New Octopus Species discovered in the Antarctic

I am a huge fan of cephalopods. In fact, a lot of my school research was based on them. So it should come as no surprise that I would find the following story interesting. According to an article from Discovery News, scientists in Antarctica have recently found four new species of Octopus and two types of cephalopod venom. Both the new species and venom were discovered in the frigid waters of Antarctica. The intriguing part of the venom is that it stays stable at sub-zero temperatures. The venom, which is enzyme-based, is affected by temperature. Usually, enzymes work better at warmer temperatures, up to a certain point of course. It was shocking to the researchers that the Antarctic ocotpuses could maintain a stable venom at these low temperatures, and researchers hope the venom will lead to the development of new drugs to help battle pain, allergies, and even cancer. The research team traveled for weeks, collecting 203 individual octopusus, genetically profiling each on so as to properly identify it down to the species level. Additionally, venom was collected from each specimen and analyzed.

Tube Anemone Glowing Under Ecoxotic LED Photon Cannon

Pictured in this week’s Picture of the Week is a Tube Anemone glowing under the actinic lighting of the Ecoxotic Photon Cannon. The Photon Cannon is a very popular light. It is supposed to perform as well as a metal halide light, if not better, but at a fraction of the energy input.

In case you are still skeptical about the claim that the ORA Spotted Mandarins eat prepared foods, here’s a video of a large group of these amazing fish chowing down. These juveniles mandarins, that just recently became available to hobbyists from ORA, are sweeping through the aquarium hobby. For the first time, aquarium keepers are now able to keep mandarins alive long term. Prior to these captive bred dragonettes, hobbyists would try their luck with their wild-caught counterparts only to be disappointed a month or more down the road. The wild-caught mandarins would eat all of the “pods” in the aquarium and then slowly starve. ORA got involved and solved these issues. Aquarium keepers can now have success with these beautiful fish.

JellyfishArt Logo

I get the chance to meet a lot of interesting people in this hobby. Most of the time these occurrences happen at random and with varying outcomes. But every once in a while you meet someone who really takes you in a direction you have either never been, or never thought you would go. I had another one of these encounters when Cameron Urban, of Jellyfish Art, who originally contacted us to discuss legislation related to the aquarium industry. I told him my thoughts on the subject, but the conversation eventually progressed into his specialty, jellyfish. Never passing up the opportunity for a good educational experience for the AquaNerd readers, I decided to ask him a few basic questions about jellyfish. Cameron replied in no time, and both our questions and his responses can be seen below.

The questions are very simple. I wanted to ask them from a beginner’s perspective, as most hobbyists don’t really know about jellyfish and their requirements. Cameron did a great job of answering each question, and I know I learned a few things.

AquaNerd: So, why jellyfish? What attracted you to them and what about them fascinates people?
Jellyfish Art: The first jellyfish exhibits opened in public aquariums several years ago when scientists first discovered how to display jellyfish in captivity using tanks with special water flow patterns. Since then, jellyfish exhibits have been wildly popular and now jellyfish are found in virtually all the public aquariums. It was clear people loved to watch jellyfish and their soothing and mesmerizing movements, but nobody had made the necessary tanks and food to allow people to have their own jellyfish. After some tinkering and experimenting, Jellyfish Art started selling jellyfish tanks, food, and jellyfish all online. It was immediately apparent that people had been wanting their own jellyfish as they started getting jellyfish tanks and pet jellyfish. That is when Jellyfish Art took off.

AquaNerd: Are jellyfish hard to care for?
Jellyfish Art: Jellyfish tanks are easier to maintain than many salt water tanks because jellyfish have such a low metabolism. In addition, our jellyfish tanks have very low evaporation rates, so maintaining salinity takes only a few minutes per month. Nevertheless, jellyfish do need to be fed once a day and follow similar cleaning procedures as other salt and fresh water tanks.

AquaNerd: What kind of water parameters are required for proper jellyfish care?
Jellyfish Art: Every 2 weeks, 25% of the tank water must be changed. You can leave the jellyfish in the tank during a water change. We discourage using tap water, so it is better to purchase salt water from your local aquarium store.

