
excess macroalgae provides a effective means of nutrient export, such as nitrate,
phosphate and other dissolved organic compounds. Refugia are a cost effective way to
increase the biodiversity of your reef tank. So if you're looking to try something new,
set one up... you won't be disappointed!
