Mystic Reef News

Kick-Off to fall

2010-10-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Have you been neglecting your tank? well now is the time to get it ready for the holidays. We are continuing to get new livestock and trying new dealers in order to provide you with the best quality, selection, and value.

Sustainable Aquatics Compliments Mystic Reef's Lineup

2010-08-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

We're proud to offer Sustainable Aquatics lineup of captive bred, as well as captive raised fish to our selection of livestock. We're very excited about this as it gives us another avenue to provide our customers with more appropriately suited tank raised livestock. This includes popular clownfish such as black and whites occelaris, "snowflakes," exotic and hard to come by latezonatus, and unique species such as captive bred lookdowns.

Sustainable Aquatics also captive "raises" many different fish caught from tiny juveniles in the wild. This allows them to offer a good diversity of fish including clowns, chromis, cardinals, tangs, even clown triggers and wrasse, all of which grow up on an aquarium diet.

We have long felt a more "sustainable" practice was needed for many of these fish, including the "hearty" yellow tang, which suffer very high mortality rates from reef to retail. We have 12 captive raised yellows coming in, as well as yellow eye, sailfin, clown triggers, leafy filefish, and some rabbits, all accustomed to aquarium life and diet! Be sure to stop in this weekend to see our full shipment of sustainable fish!

VERTEX PURATEK DELUXE 100 GPD RO/DI at Mystic Reef

2010-06-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Were proud to add another new product to our expanding lineup of premium reef equipment. These RO units are awesome, and their low 1/1 rejection ratio should help your conscience, plus they have more features than a new car.. :emot95: Vertex Deluxe 100GPD RO/DI features:

*Oil-filled pressure gauge

* Booster pump

* Completely automated back flush system

* Microprocessor controlled

*Low pressure switch to shut down the unit if source water is disrupted

*High pressure switch to shut down the unit if used with float or any other valve

*Clear Canisters

*100GPD GE membrane

*Pre-filter

*Carbon Block

*DI cartridge

*One year warranty on all parts and components (excluding filters , membrane and cartridges) No need to purchase any add-ons units are supplied with all necessary connection and extras.

The Water/ product water ratio for this unit is 1:1 or better ( temperature dependent). Reduce your system carbon foot-print by wasting less water and save money.

All puratek units are supplied with GE reverse osmosis membrane (100GPD) which is recognized by “water quality association” to be of the best quality materials and made in US.

Ecoxotic LED Lighting products at Mystic Reef

2010-06-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Mystic Reef Now carries Ecoxotic's lineup of fully linkable LED systems, from 12 watt panorama modules to stunner strips. You can get a whole new light setup, or retrofit your old one, add some moonlighting, or Mod your nano-cube.

We gutted an Aquapod 24 hood and replaced it with Panorama modules and stunner strips, and the results are awesome. Stop by today to check out how lights look on an actual display

New June '10 Releases from ORA: Blue Cespitularia and Blac Ice Semi-Snowflake

2010-06-01T12:04:00.001-07:00

ORA has been very busy this year diversifying the lineup. While Clownfish are still the Hallmark fish of ORA, they are many new species in the works including Mandarins and Blue Assessors, as well as many other great captive raised fish and coral. This month they add another Designer Clownfish to the game, The Black Ice Semi-Snowflake Clown, a beautifully abberant cross bewteen a Black Ocellaris and Snowflake (which is also an Ocellaris variant, opposed to the Platinum, which stems from Picassso Percula genes.)

Here's what ORA had to say of their new release:

"ORA is introducing another new clownfish variety this month. The Black Ice Semi-Snowflake (Amphiprion ocellaris) was created by crossing a Black Ocellaris with a Snowflake. We were really hoping to get a Black Snowflake but wound up with an orange one with ultra intense black markings. These guys have yellow-orange bodies with an irregular white zig zag in the mid-section. The thick black outlines really make the colors pop."

Available for about 1/3 the price of a Snowflake clown in limited quantities, these are sure to go fast. I have several extremely aberrant ORA clowns in my store, and I have to say they might be more beautiful than their near albino brethren. The characteristic cheek spine or eye dots and jagged markings make them very unique.

ORA's new coral release for the month is the Blue Cespitularia. This is a very welcome coral to the industry as soft corals gain popularity again within display tanks. I have been farming a garden variety Cespitularia, and it has been quite popular as this coral is rarely available, even in normal colors. This variety is absolutely stunning and one can imagine how nice it must look under reef lighting or LEDs. Tyrpically soft corals with such vivid coloration require a good amount of supplemental feeding, but you can be assured this ORA piece is well adapted to tank life.

"ORA now offers a unique variety of Blue Cespitularia which has a sparkly turquoise body and peachy-orange polyps. This variety differs from the African variety which has a darker blue and purple coloration. It is rare to find such a bright and beautiful soft coral that is photosynthetic and so easy to care for.

Blue Cespitularia, sometimes referred to as “Blue Xenia”, is one of the most sought after soft corals in the industry. The color and movement of this coral appeals to all types of reefers, and its peaceful nature and hardiness make it an easy addition to any reef tank.

Blue Cespitularia adapts to a variety of lighting conditions, but we have noticed the most intense coloration under lower light levels when compared to typical SPS requirements. So as always, we suggest starting this coral out on the tank bottom and gradually moving it up to the desired location. Our other observations show that this coral prefers moderate to high water current and spreads by sending out a foot-like projection which attaches on to a nearby rock or solid surface."

These, as well well as all of the other ORA favorites can be found at The Mystic Reef.

Adam Mullins to Speak at IEMAS meeting 4/2

2010-03-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

Adam Mullins, Co-owner of The Mystic Reef, will be speaking at the April Inland Empire Marine Aquarium Society meeting Friday, April 2, at 7:00 pm.

The meetings are held at the IHOP next to Ontario Mills Mall off of Milliken.

Adam will be speaking and presenting photos on the subject of "Hitchhikers; the good, the bad, and the Ugly." the focus will be on desirable animals that sometimes hitch a ride with live rock or corals. In the case of some corals, hitchhikers offer a way to find and culture animals not commonly collected for the aquarium trade.

The Mystic Reef will also be donating several farm raised corals for the club raffle, including a fragment of the "Mystic Green Tubipora," which has been farmed from a tiny hitch-hiking mother colony.

If your in the Riverside area, I encourage you to make it out and support your local club, as well get current on the latest "reef talk"

Happy 2010! New Corals From Malaysia and West Africa now at The Mystic Reef

2010-01-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

Red Malaysian Micro

Happy New Year!!! 2009 was a long year for many people, and everyone seemed to feel the effects of the economy at one point. Lots of interesting things happened in the hobby; new skimmers and lighting, new livestock availability, and, unfortunately, the closing of many businesses, in and outside the pet industry.

