SPRING 2007 Volume 1

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Zenand
and
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of...

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 Features Spring 2007 | Volume 1

RHM Staff
Executive Editor
Jim Adelberg

10 12 4
Art Director
Tamara Sue

Deadly
Beauty: Zoanthids.
Norman Tom is a
respected enthusiast
in the zoanthid hobby,
where he is better known
as “Mr. Ugly”. In this
article, Norm introduces
us to the deadly side of
the beautiful creatures
he loves.
Clownin’
Around: a Basic Guide
to Clownfish Care
Part 1. Robin Bittner is a
well known, professional
clownfish breeder in
Northern California.
Here Robin shares his
extensive knowledge of
clowns with his fellow
hobbyists.
Advertising
Zen and the Art
Dave Tran
of... Jim Adelberg is an
advanced hobbyist and
Images
industry professional
from the San Francisco Greg Rothschild
bay area. This series gregrothschild.com
of articles will examine
the fundamentals of
successful reefkeeping.
Tell us what you think at
comments@rhmag.com

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Steve Tyree’s
AWESOME STONY CORALS Interested in Advertising...
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desirable corals in our hobby and has been an avid ...with Reef Hobbyist Magazine?
collector of rare corals for years. Email advertising@rhmag.com for information on the
In this series of in-depth articles, Steve most cost-effective advertising package in the industry!
will highlight some of his personal favorites.

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 hether you’re a brand new marine hobbyist or a
salty old reefer we all must confront the same basic
issues in order to keep our tanks healthy. The first and
most important concept is one of balance.
Keeping any animal that comes from a really large body of water
in a much smaller body of water is a delicate matter of balancing
a number of different concerns and priorities. These issues are all
relatively easy to understand and learning just a bit about them will
help you keep your tank in top condition.
I try to start by looking at the differences between a tank and the
ocean from the animals’ perspective. The biggest difference is clearly
water volume and the consistent, high water quality the oceans
provide for most of the animals living there. Maintaining high water
quality should be every hobbyist’s primary concern. After all, there
aquaria, Lumens and PAR (photosyntheticly active radiation) and PAR
is the more important value since that’s the one the zooxanthellae
respond to.
Another balance that must be achieved is related to stocking levels
and overall bioload in the tank. Almost all reef tank creatures,
from the smallest bacteria on up, consume food and oxygen and
produce waste products and CO2. Some of these waste products
and gases can be consumed and bound up in the growth of plants
and anaerobic bacteria (in the case of a deep sand bed) but much
of it just builds up in the tank’s water and must be diluted through
water changes. This is a good time to mention that most of the gas
exchange in home reef tanks occurs at the surface area of the display
tank and tanks with a higher surface area to volume ratio (squatter,
wider tanks) will naturally have a higher dissolved oxygen level. It is
the dissolved oxygen in your tank water that allows your animals to

Zen and
are lives depending on it! breathe and use nutrients to grow. Although it is very difficult to keep
the D.O. (dissolved oxygen)
Regular, partial water changes levels at or above saturation,

the Art of...

are the backbone of any like in the ocean, low D.O is
successful tank but exactly often what limits our animals’
how much and how often growth in captivity. The easiest
will vary greatly, tank to tank. way to keep your tank’s D.O.
Anywhere between 25% at an acceptably high level
weekly and 25% monthly is through the use of various
seems to be the norm. Heavy water pumps and powerheads
protein skimming and light By Jim Adelberg designed to move the water
feeding will allow your water in the tank so that low D.O.
quality to stay higher for a water is brought to the
longer time between water surface to be re-oxygenated.
changes, but at least some A strong and well-maintained
feeding is required for most of protein skimmer will also be
the animals we keep. useful here because protein
skimmers remove the dissolved
Foods, and feeding issues, organics from the water which
are next on the priority list and otherwise would reduce the
photo by Jim Adelberg

luckily, the hobby has come a waters oxygen carrying ability.

