Q2 2020

SECOND QUARTER 2020 I VOLUME 14

HABITAT SPOTLIGHT:

REEFS

OF THE

MALDIVES

LONGTENTACLE PLATE CORALS ABERRANT CITRON GOBIES

IS YOUR REEF CLEANER-WRASSE READY? REEF SPOTLIGHTS: SEBASTIAN'S SMALL SEA, THANK SPACE REEF, AND MONTITOPIA

Reef Hobbyist Magazine

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FEATURES 6

Copyright © 2020 Reef Hobbyist Magazine. All rights reserved.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ABERRANT CITRON GOBIES Adam Mullins is a professional aquarist from Southern California and co-owner of The Mystic Reef in Riverside. Citron Gobies are often overlooked in favor of larger, more colorful fish. But Adam shows us that there’s a lot more than meets the eye to these bold little gobies.

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SEBASTIAN’S SMALL SEA Sebastian Schmidt is a veteran reef hobbyist from Germany. Sebastian’s tank is a great example of the benefits of stable water parameters over a long period of time, with some show-size coral and clams almost 10 years old! Having great equipment doesn’t hurt either.

• Reef-A-Palooza (Orlando) - April 25 –26, Orlando, FL – www.reefapaloozashow.net • Sterling Heights Frag Swap - April 26, Sterling Heights, MI – www.facebook.com/groups/211072556513103/ • Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society Spring Auction - April 26, Monroeville, PA – www.gpasi.org • Reef SMART 2020 - May 16, Raleigh, NC – www.sustainablereef.com • Guangzhou Int'l Aquarium Show 2020 (GIAS2020) - June 12–14, Guangzhou, China – www.fishgz.com • China (Guangzhou) Int'l Pet Fair 2020 (CPF2020) - June 12–14, Guangzhou, China – www.chinapetfair.com • Reef-A-Palooza (New York) - June 27–28, Secaucus, NJ – www.reefapaloozashow.net

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THE LONG-TENTACLE PLATE CORAL

(Heliofungia actiniformis)

Robert Fenner is a longtime aquarist who can be reached at WetWebMedia.com. Plate corals are a fascinating and diverse group that do very well in our home reefs, if we understand their needs.

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THE SEA IS NEVER FILLED Thank Space is a new reefer with 1.5 years in the hobby and lives in Bangkok, Thailand.

Driven by a thirst for knowledge, Thank has created a real gem of a reef.

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SECOND QUARTER 2020 | Volume 14

ON THE COVER

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HABITAT SPOTLIGHT: THE MALDIVES

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Richard Aspinall is a journalist and underwater photographer living in Southern Scotland. The Maldives islands are home to a vast array of habitats and marine animals. Explore them with a professional diver and aquarist and get some tips for creating your own Maldives biotope.

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Cover image by author

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IS YOUR REEF READY FOR A CLEANER WRASSE? Timothy Smith is a South African ichthyologist and public aquarist. This article highlights the up- and downsides of keeping cleaner wrasses in an aquarium. If they’re on your wish list, you need to check this out.

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MONTITOPIA Federico Benvenuti has been reefing for 8 years and lives in Piacenza, Italy. This unique system reflects his detailed approach to a DIYfocused system.

50 PRODUCT REVIEW: FRAG GRIPPER

All Seas Marine – www.allseaslax.com CoralVue – www.coralvue.com DFW Aquarium Supply – www.dfwaquarium.com ReefH2O – www.reefh2o.com Pan Ocean Aquarium – www.panoceanaquarium.com Quality Marine – www.qualitymarine.com Reef Nutrition – www.reefnutrition.com Segrest Farms – www.segrestfarms.com

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ADAM MULLINS (Instagram: themysticreef)

ABERRANT CITRON GOBIES Aberrant: def. biology: diverging from the normal type.

T

he Citron Goby (Gobiodon citrinus) is the largest commonly available representative of the Gobiodon genus. It is a scaleless variety of coral-perching dwarf goby, perfectly suited to most home aquaria. But there is a caveat.

The Citron Goby, or Poison Goby, as it is also commonly called, protects itself with a thick, poisonous, mucous coating. This is found in other members of the Gobiodon genus as well, like the Yellow Clown Goby. However, in my experience, the poison excreted by the Citron Goby seems to be the most potent.

In a properly filtered home aquarium, the poison typically poses no threat to other tank inhabitants, except possibly during a power failure. This is a perfect reminder of why some form of activated chemical filtration, such as carbon, can be important. Carbon can provide quick removal of invisible toxins or poisons in our closed, captive environments of competing corals, invertebrates, and fish during an outage. This is also when larger volumes of water really pay off in diluting this and other forms of pollution.

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When this poison does pose a problem is during the most stressful period of the fish’s journey: shipping and acclimation.

This poison is potent enough to kill other fish if shipped or acclimated in the same bag or container. This effect has been similarly observed with the also-scaleless and toxic Mandarin Dragonet. The noxious effect can be observed when fish placed in the same water start gasping for air. If not relocated to clean water, the fish may die. Therefore, extreme caution should be taken to ship and transport these fish individually in larger-thanaverage bags.

This effect can be exacerbated when larger numbers of these fish are acclimated together, such as at the store and wholesale level.

They also seem to have a toxic/noxious effect on each other when in large numbers, which could also be due to oxygen depletion from the thick, toxic mucus.

While these boldly colored beauties are sweet enough on their own, with bright lemon-yellow to darker rusty-brown coloration and lightning-blue streaks, some color variations have popped up that really caught my eye.

For the past few years, I’ve been coming across some aberrantcolored Citrons with black speckling randomly strewn across the body. As I am a collector and longtime fish nerd, these stood out to me. The first one I put into our store nano display at The Mystic Reef was a huge hit, not only because of the stunning and unique coloration of this individual but also due to the charming personality this fish possesses. This goby will often cling to the glass using its modified suction-cup-like ventral fin to let its caretaker know that it's time for dinner. “Koi Citrons” is what I have dubbed these awesome little Citron Gobies, as I feel it represents the aberrant and varied color pattern very well.

access to a consistent live food source. These fish are fairly reliable feeders and often start feeding shortly after introduction to a new environment. They do seem to prefer a shrimp- and pod-based diet of frozen Mysis spp. shrimp and Reef Nutrition’s Arcti-pods over standard pellet fare.