The pet industry, which is the broad umbrella that the aquarium industry falls under, is essentially an industry based on luxury. No one needs an aquarium, or parrot, or reptile, or whatever, we just live in a world where we are lucky enough to accommodate our wants. Sadly though, when things turn sour, ( which happens in a cyclical economy), luxury spending is the first to be put on hold, with good reason.

Its been sad to see the closing of many stores, less competition is nice, but it also means a lot less business at the wholesale level, driving costs up. Many people are amazed to find stores, of nearly any kind, surviving or doing well in these times. Not all is bad though, there are still plenty of people with steady jobs that are still deeply interested in their hobbies, which is great news as there has been plenty to keep them coming back for more, so to speak.

Another Malaysian Micro

One of the ways we have been able to stay afloat this long, despite people telling us from day one that we entered the business in the WORST possible time, is by being deeply involved in all facets of the hobby and trying to stay current with whats going on. We listen to what people want, what's new, what people need, and generally this is how we purchase things for our store.

If you've been to our store, you've probably noticed we are saltwater only, and nearly Reef tank only. We have a huge emphasis on corals and invertebrates, as its one of the most diverse "product lines" we can carry. This business started out as a passion, and therefore I still am very interested in everything I buy, I often say I started my store because I couldn't fit all of the various creatures, corals, and fish in the 7 tanks at my house.

So, to that end, it is one of my great interests to search out the best livestock I can come across for my store, whether it be tank raised from O.R.A, Vanuatu, Australia, Florida, or anywhere else. We work very hard to establish these connections, and we're happy to start 2010 with a few more.

Late 2009 saw some premium corals being imported from Malaysia and Borneo, which lies inside the infamous "Coral Triangle" which inlcudes Bali and the Solomon Islands, which is where much of our corals have been coming from in the past. This is exciting and there are sure to be plenty of new corals, along with unique color morphs and growth forms of well known corals. LPS corals will for sure be huge, and we've already seen amazing Blastomussa, Micromussa, and various other LPS including a large amount of Fungiids.

Once I heard about this, I had to get my hands on some, unfortunately I caught the tail end of the availability, as flight cancellations into and out of Malaysia have been making shipping difficult. Things should ease up as 2010 progresses and you can expect to see more of these great Malaysian corals in the next few weeks at The Mystic Reef.

Schizoculina africana

We also heard about some corals being shipped out of West Africa and worked hard to track down some for ourselves. While not exactly the most brightly colored coral to look at, African Schizoculina species are certainly unique, which is similar to a galaxy coral (galaxea) though we are still unsure of how aggressive they are towards other corals, and their exact environmental needs. I like this unique little brown coral, the fuzzy appearance of the translucent tentacles and large corallites make these coral a cool piece for sure.

They do appear photosynthetic, and will catch small foods, and thus far appear to be quite hearty. This should be just the beginning of new and interesting corals to hit the market from West Africa, we'll continue to keep you updated with more photos as we continue to receive new livestock from these and other great new locations.

Top Down of the Schizo

We are working hard to bring in new stock from new locations all over the world, 2010 is looking bright!

Great Barrier Reef, Batman!!

2009-12-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

I can remember when Aussie livestock was about as hard to come by as the new "hybrid ultra awesome reverse disco chalice," or whatever the current obsession happens to be.

It was not that long ago really, I remember being at my first coral farmers market in 2008 and hobbyist's searching out the next hot acanthastrea. Back then nearly any color acan was desirable and they were all flying off the few farmer's frag racks who had them.This was the same CFM where 2 inch pieces of Sunset monti were going for upwards of two or three hundred, o how times change..

It was very difficult to get a hold of any Acan Lords, even from some of the better know wholesaler/importers in Los Angeles. Even when they did begin to trickle in, they commanded steep prices, and still do, though not as much during the "Acan' Rush of 2007/2008." It was not uncommon for small 4 inch colonies to be selling for four to seven hundred dollars and up, WHOLESALE!!

Any how, Australian livestock has always been a hot commodity, with good reason. The quality and coloration of Australian corals and fish is second to none. Now is a better time than ever for Aussie livestock, with great fish, SPS, scolymias, and of course mid blowing acans showing up more frequently, through the right sources.

I've heard some hobbyists complain that acans are old news, apparently a bygone trend like your dad's leisure suit. If your into this hobby to follow the fads and trends, then we are in it for seperate reasons. I love all coral, especially colorful ones, from "common" fungias, zoas, mushrooms, acros, favias, you name it. Acans come in some of the most beautiful color patterns of any coral, but to each his own and some people truly arn't interested.

It's interesting, I talk with various suppliers of mine, and they tell me in some parts of the country theyre saying "no more acans, we cant sell them" whereas in others, people like me are saying "send me acans, acans, acans, got any rainbows?" Thus is the dilema for the livestock dealer, its not what we like, its what the customer likes. It can be hard to predict sometimes, which is why we try to collect the best variety of the best pieces every coral we find.
Here are some Acans we have at the store right now that I thought I'd share.

One of my favorites
Interesting Bicolor morph, next to a "dragon soul" type Prism favia
This Piece is stunning, all colors arn't revealed until it deflates some

Gorgeous Rainbow Frag
This two (above and below) have got to be among the
LARGEST colonies I've seen, taking up nearly an entire lg.
box between the two.

Here's a nice little frag of an aussie chalice

Well that's it for now, I should be getting another shipment Friday full of surprises, and I will do my best to keep you posted!

-Adam Mullins

Sunlight Supply Announces Tek Light "Elite"!!

2009-12-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of their recent announcement of the new 60" Tek light, Sunlight Supply has graced us all with the early annoucement of the Tek Light Elite series of self cooled lights. Sunlight has been deluged with calls concerning the new lamp and its release date, as of right now it will be a few months.
This is great news and makes a great lamp even better. Many people have understood that keeping T5 bulbs cools helps them run more efficiently, increasing lamp life. In fact, it may seem like somewhat of a surprise its taken S.S. this long to add fans in the first place. Especially considering many other T5 units come with fans, like those from current or aquatic life.
We can't to get our hands on the new units, we've got some new displays being set up and were going T5 for lighting. Cheers to Sunlight Supply

New Products at The Mystic Reef, CAD lights!

2009-12-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

CAD lighting is probably best known on the east coast for their rimless All-in-One nano systems and customs aquariums. The Mystic Reef is proud to bring in their line of protein skimmers, all in one nanos, faux coral inserts, sumps, and lighting systems.

CAD has earned a good reputation on the east coast, and were one of the first stores to bring it over to the west coast, however they are getting their warehouse set up and you should start to see their products hitting other stores shelves in the next few months.

CAD manufactures stock rimless tanks from 12 to 50 gallons, with starphire options available. The nanos have some unique feature compared to other "all-n-one" tanks on the market, such as a built in refugium chamber. These tanks are definitely in a class of their own visually. The rimless design is very elegant, especially when the light is suspended rather than mounted on legs. The bullnosed bottom glass is also a very higher end feature. There definetly is a niceThey are available with either power compact or 4 lamp T5HO fixtures.