long way in this field. There is a
large selection of commercially
available foods, which are
designed to specifically feed
certain fish, corals etc...
The problem with feeding
is that, without the massive
dilution effect of the ocean at work, the waste products can build
up pretty quick! Without adequate water quality, marine animals
don’t do well. Without adequate and appropriate feeding marine
animals don’t do well. Achieving the right balance between feeding
and water changes is critical. Good skimmers and filters can extend
the periods between water changes, but in the end, more feeding
means more water changing.
Another way of “feeding” photosynthetic animals is by exposing
them to the right intensity of the right spectrum of light. This allows
the zooxanthellae living inside the animal to photosynthesize and
produce simple sugars, which the animal can consume. There are
currently only a few high intensity lighting options available in the
hobby and all the highest output bulbs are either metal halide or
high-pressure sodium bulbs. Light levels are measured in 2 ways for
Naturally, water changes also
help in this regard.
In future installments of this
series, we’ll go into more
detail regarding the specifics
of each of these issues but for
now there’s one other major
challenge we all face and it bear mentioning here.
Marine tank hobbyists are well served by a healthy dose of patience.
Once someone has spent a bunch of time and/or money assembling
a tank, there is a very natural expectation that it should look good
right away. Unfortunately that simply cannot happen for a few
reasons. First, due to the process of “cycling” which every tank must
go through. The patience required during the initial cycling of a new
tank, and the slow stocking of livestock can at times be frustrating,
but is critical to the long-term success of your system. The second
reason is that, much like planting a terrestrial garden, time is required
to achieve the grown-in look that is so satisfying.
In the next edition of this series, we’ll dissect and analyze the
decision-making process that goes into a new tank set-up.

