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Juvi Personatus Grows Up Quick in Japanese SPS Reef

eric michael — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:23:57 +0000

Remember that tiny juvenile Genicanthus personatus that was collected back in 2010 by Rufus Kimura?

Fast forward to this video taken at the start of this month, and you can see that baby has grown into a meaty Genicanthus in a maturing SPS reef. It’s unfortunate that two of the three Bandit Angels in this stunning tank are showing some aggression. We hope it will subside as that trio has been together for well over a year now.

And if you thought the owner wasn’t planning for the future. Check out this Eco Mini nano done right with some exciting juvenile Centropyge interruptus.

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New Peppermint Angel Video

eric michael — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:55:20 +0000

The continually elusive Peppermint Angelfish (Paracentropyge boylei) has gotten a recent YouTube cameo, compliments of 44AZR. The tank has gotten a re-scape or is entirely new, but the shrimp and notched dorsal (albeit healing) suggest this is still the specimen belonging to Mr. Uragami.

Update: This little gem is being held at Japanese LFS Marin Technique while a new tank is worked on.

Mr. Uragami’s fish is the only publicly known specimen in captivity. Read into that as much or little as you’d like.

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Two Inches of Orange Margined Beauty

eric michael — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:23:05 +0000

A handful of special fish have been collected over summer, but this tiny Orange Margined Butterflyfish (Prognathodes basabei) takes the adorable prize. Collected in the deep waters of Hawaii, this little one was destined for Japan upon entering Rufus Kimura’s net. To no surprise it is headed to Koji Wada’s Blue Harbor in Osaka.

Over two years ago, Kimura made a splash with rare fish enthusiasts with the commercial availability of Prognathodes basabei. As was true then, their appearances in captivity are extremely rare due to the extreme depth at which they are found and the accordingly high price tag. Like many sought after species, the Basabei commands an inverted pricing structure–meaning smaller specimens command higher prices than their larger brethren.

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Win A 2011 Blue Harbor Calendar from GBD

eric michael — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:59:00 +0000

You’ve seen what’s in it, now you’ve got the chance to win your own. We’re giving away a 2011 Blue Harbor calendar compliments of Koji Wada and GBD. Show your friends, family and co-workers just how hardcore of a fish geek you really are. To enter, just leave a comment.

Who Can Play: Anyone over the age of 18 in the US. Limit one entry per household. For additional rules see here.

Drawing: The giveaway closed on Saturday January 15, 2011 @ 10PM Central. The winner will be drawn at random.

How to Enter: Leave a comment on this thread and you’ll be automatically entered. Be sure to use valid credentials so we can contact you in the event you do win.

The giveaway is now closed.

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Blue Harbor’s 2011 Calendar Brings 12 Months of Eye Candy

eric michael — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:08:47 +0000

Blue Harbor, a popular fish store and rare fish Mecca in Japan, has just finalized their 2011 Calendar. On a recent visit to the U.S., Koji Wada was kind enough to give me a copy. [I must give a big thank you to LiveAquaria's Kevin Kohen for shipping it.]

Including in the calendar is the 1″ Juvenile Genicanthus personatus, Roa excelsa, a pair of Plectranthias pelicieri and a myriad of other rare fish. The value of all these animals could easily buy a very nice Audi or BMW–we’re just ‘sayin.

If this is any indication of the New Year, it’s looking very bright.

We wish our readers all the best in 2011. Happy New Year!

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Stunning False Shepardi x Bispinosa Hybrid Angel

eric michael — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:15:25 +0000

One of the most exciting fish to recently come out of Cebu is the False Shepardi Angelfish. This ‘species’ is actually a cross of the Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loriculus) and the Rusty Angelfish (Centropyge ferrugata). The 50/50 mix creates a hybrid that is nearly indistinguishable from the true Separd’s angel that is found in the waters of Guam, The Marianas and Southern Japan (h/t Copps).

The specimen we show you here is the result of a False Shepardi Hybrid, hybridizing with a Coral Beauty (C. bispinosa)! The orange base, fiery yellow pelvic fins, and blue trimmed dorsal are enough to give Angelfish fans some serious palpitations.