Their line of BubbleMagus skimmers appear to be well built, and the NAC 66 seems to be a strong competitor in the midrange skimmer game, and is rated for 250-350 gallons, depending on bioload.

Rimless 22 gallon All-in-One Nano

Back of the Nano Tank, with built in refugium chamber,

12 gallon Nanos

Typical top-down, typical green slimer?

Nope, new Faux coral insert. While we'd much rather see Living corals in fish tanks, these new inserts are perfect for fish only tanks in need of some color, and they are almost half the price of some competing fake corals. The flexible faux-gorgonian would be a great hitching post for seahorse tanks

Now for some shots of the Skimmers:

Bubble Plate on dual pump NAC-66Easy Adjustment Dial

The Nano Tanks have been so popular over the last week, that we have decided to set up the Rimless 55 gallon cube with Starphire glass as an in store display. We're open to suggestions for aquascaping and livestock, e-mail us your ideas. Heres some photos

55 Gallon Cube with 150whalide/ T5/LED moonlight Combo light

Under Cabinet with sump, and skimmer

Another strong seller for us lately has been the entire line of Eco-plus submersible pumps from Sunlight Supply. These pumps are said to run cooler than competing Rios and are much cheaper. So if your looking for an inexpensive submersible pump, Eco Plus may be a good option

Just a reminder, we also stock a full assortment of hard to find plumbing parts like, bulkheads, loc-lines, unions, tru-union valves.

In other news, we have been brining in more corals than ever, with more exciting rarities on the horizon from secret locations just now beginning to ship out corals, hot new tank raised nano fish, and LEDs rumored from various manufacturers, 2010 is definitely looking BRIGHT!!

IceCap LED LunarLite Retrofit to be Released mid DecembeR

2009-11-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

IceCap has carved out a strong niche in the aquarium lighting industry. Their ballasts are widely used by many reefers, with good reason. Long known for their ballasts and retrofits, IceCap continues to innovate with new light fixtures and some inspiring new technology. Could this new LED techology translate into a full blown LED fixture from IceCap? No word yet, but ere's what IceCap had to say about their new fixtures and exciting new products:

"Introduced at MACNA, the Reef Illuminations fixtures created quite a buzz, in part because of the unique LED supplemental lighting system. We received so many inquires on the LunarLites that we have decided to make them available as a retrofit product.

Available Mid December LunarLite Retrofit

The LunarLite LED tubes have the same look of a standard T5 tube, but they are powered by a low voltage transformer, not a fluorescent ballast. The T5 form provides better spread of the light over the entire aquarium. Encasing the LED's inside a T5-style tube protects them and their circuit boards from the harsh, salty, humid environment that is your normal saltwater aquarium. The IceCap LunarLites have an aluminum heat sink on the back side of the tube to dissipate what little heat they generate.

Wait till you see what they do for your corals!

LunarLites are highly efficient and very reliable but we know the reason you'll want them is what they will do to the appearance of the corals. They are designed to excite the green fluorescing proteins in corals. They particularly bring out yellows, oranges, and greens. If you think your corals look good under actinics, you haven't seen anything yet! Mushrooms, zoanthids, Ricordea, and most any fleshly large polyp stony corals look amazing under the LED's.

The LunarLite retrofits ship with mounting clips to secure the LED Tubes to a canopy, commercial hood or existing fixture. The weight should not be an issue because the 2-foot unit is only 4 oz. Power connection to the LunarLite is a power tail with a quick connect to a low voltage power supply, no hand wiring required."

LunarLite Blue LEDs 470nm - 4ft LunarLite has 75 individual emitters

We can't wait to try out these new LED retrofits, the colors produced by LEDs are truly amazing. The shimmer effect will be a nice addition to flourescent powered tanks, as many detractors claim normal T5 light looks like "garbage" without the shimmer of a halide, despite the insane colors many corals attain.

Here's a Photo I snapped of some Ricordea using Hydor's Blue LED Spotlight.

ORA: New Releases Could pave the Way for Future Diversity

2009-11-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has happened to read my Hot Nano Fish Series in Reef Hobbyist Magazine should be able to tell that I have an obsession for the small. It seems my progression in the hobby as taken me from the Macro to the Micro. I have found in my experience that large, aggressive fish like tangs can spoil the tranquility of a reef tank, and are certainly not suitable for smaller reef systems.

However, these tiny little creatures are very hard to catch in the wild, so aquaculture is the only avenue for sustainable collection and trade in some of these species. ORA continues to lead the aquaculture industry, and they announced last month that they have been working on approximately 12-16 new species of fish would could enter the market next year, 2010. Most of the fish they are currently working on are gobies, and of course dottybacks and clownfish, including some anticipated new "Designer" morphs.

Red Head Goby

The first ones to hit the line up have been announced, and should be filtering to stores in the first weeks of December. ORA Re-released the popular Red Head Nano Goby, which doesn't get much larger than 1 -2 inches. Making them perfect for many nano and pico tanks.

ORA Elongate Dottyback

Another smaller fish perfect for nano tanks is the Elongate Dottyback. This is one of the smallest members of the dottyback family, offering a unique addition to any tank.

ORA is also offering Grade B Snowflake Clowns, with some unique markings, alongside the rest of their great lineup, including their new smaller sizes.

Sunlight Supply Announces 60" Tek Light

2009-11-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

Sunlight Supply, one of the largest lighting manufacturers and distributors in the Saltwater industry, sent out e-mails today to customers announcing a new sixty-inch Tek Light fixture. This is great news as there has been a lack of lights to fit this odd ball length. The Tek line of T5HO fixtures remain strong competitors in the T5 lighting game. While other companies such as Current have been faltering, Sunlight is continuing to expand product lines and give consumers what they're looking for.
Tek light fixtures are very sleek, 2 and half inch thick light fixtures that come in 2, 4,6, and 8 lamp configurations. They can be mounted on adjustable legs or suspended. Suspension seems to the most popular way to place these lightweight light fixtures over a tank, and gives a very modern look when exposed, especially on Euro style or Rimless tanks.
T5 have become very popular within the Hobby because of there uniform light distribution, cool operating temps, low energy consumption, and relatively affordable replacement bulbs. The New 60 inch fixture will accept 80 watt bulbs from a variety of manufacturers, such as popular D-D Giesseman, Korallen-Zuct, and Blue Life SPS.
The Mystic Reef is now taking preorders for this light, so let us know if your interested in one of these lights.

Hydor Continues to Perfect Their Market Niche.

2009-11-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hydor. If you havn't heard of them, either you live under a rock, or you've never seen the need to replace your Tunze Streams. Hydor is a well known aquarium product maunufacturer from Italy, though when most reefers think of them, they think of the egg shaped Koralia powerheads with magnet attachments, and with good reason.