Aberrant coloration refers to the random genetic mutations in coloration and markings that diverge away from the phenotype for any species. This natural effect is part of what drove the explosion of fancy clownfish types in the past decade. It is also responsible for some very interesting Zebrasoma spp. tangs that are multicolored calico, splotched, albino, or even pure white.

Some of the most beautiful examples of aberration are displayed by the isolated and localized Queen Angels of St. Paul’s Rocks, with beautifully splotched “Koi” coloration over the splendid Queen Angel background.

Care for these gobies is often straightforward, as once acclimated, they are very hardy and robust members of a fish tank community.

They are particularly suited to life in a nano tank due to their predominantly sedentary lifestyle of perching in a coral or branch rock. Plus, even as adults, they maintain a small size (up to 2 inches). As I’ve written before regarding any potential livestock addition, selection of a fat, brightly colored, and alert animal from the start ensures the best chance of success and longevity. An established reef tank populated with live microinvertebrates like copepods also facilitates acclimation, with the goby having Reef Hobbyist Magazine

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In the aquarium, these fish are somewhat territorial toward their own kind. They like to establish a specific hangout in a branching coral head for safety but are generally peaceful to tankmates of other species. They will substitute other corals if no branching option is available, and they’ve been known to host in soft corals such as leathers or large-polyp stony corals like Hammers and Frogspawns. Clearly, they are not very picky residents. While they are considered reef-safe, it’s this perching habit that puts them on the “with caution” list for SPS (small-polyp stony) coral tanks.

Like other Gobiodon species, this goby's constant perching in one location can cause local tissue recession on coral. This becomes even worse if a pair is introduced, as they will aggressively bite polyps to clear out space to lay their eggs.

This species shares the ability to change sex like most other Gobiodon species, thus always offering the opportunity for a pair to mate. But in my experience, the Citrons do best when kept individually. Difficulties in pairing and establishing dominance can be stressful in the home aquarium and is similar to pairing aggressive clownfish.

There is always something new to discover within any hobby.

Reef aquariums still hold plenty of mysteries and new discoveries, even if it’s just a common fish with a cool paint job. Hopefully, this article also shows why a few various practices and methods (i.e., individual acclimation, separately bagging, and use of carbon) have long been the standard. Overall, these fish make excellent pets, and their charming personalities make them an easy recommendation, as long as their perching doesn't cause a problem. R

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Sebastian’s Small Sea SEBASTIAN SCHMIDT (Instagram: sea.bastian_)

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’ve been an aquarist for 10 years now. It all started with a small freshwater planted tank and some guppies. At the age of 18 (9 years ago), I started my first saltwater tank. It was a 50-gallon reef with some leather corals, SPS (small–polyp stony) corals, and LPS (large-polyp stony) corals. In the beginning, I was not so interested in keeping the collector corals because everything in this hobby seemed amazing. I remember sitting in front of my reef tank, fascinated by the hermit crabs and turbo snails.

FEEDING Corals: Aquaforest Power Food, Vitality, Energy Fish: frozen Mysis sp. and Artemia sp., Aquaforest Vege Strength (sometimes with Fish V)

When I moved into my new flat, I knew that I wanted a bigger tank. I transitioned to a tank of approximately 211 gallons. It’s been running for about 3 years now, and most of my big colonies and the Tridacna derasa were moved from my old 50-gallon tank.

SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Display: 71" × 26" × 26" Sump: 50-gallon glass tank Lighting: ATI hybrid (6) 80-watt T5s with (4) 75-watt LEDs Bulbs: (1) Purple Plus, (1) actinic, (2) Blue Plus, (2) Aquablue Special Photoperiod: 8 hours a day Wavemakers: (1) Tunze 6125, (1) Tunze 6085, (2) Tunze 6045 UV: De Bary 25 Return Pump: Royal Exclusiv Speedy 50 watt Skimmer: Royal Exclusiv Double Cone 200 Dosing Pump: D-D H2Ocean P4-Pro Balling: Aquaforest Component 1+2+3+, Aquaforest Components Strong Filtration: Aquaforest Carbon

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Flame Hawkfish

Sailfin Tang

Habanero Montipora

Powder Blue Tang (hybrid)

MAINTENANCE • 5 percent weekly water change with Aquaforest Probiotic Reef Salt PARAMETERS Specific Gravity: 1.026 Calcium: 410 ppm Alkalinity: 8 dKH Magnesium: 1320 ppm Phosphate: 0.04–0.05 ppm Nitrate: 3–4 ppm FISH • Picasso Clownfish • Wyoming White Clownfish • Copperband Butterfly • Powder Blue Tang • Yellow Tang • Purple Tang • Sailfin Tang • Six-line Wrasse • Red-eye Wrasse • Flame Hawkfish • (2) Andaman Damsel • (2) Orchid Dottyback • (2) Rainbow Wrasse Reef Hobbyist Magazine

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Rainbow Wrasse

Copperband Butterfly

CLAMS

CORALS • Montipora digitata • Montipora confusa • Bubblegum Montipora • Forestfire Montipora • Crazy T Montipora • Superman Montipora • Habanero Montipora • Pavona sp. (gold)

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• Pavona sp. (neon green) • Millepora sp. (blue table) • Seriatopora hystrix (pink) • Stylophora pistillata • Pocillopora damicornis • Euphyllia paradivisa • Euphyllia glabrescens • Acropora florida

• Tridacna derasa (13")

• Tridacna crocea (2")

What I like most about this hobby is the fact that you can't just buy some fish and corals and easily have a nice reef aquarium— it’s about tending to a reef tank as a miniature piece of nature and the long-term reward of those efforts. Every day, there are new challenges to face and new rewards to enjoy. It never gets boring. R

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ROBERT FENNER

THE LONG-TENTACLE PLATE CORAL (Heliofungia actiniformis)

T

his most beautiful of fungiid corals, Heliofungia actiniformis, is difficult to maintain in aquaria for similar reasons as the Elegance Coral, Catalaphyllia sp. (Fenner 2000).These corals fare poorly in hobbyist systems that lack an abundance of available nutrients. This is the case for many scleractinians that occupy muddy to mucky inshore settings of extreme sedimentation.

