As aquarists, we have “cultured” ourselves (pun intended) to understand that bacteria is not always bad.  For example, we cherish our beloved nitrosomas and nitrobacter flourishing within our aquarium.  Yet, if a bacterium does not fall into one of these mineralizing functions, can it possibly be good?  In a short answer, yes.  In fact, bacteria can play an enormously influential, beneficial, and synergistic role in many marine creatures.  Even bacteria which have been vilified as evil incarnate, such as Vibrio sp.

Vibrio sp. bacterium has long earned a reputation as being harmful.  In our tanks, it has been frequently speculated that Vibrio is an instigating factor in numerous cases of RTN.  Furthermore, it is regularly implicated in causing severe health issue in humans (typically in conjunction with ingestion of an aquatic or marine organism or water).

Well, cheer up Vibrio, you’re finally getting some of the accolades you deserve!  Spencer Nyholm, of the University of Connecticut’s Molecular and Cell Biology Department, has shown that the Hawaiian Bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) will regularly utilize Vibrio fisheri within its body to create bioluminescence for protection from predators.  The young squid are not born with these cultures, but will actually “gather” them from surrounding waters, and residing within their bodies to provide countershading from potential predators.  Being a nocturnal species, this is displayed on the underside of their body, to mimic the lighter water surface.  However, once dawn breaks, the squids will settle into the sand, and actively “eject” up to 95% of the Vibrio bacteria out of their bodies.  Why?  Theories abound, but, all things considered, the existing +5% within the squid replicates quickly, and by nightfall, the bacterial culture has “recharged” completely, ready to benefit their host yet again.  Not the “toxic villain” it is too often painted as.

As a thought-provoking biomedical note, this relationship has some interesting possibilities within other organisms as well.  As mentioned earlier, Vibrio cholerae is a notoriously nefarious fellow- the causative agent for cholera in humans.  But, is it possible that this Vibrio may share a similar pathway in humans?  This instinctual genetic relationship may indeed be at play in humans, and only become problematic when the equilibrium is upset.  To investigate, turn sights back to the Bobtail squid.  While humans have an enormous variety of gut organisms, these squid form a relationship with one- Vibrio fisheri. How does the squid’s immune system detect that one species of bacteria, in relation the bombardment of other bacteria it is surely exposed to?  Nyholm is now investigating this relationship. He states, “Understanding how the squid immune system reacts to Vibrio bacteria can help us understand how other animals interact with both beneficial and disease-causing microbes. The genes of communication appear to be similar for good and bad associations, but the mechanisms of implementation are likely different.

[uconn]

[flickr : sam , voyager]

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A ‘new’ unidentified crab is making news headlines for its fruity looks. Dubbed by the media as the Strawberry crab, this undescribed species was found by marine biologists from the National Taiwan Ocean University off the southern coast of Taiwan. It is similar in appearance to Neoliomera pubescens, which aquarists also call the Strawberry crab, except that the carapace of this new crab is larger at nearly 1″ in width. Two females of this suspected new species were collected, but past away soon after.

We are hesitant to use the word new, as it appears some scientists have seen this crab before. The Florida Museum of Natural History has documented a similar looking Neoliomera species from Guam. What do you think, same crab or wishful thinking?

Neoliomera crabs are occasionally kept in reef aquariums, and depending on the range of this new species, it may find its way into the trade like N. pubescens.

[Tree Hugger]

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You can read a follow up interview, where Richard discusses Pyle stops, Conservation, and the unfortunate circumstance that found him in the middle of Thrasher Sharks: TED Interview with Richard Pyle

In addition to this video, here’s a second one showing Richard and Brian Greene taking a deep (and cold) dive down to 400 feet. The video is titled A Christmas Chill: An Encounter with Hypothermia-Induced Tourette Syndrome … the title certainly does it justice. ” Tourettes” + Helium = A Good Laugh.

WARNING: This video contains language that is inappropriate for children, and may be offensive to some adults. In search of new species of fishes, a pair of marine biologists descend down a deep coral-reef drop-off in the central Pacific, using high-tech closed-circuit rebreathers and breathing a mixture containing mostly helium. As they pass a depth of 320 feet on the way down, they discover what it feels like to penetrate a thermocline from the balmy 85-degree equatorial sea-surface temperatures, to the 50-degree deep upwelled water below. The diver carrying the camera, who was wearng only a t-shirt and swimsuit under his rebreather gear, had no idea that every helium-affected word he was saying was being picked up by the camera’s microphone

And if those two videos are not enough to satisfy your inner fish geek, here’s a brief clip from the Discovery Channel, showing Richard Pyle and John Earle resolving some technical difficulties while diving. Enjoy!