The Hydor Koralia is another take on the popular Propeller-style pump, like the Vortech or Tunze streams, which deliver powerful yet broad water flow with little head pressure. This makes them very ideal for Reef tanks requiring massive turbulent water flow. Normal output pumps produce more of a thin column or jet of fast moving water that is not very efficient at creating the random flow needed for a reef tank. The flow normal pumps produce is a constant laminar flow, which is completely unnatural for most corals and can actually cause certain corals, like Euphyllia , to recede from their skeletons if placed in direct flow.

Anyway, propeller-style pumps have revolutionized the aquarium industry, and it's nice to see the innovations havn't stopped. A Hydor Sales rep came in to let me know what's been going on with the company. Besides their Aerio pumps being in CPR's new line of protein skimmers, Hydor will be coming out with their own Nano Skimmer, the "Slim Skim" designed to fit most "Nano" systems. They have also announced the release of the "Marine Performer" skimmer for larger systems.

They also will be advancing their next generation of powerheads by introducing "shaftless" impeller designs. This is said to cut out the rattle on start up of these pumps, with the benefit of being able to connect the baseline Koralia to wavemaking devices. The former pumps would fail to start, rattle, or worse, reverse flow when connected to a wave timer, causing your pump to become a fish blender unless fitted with the protective screen.

Hydor as already released a line of Controllable Koralias to be used with their dual or quad controller. Performance is very good with intuitive conrtols, however it may not have been the correct market to introduce a rather expensive controller. The world of higher-end reef equipment is highly competetive and companies like Tunze and Ecotech have carved strong market shares out with their respective products, and there must be innovation to compete.

Koralia powerheads are about as good as any other prop pump, but their incompatibility with other controllers has kept many reefers from incorporating them into their systems. Hydor has proven they can adapt with the times. Their powerheads have proven to be a best buy for water movement.

I was also given one of their blue LED spotlights, its similar to a moonlight, but also available in red or green. The spotlight produces some very dramatic effects in the corals.

O.R.A Offering Some New Size Options

2009-11-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

ORA (Oceans, Reefs, and Aquariums) have long been the industry standard in tank reared livestock, most notably for their great variety of Tank Raised Clownfish, including the infamous Picasso Clownfish. They also have gained a cult following with their collectible corals (with websites and facebook pages devoted just to photos of the various corals.) But nevertheless, there is a rightfult reason the common clownfish graces their logo, they produce thousands of them. Not just that, their T.R. clowns come in at sizes comparable to wild clowns. Its extrordinary to consider how much longer it takes to grow fish to this size for market, compared to what the rest of the industry offers as "tank raised."

Every other dealer I've visited or bought fish from, usually will have Tank Raised clowns available. Mortality rates with wild clowns, especially Perculas, is atrocious when not handled correctly, which is why just about all of clowns we buy are captive bred, unless they are some desirable specimen I must have. I hesitantly purchased some juvenile perculas from a dealer recently. However the only reason I did was because they were gorgeous, nearly all black individuals, and I happen to trust this dealer's system and husbandry practices very much. They all did great and now I have some great near-onyx pairs.

Breeding fish on a commercial scale is a lot different than doing it on a hobby or experimental level. The bottom line is the "Bottom Line," and no matter how attractive, rare, or interesting, whatever you've bred, must be salable. Often times months to years of work go into raising these fish for market, and a lot of expenses and resources become consumed as these fish take up space growing. This fact keeps many breeders selling their fish small for a faster turnaround.

ORA has always impressed when it comes to sizing, normally we are happy we get them so large, however, there are a few customers that see these tiny clowns available at other stores and want some for themselves. So, we let ORA know we have been looking for smaller clowns to accomodate our Nano customers, and they must have gotten that request a lot, because sure enough small size clownfish are now available on their pricelist.

In another interesting tale of the tiny, we have been looking for some unique fish to display in our store, and we let our friends at ORA know. They know we have an affinity for the unique, how we keep all of the interesting color morphs and "stubby" clownfish we come across, adding to our ever growing clownfish collection.

Well we were able to get some very special clowns and give them a new home at the Mystic Reef. We received a pair of TINY (1/2 inch) clowns. Not just ordinary clownfish, one is a Platinum Percula and the other a Snowflake Ocellaris, making them quite the odd couple. Making them even more special, they are believed to be "dwarves" or runts. They were housed in the same growout tanks and are the same age as the other Platinum or Snowflakes, except they are about 1/4 the length. The fish appear to be mature, with dark edges on the fins and surrounding the bars, but their size disagrees.

ORA has produced "Stubby" clowns for a while now, but that appears to be another type of variation/ mutation which compresses the spine, which could be likened to extreme scoliosis.

There is a fine line of ethics when breeding any creatures.
I would like to see how many "designer fish" haters who claim all of these "mutants" should be culled, own other pets like dogs. After all, the great variation we find in various dog breeds stems from traits we bred into them. Isn't a yorkie nothing more than a "Mutant Canine"
-Adam Mullins

Ecotech Announces It will soon be compatible with third-party Equipment!

2009-11-13T12:42:00.001-08:00

Vortech MP40 On a Store Display.

Well, Friday the Thirteenth is not always associated with bad vibes. Ecotech Marine Announced it would be releasing a third party development package today which would hopefully allow the Ecotech pumps to be interfaced with All-in-One controllers that manage lighting, dosing, etc... This is hot news in the industry as the Vortech has become one of the best propeller-style powerheads available. Here's what Ecotech had to say on the matter:

"November 13, 2009—Lehigh Valley, PA— EcoTech Marine, the company that revolutionized the reef aquarium propeller pump, has announced the release of a development kit for third-party aquarium controller companies for its award-winning VorTech line. Although no firm release date has been established by manufacturers, stay tuned for announcements as controller companies begin to bring this desired technology to market.

“We are extremely excited about this development,” says Tim Marks, president of EcoTech Marine. “While the VorTech wave driver already provides extensive functionality right out of the box, this enables customers to integrate our market-leading flow technology with their lighting, dosing, pH and other systems. We look forward to enabling VorTech customers to be able to fully customize and control their pump using the aquarium controller of their choice.”

In addition to offering customizable controllability of the VorTech remotely through your controller, EcoTech customers will be able to download firmware updates and be remotely updated as to the operating conditions of the VorTech. The vast benefits of the controller are emerging as companies take interest and start working with the development kit.

EcoTech's development kit is now available to the industry's leading controller companies and together we are making the necessary arrangements to bring controller interfaces to production. “We have heard our customers' request and worked diligently to bring a solution that will maintain the same level of quality and technological superiority that you have come to expect from us,” said Marks.