Should you ever find yourself on Jeopardy with Alex Trebek, faced with a question about non-attached (indeed ambulatory) stony corals, remember the Fungiidae. Our subject, Heliofungia actiniformis, goes one better than simply scooting across the substrate. By means of inflating its soft tissue with water, it becomes a living balloon, allowing the current to lift it off the soft sediment.

Like Elegance Coral, this plate coral leaves its tentacles out day and night. It has stinging cnidocysts and stinging sweeper tentacles for gathering food, securing space, and warding off predation.

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And both corals are notable for living directly on soft/mucky substrates instead of rock.

CLASSIFICATION Heliofungia actiniformis is a member of the family Fungiidae, commonly labeled as mushroom or plate corals, though some are more elongate, while others look like inverted bowls. The family Fungiidae was established by Dana in 1848. The mushroom corals could be poster children for LPS (large-polyp stony) corals if they weren't so odd in many ways. These are solitary, non-reef-building (ahermatypic) zooxanthellate animals that, unique amongst the true or stony corals, are ambulatory—yes, they’re capable of movement.

All but three genera remain free living, detached from the substrate as adults, including Heliofungia.

Structurally, the fungiids are unified in being solitary, circular to oblong in shape with septocostae radiating from their upper

Heliofungia actiniformis (Wakatobi, S. Leyte, Indo)

Halomitra pileus, also from the Fungiidae family

surface center. These continue around the edge, becoming shorter as they approach the flattened base.

Most reef hobbyists have come across the more common fungiid genera like Fungia and Cycloseris. Differentiating the several genera to species level requires close examination of skeletal details and reference works like J.E.N. Veron’s books or online resources like https://coral.aims.gov.au/ or http://coralsoftheworld.org/page/ home/. Heliofungia actiniformis was initially named scientifically as Fungia actiniformis by the French team of Quoy and Gaimard in 1833. It was placed in its own genus by Wells in 1966.

Heliofungia actiniformis (Lembeh, N. Sulawesi, Indo)

Identification Notes: There are some 40+ species in 11 genera that make up the fungiid family. They are identified in the field and lab mainly by their hard skeletal characteristics.

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Periclimenes holthuisi on a Heliofungia sp. in Queensland, Australia

Siokunichthys nigrolineatus, the Mushroom-coral Pipefish, found in close association (within tentacles) with a Heliofungia sp. coral (N. Sulawesi)

Heliofungia actiniformis

COMPATIBILITY Though these mobile scleractinians don’t sting each other, other sessile invertebrates must be kept out of harm’s way, keeping in mind that these corals can crawl, float, and bounce on the current. Most other corals will suffer after contact with a fungiid coral polyp or its mucus. It’s best to allow a minimum 6-inch gap between your fungiids and other cnidarian livestock.

Concerning tankmates, large crabs, hermits, and lobsters can be trouble, as are eels, triggers, large puffers, and big wrasses.

Butterflyfishes may nip your plate corals, and clownfish have been known to adopt H. actiniformis as an ersatz symbiont, which could annoy the coral.

SELECTION

If you look closely, you’ll see a juvenile wrasse hiding among the tentacles of this Heliofungia sp.

Heliofungia actiniformis distribution spans the eastern Indian Ocean, the western Pacific (including the northern and eastern shores of Australia), southern Japan, and several island groups in the western tropical Pacific. This plate coral is found on shallow reef flats and slope areas to around 80 feet deep. Huge ones grow to about 8 inches across and 3 inches high in the middle.

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Examine prospective purchases carefully for discontinuous tissue coverage. Discolored flesh or actual septal skeleton showing through torn tissue are bad signs. Healthy H. actiniformis are open, displaying tentacles continuously, and should be colored uniformly when in good health. Damaged specimens rarely recover.

Take care in moving plate corals because they tear easily. Wafting your hand gently

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to give hobbyists fair warning as to this species’ needs, not to discourage its keeping outright.

HABITAT Most fungiids are found in shallow water (under 30 feet in depth) on various types of substrates, such as rocky, sandy, or silty. Ones with a high relief (dome-shaped) and spines/septa of low relief utilize these aspects of their morphology, expansion of their polyp-bodies, and/or mucociliary action to keep themselves free of detritus. The fungiids with a flatter profile and smoother septa (that are more often offered in the hobby) aren’t as adept at throwing off sediment and should be placed on soft, low-detritus bottoms, out of the way of direct current.

Reproduction can be sexual, via planula larvae, or asexual, through budding or daughter colonies, called anthocauli.

near an expanded one before moving it will cause it to retreat into its chitinous/calcareous skeleton. Lift it gently from the bottom/ underside and slip it into a water-filled bag underwater.

As a general rule, all fungiids, with the exception of H. actiniformis (which IMO should be removed from this family, taxonomically), are pretty sturdy aquarium species, given initial good health and suitable, established homes. However, H. actiniformis and similar long-tentacled plate corals rarely fare well for any length of time due to not being placed on soft/fine sand substrates and being housed in nutrient-poor settings. I am hopeful my purpose is obvious here:

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H. actiniformis is found in less than ideal reef conditions on muddy, muck substrates with all that you can imagine go with that setting.

These areas have high dissolved nutrient concentration, bright but often diffuse light, and little to no water circulation at times. Here are some tips that will help you succeed with H. actiniformis: 1) Place the coral horizontally on suitable, non-sterile substrate.

Fine sand and/or muck with appreciable interstitial organic content is ideal, perhaps in your RDP (reverse-daylight photoperiod), mudpacked refugium/sump.

2) H. actiniformis inhabits areas of little water circulation, without linear blasts of water streaming over them. If you have high turnover in your reef, situate your plate corals in areas of minimal water movement.

3) Lighting of full-spectrum, low to medium intensity is preferred.

Less than 100 PAR/PUR suits this species fine.

4) Again, I put an emphasis on available organic nutrients. This arrangement may well call for excluding less-nutrient-loving corals.

5) Keep away from most corals other than fungiids.

FEEDING AND NUTRITION Fungiids bear endosymbiotic algae that require reef-specific lighting, but these corals do benefit from regular feeding as well.