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Photo by  wwmo2. Creative Commons

These rare fish are believed to be deepwater creatures, and very little is known about them. Below is a video showing a live specimen moments before its passing. Truly a spectacular animal.

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This was found  by capturing a single specimen at nearly half a mile deep via a remote operated vehicle and was brought up to the surface and observed on an onboard facility.

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Tosanoides flavofasciatus, is a relatively new species that was actually discovered in 1979 by Masao Katayama and Hajime Masuda. It was not until 1980 that this fish was revealed to the public via the Japanese Journal of Itchthyology (See PDF). Here is the original male holotype specimen from ’79 that was captured in the Sagami Bay of the Izu Islands and a live specimen also from the Izus.

Tosanoides spp. are only found off the coast of Japan where T. flavofasciatus  inhabits waters 40-60+ meters deep. This means in captivity, a chiller is a must. The only other member of the Tosanoides genus is Tosanoides filamentosus which are typically found at greater depth than T.flavofasciatus. 

Discovered in 1953 by Kamohara, Filamentosus was the first member of the Tosanoides genus. For more info see:

Kamohara, T. 1953. Marine fishes newly found in Prov. Tosa, Japan, with descriptions of a new genus and species. Res. Rep. Kôchi Univ. v. 2 (no. 11): 1-10.

It is not until the winter time that T. filamentosus comes to “shallower” depths, of 70m! Filamentosus is found in extremely cool waters, even more so than Flavofasciatus.

Oddly enough even at these depths, occasionally both Tosanoides species are captured by deep sea fisherman, much like the Borbonius Anthias at the seafood market shown here. 

Below is a map of the Izu Island chain where Tosanoides Anthias are often found.

I received word from a friend two weeks ago that a single male Tosanoides filamentosus was captured and is so far doing well. Many believe this to be the first Tosanoides filamentosus to enter the trade. I cannot disclose how much this male cost, but think above and beyond what Holanthias borbonius went for when they first became available. Shown below is a vibrant male Filamentosus from Izu-Oshima. 

Just yesterday I was informed that Koji Wada ( Blue Harbor ) just received a second Tosanoides filamentosus! A photo from Mr. Wada will be posted here shortly. 

I won’t say that we will never receive these fish in the United States, but it is highly unlikely to happen anytime soon. For starters many fish from the waters of Japan rarely make it outside of Japan, e.g. Centropyge interruptus. Secondly, this fish is native to Japan, but these are arguably the first two specimens to be collected for the trade due to their extreme depths. Even the female that went to Blue Harbor in 2007 was the first in many years and well, the Japanese love Anthias. Point being, the rare fish enthusiasts in Japan will snatch these up before we even have a chance.

I will say that there is hope. Recently American Aquarists have been willing to put up a decent amount of money for rare fish and both T. flavofasciatus and T. filamentosus can be found intermixing with Japanese Cherry Anthias (Sacura margaritacea)– which have made their way to the US. 

A special thanks to Koji Wada and Tetsuo Otake. Domo arigato.

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C. flavocoronatus was previously thought to only be found nearby Guam, but recently its range, and the range of other Roaops species such as C. tinkeri, has been found to extend to other areas. Thanks to deepwater explorations we now know that C. flavocoronatus can be found outside of Guam and C. tinkeri outside of Hawaii. As we have become aware of their extended range we are also becoming aware of the beautiful hybrids that nature is creating, as Roaops blood is mixed and then mixed again.

Without DNA testing it is difficult to know what the exact make up of each fish is, but the markings give some indication. Hopefully this will be investigated further so we can get a better handle on what mother nature is up to.

John Coppolino (Copps) was fortunate enough to get his hands on 3 Roa hybrids that were collected in the Marshall Islands. Below are his photos of these truly unique fish. A big thanks to John for allowing us to share these photos with our readers and taking the time to geek out with myself over this amazing subgenus.

This first specimen was collected nearly a month ago and shows very distinct markings. At just 2″, the tinkeri/flavocornatus and burgessi is readily apparent. This is a spectacular fish that I am very jealous that I do not own. I now have my own, please see here.

When John got word that a pair was available he jumped on the opportunity. Unlike the first specimen, this pair gives us larger hints of having C. flavocoronatus blood. The yellow band markings peek out despite being mixed with those of C. burgessi.