The patented VorTech technology produces unmatched broad yet gentle flow while placing the motor outside the tank—preserving the beauty of the aquarium and enhancing the health of the tank’s ecosystem. With all the electrical components outside the aquarium and a variety of easy-to-program modes, the VorTech is the safest, most versatile pump on the market. "

This exciting news is definitely a sign of the progress in the industry. Hopefully these advances will be able to couple the Vortech's already stellar performance with more universal controllers, but only time will tell. No news as to which companies are taking advantage of the kit, but we can expect companies like Neptune Systems and Digital Aquatics, who manufacture many aquarium controllers popular today .We will continue to keep you posted on advances in the future.

Warner Marine Releases Ultimate Snow!!

2009-09-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Warner Marine has recently added Ultimate Snow to their lineup of premium aquarium supplements. Similar to the Zeovit product Marine Snow, ReefPure Ultimate Snow "is a unique blend of natural organic and inorganic carbonate based micro-fine particles that have the ability to carry nutrients directly to corals. This gives the aquarist the ability to dose specific supplements directly to the corals as the particles in ReefPure Ultimate Snow are precisely sized as to be captured by corals as food. In addition, ReefPure Ultimate Snow enhances protein skimming, increases water clarity, and limits undersirable algae including cyanobacteria by capturing yellowing compounds and neutralizing organic compounds. Ultimate Snow can be used with any organic or inorganic water additive to transport the additive directly to the coral."

I know that sounds like a lot for one supplement, but it's really quite simple once you break it down. The particles just trap the dissolved organics in the water to be either consumed by corals or removed via the skimmer, hence the boosted skimmate and water clarity. It also can be used as a transport mechanism for other supplements like Vitamin HUFA's, Ultimate Aminos, Magnesium, etc. This presents the supplement in a natural size to be "eaten" by corals. The further along we come in reefkeeping, it has become readily apparrent how important it is to "feed" corals.

Warner's Last Release, Concentrated Calcium and Ultimate Aminos

It has been about two years since Warner Marine has added a new product to their supplement and additives lineup. The last ones to be introduced were the Concentrated Calcium and the tremendously popular Ultimate Aminos, with many reefers learning just how important Amino Acids are for proper growth and color. Just like Warner's other supps, Ultimate Snow is another fine addition and I'm very glad it's finally available. I have been using it on various tanks in my store for the past few weeks and I'm very satisifed with the results.

Match Made in Heaven? Ulimate Snow & Aminos

It's very concentrated with a recommended dosing rate of 5ml per 100gallons 3-5 times a week, providing excellent value. I have been dosing it along with Ultimate Aminos and immediately there was noticeably clearer water overnight and the skimmer production has increased on each of the tanks dosed. I can't comment on increased growth or color yet, but I will keep you posted in case anything interesting pops up.

So your ready to try it and wonder where to get it? We have a good amount in stock with more on the way, give us a call if you need some. (951)727-8332. Its recommended to add this product towards the end of the lighting cycle for best results, and it will cloud the water for a few minutes, but it has no ill effects on livestock.

First Annual Inland Empire Coral Farmer's Market '09

2009-09-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 6th, marked the first Annual Inland Empire Coral Farmer's Market. This event added another date to the industry leading Coral Farmer's Market Events (CFM) put on by Art Petit and Steve Tyree. Special thanks go out to the Inland Empire Marine Aquarium Society (IEMAS) for set up and tear down of the exhibition hall. CFM events bring in hobbyist coral farmers, professional farmers and stores, as well as leading manufacturers.

Some Of the Crowd

This event took place in the Ontario Hilton off of the 10 Freeway and Haven, the same venue as the popular South West Coral Farmer's Market. The SW-CFM is the Original CFM event that has been operating since 2006. This event is held every spring, and has spawned other events in the Bay Area, Dallas, and once again in the Inland Empire. The CFM company thought that a second show would be a good business decision, as the South West event has been the most popular event.

Busy Busy at The Mystic Reef Booth

This event attracts the best of the best as far as tank raised livestock. The Mystic Reef was there with our usual assortment of frags, as well as some very interesting pieces. From any just about any rare or unique coral that you've heard of, to rare fish, dry goods, auctions and raffles, this is definitely a great event for every Reefer! We look forward to the South West in the Spring and the Inland Empire in the fall.

Speaking of unique fish, our friends Dan & Tina, from Wet Thumb Frags, had some very interesting tank raised clowns from C-Quest Farms along with a great variety of coral frags. These included a tank of Van Gogh Clowns, similar to ORA's Picasso Percula, however these being an extreme color morph of the Ocellaris. Another Extreme color morph of the Ocellaris is the Wyoming White Clown, similar to Snowflake Clowns.

Van Gogh Clowns

Wyoming White Clownfish

Industry leading manufacturers Warner Marine, Blue Life USA, and Reef Nutrition were also their showcasing their unique products. Reef Nutrition was there showing off their entire line of specialty feeds for reef aquariums, such as Tigger-pods, Macro Feast, Fuzzy Phytes, Arcti-Pods, and more, all available at The Mystic Reef.

Blue Life had their entire line of Precision supplements; Aiptasia, Red Slime & other Controls, and their assortment of Bulbs. The Precision line of chemicals is very comprehensive and excellent quality, most of the products are some of the most concentrated on the market. I also use many of the Blue Life T5 bulbs on my display tanks at the store.

Blue Life USA

Warner Marine's Booth

Warner Marine was also there with some of his excellent skimmers, including the new K2. He also had some canister filters, along with the full line of some of the hobby's most trusted additives, like Ultimate Aminos and Calxmax. Also a first from Warner Marine is the new Ultimate Snow. Its similar to the Zeovit product Coral Snow. Like all WM products, you can be sure of the quality of this product. I have been testing it out on my tanks and so far just as WM claims, it has given me noticeably clearer water over night. The skimmers also seem to be removing more skimmate than usual. This product can also be used in conjunction with any supplement, including Ultimate Aminos, as a transport mechanism to more efficiently deliver it to corals in an appropriate particle size. If your interested in this product, we have some available at the store with more on the way! More info on this exciting product and more in a later post.

Ultimate Snow

The Auctions and Raffles are also a very fun part of the event, unfortunately I wasn't able to participate this year because I was just too busy. Normally however, the odds are fairly good on the Raffles, especially on some of the lesser know pieces. Last year I walked away with a Ponape Birdsnest and I only put in a few tickets. This event was no different with many of my customers walking away with something in their hands.

The Auctions are also very popular for some nice coral frags. Many First Edition LE's are auctioned off to try and establish a base price. There were plenty of great pieces getting sold at very reasonable prices, it made me wish I was over there when I heard the price some things were going for.

Congrats CFM on another great event! See you at the next one.