Foods may be placed on their upper surfaces, or a mash of appropriately sized matter can be basted in their direction (with the filter pumps temporarily cycled off). H. actiniformis, though photosynthetic and largely a detritus feeder, should be offered foods a couple of times per week. It will show acceptance by further extension of tentacles and movement of food to the central mouth.

CLOSE H. actiniformis is often lost by aquarists unaware of or unwilling to provide for its simple needs. Give it a non-sterile, dissolved-organicloaded environment with a soft substrate and it’ll thrive. The vast majority of lost specimens are due to their placement in unsuitable circumstances. This mushroom coral is actually very tough given suitable conditions, known to have survived unchanged through the ice ages. R

BIBLIOGRAPHY/FURTHER INFORMATION: Bos, A.R. (2012). "Fishes (Gobiidae and Labridae) associated with the mushroom coral Heliofungia actiniformis (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) in the Philippines." Coral Reefs. 31 (1): 133. doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0834-3.

Borneman, Eric H. 2001. Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History. Microcosm-TFH, NJ, USA. Fatherree, James. 2006. "Plate Corals." TFH 11/06.

Fenner, Bob. 2000. "Catalaphyllia—What’s wrong with your Elegance coral, Family Caryophyllidae?" FAMA 3/2000.

Fossa, Svein A. & Alf Jacob Nilsen. 1998 (1st ed.). The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium, v.2 (Cnidarians). Bergit Schmettkamp Verlag, Bornheim, Germany.

Hoover, John. 1998. Hawai'i's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawai'i's Marine Invertebrates. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, HI. Humann, Paul. 1993. Reef Coral Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc., Jacksonville, FL. Vargas, Tony. 1997. "Feature Coral: Fungia." FAMA 10/97.

Veron, J.E.N. 1986. Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. U. of HI Press, Honolulu, HI. Veron, J.E.N. 2000. Corals of the World. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Queensland, Australia. Three volumes.

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The Sea is Never Filled THANK SPACE

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y name is Thank, and I live in Bangkok, Thailand. I started in the aquarium hobby by keeping freshwater fish for 15 years. One year ago, I transitioned to salt water. Before I started my reef aquarium, I did a lot of research and asked my reefer friends for various suggestions in order to improve my system design.

My display tank is 45 gallons and was started in November 2018. In the first 3 months, I made it a point not to do any water changes. I only added chemicals to keep the parameters as stable as possible. Unfortunately, the result was not what I expected, as corals began to die. I tried to figure out what was wrong, but all the water parameters were stable. I then started to do 10 to 20 percent water changes weekly. Before changing the water, I would test the parameters of the new water and adjust the values to match the display tank. The result was healthier and brighter-colored corals.

Based on these results, I decided to commit to regular water changes.

The lighting for my system has also evolved over time. When I initially set up this tank, I built my own light fixture, which looked OK. But the corals didn’t display very good color, so I switched to Aquaillumination lights. Ultimately, I ended up with Orpheks.

SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Tank Dimensions: 36" × 18" × 16" (and × 24" at the deep end) Tank Volume: 45 gallons Sump Dimensions: 21" × 18" × 21"

Sump Volume: 34 gallons Lighting: (1) Orphek V4 G2, (2) Orphek OR90 Wavemaker: (1) Maxspect XF230, (2) Jebao SW8 Skimmer: Blue Space S130 Filter Media: Power House Hard Type, EHEIM pro 4, Aquaforest ZeoMix, Aquaforest Carbon Doser: Jebao (calcium and carbonate hardness) WATER PARAMETERS Temperature: 77° F Specific Gravity: 1.025 Nitrate: 0–2 ppm Phosphate: < 0.02 ppm

Calcium: 420–430 ppm Magnesium: 1350–1400 ppm Carbonate Hardness: 8.3–8.6° Potassium: 400–420 ppm

FEEDING Fish: once a day Coral: Aquaforest Amino Mix, Vitality, Macro, Build (3 drops of each, every 2 days); Fauna Marin Coral Sprint (½ spoon every 3 days) MAINTENANCE • Check water parameters every 3 days • Calcium • Potassium • Carbonate Hardness • Nitrate • Magnesium • Phosphate • Change 10 percent of water weekly using Aquaforest Probiotic Reef Salt

Skimmer and dosing setup

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Skunk Cleaner Shrimp Zoanthid garden

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Clownfish and Borbonius Anthias

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TSC Wolverine Acropora

Acropora nasuta

• Dose Aquaforest Pro Bio S (3 drops per week after water change) • Dose Aquaforest Iodum, Strontium, Fluorine, Kalium, Iron, Micro E (3 drops per week) • Dose Aquaforest Power Food, Growth Boost (3 spoons per week) From this write-up, you can see that I have relatively little experience.

But I think that some of it might be useful for a new hobbyist. I believe that keeping coral is not about the right or wrong way but rather how we choose to employ different equipment and methods that are most suitable for our animals. And most importantly, we never stop learning—Thai people like to say that the sea is never filled.

I want to thank Mr. Noraset, the owner of Siam Marine, a coral shop in Thailand, who taught me a lot about SPS (small-polyp stony) corals, LPS (large-polyp stony) corals, and how to balance reef chemistry. R

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HABITAT SPOTLIGHT: THE MALDIVES

RICHARD ASPINALL

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o begin to appreciate the diverse habitats of the Maldives, a good place to start is with a simple sentence from a note written in 1836:

low-lying islands between two enormous bodies of water and is responsible not just for the geography of the region but many of the characteristics of these waters.

“The most rational supposition is that submarine mountains have been thrown up by volcanic agency to within a few yards of the sea’s surface and have given a foundation for the zoophytes to raise upon.”

Separating the main atolls are 16 major channels that are swept by strong tidal currents, varying with season, that move billions of gallons of water daily. Each of the main atolls is again subdivided into islands, many of which are essentially small atolls themselves.

The location of these smaller islands in relation to the channels and to shallow water determines to a great extent their shape, the amounts of sand deposited, the development of fringing reefs, the size and presence of sheltered lagoons, and above all, the diversity of habitats and species.