This beautiful fish was acquired by our Japanese contributor Tetsuo Otake. With any luck this striking hybrid will undergo a light fin clipping for some DNA analysis to clarify its colorful heritage.

Without DNA evidence hybrids themselves are somewhat speculative. Even more so, DNA testing is continuing to change the phylogenetic landscape as we know it. It is impossible to say what lineage this fish exactly comes from; but, given its collection in Cebu, body shape and markings we do agree with the (C. loriculus x C. ferrugata) x C. bispinosa identification.

It’s important to highlight that we have seen Coral Beauty x Shepardi Hybrids from Guam. In fact, Moyer released a paper on observations on this mixed pair back in ’81:

Moyer, J. T. 1981. Interspecific spawning of the pygmy angelfishes Centropyge shepardi and C. bispinosus at Guam. Micronesica 17.

A photo of this suspected hybrid can be seen in Kiyoshi Endoh’s Angelfishes of the world book (p.20) which to no surprise looks extremely similar to the fish shown here. Even so, this may be the first False Shepardi x Coral Beauty Hybrid to enter the trade.

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Peppermint Angelfish Captured on Video

eric michael — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:00:34 +0000

This is currently the only publicly available video, of the one living Peppermint Angelfish (Paracentropyge boylei). The clip was taken by the rightful owner of the fish, Mr. Uragami of Nagoya, Japan. We thank him for sharing his highly prized Angel.

Little has changed with this aquarium. That alone is likely a driver of this fish’s successful captive life over the past decade. Little ambient light, dual chillers (@ 68-71F), and barren rock work make this little Peppermint Angel feel right at home.

[Note: FC2 is a Japanese video sharing site with some unique paywalls. If the 'server' is busy, please visit this link to directly view the clip on FC2.]

You may notice in the video that the Peppermint is missing a bit of its dorsal. We’re not certain what happened, but such damage could easily come for an overzealous cleaner shrimp. The tissue loss is pretty deep, exposing a lot of the 11th dorsal spine. We hope this little guy can heal up.

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Mame Design Calcium Sand is Whiter Than Snow

eric michael — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:41:26 +0000

Substrate choice in marine aquariums is an endless debate. Some like it fine. Some like it deep. Others hate it and like it bare. As long as your preference includes some type of substrate covering your aquarium’s bottom pane you may want to check out Mame Design’s Calcium Sand. It’s as white as it gets.

Mame states the material is calcium based and will aid in ‘buffering’. How anyone will manage to keep so clean is still up for debate.

We’d love to see this substrate employed on a small rimless with a solid white background. Add in a Black Long Spine Urchin and some Baby Banggai Cardinals. If there is such a thingas an editorial reef tank, that is it.

[mame]

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Japanese Aquarist Has Success with Obligate Corallivore Butterflyfish

eric michael — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:31:01 +0000

Obligate coral feeding butterflyfish, like Chaetodon larvatus or C. ornatissimus, are a pipe dream for most. Their beautiful patterns and colors scream for attention, but sadly their dietary needs are rarely met. Because of their stony coral diet, the mortality rate of these obligate corallivores in captivity is near 100%. That is why you should know about Shinri Takama.

Mr. Takama is a legend in Japan. He has kept many rare fish, such as the first Paracentropyge venusta x multifasciata hybrid to enter our trade, but he is ultimately known for his long term care of corallivore butterflyfish.

Mr. Takama is one of the few in the world to ever care for Amphichaetodon howensis–This was ~20 yrs ago.

Arguably Takama’s biggest success is with Chaetodon reticulatus. He has kept a single specimen alive in captivity for 7 years. To our knowledge this is the longest that an obligate coral feeding Chaetodont has been kept in captivity. Here are some of his other achievements with difficult to care for butterflyfish:

Chaetodon larvatus – 4 years
Chaetodon austriacus × Chaetodon melapterus – 4 years
Chaetodon ornatissimus – 2 years
Chaetodon reticulatus – 7 years
Chaetodon melapterus – 2 years

What is interesting is that these fish are cared for in aquariums that lack stony corals. In fact the aquariums, which are kept in a green house like space, are more like a refugium than any display tank. There is ample flora and fauna in the aquariums should the fish need to graze–but Takama has trained his fish to eat frozen clams. This is their staple diet.

