Colby Johnson

On 9/10/2017 at 10:26 AM, mattv said:

Thank God for the advances in captive breeding.  

You know it! That being said this is still a catastrophe for our industry. Hawaii has been and continues to be a model fishery for sustainability. All of the data produced by peer review has shown Hawaii to be one of the best fisheries in the world. Closing down collection there is not only not warranted by the data, it is also a HUGE step in the wrong direction for promotion of sustainable net caught fishes. With this fishery gone, other Indo Pacific fisheries now have no financial motivation to clean up their act, as they now will have a monopoly on pacific fishes. Moreover, removing industry staples such as the yellow tang will merely increase pressure on other species that can fill a similar role in aquaria. It was far better to have access to a verified sustainable fishery.

While aquaculture of yellow tangs is beginning to take place, it is nowhere near sufficient to compensate. I myself am working with several endemic Hawaiian species, such as Potters Angels and Bandit Angels, however I will never be able to supply the market demand.

This was a short sighted decision, based upon a lack of scientific literacy and emotion. Outfits such as Snorkel Bob have done a terrific job of spreading misinformation for years and it looks as if they may have just won. Don't underestimate the negative impact this will have on our hobby.

We decided we should get the LABOR DAY SALE going a little bit early.

Enter the following code at checkout to receive 15% off on all in stock items:

LBRDAY2017

Thanks! Are you talkin about the fourth pic down? That is a male Australian Scotts Wrasse! 

I know most of us are outdoors as much as possible right now trying to soak up the last sun rays of summer, and the fish tank may be getting a little neglected, but you don't want to miss the Labor Day sale!

I've got some really nice fish in stock right now, some real centerpiece fish.

And don't forget, FREE SHIPPING on orders of $150 to Oregon and Washington, and of course our seven day arrive alive guarantee:

http://www.pacificislandaqua.com/shipping--arrival-guarantee.html

Enjoy some pics!

Just now, youcallmenny said:

 Really awesome!  So are you breeding the genicanthus?  

Well, working on it. To be more specific I just feed them, sing to them and compliment them and they are breeding with each other   I am hoping this fall to get a chance to take a crack at the larvae, they are still in a little 150 gallon but will be moving into a 600 gallon for long term spawning trials. Also, I will have my other two broodstock systems with 40 pairs of clownfish, and around 60 pairs of gobies, dottybacks and other demersal spawners. Should get fun!

3 hours ago, albertareef said:

Welcome back Colby!  Great to see you are able to reinvest time into the fish/aquaculture - sounds like some nice upgrades to your systems as well!  The ruby-headed fairy wrasse I picked up when we had our club meeting down there is doing quite well... maybe need to get him another wrasse friend soon.

Very glad to hear you are enjoying the ruby headed male you got from me. It was great meeting you at the club get together!

3 hours ago, Jorge said:

Always impressive Colby! 

Thanks man, I try. I love fish!

51 minutes ago, Gil&Fin said:

Congratulations Colby! We're lucky to have your support as a sponsor and I love that you're always willing to share your expertise. I got to come down and visit soon and see the new set ups!

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Do it! Excited to hear about your enterprise

Yeah they are cool fish! Come by and check it out, a whole different place since you were here and saw it in its previous incarnation. I am very excited about all the changes we are making.

Hello PNWMAS members! Some of you already know me and have been to my Tangent shop previously when it was a different company. I am very excited to announce that I have chosen to move away from the other side of the industry and am now able to devote 100% of my time and energy to my passions of fully quarantined retail marine fish as well as aquaculture! Pacific Island Aquatics has been with me for some time, and my primary goal is to provide high quality, healthy marine fish for the hobby.  Accordingly, we observe the strictest biosecurity protocols, utilize best practice methods rooted in the latest science of animal husbandry and welfare. My personal background is in aquaculture and the marine hobby, with formal education in biology and a degree in aquarium science. With a full time aquatic vet tech on staff as well as frequent oversight visits from our local aquatic veterinarian we are well equipped to supply our fellow hobbyists with the highest health fish possible.

The response to the quality of our fish from all over the country has been overwhelming and it has been hard to keep up with demand. So, I decided it was time to upgrade! We have renovated the facility with ten custom built systems, composed of 224 individual tanks allowing us to batch quarantine, separate animals as needed based upon origin and temperament, and provide a continual supply of healthy animals. And as many of you have heard, we have been working on a certificate of health for several months now and are very excited to announce that will be available for all our fish very soon. 

We examine all incoming fish for diseases through visual assessment, skin scrapes, gill clippings and fecal smears. We treat all fish for common diseases such as Marine Velvet (Amyloodinium sp.), Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans), Bacterial Infections (Vibrio sp. an others), Flukes (Gill, epidermal and internal), Uronema marinum among others! We utilize USP pharmaceutical grade medications, as well as prescriptions medications for those pesky praziquantel resistant flukes! Internal trematode infection and treatment of anaerobic bacterial infection of the gut is addressed through gut loading of live food allowing us to provide an exact dose and concentration of medication based on fish weight and size.

Moreover we are kicking the aquaculture into high gear. Some folks have heard about our Sea Dragon program, but in addition to Sea Dragons and Seahorses we will be providing high quality, captive bred clownfish, gobies, dottybacks and others. We are currently working with several pelagic spawning species such as Japanese Masked Swallowtail Angels (Genicanthus semifasciatus), Japanese Pygmy Angels (Centropyge interrupta) and others.

Lastly, because I know it is hard for some folks to make it to my neck of woods we are excited to announce FREE SHIPPING on orders over $150 to all of Oregon and Washington! And of course, I extend the seven day live arrival guarantee as is outlined here:

http://www.pacificislandaqua.com/store-policies.html

I look forward to providing high quality aquacultured,  and quarantined collected fish to my PNW neighbors.  Please enjoy the pics, we have some great fish in stock right now and if you don't see the fish you are looking for, let me know and we will track it down and quarantine it for you!

Those fish did not starve to death. If you look at the recent history of the tank it is very clear that the most likely vector for pathogen introduction is a recent fish addition, likely the flame angel. I'd be very willing to bet that Amyloodiniun ocellatum was the culprit here. Those mortalities happening ten days or so after introduction of a new fish are very much in line with Amyloodinium lifecycle. In all likelihood the thinness of the fish you noticed was due to significant disruption/damage to the gill lamellae from the Amyloodinium, which can lead to rapid dehydration within hours.

With this disease you typically do not see a lot of the visual indicators you see in a lot of other common pathogens, no visible spots, no heavy mucous, no lifted scales or defined lesions. Typically eractic/nervous behavior, increased respiration/labored breathing, loss of color and off feed are the best indicators of Anyloodinium. Unfortunately all of those signs are also early indicators of a lot of other pathogens as well.

While buying from a reputable dealer will help you hedge bets against an incident like this, it is still very risky not to QT fish. Even a fish from a store that is as careful as possible can still bring something in. I QT all fish at my facility, however I still suggest all my customers QT the fish. QTing is Cheap and easy.

At this point your best option is leave the tank fallow for 3 months before reintroducing fish.

Very sorry to hear about this. Best of luck. Please QT