Penned by a chap named Boyce, who served with Captain Robert Moresby, the discoverer of the Laccadive Ridge, this simple passage sums up the creation of the 25 main atolls of the Maldives. It also, albeit superficially, chimes with Charles Darwin’s theories as to the origin of atolls. Later analysis, core samples, and general investigations have found ancient basalts from those volcanic uprisings, deep beneath layers of rock laid down by reef-building organisms. Indeed, the classic atoll shape is now believed to have been formed by volcanic processes which, when spent, were followed by erosion of these islands. The level of erosion is countered by deposits of reef structures by corals and other organisms, building upon what was once a fringing reef, to create a vaguely circular structure, which is a ghostlike outline of the former island.

The Laccadive Ridge (named after the island archipelago, the Laccadives) is a classic undersea mountain range that begins off the western coast of India and runs due south to form the Maldives islands, which mostly lie just north of the equator. It then continues south, underpinning the Chagos Archipelago, east of the Seychelles. The ridge creates a long series of shallows and

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Various habitats are seen here: a seaward reef, a reef flat, and a sheltered lagoon. On the top right is a channel with sand bars and some actual land! Approximately 1,200 islands are thought to exist, but small islets of sand appear and disappear regularly.

In this article, I want to illustrate how you might create a Maldives biotope system. A key requirement, as you can no doubt guess from the paragraphs above, is water movement. The Maldives experiences a great deal of current that animals from this habitat are well adapted to. In my experience, currents are powerful and tidal, varying through the day and with the lunar cycle. Current-making devices need to be turned up to 11 and set to avoid surge and swell settings (but perhaps retain the ability to create the occasional simulation of a storm to help flush out particulates).

The regular daily changes in current direction mean vast amounts of water move into and out of the atolls. The effects of this are lessened in central lagoons, which are more stable environments, but close to and within the main channels, currents can be extreme.

Reefs that occur in these zones are often called rim “thilas,” a local word for flat-topped reef. Thilas support rich growths of corals and other sessile invertebrates, especially sponges, which benefit from the plankton dispersed by the strong currents. For photographers like myself, the waters of the Maldives can be frustrating, being as full of particulates as they are.

A LAGUNAL SYSTEM Lagoons and their unique ecosystems are common in the Maldives.

The characteristics of each lagoon vary; some are quite low in diversity, while others have many interesting resident species. A lagoon-type habitat is one of the easiest to create. It won’t require a great deal of current and can be accomplished in a small or even nano tank.

Corythoichthys insularis

Beyond coral sand and some coral rubble, you will not require much in the way of an aquascape. You could replicate a rubblezone specimen system and host a mantis shrimp though not much else!

In a larger tank, fish such as Firefish Gobies (Nemateleotris magnifica) would work well in a rubble-zone-type habitat. You might try growing Halimeda spp. also, though these calcium-depositing algae are generally found in deeper waters. Other choices might include pipefish such as Corythoichthys haematopterus, which is a shallow-water specialist, or maybe in a slightly deeper-waterthemed small system, Corythoichthys insularis (above).

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As noted earlier, water movement tends to be strong and generally variable over the daily tidal cycle. You might try to accurately reflect the lunar and seasonal variability, where currents are stronger at the new and full moons. If you want to be really accurate, they’re also stronger overall during the stormy monsoon season.

Water temperatures are usually in the low 80s (F). Occasionally, from March to May, they can reach the upper 80s, stressing corals and leading to significant bleaching. Being shallow in nature, thilas experience great variation in temperature and water movement.

Seagrass meadows stabilize sediments, trap particulates, and process nutrients. They are surprisingly valuable habitats in terms of coastal protection and sequestration of carbon.

If I could choose any of the shallow water habitats to recreate, I’d try a seagrass system.

Seagrass beds are quite common in the Maldives and can be seen in aerial photos as darker patches in the turquoise waters of the lagoons. Acquiring seagrass might not be easy, and finding correctly identified seagrass species from the Indian Ocean (there are around 20 species) likely isn’t practical. So you might take any type of seagrass you can get.

Sadly, seagrass beds tend to be poorly protected and are often removed by hotels looking for a pristine blue-water effect. This is much to the annoyance of adult green turtles, which feed on the leaves and roots of these remarkable plants, as well as conservation-minded folks. Within Maldives seagrass meadows, a wonderful world can be found. Small sand mounds hint at worms and molluscs living in anoxic conditions, and sea cucumbers (often caught and smoked for eating by the locals) are plentiful.

You might try seahorses in a seagrass habitat, such as the reliable and captive-bred Hippocampus kuda, though in the wild, these are not that common. Choose a 30-gallon aquarium to keep a pair, and make sure you feed them two or three times a day.

A SHALLOW THILA HABITAT Thilas are shallow reefs found a few meters below the surface. They are often coral rich, attract large numbers of fish, and present excellent inspiration for biotope creation.

A young Chaetodon triangulum

Corals on thilas tend to be robust species, able to withstand storms. Other sessile invertebrates, such as sponges, tunicates, and soft corals, tend to be limited, though no two thilas are the same. I should add that a rocky, coral-poor thila, perhaps where algae is allowed to thrive, would provide an interesting focal point in a FOWLR-type (fish only with live rock) system, where larger, non-reef-safe fish could be kept.

Such a system would need to be large, with powerful lighting and circulation devices able to keep the water moving and provide for excellent gaseous exchange.

The Maldives supports many Indian Ocean butterflyfishes such as the commonly seen Chaetodon auriga and several bannerfish such as Heniochus diphreutes and H. acuminatus.

In larger tanks, you might also add a large pomacanthid such as Pomacanthus imperator, P. semicirculatus, or P. annularis. And in smaller systems—in fact a great choice for any Maldives biotope—Centropyge species such as C. eibli or C. bispinosa can be featured.

The addition of anthias might also be attempted, with Pseudanthias squamipinnis being a good choice, though Nemanthias carberryi and P. evansi are also very common.

Anemones are ubiquitous on thilas and can occur in great numbers at certain sites. Several anemone species of interest to aquarists are found in the Maldives, with Heteractis magnifica being the most notable and most common in my experience.

This is a big animal, so be warned. Luckily, the good old Bubble Tip (Entacmaea quadricolor) is also commonly found in this region. I think these are great nems to keep, as they are quite hardy and often available as individuals that have split in captivity.

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Amphiprion nigripes with Heteractis magnifica

Three clown species are found in the Maldives: Amphiprion clarkii, A. sebae, and the most interesting, A. nigripes, commonly called the Blackfoot Clownfish.

