IntoTheMystic

Occurred to me just now: You may want to check your NH3, as well. And the endoscope ideas for diagnostic tools are spot-on.

Missing anything in the tank? Puffer, large snail, slim fish like a yellow tang stuck sideways, etc.? Something is probably lodged in the outflow. Sorry to hear about the nasty surprise and the mess.

Don't be embarrassed in the least. You were focusing on other aspects of this Tx regimen. If you saw reduced counts of the NH3 oxidizing genera and no effect on the NO2 genera then that pretty much addresses my question. Sure do appreciate the scientific approach you bring to these discussions.

EMeyer, I'm curious if the Cipro Tx regimen affected the performance of the biofilter? That's a really low concentration but I wonder if it resulted in any noticeable difference in your NH3 and NO3 values in the short-term?

I'm a skosh concerned about the biosecurity of this approach to water quality management but dang, are these pictures keepers. Beautiful daughter, very sexy reactor. Best of luck getting this new component dialed in quickly and easily. But keep a watchful eye for stray Cheerios and the occasional teeth marks on your valve handles.

Hey Folks! My colleague Larry Boles asked me to reach out to this community to see if anyone would like a Snowflake Moray. I'm just the liaison so if you have questions about this beautiful animal, please reach out to Larry via the email address below: Looking for a home for a Snowflake eel, Echidna nebulosa, approximately 20 inches in length. This eel has been in our collection at the Aquarium Science Program in Newport, OR for almost 3 years after adoption from a local family. We have another snowflake in our facility so we need to rehome this one to make room for other animals. It will need a 75-100 gallon aquarium with a tight fitting lid to prevent escape. Please do the research to see if this animal is compatible with your collection. They are predators, small fish and crustaceans are not good tank mates. The eel currently eats a diet of shrimp, clam, and silversides and is stick fed. We will include the hollow rock ornament that has been the eel’s home for many years. I do not want to ship this animal but would consider driving a reasonable distance to meet someone. To discuss details please email LarryBoles@oregoncoast.edu Larry Boles Aquarium Science Program Oregon Coast Community College

This hobby occasionally humbles us all. While reading your documentation of this event, what occurred to me again and again was: The courage it takes to share what could have been (and may yet be, but hopefully not) a catastrophic decision. Your willingness to share it so that we all may learn from it. The support you're receiving from this remarkable community. I sincerely hope that you and your system and animals make it through this situation unscathed. And cheers to that! 🍻

I've seen this happen to exhibits under the care of professionals. Bacterial infections spread like wildfire unless you start pulling affected colonies and fragging the diseased portions and sometimes, that's only a temporary reprieve. Also inclined to agree with Higher Thinking about the nutrient levels. Start looking at other potential stressors: new fish or inverts, lighting adjustments, stray voltage (usually a heater or powerhead,) etc. Do you have a sterilizer on this system? Really sorry to hear about this, Sun. It's heartbreaking. And the heartbreak is compounded when you can't put your finger on why it's happening.

Holy expletive. I am continually impressed with the ambition, ingenuity and, there's no other way to say it, boundless love of the craft that many of you guys have. This is an extraordinary display tank. Aside from weight management, which I have to believe you have overbuilt for peace of mind, my only concern would be turnover rate in the system for water quality management. But I reckon you've already worked that out, as well. Like the others, I'm really looking forward to posts on this system's further development. Such is the stuff from which fish and invert geeks' dreams are woven....pros, too!

Invertebrate porn at its finest. Simply. Beautiful.

Hey folks! A colleague in another part of the HMSC campus reached out to me recently about the liquidation of 150 pounds of aragonite. She's looking to give it away and I'd like to see it go to the TfT program. Now may not be the most opportune time for Tanks for Teachers (or much else beyond hanging on best we can and simply trying to maintain) but I was thinking that this could be useful further on down the road when we get on the other side of this wretched pandemic. 🍻 If anyone affiliated with TfT would like to come pick this substrate up in the fairly near future, I could get in touch with the donor and set this in motion. This would be an all-or-nothing deal, as she's motivated to find this a new home. If this is useful to TfT or could be used for the benefit of PNWMAS, please let me know. Hang in there and stay safe, everybody!