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<< Part 1
Awesome
Stony Coral Series By Steve Tyree
Series Introduction and the
Awesome Watermelon Corals
It may seem shocking to new
captive reef aquarists, but there was a time
in the recent past when Reef Building Stony Corals were
actually considered to be ‘impossible to keep’. That was the
original challenge that many of the pioneering stony coral
aquarists had to overcome about 15 years ago. After we
had actually acquired our first captive Acropora specimens,
the ‘impossible to keep label’ was quickly discovered to be
a misnomer. Although these stony corals were more difficult
than soft corals and fish, there were some basic reef keeping
techniques that allowed us to successfully maintain Reef
Building Stony Corals. Proper calcium additions and proper
carbonate buffer maintenance not only maintained their
health, but quite a few of those first Acropora specimens
actually grew at decent growth rates. While witnessing stony
coral growth in our captive systems some 13 to 15 years
ago, we were amazed to realize that actual reef structure
was being created within captivity. That was the first real
attraction or first real ‘buzz’ that Reef Building Stony Corals
created within the captive reef market.
The mainstream reef community acknowledged our
success, but we were still unfortunately considered to be
the odd or weird hobbyists who were strangely attracted
to those boring Reef Building Stony Corals. Some of the
common complaints I heard 12 years ago were, ‘They have
no color’ and ‘They do not move’. Some of us ‘oddball’
hobbyists still found the corals interesting and while we
were improving our understanding of the corals’ captive
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photo by Greg Rothschild
requirements, a strange transformation began to occur with
these ‘boring oddballs’ of the captive reef world. Many of
the Reef Building Stony Corals began to extend their polyps
during the day. This was an adaptation within captivity
caused by the lack of natural coral polyp predators within
our reef systems. On natural reefs these corals typically do
not extend their polyps during the day. So now these ‘non-
moving’ boring Reef Building Stony Corals began to show
movement as many species extended their soft polyps
during the daylight photoperiod.
There was however still one more challenge to overcome
before the mainstream reef community completely
accepted Reef Building Stony Corals. These corals were
still considered to be the drab colored ‘ugly ducklings’
of the captive reef world. Compared to the bright green
Sinularia, the blue and red Mushroom corals, the colorful
polyp soft corals and even the bright green hammer corals,
Reef Building Stony Corals were primarily colored drab
brown with only the possibility of developing some green
pigments. The main problem back then was in maintaining
the corals’ natural pigmentation. Many of these corals were
arriving here in the United States with brilliant pigmentation,
but these original pigments were quickly fading in captivity.
Then about 10 to 12 years ago, some new spectrum lights
with higher wattages were introduced to the captive reef
market. The original metal halides had emitted a color
or spectrum of light that roughly approximated light at
the surface of natural reef waters. These new lights were
emitting colors or spectrums of light that better matched
the type of light that corals were experiencing at depths
between 15 and 50 feet. Those of us who quickly switched
to the higher wattage and better spectrum lights, began
to see some incredible pigmentation develop within our
Reef Building Stony Corals. With this new lighting, freshly
imported corals were maintaining their original pigmentation
for far longer. Additionally, some of our older captive corals
were developing more dramatic colorations. The final
and last challenge had been successfully overcome. The
‘impossible to keep’ ‘ugly duckling’ corals were now some
of the most colorful and interesting corals growing in captive
reefs.
Some of these Reef Building Stony Corals are now called
‘SPS’ by the mainstream reef hobby. The term SPS stands
for Small Polyped Stony and it is typically used to describe
the Acropora, Montipora and Pocillopora corals. This term
is based on the relatively small sized polyps that those
corals possess. Besides the SPS corals there are also Reef
Building Stony Corals that possess larger sized polyps. The
mainstream hobby has coined the term ‘LPS’ to describe
the Echinophyllia, Acanthastrea and Favia corals. The term
LPS stands for Large Polyped Stony and its use is based on
the relatively larger sized polyps these corals possess. I will
be using the term Reef Building Stony Corals to describe
both the SPS and the LPS corals that are primary reef
constructors on natural tropical reefs. In our captive systems
it has become very apparent that techniques developed to
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grow and maintain the SPS corals are also applicable to
the LPS corals. Many of the pigments developed within the
SPS corals can also develop on the LPS corals. There are
some differences however between these two polyp-size
based groups of stony corals. Large polyp stonies generally
require lower light intensities. They can also readily be fed
larger food particles within our captive reef systems. Many
of the LPS corals also appear to be easier to maintain in
captivity.
Now that we have become successful with many of the
easier to keep SPS and LPS species, experienced aquarists
are experimenting with species and morphs that are more
difficult to keep. Some of these more demanding SPS
species require intense lighting and intense currents, while
less demanding species generally require low lighting and
weak currents. Learning the varied requirements of specific
species has been challenging. Experienced Reef Building
Stony Coral aquarists are also constantly searching for
unique species or morphs that are new to captivity. This