Amphiprion nigripes is only known to host in H. magnifica in the wild. It is a species found in nearby Sri Lanka but otherwise is limited to the Maldives. This fish is accurately named and does indeed appear to have black feet, or more accurately, black undersides and fins. The Blackfoot sports a rich orange color with just a single stripe and is part of the skunk-clown complex. In the wild, it is less ebullient than many of its relatives and will remain so in captivity. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve not seen them available myself as captive-bred fish, but I am aware they are available from some suppliers.

A SHELTERED CORAL-RICH REEF There is of course a continuum between shallow reefs and deeper, sheltered ones, so any classification we impose is by its nature entirely artificial. That said, there are some reefs that fall squarely into easy categories, so letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s have a look at sheltered reefs that still experience strong currents on occasion and can support large growths of reef-building corals.

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Beautiful tabulate acroporids, such as Acropora hyacinthus, can be used to create large structures.

In this part of the reef, Fungia spp. are abundant.

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If you can acquire Halimeda spp. for your system, it will add some color and interest, as seen in this image.

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Ecsenius lineatus can be kept in small systems and is a charming resident for tanks of all sizes.

A young Cirrhitichthys species, possibly C. aprinus

Along with SPS (small-polyp stony) corals, there seems to be a lot of Fungia spp. On some reefs, they exist in the hundreds.

These can be added together with corals like Acropora lamarcki, A. hemprichii, and A. humilis.

Among the corals are a range of fish to suit various aquarium sizes, with several being suitable for small systems. Ecsenius spp. blennies, for example, are quite common. E. bicolor is a frequently seen species, as is E. lineatus and the endemic E. minutus.

Also living amid the coral heads are hawkfishes, superb fish for reef aquariums. The Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) is a good choice, as are Cirrhitichthys falco and C. aprinus. Larger systems might host Paracirrhites arcatus. Keep in mind, though, that any of these fish may consume crustaceans.

One species of coral that I would regard as a “must have” is Tubastraea micrantha, the Black Sun Coral. When illuminated, it often has a deep green sheen to its overall black coloration. This glorious species is found on slightly deeper reefs and can grow into quite large tree-like structures. It is very fragile, though, and will snap should turtles or careless divers bump it.

Feeding T. micrantha will require regular additions of foodstuffs, such as copepods or mysis shrimp and perhaps temporarily shutting down filtration systems to allow the food to remain in the display long enough to be consumed. I’d recommend squirting mysis from a turkey baster at the coral when its polyps are extended. In fact, you might want to consider whether your filtration systems are Reef Hobbyist Magazine

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removing small critters that could be better left to provide food for filter-feeding organisms.

Reefs in this category, which are still well lit, support a lot of tridacnids. Smaller specimens are usually embedded within the reef and within corals, and larger specimens are often resting on the substrate after erosion of the reefs and subsequent collapse.

When recreating this type of reef, fish options are enormous, with everything from lionfish to tangs being suitable. Wellknown favorites from the latter group, such as Acanthurus leucosternon, Zebrasoma scopas, and Z. desjardinii, are suitable for a medium-sized tank, with larger species such as Naso elegans and Acanthurus lineatus making impressive additions in large systems. These latter two fish would normally be found in the shallows and could form part of a shallowwater, reef-flat system, but in captivity, they do look good in a deeper-water reef recreation as well.

You can coax Black Sun Corals to open and feed during daylight hours.

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Again, you may add a small reef-safe angelfish, and Pygoplites diacanthus might be a contender. This fish will benefit from an aquascape that provides for its shy nature, especially when newly introduced. Aquascaping for this sort of system might do well to contain a range of structures, from overhangs to pinnacles, providing a range of lighting and water conditions as well as hiding places for fish. Wrasses will be worth adding, from stunners such as Paracheilinus mccoskeri to shy species suitable for small tanks like Wetmorella nigropinnata. A system

Pygoplites diacanthus Tridacna maxima

with peaceful fishes might include leopard wrasses such as Macropharyngodon bipartitus or M. ornatus.

What amazes me so much about the Maldives is the fact that it has a unique character all its own, created and maintained by a few seemingly simple bits of geography. A bit of shallow water here, a dash of tide there, and voilĂ ! The corals have taken those simple ingredients and, through their own essentially mindless processes, have built a deeply complex series of ecosystems. Should you wish to recreate an aspect of the Maldivian archipelago, do your research and choose species that will complement each other, and be prepared to dial up the current to 11! R Reef Hobbyist Magazine

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Labroides dimidiatus and Koran Angelfish | Vincent C. Chen

TIMOTHY SMITH

IS YOUR REEF READY FOR A

P

CLEANER WRASSE? WRASSE

erhaps the most challenging aspect of wild-reef ecosystems to reproduce in our home tanks is the sheer complexity of the habitat. The remarkable diversity of life is one thing, but the interconnectedness of these organisms is so intricate that even today, coral reef scientists are still discovering new biological mechanisms and their significance.

Our ability to recreate some of these symbiotic relationships within the home aquarium has long been a goal, and some examples, such as clownfish and anemones, are quite well known. Another such relationship that has drawn the fascination of scientists, divers, and aquarists alike is the ubiquitous housekeeping role that cleaner wrasses play with their clients. Given the complex and yet very specific niche that these wrasses occupy in reef ecosystems, the curious fishkeeper might wonder if it is possible to correctly care for these animals in a captive environment.

One does need to ask some important questions: can the home aquarium provide the right environment and the right resources

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required for these fish to thrive? Are there alternative feeds, and do these meet the animals’ nutritional and behavioral needs? While from the outside, these may seem like complex questions, the same questions could be asked of any species being maintained in captivity. It isn’t always possible to recreate perfectly the environment, diet, and other wild conditions that some species would normally encounter in their natural routines—but that’s not to say the animal cannot be cared for properly or that its welfare has been compromised. It is possible, however, to provide alternatives that are acceptable, if not as good or better, than what the species may be accustomed to in the wild.

The problems with keeping a cleaner wrasse in captivity should be stated in no uncertain terms: many wild-caught cleaner wrasses adapt poorly to captivity, even if the best conditions are provided.