Funny thread, though, and great images! /props

That thing is dead sexy. Props to you and the system it's being added to. Double 55's? That's a lot of genetic disruption. Salut! 🍻

Then it's quite possible that the die was cast on this critter before it became part of your collection. Could have been contusions from careless capture attempts at the LFS (or somewhere else in the chain of custody) or some type of scare that caused the critter to blindly bolt into something unforgiving long before it arrived at your place. [language filter]. It was a pretty fish. Sorry to hear that it's gone.

When it comes to quarantine protocols, this pretty much sums it up: Until, of course, 30-60 days later after careful observation.... I really don't know what to make of these blotches we're seeing on this critter. I recommend that you continue to isolate and observe it, experiment with different foods until it eats something besides 'pods with any regularity (PE Mysis is pretty much my silver bullet for such things), reduce stress and stressors any way you can and please keep us posted on its condition. Also, please listen to Mr. Grey here. When it comes to aquatic animal health, he's the man.

Hey guys, Without working this animal up myself, I'm very loath to offer any diagnosis or advice. Can't really tell what's going on in those images. Is this animal eating? Any recent changes in behavior? If so, what are the changes? How long ago did you notice the white spot? Just one spot or multifocal? Are these spots only on the surface or do they appear to have depth? Any new additions to the animal collection or aggressive behaviors toward this critter? Very pretty fishy. The answers to these questions may shed a bit more light.

In my experience, keeping your cultures fed is definitely the hardest part of rearing Berghia. O'Brien's absolutely right. If you're doing it right, you run out of food for them much faster than you think you will. If I was going to do it again, I'd start out with a dedicated Aiptasia broodstock tank and feed it lavishly months in advance of getting the nudibranchs. Then, I'd leave the massive sequoia 'nems alone and let them kick out all the planula they wanted, as well as going after the middleweight 'nems with pedal laceration. Some guys use a toothbrush for maximum regenerative spread. Only tried the one time and was really pleased with the results...... Until I ran out of food. Good luck with this.

Hey folks, It's been a mighty long time since I posted in this forum but given that my traditional June meeting hosting is off, I thought I'd pass along some thoughts and stir this sucker from dormancy. As we all know, the business of taking care of our critters doesn't stop despite what might be happening in the world outside. Despite how quickly we become inured to The New Normal, wandering the corridors of Hatfield Marine Science Center is still a bit surreal. The only people onsite are the husbandry team and the facilities guys. All the students and academic types are long gone and have been effectively banished from the premises. When the scope of the pandemic became clearer, each HMSC department head was asked which of their staff was essential and the electronic locks were calibrated to only allow the 12 or so essential people access to the buildings. So, the four of us on the husbandry team are mostly working adjusted schedules, taking care of our systems and animals and trying to avoid each other's areas of the facility. Having the Visitor's Center closed indefinitely is disastrous for the revenue stream that funds most of the VC personnel and nuts-and-bolts upkeep of the place. As most of you know, the place runs mostly on donations and the guests that would normally be swarming the joint in the spring and summer months just aren't around. How this will affect this part of the facility for the foreseeable future isn't clear yet but one thing's for sure: it's a staggering blow and a sobering reminder of how this is affecting many other facilities, businesses, and especially, families. Right now is also prime time for the Education Department, with marauding hordes of schoolkids from around the PNW descending on the Ed Wing for wet labs, estuary hikes and other innovative programming that draws K-12 kids from as far away as Montana. In any other May, the educators would be booked with classes in both labs and outdoors all day long. That, and all the revenue that these classes bring to the Ed Dept., is also at a complete standstill. For us fishheads, we're taking on lots of projects that would otherwise be impractical or impossible. Exhibits being taken down for deep cleaning, new aquascaping, repurposing, etc. Lots of critters being moved back to systems in my lab in back for holding and medical treatments. I've been able to take on projects that I've wanted to do for a long time, i.e., a complete teardown and remodel on my Hospital/Quarantine. Next week, the floor will get a much-needed paint job and the lower half of the walls will also get a fresh skin of paint. When that's complete, I can start moving new H/Q holding systems in place and begin building new systems that exemplify the best practices that we teach to the Aquarium Science and veterinary students that come to work with us. This will also open up room in my Teaching Lab for new systems and probably new animals that are not in the collections at the Teaching Aquarium up at the community college or at Oregon Coast Aquarium. In the coming months and years, we will also be able to implement some changes in the Teaching Lab that we've wanted to do for quite a while. We've always provided back-of-the-house tours of my lab for different groups for a modest fee. To that end, we're going to be adding signage for each of the systems, explaining the purpose of each system, what the different types of filtration are and why they were chosen for this system, information about the animals, etc. This will allows us to provide more tours, drive more revenue for the Aquatic Animal Health Program and give the folks on these tours a more complete picture of the teaching that goes on back there. We expect that it will also give our colleagues in Oregon Sea Grant a better understanding of the work that we do and provide better outreach opportunities for both programs. Most of the funding for the AAHP is provided by OSG but few of those people really understand what we do. This post may be a poor substitute for seeing you folks next month, which is something I look very much forward to each year. However, I thought that an update was in order and this allows me to make a small contribution to this amazing group of people. Stay safe, be well and continue to look out for yourselves and each other as best you can. I'll surely miss hosting next month's meeting but the good news is there'll be plenty of new things to see and talk about when I host again next year. Cheers, guys. 🐙

