Over a year ago I posted a series of videos of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but when I was there the Open Sea exhibit was undergoing a major renovation. I was able to use my iPhone to shoot some footage of the completed tank when I was in Monterey last weekend. To be honest, I had forgotten that I had not been able to include a video of the Open Sea exhibit in the original series, and did not take my video camera to California with me. The iPhone did a decent job, though the resolution is not as clear as I would like and the brightness is lacking. But the aquarium is dimly lit… Our timing of the visit was good though. We caught one of the daily feedings! Enjoy…
Category Archives: video posts
Another Day in Monterey
I just got back from a fun weekend visiting friends at the Pacific Coast Aquarium Association in San Jose, California. Whenever I get a chance to go to northern California I make a pilgrimage to one of my favorite places, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I actually did not think that we would have time this trip, so I did not take any cameras with me (shocking… I know). Luckily I had plenty of storage space in my iPhone! Here is a video featuring three cool animals. Leafy sea dragons are always very photogenic. The Pharaoh cuttlefish were only 4″ long the last time I was here, and now they are all grown up and spawning! The new fish to me, however, were the alligator pipefish. These I am going to have to get… Enjoy.
Filed under Zoo/Aquarium
A Visit to Anthony Mazeroll’s Fish Room
Gary Pack, Patty Ashley, Brian Bolen, Tim Utne, Natasha Patten, Blonde FishGal, Steve Waldron liked this post
I visited the COAST aquarium club in southern California a few weeks ago, and one of our tour stops was Dr. Anthony Mazeroll’s fish room. Dr. Mazeroll is a Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Soka University of America. His work on wild fish genetics and environmental impact of humans takes him all over the world. His fish interests are just as broad. He has a huge DIY aquarium in his living room that is full of Lake Tanganyika cichlids. His fish room has a fish diversity from fancy bettas to wild discus. Dr. Mazeroll is a man truly dedicated to tropical fish, both professionally and as a hobby. Enjoy….
Filed under Tours, video posts
Carinotetraodon borneensis… Borneo Red Eye Puffer
I have always liked puffers, but I have not taken advantage of many opportunities to keep them. When this species popped up I decided to import a bunch of them and see how they do. What an awesome aquarium fish! C. borneensis is very uncommon in the hobby, which is why we do not know a lot about it. It is very similar to the C. irrubesco, which is more common, so we can extrapolate a lot. My first surprise was how large he males came in. When I think of the genus Carinotetraodon, I think of the pea puffer fron India (C. travancoricus). The Borneo red eye is larger… but does not grow as large as the true Tetraodon sp. I learned one lesson the hard way… do not kep them with cory cats. You will see what I mean in the video….
Filed under Fish, video posts
Who C.A.R.E.S.? Hemichromis cristatus
Joe Gatchell liked this post
Here is a little jewel cichlid that is listed on the C.A.R.E.S. Preservation Program priority list as being vulnerable. They come from Nigeria, where their natural habitat is under siege by deforestation and oil drilling. We are not entirely sure what the future hold for these fish, but he do know that they are infrequently exported (usually by accident as a different species). They are the smallest of the red jewel cichlids, and have a unique red over yellow over red color pattern when spawning. The fish in this video are not in their brightest coloration, but you can see the yellow stripe down the lateral line. Enjoy…
Filed under Fish, video posts
A Visit to Seattle Aquarium
I just got back from a great trip to Seattle to give a couple presentations to the Greater Seattle A. S. Great trip! Great club! Thank you for the wonderful hospitality. While I was there, some time between all the wonderful seafood meals, I was taken to the Seattle Aquarium. Here is the video tour, enjoy!
Filed under Zoo/Aquarium
A Visit to Bob Schneider’s Cory Catfishery
Bob Schneider is one of the icons in the Chicago area aquarium hobby. He is actively involved in the Greenwater Aquarium Society, and participates in most of the club swaps and auctions in from southern Michigan to Wisconsin. Bob raises a lot of Corydoras sp. catfish, and he does it very well in a relatively small fish room. I have several catfish that I have picked up from Bob at various events, so it was a real pleasure to have the chance to see where they were born and raised. Enjoy…
Filed under Tours
You’ve Asked for It…
Here is a video tour of my fish room. Warning… this is the longest video I have ever posted.
Filed under Fishroom, video posts
Stiphodon percnopterygoinus
I have always wanted to have a river tank with some Stiphodon gobies, and now I do. These interesting little rapids-dwellers come from Taiwan, where most of the colorful species currently popular in the aquarium hobby come from. They live in fast-flowing coastal streams that are oxygen-rich, shallow and bright enough to foster a healthy growth of algae. These gobies are such good algae eaters that they can easily clean off several square inches of surface area in a day. They are also very territorial, and where there are many in an aquarium (I have about 30 of them), small groups form up and stick to their little areas of the tank. Each group will have a dominant male, a sub-dominant male or two and several females. The dominant males flash a lot of color. S. percnopterygoinus is referred to as the ‘yellow stiphodon goby’ on the import lists, but I am not sure why. The displaying males have a jet black eye and dorsal fin. The other unpaired fins are red. The body becomes very dark, almost black, at the front and back, while the abdomen flashes a bright tan… I guess it looks a little bit yellow in contrast. These gobies will readily spawn in an aquarium, but the fry will not survive. In the wild the larvae are washed downstream to the ocean where they live through a long planktonic stage. Once they settle they find a freshwater stream to return to. There are several very colorful species in the hobby right now, and a tank with a lot of them is fun to watch. Enjoy…
Filed under Fish, video posts