has led to the creation of new markets for rare and exotic
species or morphs. Some awesome stony corals that
contain incredible pigment patterns and brilliant pigment
intensities have been discovered. Sometimes an awesome
pigmentation is apparent when a new coral colony >>
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6
>> Awesome Stony Coral Series
is imported, but at other times specific corals have developed
incredible pigmentation only after being maintained within
captive reefs for a period of time. Collector markets exist
where stony aquarists either purchase known awesome
corals or they conduct searches for ‘hidden gem’ corals
The Awesome
Watermelon Corals
The first Reef Building Stony Coral featured within this
Awesome Stony Corals Series is one of the most incredibly
pigmented LPS corals ever seen within captivity. The coral
is called the ‘Watermelon’ coral (see image 1-A) and its
brilliant fluorescing pigmentation patterns can quite literally
make it the centerpiece of a captive reef display. The first
true ‘Watermelon’ coral was acquired and maintained by
Ron Johncola. Ron called the coral ‘Watermelon’ because it
contained a brilliant fluorescing green colored edge, while its
inner surface areas were colored bright fluorescing pink. The
coral has also been called the ‘Watermelon Alien Eye’ coral.
Ron traded some of his first Watermelon coral fragments
to Hugo Zuniga (snipersps) who added the phrase ‘Alien
Eye’ to the corals’ name. Hugo added the term ‘Alien Eye’
Original Watermelon Coral (image 1-A)
Image taken by Steve Tyree. This was Hugo Zuniga’s colony that was grown
from a Ron Johncola original fragment. Note the thick fluorescing green
growing edge pigmentation. The main body is primarily colored bright pink.
The typical ‘Alien Eye’ look can be seen in the left green corallite which has
its polyp mouth slightly opened.
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that are originally drab colored when imported or acquired.
A true hidden gem coral will develop or intensify hidden
pigments and can turn a “diamond in the rough” into an
awesome living gem.
>>
because this coral possessed the same brilliant green coral
polyp pigments that are also contained within the original
‘Alien Eye’ Echinophyllia coral found by John Susbilla (Tubs).
When the polyp mouths of these corals are open, they can
develop a strange ‘Alien Eye’ appearance. The ‘Tubs Alien
Eye’ coral also contains a bright green colored edge or
growth rim. That coral can be seen on the left side of the
‘Three Alien Eye’ coral image (see image 1-B). A closeup of
the original Watermelon coral is located on the far right side
of that image.
New coral species and morphs containing different color
patterns similar to the original Watermelon pigmentation
have recently been acquired or found by captive aquarists.
continued pg 9 >>
Three Alien Eye Corals (image 1-B)
Image taken by Steve Tyree from Hugo Zuniga’s reef. On the left is the
original Tubs Alien Eye coral. It has a bright green edge and bright green
corallite centers. The newer Red Watermelon coral is located in the
center. The original Watermelon coral is located on the right side of this
image.
Jayda’s Yellow Eyed Watermelon Coral (image 1-C)
Image taken by Steve Tyree. This rare Yellow Eyed Watermelon coral also
contains the normal bright green leading growth edge along with some
brilliant pink main body pigmentation. Greg Carroll named this coral after
his daughter Jayda.
>> Awesome Watermelon Corals
Hugo Zuniga discovered the ‘Red Watermelon Alien Eye’
coral, which has a bright red base pigmentation instead of
the brilliant pink. This new ‘Red Watermelon’ morph can be
seen in the center of the ‘Three Alien Eye’ image (see image
1-B). Another Watermelon morph has been discovered and
developed by Greg Carroll. It is called the ‘Jayda’s Yellow
Eyed Watermelon’ and its corallite centers or eyes contain
yellow pigments (see image 1-C) which give the coral’s eyes
a yellow coloration. This Watermelon-like colored species
also has slightly elevated large round protrusions or ridges
around the corallite eyes, while both the original Watermelon
and the Red Watermelon corals lack large corallite ridges or
protrusions.
Another new morph of Watermelon coral was recently
acquired by John Dakan. It is called the ‘Bazooka Joe
Watermelon’ coral and its main base coloration is a
mixture of pink and blue (see image 1-D). This new pink
and blue Watermelon coral has very prominent large ridges
or protrusions around the corallite centers. These large
protruding corallite ridges along with an unusually high
density of corallite eyes, help to give the Bazooka Joe
Watermelon a very unique appearance.
When the original Watermelon coral was imported into
the U.S., its amazingly brilliant pigmentation was already
apparent. A closeup examination of the green corallite
centers and green growth edge of this coral also reveals
amazing spots or dots of colorful pigmentation. The
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Bazooka Joe Watermelon Coral (image 1-D)
Image taken by John Dakan. This Watermelon coral has a pink and blue base
pigmentation. Corallites also have well developed ridges or round mounds
that surround each polyp. It can also develop an amazing number of corallites
or alien eyes on its surface.
Bazooka Joe Watermelon also arrived from nature with
its brilliant pigmentation intact and fairly intense. Although
the newer spectrum and higher wattage metal halide
lamps have helped to maintain these original pigments,
the Watermelon corals seem to prefer to be located near
the bottom of brightly lighted reefs. Coral exporters have
also become aware of the fact that brilliantly pigmented
corals are highly desirable to collectors and farmers.
Whole imported coral colonies containing awesome
pigmentation patterns typically have very high wholesale
prices. There are however less expensive ways to
acquire awesome corals. Aquarists can purchase small