AquaNerd: Are round tanks necessary? Why?
Jellyfish Art: Jellyfish tanks need specially designed water flow patterns so the jellyfish do not get sucked into the pumps.

How does a jellyfish tank differ from a normal fish tank? The key differences are in the design and filtration. Whereas a normal fish tank is rectangular and has one direction of filtration, a jellyfish tank is circular allowing the filtration to keep the jellies suspended.

Jellyfish aquariums traditionally follow the kreisel design. By definition, a kreisel tank is circular, which helps the water to constantly flow in a cycle. Even the bottom of the tank is curved so that there are no obstacles or changes in the flow of the current. With its unique inlet and drain, the filtration system uses a special screen to prevent the jellyfish from getting sucked in and liquefied. Separate inlet and outlet chambers assist this operation helping the jellyfish to stay away from the sides of the tank. Combined, both the filter and tank design create an equilibrium in water pressure so the jellyfish don’t get stuck in one place but rather swim freely.

The kreisel tank is able to house most species of fish, however it is specialized for more delicate organisms such as jellyfish. If a jellyfish were to be placed in a normal fish tank there would be multiple barriers that would prevent the jellies from living a normal life span. As mentioned, the rectangular design would get the jellyfish stuck in corners most likely tearing their delicate tissue. It also wouldn’t be long before the jellyfish get sucked into the inlet of the filter. To house a jellyfish properly in a normal fish tank one would need to convert it. This takes a lot of money and free time, as well as a much more in-depth understanding of how a kreisel is constructed.

AquaNerd: Are jellyfish susceptible to any specific diseases or parasites?
Jellyfish Art: No.

AquaNerd: What do jellyfish eat? Are some photosynthetic?
Jellyfish Art: For the most part, jellyfish in the wild feed on plankton, which is made up of thousands of microscopic species of swimming animals. Some species of jellyfish, such as the Upside Down Jelly host symbiotic algae within their oral arms. This algae provides extra nutrition to the jellyfish by producing organic material through photosynthesis. Many species of jellyfish feed on other species of jellyfish. For example, the sea nettles feed on moon jellyfish

In captivity, jellyfish are fed frozen food specially formulated for jellyfish. Jellyfish Art provides a frozen jellyfish food specifically formulated for jellyfish. It is made from plankton high in HUFAs (Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids), which are essential for proper nutrition. Jellyfish can also be fed live food, although this is very time consuming and messy. Public aquariums have a full time staff, so they often hatch their own Artemia (brine shrimp) to feed to jellyfish. Depending on the species of jellyfish, sometimes public aquariums feed the jellyfish rotifers, blended krill, chopped fish, and other foods.

AquaNerd: What kind of equipment is required to successfully keep jellyfish?
Jellyfish Art: The tank must have a kreisel design so that the jellyfish don’t get stuck in any corners. The kreisel design will also ensure that the jellyfish don’t get liquefied in the filtration system and also so that they swim suspended above the bottom of the tank. The pressure of the filtration system must be fairly light and must be composed of biological, mechanical, and chemical components.

AquaNerd: I know there are countless species of dangerous jelly, but can the ones in captivity sting us? Are they dangerous to unsuspecting aquarium hobbyists?
Jellyfish Art: Most jellyfish can sting us. However, Jellyfish Art uses moon jellyfish, a species that is harmless to the human touch.

AquaNerd: Any crowd favorites? Which jellyfish are the most popular and why?
Jellyfish Art: There are definitely a few crowd favorites when it comes to jellyfish. After the movie Seven Pounds came out everyone wanted a box jellyfish. But more realistically, our customers will ask for either pacific sea nettles or moon jellyfish. Unfortunately, pacific sea nettles are a species that will only work in our larger custom tanks. Most people like the moon jellyfish because they become illuminated under LED lighting.

We would like to thank Jellyfish Art for, not only participating in our interview, but also expanding our horizons.