/preaches to the choir. This here is Reason #123119 to do as much business with local merchants as possible. The privileges of a regular. And the acumen of a smart business owner. It's a beautiful thing..... Happy New Year!

That is a beauty. I'll wager you've done this already but aggressively inspect the scutes near the mantle and byssus for pyramid snails and prosecute any that you find with malice aforethought. Really nice score!

I should have added a plumbing diagram to my post. Well done, Suncrestreef! I plumb mine on a loop off the return line also.

Fin slap to DorryPets for the Ich/Crypt life cycle diagram. When space allows, I always plumb a sterilizer onto FW and marine systems. The initial expense is not cheap if you buy a good one, and there's little point in not buying a good one, but over time, it becomes a very affordable and practical type of insurance against health problems. This is especially true if you don't quarantine animals before adding them to your tank. Controlling the contact time (or dwell time) that the system water is irradiated by the lamp is easily done with valves. If the water is traveling through the vessel too quickly, the UV's efficacy is reduced. I always adjust it so that water comes out at a steady but unhurried stream. You kinda have to go by feel on this one. Good luck!

This is absolutely consistent with my experience. On many mornings, I'll observe our exhibit GPO (Giant Pacific Octopus) adjusting her chromatophores like that, complete with eyes moving in sockets and movement on the distal ends of her arms. Seen it with other GPOs, as well. They mask their color, then they flush just as they do just before moving in on a crab, they chase, they pounce and they envenomate. I've worked with almost thirty of these critters and given how intelligent they are, there's little doubt in my mind that these animals dream. I often also notice the change in respiratory rate as they transition from sleeping to dreaming. Great video. Thanks for sharing!

salt of the earth noun An individual or group considered as representative of the best or noblest elements of society. That pretty much sums it up. Happy Birthday, Bert.

When my tropical marine exhibits were up and running, I used natural seawater from Yaquina Bay that had been passed through sand filters. I held it in a mobile heated reservoir that I schlepped out to the Visitor's Center and back again. As this was from the Bay, I kept an eye on salinity and pH, which fluctuated somewhat predictably on a seasonal basis. I had no problems using heated seawater but if I was collecting from the coast, I would be very careful about how close I was to any sewage outflows or rivers and streams near aging sewage infrastructure. Out here, there are regular updates from the State of Oregon with E. coli counts and a few beaches are notoriously high. Sometimes it's human waste, others it's dog and cat waste left on the beach that send the counts into the ionosphere. Occasionally, it's intense precipitation that causes sewage to spill containment systems. Since we're (nearly) all reefers, I don't need to tell you folks what a bad batch of contaminated SW might do to inverts and maybe keepers. I test the incoming SW params on a weekly basis and every once in a great while, I'll get NO3 at measurable levels but nothing above 5-10mg/l. I'd say check the WQ monitoring website before you head out and run a battery of tests on it when you get home. I'd also suggest that if you use natural SW for WCs, etc., run a sterilizer on it just to be sure. Plenty of coastal public aquaria use natural SW in their systems but they usually nuke it with ozone before it goes to their reservoirs.