captive grown fragments or they can try their luck at
discovering a hidden gem. Both the Red Watermelon
and the Jayda’s Watermelon corals discussed within this
article were originally brownish colored when imported.
They only possessed a faint hint of pink pigmentation.
Both of these corals turned out to be hidden gems that
were developed into living jewels within captive systems.
In some cases hidden Watermelon gems may lack the
green edge or green eyes, but still possess some base
pink pigmentation. In other cases the corals can have the
green corallite centers or eyes and will develop the pink
base pigments and bright green fluorescing growth edge
after being maintained within captivity. Aquarists should
note that not all pinkish or green edged Echinophyllia-like
corals have the ability to develop intense pink or red base
pigments. Only true Watermelon corals will develop those
awe inspiring pigmentation intensities.
 Deadly Beauty
Zoanthids
L
imu Make O Hana, the Deadly Seaweed of Hana, grew in
a secret Hawaiian tide pool. Local warriors used the Limu
Make to prepare their weapons for battle. Any spear tip, once
brushed with the Limu Make, would bring instant death upon finding
its mark.
According to ancient legend, villagers discovered a shark god living
in disguise amongst them. The creature had been preying upon the
villagers and was found to be responsible for numerous mysterious
disappearances.
Once revealed, the shark god was torn to pieces and burned until
nothing remained but ashes. The villagers threw the ashes into a
nearby tide pool whereupon its seaweed became poisonous.
This seaweed became known as Limu Make O Hana. We now know
that this seaweed actually is not a plant, but a zoanthid of the species
Palythoa toxica.
Zoanthids, also known as button polyps and sea mat, are relatively
hardy. With proper precaution, these corals are easily kept by the
beginning reef hobbyist. Available in a myriad of colors and patterns
and various combinations thereof, zoanthids can be used to form an
attractive reef aquarium display all on their own or along with other
reef invertebrates. They can be particularly striking when displayed in
a desktop nano tank where one can appreciate their brightly colored
details up close.
Types of zoanthids commonly maintained in the home reef aquarium
include those from the genera Zoanthus, Palythoa, Protopalythoa, and
Parazoanthus. All of these are photosynthetic and contain symbiotic
zooxanthellae.
In general, polyps of the genus Zoanthus feed by absorption of dissolved
nutrients, whereas Palythoa, Protopalythoa, and Parazoanthus actively
take in particulate food material. Though tolerant of less than pristine
water conditions, all benefit from regular water changes, good water
quality, and good water circulation.
Zoanthids do well under a variety of lighting systems, from power
compacts to metal halides. The latter, though not required, do seem
to enhance color depth and highlights.
Recent years have seen an increasing interest in collecting and
maintaining unique zoanthid morphs. Today’s zoanthid fans have
their own websites and online forums dedicated to sharing all things
zoanthid. Some coral vendors, taking note of zoanthid popularity
among hobbyists, have chosen to specialize in providing exotic
specimens to their customers.
Each collector has his or her own favored zoanthid morphs that may
be of an interesting color or pattern. Prized morphs may bear multiple
bright colors, an eye catching metallic sheen, a sparkly stardust
pattern, colorful striations, or some other unusual or uncommonly
beautiful characteristic. Some hobbyists have become specialized
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By Norman Tom
photo by Jeremy Hale
propagators of these corals in order to share and trade with others.
Zoanthids, like any other marine animal, may harbor pests or be subject
to disease. The reef aquarium hobbyist should inspect newly acquired
zoanthid specimens for such things as predatory nudibranchs,
zoanthid spiders, sundial snails, foramaniferans, asterinas, red
planaria, fungus, and white “zoa pox”. These may be remedied by
a variety of treatments including manual removal, fresh or salt water
based dips of iodine, hydrogen peroxide, fluke/flatworm medications,
or Furan-2, depending on the predator or ailment.
Due to the possibility of palytoxin exposure, one should always wash
one’s hands with hot soapy water after handling these animals. Be
sure to avoid contact to eyes, cuts, mouth and/or abrasions when
handling zoanthids.
Palytoxin, the neurotoxin first isolated from Palythoa toxica, is said to
be the most toxic organic substance known. A complex molecule with
a chemical formula of C129H223N3O54, palytoxin has been estimated to
be lethal to humans in dosages of as small as 4 micrograms. Note that
a single crystal of table salt weighs approximately 65 micrograms!
Palytoxin disrupts the ability of cell membranes to control ion flow.
The heart muscle is particularly sensitive and poisoning results in
constriction of the blood vessels of the heart and lungs. Additionally,
the toxin causes rupture of red blood cells. Symptoms of palytoxin
exposure include chest pains, breathing difficulties, racing pulse,
and unstable blood pressure. Death can occur within minutes after
poisoning. One recommended antidote is papverine injected directly
into the heart.
As potentially deadly as it may be, palytoxin may one day play an
important role in saving human lives. Scientists frequently have turned
to nature in searching for complex biological compounds that might
prove useful to mankind.
Zoanthid palytoxin has been found to have anti-tumor and anti-
cancer effects. University of Hawaii cancer researchers recently have
been experimenting with attaching palytoxin molecules to antibodies
designed specifically to attack cancer cells.
The diversity of our natural reefs provides much more to be appreciated
than just eye candy to reef hobbyists.
10
 Clownin’ around:
A basic guide
to clownfish