PNG Maroon Clownfish with Spots

Photo From the SEASMART Program’s Facebook Page

A very interesting thing occurred the other day. I had just gotten home from work and realized that I had run out of dog food. Being tired, I went to Petco, strictly out of convenience. I normally do not shop there, especially for anything aquatic, but I was in a pinch. Upon entering the store, I of course went straight for the saltwater fish section just to see how things were. They had the typical clownfish and snails, but much to my surprise they also had one very unique looking Maroon Clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus). The clownfish had the typical vertical bars, but it also had a pair of white spots on one side. I snapped off of a terrible picture with my phone’s camera, but didn’t think anything else of the fish. I realize the clownish pictured below looks a lot like a black and white Ocellaris clownfish, but I promise it is a maroon clown.

Maroon Clownfish with Spots

A few days later, I noticed a picture on the SEASMART Program’s Facebook Page that was an almost identical maroon clownfish. According to SEASMART, the clown they had pictured came from the same area that the Lightning Maroon Clownfish was taken from. Upon discovering the picture from SEASMART, I immediately went to my phone to double check the one picture I had. I knew the fish I saw was unique, but had no clue it could potentially be from the same area the Lightning Maroon Clown came from.

Here’s a video of the Rare Red Mandarin Dragonette that we introduced a few days ago. The image quality isn’t that great, and the footage of the red mandarin is very brief. But the video does all you to see this fish’s marvelous coloration. There’s still no word on who bought this fish or how much it went for, but given the unusual coloration, I’m sure the price was pretty steep.

Prehistoric Sea Live Below Great Barrier Reef

In a recent AFP story on Yahoo!, scientists have discovered “prehistoric” marine life living 4500ft below the Great Barrier Reef. Along with several species of fish, including six-gilled sharks, many different crustaceans and other invertebrates have been discovered. The scientists even found a “giant oil fish”. There wasn’t a picture of this oddly named creature, but I doubt it’s the result of BP.

To attract the deep sea fish to their remotely operated vehicles, the scientists used a tuna head on a stick. They then captured footage of the different ancient ocean dwellers by using special lowlight sensitive cameras. Interestingly, these same cameras will be employed in the very near future to take a look at deep sea life affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Red Mandarin Dragonette, Picture by James Smith of Sea Dwelling Creatures

With all the hype surrounding the new ORA captive bred mandarin gobies, somebody had to mix things up. Above is a picture of a Red Mandarin Dragonnette from Sea Dwelling Creatures. This mandarin goby is actually supposed to be an albino, lacking its dark green and blue pigmentation. Instead, this goby has red and white stripes. Additionally, this fish is apparently sold. There’s no information on who bought it or how much it went for, but it was a great pickup to say the least. There’s a video of this super rare fish, but the video is quite long and the quality is certainly lacking. But hopefully whoever picked up this gorgeous specimen will take some high quality images and video and share it with the rest of the world.

Some oddities of the sea, like the Picasso clownfish and Lightning Maroon clownfish turn out to be stunning. Others seem to be completely pointless, much like the pair of clownfish in the above video. These tailless Ocellaris clownfish seem almost normal, except they are lacking a tail. Each fish in the above pair has a caudal fin (the fin typically located at the end of the tail), but the structure leading to this fin is almost completely gone. In it’s place is a nub.

Edit:

Apparently, the origination of these fish is somewhat of a mystery. The YouTube user who uploaded this video claims the fish to a natural, wild-caught clownfish. Others, say otherwise, indicating that these weird clownfish are in fact normal clownfish that had their tails surgically removed. Regardless of how these fish came about, they seem very pointless. Special thanks to AquaNerd commenter “Narwhal” for pointing out that these fish aren’t natural, but are commonly cut on to drive up their prices. We’ll dig a little deeper and find out who is cutting these fish and for what point (if not commercial).

Acropora loisettae

Pictured above is a light blue-green Acropora loisettae growing among other SPS corals. This particular Acro will grow long, thing branches. This mini-colony started out as a 1/2″ frag, that quickly encrusted onto the surrounding rocks and eventually grew more branches. Most Acro corals do very well under T5HO lighting, and even thrive long-term. Metal halides are not a requirement to keep these corals.