However, in recent years, there have been a number of successes coming in leaps and bounds with regards to the captive breeding of cleaner wrasse species. This in turn has produced new generations of cleaner wrasses that fare better in captivity and indicate a bright future as a staple marine aquarium species for years to come.

Elongate Surgeonfish and Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse | Alexander Vasenin

Generations of mutually beneficial relationships between the cleaner wrasses and reef fishes have seen a form of trust evolve between the cleaner and its clients. The wrasses need to be assured that they won’t be swallowed when performing cleaning services, and conversely, the client fish need to trust that these little cleaners won’t run away with chunks of flesh or mucus instead of parasites!

Given the array of behaviors that have been observed during cleaning, perhaps it is warranted that this trust is limited. Cleaner wrasses alter their behavior and performance when engaging with more predatory clients, and likewise, clients have been shown to be a little cautious too.

Why would the client fish ever mistrust the cleaner wrasse, though?

The wrasses themselves are partly to blame, with sneaky individuals occasionally snacking on the skin, flesh, or mucus of some clients.

This rogue behavior can be observed on occasion, signalled by a sharp twitch or flex by the client fish reacting in pain. Such misbehavior pays off largely due to the host ultimately benefitting from being cleared of parasites for the small cost of a bit of mucus or skin, and the wrasse comes away with a more nutritious meal.

On the other hand, there are several fish species out there that are near-perfect mimics of cleaner wrasses. This allows them—as parasites, if you will—to get up close to the larger fish and easily pick off nutritious body material as a meal. These mimics do not remove any parasites at all and can readily get away with a mouthful of skin or flesh off some unknowing client.

Until then, understand that this is a tricky fish to maintain even in well-established systems. Much consideration and abundant homework is necessary well before any such purchase.

A HOST OF WRASSES AND A HOST OF MIMICS Cleaner wrasse is a title borne by several species in the genus Labroides, only a few of which have shown up regularly in the hobby over the years. By far, the most commonly seen species is the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus. As currently understood, this is a single, widely distributed species found throughout the Indo-Pacific. There is some subtle variation in the body patterning between localities, but all carry the same single dark horizontal bar, with a gray front fading into blue toward the rear. Another species—a bit less regularly seen—is the Bicolor Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides bicolor, sporting some yellow toward the tail region.

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Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse | Rickard Zerpe

Only a handful of these mimics ever see their way into the aquarium trade, and it takes a keen eye to see if you’re taking home a mimic.

The most common mimic is the False Cleanerfish (Aspidontus taeniatus). This is a species of blenny that co-opts both the coloration and characteristic behaviors of the cleaner wrasses, albeit with an underslung mouth that readily identifies it. Fortunately, most shops will properly identify and label their stock, but make sure you know the difference when shopping. Otherwise, your fish may become hapless victims to the incessant picking of a pretender.

CAREER CLEANER Once settled into an environment, cleaner wrasses like to establish a cleaning station—a fixed point they’ll hang around where client fish can reliably find them. To signal availability, they’ll bob up and down in the water column in a conspicuous dance until a client fish comes along and services can proceed. Very young wrasses tend Close-up of the False Cleanerfish | Rickard Zerpe

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Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse and Golden Damselfish | Rickard Zerpe

to be a little less open about cleaning services, preferring to stay out of the business until they’re a bit larger and take on some adult coloration.

Cleaner wrasses will get along as a small group but never a school.

Sometimes, a larger male will establish himself as the dominant individual, which in turn can lead to some chasing and nipping.

A concern of compatibility comes with their cleaning behavior— not that they won’t be able to solicit enough parasites as a food source (alternative food sources are usually taken—see below), but rather that they cannot turn their cleaning behaviors off. In the close confines of an aquarium, a wrasse is quite capable of harassing other fishes to no end, simply in trying to do a good job of parasite removal. To some extent, this harassment problem is a little less evident in well-fed cleaners, although nothing will turn the behavior off. Your next best bet is to address the environment provided: False Cleanerfish (Aspidontus taeniatus) | Bedo

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Black Leopard Wrasse and Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse | Rickard Zerpe

a larger tank provides space to move away, and a more complex reef with barriers to better delineate cleaning-station territories and break lines of sight can also aid in maintaining calm.

a day. The wrasses themselves will also supplement their diet with whatever copepods (or other invertebrates) are naturally culturing in your tank among your live rock.

ON THE MENU

With advancements in both captive breeding and understanding the captive care requirements of cleaner wrasses, the question arises—would I recommend them? I would say that the answer is a highly qualified yes. If you can cater to their specific requirements for tank size, companions, and diet, you should be able to do well with these charming little fish for many years. R

It would be my hope that an aquarist’s tank isn’t so brimming with parasites that a wrasse could happily keep its belly full on that alone! Most specimens of cleaner wrasse, regardless of which species you take home, may be remarkably selective in which food items they will initially accept. Once they settle in, they usually start accepting more variety. These wrasses have proven adaptable in being able to accept a fairly broad range of meaty alternatives to their natural fare. Of importance is the inclusion of crustaceans in the diet; frozen options like mysids, Artemia spp., and copepods are great choices and will be happily accepted. Fish meat—if offered in appropriately sized portions—is also welcomed by cleaners and is readily available both fresh and frozen from your local seafood market. Commercially available dry foods are not always so readily accepted by cleaners, especially newly acquired specimens. Long term, I’ve seen greater successes from those who raise their wrasses on a diet of mostly live and frozen foods.

That said, whatever you choose to feed your wrasse, be prepared to feed lots of it. In nature, the ever-busy cleaner can burn through several thousand parasites a day, feeding almost continuously from dawn until dusk. In this regard, feeding small, regular amounts to your wrasses is certainly better than one or two bulky feeds in

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Two Rainbow Cleaner Wrasses go to work on a Dragon Wrasse. | Mbz1

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FEDERICO BENVENUTI

MONTITOPIA M

y passion for the marine world was born by chance. One day, while going to get food for my cat in a pet shop, I saw the freshwater aquariums and immediately bought one.

After about a month of cycling, it was time to buy the first guests for the aquarium, so I went to a fish store where they also sold marine systems. As I looked at the variety and colors of all the corals, I immediately fell in love. Instead of coming home with fish for my freshwater aquarium, I came home with a saltwater aquarium!