Specifically the clams are Ruditapes philippinarum which can be found for sale throughout Asia.

Because these fed multiple times a day, they are attached to an acrylic strip that keeps the clams open and upright, and easy to remove.

Getting these species weaned on to prepared foods is difficult, but not impossible. Sustaining them for longer than 6 months is an entirely new realm.

An Oranate, Melapterus Hybrid and Larvatus Butterfly aggressively feeding on the clams.

Living in Japan, Mr. Takama is able to collect multiple Chaetodon species close to home. This is a significant advantage as he is able to get extremely small juveniles–similar to some fish that are sold as “tank raised”. Additionally, there is very less travel time from ocean to aquarium.

There is still much to learn about these fish. I must adamantly state that these are fish best left in the ocean–until we learn more about their long term dietary requirements. Mr. Takama’s success will hopefully pave the way.

Thank you to our contributor Tetsuo Otake for co-writing this piece. Additional thanks to Japanese Aquaria Writer Takeshi Aoki and Mr. Takama for allowing us to share this story.

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Yasuhiro’s Blue Lagoon, The Tank that Started it All

eric michael — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:00:30 +0000

October is here and the “Reefing Season” is back in full swing. In a quest for reefing motivation I turned to the Blue Lagoon, one of my favorite aquariums. This article was originally published on June 4, 2009–tanks this good never reach an expiration.

I remember stumbling across the Blue Lagoon online. It was nearly 10 years ago when I first laid eyes on this tank, and since then it, along with a number of other beautiful Japanese reefs, has shifted my ideas and thoughts on reefs aquariums. Mr. Yasuhiro Komatu, a Japanese aquarist, was a master at using multiple light sources to bring out the desired effect within his reef. He consciously thought about the spectrum, intensity, and UV qualities that these coral received in their natural homes and attempted to mimic that while also enhancing their natural beauty. Some call it disco lighting—I call it reef magic.

This stunning 200g reef (~60x36x26″) was illuminated by five MT-250 (250w) DE Metal Halide lamps; 3 of which were a 20-25K lamp (Coral Lamp used in the MT series), the remaining were 14K BLVs. In addition to this core lighting Yasuhiro utilized 3 Superkaru 150w metal halide spotlights, two deep blues (50K) and one pink.

Love it or hate it, the Blue Lagoon is worthy of appreciation

That’s not all. In addition to the metal halides, 50w and 75w warm Ushio Halogen spotlights and 8 CFL Spotlights (4x 20w & 4x 27w) were then used to pop highlights into the varied blue spectrum. The effect is captured beautifully in the first photograph. After learning about this tank, I remember saying to myself.. I must get a rimless aquarium and metal halides spotlights!

Yes the lighting is overkill, but Yasuhiro showed what can be created in the confines of a glassbox and opened my mind into an entire new world of lighting. Aquarium lighting has historically been extremely limited, misleading, and often times ineffective. Thankfully times have changed and new developments in spectral / PAR analysis and metal halide reflector design have created vast improvements over the once standard 400w 6.5K Iwasaki and Spider reflector.

Mr. Komatu’s Blue Lagoon emphasized to me the importance of planning in advance for the aquascape and coralscape. During this time period, I was frequenting the popular Chicago store Reef Dweller, run by RC legend Menard. While I had a beautiful collection of colorful and rare SPS filling an entire 125g tank… I realized the big picture was not where I wanted it to be. It was not a display tank, it was a coral tank. For some that’s okay, but for me I realized I needed to balance the pleasure gained of keeping these animals with the optical experience of viewing a final product.

I haven’t heard from Yasuhiro in years now, and I fear this system is no more. Hopefully these photos that I’ve kept with me will inspire you during this reefing “off-season”. If anyone has any updates on this beautiful tank, let us know.

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