About This Blog

This blog aims to help myself, as well as other aquarium hobbyists out there, provide a better home for our fish...

This blog contains species profile of saltwater and marine fish I am interested in. I know I won't be able to acquire and keep them all because of limited space, compatibility, other special requirements, etc., but it would be nice to take note of each of them as I go along. Who knows, one day I might win the lottery and run my own "Haus des Meeres" or "Georgia Aquarium" :-)     Blog Name: Ocean Aquaristic Topic/s: Marine Aquarium Hobby, Marine Fish Species Profile     Location: Hamburg, Germany     Occupation: IT and Research     On Blogger since: July 2010     My Blogs: Ocean Aquaristic     Interests:   Tropical Fishkeeping, Marine Aquarium Hobby, Bonsai, Music, Arts, Reading, Drawing / Painting, Movies, Culinary, Camping, Swimming, Tennis, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Biology, The Ocean, The Rainforests, Environmental Issues and Conservation, Human Rights, etc.

Being an aquarium hobbyist made me learn more than just keeping tropical fish in the home aquaria. It opened my eyes to the great biodiversity that exists in our planet and its importance to our survival. Thus, keeping in mind the value of each marine life I bring home, how to responsibly sustain them, and in my own little way as an aquarist, contribute to the protection of their natural habitats and promote appreciation and awareness of our environment. The hobby also helped me develop new skills, turning me into some sort of "jack of all traits" - a biologist, chemist, designer, carpenter, veterinary nurse, gardener, writer, etc. On top of everything else, the aquarium in my living room provides such a relaxing athmosphere which is like a therapy to me every night I come home from work. Should you have a bit of time, please feel free to post a comment below each fish profile to share your experiences regarding a particular species.

A Note on Responsible Fishkeeping

I know the term "hobby" in the aquarium hobby may not sound so "serious", but like with other of our pets (dogs, cats, etc.), respect and commitment are utmost necessities if you decide to venture into fishkeeping. Talking about seriousness... my note below may get a bit serious...

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration on being a responsible fishkeeper, but below are a few of the important points (in my opinion) I would like to ponder:

Research – Read – Research – Read - Learn...

Take your time to get to know the aquatic life/lives you are going to take home. Find out how big they can grow when they reach maturity and if you honestly believe you can sustain them when they are at that stage. Find out what kind of environment they thrive in, in their natural habitat and try your best to replicate this in their new home. Find out what kind of food they consume and the nutrition they need to survive as healthy as possible. Find out what kind of other species they can or may coexist with. Find out as much information you can gather even before your initial setup. There are so many resources available out there, especially in the World Wide Web, so there's no more excuse for ...... :-)

Maintenance – Regular Water Change – Maintenance...

Like a lot of us who clean our houses, rooms, flats or even our cars regularly in order to feel comfortable, safe, as well as healthy, we should also provide our fish with a clean environment. Regular water change with identical water parameters will sustain your aquatic lives, keep them vigorous and active and happy. Perform regular maintenace also on your filters, aquarium glasses, powerheads, lighting, substrate, etc.

RESPECT THE EARTH! - RESPECT OUR ENVIRONMENT!

One of the most important aspects of fishkeeping is the aquarist's responsibility to ensure that the hobby does not or will not have negative impacts on the unique and diverse environment that we are fortunate enough to live in.

Try your best to find out where and how the fish are caught (illegal and unsuitable methods such as the use of cyanide) and if the species are being over-fished, or are endangered. You can do so by checking if the fish you want to have is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are a lot of fish that are overly harvested for the aquarium trade, affecting both the species and their habitats (such as the coral reefs) – often so badly that some are already endangered, like the Bangai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni). We are lucky today that somehow there are already a lot of responsible importers, dealers and LFS out there who make sure that the specimens they acquire for distribution are collected in a proper way or are aquacultured.   On a brighter side, like the P. kauderni, there are a lot of fish species available in the hobby that are already being successfully bred in captivity, such as the Amphiprion ocellaris, Centropyge loricula, Gramma loreto, a lot of seahorse species, etc. Purchasing captive bred specimens has a lot of advantages as they will adapt fairly quick to their new homes and are much hardier compared to the wild caught ones.   - Martha Holmes on "Deep Trouble" BBC - The Blue Planet

Furthermore, the demand for captive bred fish will increase, and in doing so will help those who are already breeding them in captivity, and those wanting and willing to aquaculture these species get rewarded for their efforts, and more importantly, lessen the fishing / collecting pressure in the wild.

And also, please do not release captive specimens into the wild. This is not only illegal, but it has detrimental effects on the local wildlife, ecosystems and global biodiversity. This is not only true for fish, but also for plants, invertebrates and other living creatures as well. If in case you have no choice but to really let go of the animals, take them back to your LFS if they would still accept them or look for zoos or local aquariums who will be willing to take them over, or in the worst case, perform euthanasia.