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I dismantled the freshwater tank and immediately started my new 55-gallon marine aquarium. Since this was all new to me, I quickly began studying and reading about saltwater-aquarium management on various online forums.

Being skilled with DIY, I got to work making the electrical panel.

Then I decided to try my hand at building an LED ceiling light. After a lot of researching and reading, I decided to build the light fixture, transformers, and control unit with integrated display as well.

Equipment area under the display

Powder Blue Tang

After about 2 years, I ended up moving, at which point I switched to a bigger tank, the one featured in this article.

SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Display: 48" × 24" × 24" Display Volume: ~105 gallons Glass: ½" thickness Live Rock: 175 lbs.

Method: Berlin Wavemaker: (3) Jebao RW-8 Pump: Sicce Syncra 2.5 Skimmer: Ultra Reef Akula UKS-160 Lighting: Vertex Illumina SR360/900 mm LED Doser: Jebao DP-4, Aquaforest balling components FISH • Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) • Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum) • Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus leucosternon) • (2) Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) • Royal Dottyback (Pictichromis paccagnellae) • Green Chromis (Chromis viridis) • Redtoothed Triggerfish (Odonus niger) • Blacktail Angelfish (Centropyge eibli) • Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) Reef Hobbyist Magazine

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Acropora divaricata

Clownfish and Bubble-tip Anemone

This tank has been running for about 7 years but has been moved three times. The aquarium has been in this locale for over 3 years now, and to date, no water has ever been changed except during the bottom siphoning of the display and sump.

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an auto top-off storage tank. Instead, I pump water directly into the sump to replace evaporated water. I employ two floats in series (a running-level float and a high-level safety float) that open and close a solenoid valve and turn on a booster pump connected to the reverse-osmosis system. This is composed of a one-micron sediment filter, activated carbon, 75-gallon-per-day membrane, deionizing resins, and anti-phosphate resins. The reverse-osmosis system is connected downstream of a water softener.

The electrical system is self-built and is equipped with standard and Schuko sockets, individually controlled with bipolar switches.

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Acropora nobilis (blue tips)

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My bed of montis

For added safety, in the event of prolonged outages, an uninterruptible power supply with two 40 Ah batteries keeps the return and flow pumps running for more than 8 hours.

My Ultra Reef Akula skimmer pulls organic nutrients out of the water. When itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full, a maximum-level float switch triggers the skimmer to discharge the waste material into a 7-gallon tank. Once this tank is filled, the system automatically disconnects the power to the skimmer to prevent flooding. An automatic cleaning system for the neck of the skimmer is installed (the Vertex Vectra Engine Universal Cleaner Unit) when I expect to be away for a long period of time.

The heating and cooling system of the tank is operated by an STC1000 Temperature Controller. In the winter, it controls a 300- and a 200-watt heater. In the warmer seasons, it operates a self-built system of eight super-silent fans (about 3" each) that combine with the air conditioner in the house to cool the aquarium water.

I feed the fish each evening. Their diet is varied and consists of flake food, granules, and pellets for both omnivorous and herbivorous fish. In the case of my absence, two automatic feeders are mounted and loaded with a mix of foods that is dosed in small amounts alternately, twice a day. No food is dosed for any of the corals, snails, and hermit crabs.

A key lesson Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned in my time in the hobby is that you have to monitor your tank daily. But the payoff is that in a healthy reef tank, you can see something new and exciting every day. Good luck with your reefing, and I hope you enjoyed this article. R

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Skimmer with float switch

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PRODUCT REVIEW: FRAG GRIPPER RHM STAFF

H

ere at RHM, we love coral. And we love almost everything about keeping coral in our home reefs. But just like emptying a cat’s litterbox, there are some less exciting parts to keeping our coral pets too. In the wild, it is not uncommon for a piece of coral to break off from its parent colony and travel with the current until it (hopefully) ends up in a place where it can grow. In our home tanks, we take cuttings from parent colonies and attach them to different locations in our tanks.

When it comes to attaching new SPS (small-polyp stony) frags, there are a number of methods that work. Simply gluing the frag to the plug or disk using superglue is the most common. Superglue is easy to apply and works well when the frag has a stony base and relatively even weight distribution. SPS are probably the easiest corals to frag.

At the other end of the annoyance spectrum are corals without any hard skeleton.

Soft corals (and corallimorphs) like colt corals, mushrooms, or leather corals cannot be glued down

since the glue or epoxy will not stick to the coral and usually comes loose within a day or two. In this situation, there are a few options that work with some success. Placing the coral on some rubble, whether the rubble is in the tank or in a separate container placed into a low-flow area of the tank, gives the coral the opportunity to attach naturally but often takes several weeks.

Other options include using netting or a rubber band (sometimes after running a toothpick through the frag) to keep the frag in contact with a frag disk long enough that it will attach. Once attached, you can place the frag disk or piece of rubble where you like. These methods may allow the frags to successfully attach and thrive given time but are not always successful and are quite labor intensive. There’s not much that’s more annoying than a small frag of soft coral that refuses to stay put.

Recently, I had the opportunity to try an innovative new product: the Frag Gripper. This device, created by Bob Bittner, solves the problems described above, as well as others that had not occurred to me prior to testing it. The Frag Gripper is a 3D-printed contraption that snaps onto the top of a frag plug (a standard ceramic plug, which is included with the product) and has clutch clip inner arms that grip onto the coral, holding it in place. No glue, no epoxy, just snap into place and it’s ready to go. Not only is it a game changer for soft coral that cannot be glued to a frag disk, it makes attaching Acropora spp. a snap, literally. Just push the frag through the clutch clips (sometimes it helps to give it a little twist while pushing it through) and then connect it right to the disk. It’s that quick, clean, and easy.

I’ve cut grooves into frag plugs to try and get gorgonians to stand upright, as well as mixed epoxy until I’ve got multiple layers built up on my fingers, but this new product eliminates the need for all of that hassle. I just cut up some toadstools, and it was as simple as pushing a corner of the frag into the prongs of the clutch system and snapping the Frag Gripper to a disk. Eventually, the coral overgrows it and you don’t even know it’s there. While it’s not going to replace the ease of just superglue for easy-to-mount SPS, the Frag Gripper is going to make it much easier to securely attach certain types of frags directly to frag disks. You can expect to find a 10-pack for around $10 at local fish stores. R

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