One of the pair shows very faint C. flavocoronatus and C. burgessi markings. If it were not for the pure white tail most would mistake this at a fish store as a standard C. tinkeri.

These very faint markings are not unheard of, but still very rare. Here are two different hybrids from Japan that show a similar faint C. burgessi band.

As I mentioned previously Chaetodon flavocoronatus is not readily known by most aquarists. With the recent collection of these unique hybrids it is making a few consider that C. flavocoronatus x C. burgessi hybrids have come in the past. This would not be much of a surprise given the larger range of C. burgessi  but still very cool. Here is a photo of a C. flavocoronatus that went to Japan. Typically the yellow band behind the eye is a purer yellow. This “dirty” coloration may hint at a hybridization with C. burgessi…?

Again thanks to fellow fish nut John Coppolino for sharing his stories and photos with us. We wish him success with these beautiful fish. 

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One of our favorite blogs Deep Sea News is switching from Science Blogs to the Discovery Channel. We wish Craig McClain, Peter Etnoyer, and Kevin Zelnio the best of luck at their new home. You can find their new blog here: Deep Sea News.

DSN offers great variety in their articles, photos and videos… like this one shown below.

Scientists have discovered species such as Enneapterygius pusillus glow red when viewed through a red filter. Photo by Nico Michiels et al. Full write up at Live Science.

“The red glow is likely a form of private communication or an attraction signal, Michiels said, though he doesn’t have clear proof yet. Because the light is coming from the fish themselves and not filtering down from the surface, the red glow remains visible at depth and is easily seen at close distances only.”

“Fluorescence occurs when light is absorbed at one wavelength and then re-emitted at another nearly immediately. In the case of the red fluorescence, these fish absorb light at blue-green wavelengths and re-emit it at red.”

A wealth of new species have been discovered at the Great Barrier Reef. Write up at eScience News full info at Census of Marine Life.

Ike’s wrath leaves thousands of fish dead. Photo by NOAA.  Warning–dead fish photo.

Sustainable Seafood efforts surge after dismal report on American Freshwater Fish numbers. The last time a study of this size occurred was in 1989. Fast forward to today, and 92% more species are now in believed to be in jeopardy. Full story at The Monterey Bay Aquarium Blog. Sidenote: The aquarium has recently closed their Jellyfish exhibit to make way for the exhibit, “The Secret Lives of Seadragons” that will house Leafy Sea Dragons.

How do Coral Reefs fare after being nuked? Not so bad after all, at least at the Bikini Atoll which were vaporized in 1954 thanks to a hydrogen bomb. According to Maria Beger of the University of Queensland in Australia, ”apart from occasional forays of illegal shark, tuna and Napoleon Wrasse fishing, the reef is almost completely undisturbed to this day.” 

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Around this time last year the popular Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) was assessed as an endangered species under criterion B of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, “IUCN”. Yet, if you look at many popular aquarium stores and online retailers you will often see wild specimens for sale. In fact a few e-tailers have them on sale right now…

These fish are one of the few that can be captive bred successfully. With their decimated numbers in the wild there is no logical reason to purchase wild collected specimens. The decimated populations of this fish have been known for sometime, but the Endangered Species status has not prompted much change in the hobby. 

We strongly urge you to only purchase captive raised individuals and make your local fish stores aware of their endangerment.

Back in January, 2007 the United States made a proposal to list this beautiful species on Appendix II of CITES. This proposal was latter rejected by CITES, but contains some good information:

The Banggai cardinalfishPterapogon kauderni is an endemic marine fish that has been negatively affected by heavy collection pressure for the aquarium trade and is highly vulnerable to extinction if trade continues at current rates. Harvest and trade first began in 1995, and has increased to an estimated 700,000-900,000 fish/yr.

The numbers on Banggai collection range considerably from source to source, but to give you an idea of collections in the U.S…  a single LAX wholesaler estimated receiving 500 Banggais a week just last year. This does not include the large number of deaths when shipping the collected fish from the Banggai Islands and sent on a two-week-unfed-journey to Jakarta and Bali before coming to the U.S. Also worth mentioning is frequent use of cyanide that historically has been used when collecting P. kauderni. The IUCN literature describes the collector-buyer implications well here:

P. kauderni are shipped primarily by boat from the Banggai Archipelago to national exporters via Tumbak and Manado and to a Bali exporter via Palu, and also direct to Bali exporters. An estimated 115,000 fish/month were transported on the Tumbak–Manado route, 3,000/month along the Palu to Bali route, and up to 10,000 fish/month were sent direct to Bali in 2001 (Lunn and Moreau 2004).

