Friday, February 29, 2008

Cerith Eggs

These snails lay their eggs on rocks and glass in the same zig-zag pattern that they clean with. Most don't survive but you might get lucky and have one or two live. Otherwise, they'll make good food for fish and corals. The Cerith snail is a small scavenger with an elongated spiral shell that is usually black with tiny white dots covering the entire shell. One of the most ideal scavengers, detritus eaters, and algae eaters these snails are perfect for the reef aquarium, quickly devouring detritus, uneaten food, decaying organics, fish waste, and several types of nuisance algae. Cerith Snails will often bury themselves in the sand, which will help maintain adequate oxygen levels in the substrate.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Gomez the Goby; It's All In A Name

There is a lot of love in my clients aquariums, so much so that many of the animals have their own very unique names. Some are understandable, yet at times when a client speaks of an animal by its given name, I am often confused.

Gomez, a Y Bar Shrimp Goby lives in Jennifer's 70 gallon reef tank in Glenbrook, NV.

Here is a list of some of my clients animals given names, common name and scientific names.

Gomez; Y Bar Shrimp Goby; Cryptocentrus fasciatus
Picaso; Painted Fairy Wrasse; Cirrhilabrus solarensis
Doc; Mimic Tang; Acanthurus pyroferus
Thermador; Purple Lobster; Enoplometopus daum
Scampi & Louie; Scarlet Skunk Shrimp; Lysmata amboinensis
#2; Black Sea Cucumber; Holothuria atra
Nemo; Um...Nemo? Clownfish; Amphiprion ocellaris
Blueman; Yellowtail Damsel; Chrysiptera parasema
Gumby; Blue Sea Star; Linckia laevigata
Legs; Banded Brittle Star; Ophiolepsis superba
Blue Suede; Emperor Angelfish; Pomacanthus imperator
Sponge Bob; Yellow Tang; Zebrasoma flavescens

Jennifer's 70 Gallon Reef (Click on the play button below to watch.)



Update: 2/11/08 I stopped by Creative Concepts in Truckee, CA today and discussed this thread with Lillian and she supplied me with a few additions to my list. To the left, is Regina a Green Bubble Coral. The Green Bubble Coral is a beautiful LPS coral that originates from the reefs of Fiji. It has a white-ridged hard skeleton that can be seen when the polyps are deflated. When inflated, the large fleshy polyps will cover the entire skeleton, and are neon green in color. Like many other LPS corals, they do have sweeper tentacles that can harm other corals within reach.

Regina; Green Bubble Coral; Plerogyra sinuosa
Tiny; Yellow Clown Goby; Gobiodon okinawae
Mailbox (from Blues Clues); Pin Cushion Urchin; Tripneustes gratilla
Celeste; Blue Sea Star; Linckia laevigata
Foreskin; Purple Tube Anemone; Ceriathus sp.