-Adam Mullins

Reefer's Survival Kit: Must Haves For Those Worst Case Scenarios

2009-09-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

Expect the unexpected. For aquarists, truer words have never been spoken. From jumping fish, wet power cords, leaky pipes, burnt out pumps, to even fires; the things I hear from customers never cease to amaze me. One of the most bizarre and sad tales of tank devastation came from a very enthusiastic customer who had started a 12 gallon Aquapod. He had the tank set up for close to a year and the corals and fish were all very healthy. He came in one day completely distraught, he returned home from work to find his tank a milky orangish white, with everything completely dead. His young 3 year old decided to "feed" the fish a bag of Doritos. When I tell other customers these words of warning, they are horrified, but I tell them to reiterate the fact that anything can happen.
So now that I've scared you enough, I'd like to let you in on some emergency items that I believe every reefer should have on hand, known simply as the "Reefer's Survival Kit"

Emergency Water Supply: This seems to be the most basic, but often overlooked essentials for a saltwater fish tank. In the event of a massive die off, spawning event, some foreign material spilled in the tank, etc.. one of the easiest ways to correct or halt further fatalities is a large partial water change. Whether keeping a fresh supply of synthetic sea water, (I don't recommend natural seawater because it may cloud or grow algae when stored), Reverse osmosis water to be mixed when needed, or even some Amquel or other dechlorinator to use tap water in a worse case scenario. Having some salt mix or extra water on hand could be a lifesaver in an emergency. Be sure to match temperature, pH, and salinity of the replacement water to avoid further stressing your livestock.A supply of Salt and Fresh RO water

Water Testing Supplies: If something is going wrong with your tank, you need to be able to identify it fast. Testing ammonia, nitrite, pH, Alkalinity, and Salinity can help you pinpoint the problem. These various levels are most often the culprit, and are easily fixed by water changes, or the addition of pH or Alkalinity buffer. A well calibrated Hydrometer or two are a very good idea as well.
Battery Operated Air Pump: These fairly inexpensive pieces of equipment literally could be a fish lifesaver in the event of a power outage. One or two of these connected to a few airstones could provide all the oxygen and water movement necessary to keep most livestock happy for a few hours to even days depending on tank size and bioload. Those with large or heavily stocked tanks may want to look into a portable generator. It may seem like a foolish investment, but consider the value of livestock it could save during a power outage.

Coral Dip: Every reefer should have at least one bottle of an Antibacterial coral dip on hand for acclimating new coral, and dipping damaged or diseased corals. Dipping newly acquired coral can prevent the spread of flatworms or other aquarium pests. Products like ReVive, Melafix, or Lugol's Solution can be the difference in saving a coral infected with the dreaded "brown jelly" or other bacterial infection or loosing it. When corals come into contact with eachother, one usually stings the other to point of infection on one or both corals. These infections can kill a complete coral colony in a few hourse. Worse still, it can spread to other, seemingly healthy corals. Often a reefer will wake up to find his crabs have knocked a frogspawn into one of their favorite Acan colonies, sure one is going to die. Quickly killing the infection and preventing its spread is paramount for the health of the coral and tankA selection of Coral Dips

Other great essentials that will come in handy are spare parts. Its always a good idea to have a spare return pump on hand in case the main fails and every LFS is closed. This could save an otherwise doomed tank. Light bulbs are also good to have on hand, but typically it wont have the same disastrous results going unlit for a few days opposed to a few days without flow. A new innovation that provides very good piece of mind is the a battery back-up from Ecotech for use with their Vortech powerheads. This back up could provide flow for up to 30 hours in the event of a power failure.

A Vortech MP40 on a Display at The Mystic Reef

Another handy item is Rescue Tape, this self fusing, water proof tape has myriad uses for aquarists, busted pipes or even minor cracked tanks can be mended until a more permanent fix is available. I always have a roll around my store for emergencies.

Rescue Tape Hanging In a Convenient Spot

Well those are some of my suggestions, and there are plenty of other steps you can take to prepare yourself. Hopefully this got you thinking of all the possibilities and maybe when the inevitable happens, you won't be blindsided. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Happy Reefin'!!
-Adam Mullins

1st Annual IMAC-West 2009!!

2009-08-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Pair of Choati Wrasse

This past weekend (July 31-August 2nd) marked the first West Coast Int ernational Marine Aquarium Conference aboard the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. I apologize in advance, but this is going to be a lenghty and Photo filled post, but there was just too much going on to be brief. Past IMACs have been held in Chicago, so it was very nice to have such a great conference right here in Southern California. This event was a combination of 16 guest speakers, Manufacturers, Retail Shops, clubs and various other Non-profits, as well as a great variety of tank raised coral frags available at great prices, making it a truly comprehensive conference. There were also Raffles at the end of each day, with plenty of awesome Prizes, from RO Units to Salt to Vortech MP10 and a complete set of Controllable Hydor Koralias. Many Manufacturers were there unveiling some interesting new technologies, more on that later.

It turned out to be a great weekend in Long Beach, right across from the Aquarium of the Pacific. Excellent weather, lots of great corals, and plenty of informative knowledge. The few complaints I heard were over price of admission, however for this caliber of event, I felt it was justified. Many people have no problem paying $150 or more for tiny "electric bubblegum upside-down reverse watermelon" frags or whatever the current obsession is, but gawk at the price for a 3 day event with some of the finest speakers in our hobby, a great opportunity to truly grow and learn as an Aquarist. Add to that I believe tickets were lowered to $10 per day for anyone associated with a club, and it comes out to an Outstanding value, there's no excuse why any reefer should have missed this event!!! Especially those lucky enough to live in SoCal with all of our great clubs.

The Mystic Reef was very proud to be there alongside many other coral farmers from around the country, including Southern California and Colorado, selling and showing off tank raised livestock. We had a nice 28 gallon EcoSystem nano reef with a large rock of Green stars and Naked clowns next to our frag tank that was very popular. One thing in particular that sets this show apart from other "frag Swaps" or events was the strict requirement that all livestock sold had to be tank raised, which may come as a surprise to those going to other shows and seeing entire colonies for sale. All the frags that I looked at were very nice, and none appeared to be "fresh cut," which is always a good sign. One of the things we enjoy most about these types of events is trading with other farmers for some awesome new additions to our store!!

The Conference took up 3 floors in the Exhibition Hall of the Queen Mary, and it is a very unique atmosphere for this type of event. There were some very nice display tanks set up, including a beautiful display that was around 140 gallons by Quality Marine, filled with "rare" fishes including Choati and Tamarin wrasse, Chevron tang, a hybrid pygmy angel, as well as some very nice corals. Piscene Engergetics, Teco, Lumenarc Lighting, H2O Life, CPR, Ecosystem Aquarium, Reef Nutrition, Blue Life USA, Reef Hobbyist magazine, and Warner Marine were some of the vendors there that I can think of off the top of my head. All of them had plenty of information available and excellent displays.

Lumenarc was showing off some of the best reflectors in the industry, as well as some other innovative products like light movers, which is a great technology I feel more reefers should look into. It Makes each lamp more efficient by spreading out the light rather than having a stationary point source. The fit and finish, along with the performance of their reflectors are second to none.