photo by RHM
care
By Robin Bittner

L
ikely every marine aquarist considers at one
time or another the addition of a clownfish to their
aquatic menagerie. For some this results in just another colorful
resident in their little slice of the ocean, while for others the attraction to
this friendly little fish becomes so strong that a saltwater aquarium just wouldn’t seem
complete without one (or a pair) of these characters. Part of the appealing nature of the clowns is
their engaging behavior, but their generally hardy dispositions make many of them good candidates
for the novice as well as the experienced aquarist.

Helping push the popularity of these fish is their nearly

ubiquitous presence in the aquarium industry, as it is a
very rare store that doesn’t have at least a handful of
specimens from the roughly 2 dozen species of clowns
commonly available. This popularity was further fueled
by the release of the “Finding Nemo” movie a few years
ago, which focused on the adventures of an Ocellaris
(False Percula) clownfish off the coast of Australia.
While aquarium purists still cringe whenever a child
(or adult for that matter!) passes a tank of clownfish
and squeals, “Oh look, NEMO!!!”, this movie helped
increase the popularity of saltwater aquariums more
than any other single event over the past few decades.
Of course, as the star of the movie, “Nemo” (aka Percula
photo by Greg Rothschild

and Ocellaris clownfish) also increased in popularity

and became the desired pet of tens of thousands of
budding aquarists. >>

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>> Clownin’ Around

There’s More Than Just One To Choose From

Despite the relatively large number of clownfish species
available, the clownfish family can be broken down into
five general groupings — the clarkii, tomato, skunk,
Percula, and maroon complexes. Each of these groups
exhibits varying levels of behaviors and needs, but in
general the tomato, clarkii, and maroon groups are the

photo by Greg Rothschild

most aggressive while the Percula and skunk groups
are smaller and more peaceful. However, this is not to
say that the smaller fish cannot be quite aggressive also,
as any owner of a Percula clownfish will agree if they’ve
been nipped by an overprotective clown while cleaning
the tank!

Typically the clowns seen most often in aquarium stores

are the clarkii variants (brownish body and yellow belly
with 2 white stripes), assorted tomato clowns (reddish
body with a bare or single white stripe on the head), and
the Percula/ocellaris clowns (orange body with 3 white
photo by Greg Rothschild

stripes and varying levels of black). Although the tomato

and clarkii clowns are very common, the ocellaris clown
can arguably be crowned as the most popular clownfish
due to its small size, relatively hardy nature, pleasant
personality, and endearing “wiggle” as it dances above its
favorite spot in the aquarium.

Where Do They All Come From?

With recent advances in marine breeding and rearing
technology, all of the common clownfish species
are now currently being captive bred and raised at
commercial facilities in the U.S., Australia, England,
and the Caribbean. Although these captive breeding
efforts have contributed significantly to the supply of
these highly desired fish, demand still is outstripping the
captive supply such that wild caught clownfish remain
one of the “bread and butter” staple imports of the
photo by Greg Rothschild

aquarium trade. This high demand for clownfish has also

led to the formation of a cottage industry of hobbyists
who typically have 5-10 tanks dedicated to the breeding
and raising of one or two species of clownfish. In our
next article, we’ll take a closer look at one such hobbyist
setup to better understand what it takes to experience
the joy of raising these fun little fish.

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