So, if you are contemplating on venturing into the aquarium hobby, I really do hope I did not scare you (which is not the point of this note) with the "stuff" I mentioned above. You can find out more about responsible fishkeeping by joining / supporting the Responsible Fishkeeping Initiative (RFI) by Fish Channel.com.

I can guarantee you 150% that you will enjoy the hobby a lot more, with 200% satisfaction, if you are able to sustain the lives you bring home into your aquarium, with a comforting thought that the EARTH we live in is still intact.

Sites I frequently visit:

Advanced Aquarist - http://www.advancedaquarist.com

Age of Aquariums - http://www.aquahobby.com

Animal Planet - http://animal.discovery.com

Animal World - http://www.animal-world.com

Aquarium Domain - http://www.aquariumdomain.com

Aquatic Community - http://www.aquaticcommunity.com

ARKive - http://www.arkive.org

Blue Ocean Society - http://www.blueoceansociety.org

Brian Gratwicke - http://www.briangratwicke.com

Census of Marine Life - http://www.coml.org

Center for Biological Diversity - http://www.biologicaldiversity.org

CHANGE.Org - http://www.change.org

Children & Nature Network - www.childrenandnature.org

Conservation International - http://www.conservation.org

Coral Reef Alliance - http://www.coral.org

DaniReef - http://www.danireef.com

The Discovery Channel - http://www.discovery.com

Earth Conservation - http://www.earthconservation.net

Earth Day Network - http://www.earthday.org

Earthwatch - http://www.earthwatch.org

Endangered Species Coalition - http://www.stopextinction.org

The Fish Channel - http://www.fishchannel.com

FishLore - http://www.fishlore.com

Greenpeace International - http://www.greenpeace.org

IUCN Red List - http://www.iucnredlist.org

Kids for Saving Earth (KSE) - http://kidsforsavingearth.org

Luc Viatour - Photography - http://www.lucnix.be

Meerwasser Forum - http://www.meerwasserforum.info

Meerwasser Lexikon - http://www.meerwasser-lexikon.de

Microcosm Aquarium Explorer - http://en.microcosmaquariumexplorer.com

Mrutzek Meeresaquaristik und Reptilien - http://www.meeresaquaristik.de

Nano-Reef - http://www.nano-reef.com

Nano Reef Blog - http://www.nanoreefblog.com

National Geographic - http://www.nationalgeographic.com

National Wildlife Federation - http://www.nwf.org

The Nature Conservancy - http://www.nature.org

New Age Reefs - http://www.newagereefs.com

Ocean Conservancy - http://www.oceanconservancy.org

Oceana - http://www.oceana.org

Ocean Research & Conservation Association - http://www.oceanrecon.org

Pet Education - http://www.peteducation.com

Project Seahorse - http://seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca

Practical Fishkeeping - http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

Reef Central - http://www.reefcentral.com

Reef Gizmo - http://www.reefgizmo.com

Reefkeeping.Com - http://www.reefkeeping.com

Reef Land - http://www.reefland.com

Reef Ramblings - http://reeframblings.co.uk

RTAW Reefpedia - http://www.masa.asn.au/masawiki

Saltcorner.Com - http://www.saltcorner.com

Science Daily - http://www.sciencedaily.com

Seahorse.Com - http://www.seahorse.com

Seahorse.Org - http://www.seahorse.org

See Turtles - http://www.seeturtles.org

Starfish.Ch - http://www.starfish.ch

SAIA - Sustainable Aquarium Industry Association - www.saia-online.eu

Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine (TFH) - http://www.tfhmagazine.com

WetWebMedia - http://www.wetwebmedia.com

Wikipedia - http://www.wikipedia.org

Wildlife Conservation Society - http://www.wcs.org

World Animal Day - http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk

World Fish Center - http://www.worldfishcenter.org

WWF - http://www.panda.org

Disclaimer:

I do not endorse any copyright infringement in my blog’s content. The images posted here are photos I came across searching the internet, some sent to me by friends, and the rest I asked permission from their respective owners / makers before I posted them here. I did look up the copyright information on each image, posted the source when available, and if there are no copyright captions, then that is because they were not available at that moment. Should you find that your image was posted here without your consent, then it happened without the knowledge of this fact and such published material will be immediately removed from my blog after a notification and verification of such infringement is sent. In such case, please contact me right away at: ocean.aquaristic@gmail.com and I will implement immediate actions based on your request. I am not responsible for the contents or reliability of any linked websites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. The listing of a link shall not be taken as endorsement of any kind. I cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and I have no control over the availability of linked pages. The data on all Saltwater and Marine Fish Profiles have also been gathered through research, collected from different sources either online or offline. Please take note of the "REFERENCES" under each profile to see where the information came from. Even if I work hard to ensure that the information on this site is accurate and complete, I do not accept any liability arising from any inaccuracy or omission in the information provided. I advise you to verify the accuracy of any information before relying on it. Due to the nature of dynamics of taxonomic classification, many fish referred in documents through this site may hold older binomial names. This is due to the fact that I have only gathered this information, and I respect articles as they were originally published, with the generally accepted nomenclature at that given time.