Skimmer technology has definitely come along way in the past few years, and several manufactures were there showcasing new designs. Warner Marine had the highly anticipated K2 Cone skimmer, and for those of you have yet to see it, its a thing of beauty. Like all of Warner's products, the acrylic work is superb, the countersunk holes in the bubble plate of this beast are proof of a well thought out and designed product. Add to that its coupled with a Sicce pump, its easy to see why this is one of the better cone skimmers in the industry, I can't wait to get one running on a new display. As always, Jon had plenty of supplements available and an open ear for any questions about the use of his products.

CPR has long been a mainstay in the industry, manufacturing acrylic products like Overflow boxes, refugiums, and probably most famously their "Bak Pak Skimmer." Pretty much every aquarist has owned a "Bak-pak" at one point. They were showing off 2 new designs, The Aeroforce HOB and the Aztech Pyramid cone, a new twist on the cone skimmer. They were using Hydor Ario Pumps that really seemed to produce some very fine bubbles., and plenty of them! The new Hang-On-Back AeroForce looked amazing compared to the old Bak Pak, and their new pyramidal cone skimmer claims to give more volume than a traditional circular cone skimmer. Im eager to see reviews for these skimmers, which should be on the market in the next few months.

Another exciting new technology that was being shown off is a Twin-Arc Metal Halide bulb by ReefBrite. Essentially its 2 different lamps in one glass envelope that screws into any conventional Mogul socket. One lamp is 10k, the other is 20k. The lamp automatically alternates between the 2 every time the lamp is fired. Its designed so that during the day while most people are working the 10k lamp is on giving corals the energy they need for growth, and then before you get home you could have a timer swith the fixture off, then back on to the 20k, making the tank more appealing to the eye. Then the next morning it switches back to 10k and so on. I thought this was a very innovative product and would love to see how it performs over a reef tank and what type of growth rates it could achieve.

One of the main foci of the event was education, and with such a stellar lineup of great speakers, there was something for everyone to learn. The keynote speaker Simon Garratt of the UK, proved to be especially entertaining, and delivered an excellent presentation during the banquet relating his experiences on a wild reef to its correlation in a reef aquarium, such as why powder blue tangs school in nature, but not in our tanks. Other notable speakers included Joe Yaiullo, Bob Fenner, Richard Ross, Paul Whitby, Sanjay Joshi, and more. Its always great to hear what other aquarists have to say and how they address the same problems we do. Joe's 20,000 gallon tank comes to mind and how is able to create flow, filter, light, as well as deal with all of the problems that arise in a tank of that size.

Paul Whitby, Adam Mullins, Bob Fenner, & Mitch Carl, respectively

As this was the first one, there were some kinks to work out, but all in all things ran fairly smooth. We cannot wait until next year, and strongly ecourage everyone to mark the date on their calenders as this is an event you definitely do not want to miss. Here's to an even better one next year!! Here are some more photos from the event:
The Exhibition Hall During Set up Thursday, Looking towards The Mystic Reef Booth, The entire middle section was for the raffle itemsRare Latezonatus Clown from Australia on DisplaySanjay Joshi, Joe Yaiullo, and Jake Adams, Checking out some frags at The Mystic Reef Booth An Interesting hybrid Flame/Rusty Angel on Display at the Quality Marine Booth

Chevron Tang
One of the SeaChem representatives stopping by to say Hi!Another interesting looking tunicate, appears to be a type of botryllidAdam Mullins of The Mystic Reef with Jim Adelberg and Harry Tung of Reef Hobbyist Magazine,
Another shot of the Aztech Pyramidal Cone Skimmer
Warner Marine Booth
Adam Mullins with Richard Ross and Matt Wandell of the Steinhart Aquarium
One of the Frags we traded for.

Flaming Prawn Goby, Ultimate Nano Fish?

2009-06-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

If you've never heard of the Flaming Prawn Goby, or Griessinger's Goby as it is also known (Discordipinna griessingeri), its understandable. At less than 1 inch long, they are often overlooked, many retailers simply overlook this tiny fish when picking out or ordering new livestock. And due to the their small size, it is usually very difficult to display this fish without somehow losing it down the overflow or some other mystery loss. Add to that the exhorbitant price that these fish commanded for a long time, making it ounce for ounce one of the most expensive fishes available, often times selling for $170 or more dollars for a 3/4inch fish that would be lost in most displays. With all of these factors stacked against it, it would seem this fish certainly should not earn the title of "Ultimate Nano Fish," Right?

But first, how would one Qualify the "Ultimate Nano Fish"? Well obviously it must be small in order to be suitable to the wide variety of "Nano" tanks that are so popular today. I have a 24 gallon display set up in the store, and it is one of the most popular attractions! What other credentials should the "Ultimate Nano Fish" have? It definitely must be attractive looking, have an interesting "personality", and should not be too expensive.

Many interesting fish are definitely in the running for "Ultimate Nano Fish" and many of them are probably from the Goby family, Gobiidae, which is one of the largest of all fish families, encompassing more than 2,000 species with more being discovered regularly. So it's no surprise how many Gobies end up in the Aquarium trade, and the fact that most are fairly small, very hearty fish, with unique behaviors makes them even more appealing! Consider the Shrimp gobies, whose unique relationship with pistol shrimp is a favorite of marine aquarist, or clown gobies, who have an affinity for hosting in all types of coral heads, or even the cryptic Circus Gobies (Priolepsis nocturna), which are very shy but interesting nonetheless as they hang upside down to rockwork.

But if I had to choose one, I would probably choose the Flaming Prawn. On closer inspection, one realizes its a very beautiful fish, one of the most dramatically colored fish available. With large "Flaming" orange pectoral, dorsal, and tail fins, offset by a stark white backround and a polka dot face, whats not to love about the way this little fish looks? As for size, these tiny fish are definitely suitable for all but the smallest pico tanks. I would recommend at least a mature 12 gallon or larger to be sure there are plenty of copepods and other micro-crustaceans for them to prey on. I constantly see mine picking through the crushed coral sandbed in my 24g. Its even been suggested that they pair with with pistol shrimps, but I have not witnessed that and I added a Candy stripe pistol (Alpheus randallii) at the same time. So that just about covers all of the caveats of "Ultimate Nano Fish", but what about price? Well with recent advances in collection and handling techniques, as well as more demand, the price has dropped dramatically. It is not uncommon for us to sell the fish for $60-75 Dollars depending on the time of year and availability. That still makes it one of the more expensive nano fish, but its a lot cheaper than it used to be, thats less than their former wholesale cost!! However this cannot be guaranteed forever. All we need now is a few pioneering aquarists to Aquaculture this fish!!