It has been heavily exploited by the aquarium trade since its rediscovery in 1994. Despite claims that captive breeding has been successful, most aquarium specimens are still captured in the wild. Fishes are collected, mainly with nets, and held in floating nets until purchased by fish buyers who visit individual fishers at least 3 to 4 times a month. Collectors are paid a small sum (ca. US $0.01 to 0.025 in 2001) per fish by buyers who, in turn, sell to exporters for US $ 0.10 to 0.12 a fish (Vagelli and Erdmann 2002).

It has been noted that satellite populations of Banggai’s have popped up in areas such as the Limbeh Strait (Erdmann and Vagelli 2001) and Gillamanuk, Bali (Various Collectors). We do not know the repercussions that will occur from this, but it’s comforting to hear there are other populations in the ocean. These introductions excluded,  Pterapogon kauderni can be found among the 27 islands of the Banggai Archipelago where collection is heavy. In total, the population in 2007 was estimated to be only 2.4 million. With collection numbers just shy of 1 Million a year it’s quite obvious there is a problem.

The issue of high collection rates is magnified by the low fecundity of P. kauderni. Like other Cardinals they are paternal mouthbrooders with a short lifespan. In lab conditions females have been found to be sexually mature at 9 months, but with an average life of 2.4 years in the wild, that equates to nearly 30% of their lifetime in a non-reproductive state. Interestingly, P. kauderni often lives 4+ years in captivity. Other issues hindering their reproduction include clutch transfer losses, holding periods (inside the males mouth for 30days), and predation.

In captivity, P. kauderni is the marine guppy. They readily pair off and breed. Because of the long mouthbrooding period, when the babies are released from the male their large size makes it easier (than other species) to raise. They are often touted as a hardy nano-fish, which they are… but in these discussions and suggestions their sustainability is rarely brought up.

It’s disheartening to think that without CITES approval of the U.S. proposal there is no change in the hobby’s view on these fish. CITES rejected the proposal stating Banggai Cardinals appeared to be sustainable and with proper management there is no reason to place the species on the CITES Appendix.

The International Wildlife Management Consortium, “IWMC”, World Conservation Trust recommended to CITES that the proposal should be rejected because it did not believe the species was threatened by collection and because it did not have the support of Indonesia. They also cite “information not in the proposal” and recently adopted measures by the Government of Indonesia as justification for the rejection.

CITES may be correct and the fish populations may now be sustainable, but purchasing captive bred when available is always a smart decision. If you are interested in this fish, ask around to your local fish stores and local forums to see who in the area is breeding them, or how you can get them. Our hobby already has a tarnished and unforgiving reputation, let’s not let P.kauderni perpetuate the myth. 

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This clownfish hybrid was captured one year ago in Indonesia. In captivity it has shown it’s aggressive behavior, bossing tankmates around. At the store where she was kept she killed more than one large Angelfish. In Tetsuo’s tank she has killed all other anemonefish, except a single Amphiprion perideraion that she gets along well with.

When looking up close just underneath the eye, the cheek spines clearly shows that it is hybridization of the Maroon Clown, Premnas biaculeatus. However, you can also see that it is not just one spine, but three! It is believe to have hybridized with Amphiprion frenatus commonly called the Tomato Clownfish.

Back in 2006, a shipment of Amphiprion bicinctus came in from Yemen. These fish were healthy and looked like your typical A. bicinctus as shown below.

Recently another shipment from Yemen brought an unidentified clown. With this Amphiprion sp. the bodies of the males are shortened, almost like goldfish. Unfortunately this time, Brookynella took out all but one. Believed to be a morph of A. bicinctus, when compared to the photo above of a normal A. bicinctus the difference in body shape is readily apparent.

Lastly we have an  interesting morph of the beautiful Centropyge multicolor. Unfortunately the location where this specimen was collected is unknown. It was not in the Marshall Islands, but believed to be somewhere in the South Pacific. The orange coloration is much more visible (Note the two bars) and the overall shape is slightly different. This female is 8cm in length and landed in Japan just last month.

Thank you to Tetsuo for sharing these photo’s with us, and giving permission to share them with our readers. We encourage you to check out his website,  where he has great photos of unique fish.  

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