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AQUATECH

A publication of AquaTouch containing Tips & Techniques for being a successful Marine Aquarist...

AquaTips:

	Calibrate your heater to maintain a MAXIMUM of 2F degrees swing in any 24 hour period. This will cut your chances of disease outbreaks due to stress induced by the fluctuation in temperature. (In Phoenix Metro, more "Ich" medication is sold during the months October - December than all the other months combined!)
	Chopped Squid is a great food source for aggressive fish, especially triggerfish! It is a firm-solid tissue that allows them to exercise their muscles in the jaws. It's good for them and fattens them up nicely too!
	Informed hobbyist are successful hobbyist. Make sure you read any books or magazines relating to your hobby, and share your information with other hobbyists.

Fish Spotlight:

Arabian Dottyback

Pseudochromis aldabraensis, commonly known as the Arabian Psuedo or Dottyback. It is a small species reaching 8 cm (3.1 inches) in the wild. It is long and slender with a very colorful yellow-orange body, dark blue with neon highlights in the cheek and dorsal fin. It is slightly aggressive toward some small fish and others of its own family. However tank raised species are not as aggressive and do very well in community fish only or reef tanks. This species is found in the region surrounding the Arabian Gulf, but many currently available are actually tank raised. Its diet is varied, as it will eat most everything, but preference is on meaty foods, including Bristleworms which it will actively seek out in the reef tank. This is a great addition to any tank.

Invert Spotlight:

White Starfish

These animals are a new addition to our hobby and well adapted to the reef aquaria. They have only recently become available . The White Starfish come predominantly from Bali. Their habits include burying themselves just below the substrate as they expose their stomachs to feed on the detritus and micro-organisms that harbor the sand. They are seldom seen on the rockwork or on the glass. However, it is not uncommon to see an impression of their shape on the sand surface. These marks show you where they have been... not where they are. Their habits have proven them to be an ideal candidate as a substrate janitor, which adds to your reefs' eco-system.

AquaTouch News:

Seminar Update

Our seminar list has proven to be a lot bigger hit than we had imagined... However our business has taken a lot more of our time than we had imagined as well. This has caused us to postpone the Beginner Fish & Beginner Reef presentations until the Spring. We must continue to complete the construction of our facility before we take on this project. We will be giving you the dates & times in future AquaTech Newsletters. For the mean time... keep visiting and learning about the hobby. Make sure to check our "Free Literature" rack next time you are in for new product & information to make you a better informed hobbyist.

Question of the Month:

Q: What does the abbreviation "T.R." mean? I've seen this next to several names of animals on your tanks.

A: That's a good question! It stands for Tank Raised. We apply this abbreviation to any fish or invertebrates that have been raised in captivity. The industry of marine aquaculture is a relatively young one and we feel it is important to support this aspect of the hobby. Tank raised fish have many benefits for the hobbyist, including readily accepting prepared foods, less territorial habits, comfortable in closed systems as well as being used to the presence of people around them. Currently we are providing a variety of tank raised fish such as clownfish, dottybacks and gobies. Other species will be available in the future. The dottyback especially have proven to be a big hit with hobbyist because their price is usually less than those that are wild caught.

The corals being propagated are very healthy with good color pigments and include some species no longer available for collection in the wild. Most of the hard coral specimens are grown out from small fragments that have been glued to rocks or held in small plastic holders. Soft corals are generally made from small cuttings that are attached to rocks and allowed to grow to sellable size. Some of the companies we do business with include SeaQuest in Puerto Rico and The Aquatic Wildlife Company in Tennessee. We also have a few local hobbyist that are raising various invertebrates too! So if you are either in the market for one of these animals or wish to start your own culturing... talk with us on how you can help this great hobby.

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