So what are my recommendations for this fish? Well first you'll want to make sure its in a fairly comfortable environment to witness more natural behaviors. This means giving it room to hide, as well as keeping larger more aggressive fish that would frighten it out. I house mine in a 24g Aquapod with 2 ORA Stubby Clownfish, a small Cherub Angel, and a few other small gobies including Circus, Clown, Eviota, and Trimma gobies, as well as a bluestripe pipefish. A rich and mature system will help you acclimate this fish and ensure it has plenty of food to prey on.

So your convinced, and want one for your tank but not sure how to get it? Any reputable LFS should have access to this fish, however it still may be hard to track down. Many store owners and wholesalers are still unaware of this fish. If your having a hard time finding a "Flaming Prawn Goby" feel free to contact us! You can call us at (951)727-8332 or send an E-mail to Sales@themysticreef.com or themysticreef@hotmail.com. I'd love to hear anyone's Questions, Comments, Or your suggestion for "Ultimate Nano Fish!"

ORA Platinum Percula!!!

2009-05-29T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!!
Well ORA has done it again, and after much rumored speculation, the nearly all white "Platinum Perculas" have been released on a very limited basis. These fish will make any collector drool.
Heres what ORA has to say about these beauties:

Platinum Percula

"This month we are introducing one of the most eagerly anticipated new strains of clownfish ever developed at ORA™. The Platinum Percula is a nearly all white variation of the True Percula Clownfish. The result of years of selective breeding, the Platinum Percula is derived from our famous Picasso Clownfish. This striking white clownfish develops orange and then black fins as it matures, and retains some orange color in the face.

Snowflake Clown

Not to be confused with the Snowflake Clownfish, which is actually A. ocellaris, the Platinum Percula shows none of the original stripes characteristic of the species. While the middle stripe of the Snowflake is wide and has jagged edges, the Platinum Percula is continuously white from head to tail. No other clownfish, from the wild or from breeders, has ever come close to appearance of the Platinum Percula.

This is the rarest of any clownfish color morph ever developed, and it will be the ultimate prize for any serious clownfish connoisseur. While experimenting with pairing new Picassos, even the breeders at ORA™ were surprised to find this extraordinary result.

As the juveniles began to grow-out we noticed the development of black fins on the rapid growers. At first the dorsal, pectoral, ventral and caudal fins appeared to be clear with some orange color. Then some black pigment appeared on the fins, as true perculas typically do produce more black color as they age. Finally we observed the full black fin color develop, and nothing looked more astonishing than black fins on a white clownfish. These fish will be shipped as juveniles with very little fin color, but expect to observe the full color develop over time."

These fish should be arriving next week along with Naked Clowns, Picassos, And possibly some Snowflakes. We will be receiving a fresh batch of all of the great ORA frags including the new Purple Nana, and the New blue Chalice:
"We are very excited to release the Blue Chalice coral, Echinopora lamellosa. This coral has a beautiful plating, wavy growth form that is similar to Montipora capricornis. Under natural sunlight this coral is a pinkish tan color but under higher Kelvin metal halide or T5 lights it will turn a beautiful lavender to baby blue color. Our broodstock for this coral came from two sources back in 2002. Some was from a German hobbyist who stated the coral was originally collected in 1989, the rest was from a hobbyist named Randy Donowitz"

If you are interested in any of these new products, be sure to contact us ASAP, as they are sure to go fast. Availability will be on a first come, first serve basis.
You can Call us at (951)727-8332 or email us at: themysticreef@hotmail.com or sales@themysticreef.com.

Happy ReeFiNg!!

Responsible Reefkeeping: Sustainability

2009-05-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

In a world where living green is on everyone's mind, how does it affect the reefkeeping hobby? When all of the planet's resources are in demand, how do we ensure the future of our hobby, when even the future of wild reefs is unknown?
It is a true fact that reefs all over the world are in decline, and it is very simple to point fingers at the aquarium industry, when in fact the true causes go far deeper that. Much of the destruction is caused by overfishing for the food industry, or by irresponsible divers, as well as pollution and of course rising ocean temperatures and elevated CO2 levels. Any aquarist using a calcium reactor knows that excess CO2 causes a drop in pH, creating a more acidic solution, to the point where it will dissolve reactor media (coral skeletons).
However, there are places in the world where conservation has come to the attention of the local communities, and those areas are showing great signs of resiliency.

Fish collected for the marine aquarium hobby earn local collectors on average 5 times as much as fish caught for food, making them far more profitable for local villagers in often third world countries.

Times have certainly changed in the past few years, to the point where owning a thriving reef aquarium is no longer the realm of public aquariums and a handful of private aquarists, but accessable to all ages and walks of life.

What can you do? Research; know what your getting involved with when you try to care for a new species

We all need to take heed from the freshwater side of the hobby, where in some places upwards of 90% of the fish are tank raised, we just need pioneering aquarist to unlock the secrets of their saltwater cousins, as well as the urging of hobbyiests for more tank raised fish.

Only through the support of the hobbyists will this ever become a reality. There are a number of farms raising various species of Clowns, Gobies, Pseudochromis, Cardinal fish and more, but if no one is willing to pay a few extra dollars for a fish that is a thousand fold more suited to tank life. The Bangaii cardinal is a perfect example, this fish has a VERY limited range in nature, and collection has pushed it the point that it in danger of becoming extinct (http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/endangered_species/news/index.asp?article=reeffishguide). Several farms, such as O.R.A., have been successful in raising these fish for the trade, and farm raised should be the only option for this fish, especially considering the high mortality rate of these fish in transit.

Corals have come a long way in the aquarium trade, and now almost any coral in any color can be found being tank raised somewhere. This is amazing considering just a short 15-20 years ago, it was considered impossilbe to keep most corals alive for more than a few weeks or months. We are at the point now where many events cater exclusivley to farm raised coral, such as the Coral Farmer's Market Events put on by Steve Tyree and ReefFarmers(http://www.coralfarmersmarket.com/ )

Tank raised corals and fish are much better suited to aquarium life than their wild cousins for countless reasons. The fish are already used to living in a glass box, and are usually eating readily available foods such as pellet or frozen. One of the biggest reasons is that they do not have to endure being in a small bag for 36-48 hours or more as well as the rest of the rigors of transit across oceans, which applies to both corals and fish.

Tank grown coral frags have a much better ability to adapt to various tank conditions opposed to a mature wild colony, as anyone whos ever purchased a beautifully colored colony only to have it turn brown or even die within a few days. Corals grow to adapt to the lighting and water flow conditions, which is very different on a natural reef exposed to intense sunlight and massive surge flows from wave action and currents than a tank with a few powerheads and some metal halide lights. A fragment will be able to grow those specific conditions present in a tank, to the point where tank grown corals are often indistinguishable from their wild counterparts.

Well, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of this very broad topic, but there will be more soon to come. As my first post, I feel this is more of an overview while trying to cover various points. I will go into more detail on each point in subsequent posts.
All photos are of tank raised livestock, including the Snowflake and Picasso Clownfish from ORA farms.

2009-05-09T16:13:00.001-07:00