Common Misconceptions In the Hobby

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10670551#post10670551 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
yeah but now a days she could have been;)

So... what exactly are you trying to tell us? :p
 
I was a member and did some volunteer sruff at the Shed Aquarium for some years, and I quickly realized that a degree in marine biology does not mean much when it comes to aquarium husbandry. It was mind boggling to me that some of these guys were hired, or even allowed to care for public aquarium displays. I wouldn't have trusted some of them to tank sit my tank for a weekend :lol:
 
at the bottom right hand of the page there is a Rate This Thread option. Anyone participating/reading should take a moment to rate it :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10670663#post10670663 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davidryder
at the bottom right hand of the page there is a Rate This Thread option. Anyone participating/reading should take a moment to rate it :)

great point ---I just did--can't believe after all this time I didn't realize that option was there.
 
I apologize for hijacking this thread into the "lounge" for a couple of posts but this is a hobby----""Fun--laugh--sense of humour--wet your pants" hobby ---I'll get more serious :)

I have half a bottle of DT phyto left before I stop feeding--I mean how can I not after all the info in this thread :)
The other night I accidently left it in the freezer--is this toast now or can I still use it up----------------
which brings another possible misconception--does phyto etc have to be alive to be effective---there lots of frozen out there.
I know the cyclopeeze is dead but there is certainly alot of hype to buy good quality "alive" phyto
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10670768#post10670768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
I apologize for hijacking this thread into the "lounge" for a couple of posts but this is a hobby----""Fun--laugh--sense of humour--wet your pants" hobby ---I'll get more serious :)

I have half a bottle of DT phyto left before I stop feeding--I mean how can I not after all the info in this thread :)
The other night I accidently left it in the freezer--is this toast now or can I still use it up----------------
which brings another possible misconception--does phyto etc have to be alive to be effective---there lots of frozen out there.
I know the cyclopeeze is dead but there is certainly alot of hype to buy good quality "alive" phyto

Eh, this thread has taken so many twists and turns already, what's one more... I for one love it even if others don't appreciate it.

You had asked me what I suggest for LPS coral food earlier and I forgot to answer. I used chopped krill and mysis as well as cyclopezze and they're usually pretty good at snagging some flake food when I feed as well.

Lastly, the silent x in zooxanthellae sounds like a Z. Sorry, couldn't help myself :lol:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10670795#post10670795 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Peter Eichler
Eh, this thread has taken so many twists and turns already, what's one more... I for one love it even if others don't appreciate it.

You had asked me what I suggest for LPS coral food earlier and I forgot to answer. I used chopped krill and mysis as well as cyclopezze and they're usually pretty good at snagging some flake food when I feed as well.

Lastly, the silent x in zooxanthellae sounds like a Z. Sorry, couldn't help myself :lol:

I skipped grade 4--never took phonics :confused:

a reason explaining why I thought a troll was an ugly creature that lived under a bridge :rollface: :rollface:

Can I still use the frozen DT--or should I chuck it? (I am thinking nitrates from the kill)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10670905#post10670905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
I skipped grade 4--never took phonics :confused:

a reason explaining why I thought a troll was an ugly creature that lived under a bridge :rollface: :rollface:

Can I still use the frozen DT--or should I chuck it? (I am thinking nitrates from the kill)

I'd just toss the frozen phytoplanton if I were you.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10660558#post10660558 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
I agree ... but if we're talking about misconceptions, I think we should add

Misconception:Corals don't eat phytoplankton.

Some do.

It might not be an important part of their diet, many may not eat much if at all ... but some do, and for some, it could be important.


Actually, some corals might focus more on bacteria ... which isn't what I would call a `carnivore'.

Let's not get rid of misconceptions by passing along incorrect information that will just spawn further misconceptions.

The jury is out on what/how much corals get from this nutrient-source, but to dismiss it entirely, for all forms of coral, is tossing baby with bathwater. `Not fully understood/studied' should not equate `does not'.

And when things aren't clear-cut ... should we start further misconceptions by over-stating the case?

Corals are omnivores, and if we are to use wide categories like `coral' ... we should avoid overly lumping their characteristics unless we like creating inaccuracy. Corals are pretty diverse, after all.

Sometimes when I read through these threads I feel like it is easy to get focused on one issue and forget to try to look at the bigger picture. Phytoplankton is present at different times of the year on our reefs. It's place in the marine food chain is well documented. Whether or not it is beneficial to add it to a reef tank should probably be looked at the same way we look at the use of other supplaments. I do not think we are even close to understanding all the ways that our reefs and their inhabitants utilize the different nutrients and organisms that are washed across them on a daily basis. What we are learning, very slowly is that the overall balance, if disturbed by some outside seemingly insignificant event can have long ranging and catastophic consequences. So while the dosing of large amounts of phytoplankton, not to mention most supplaments, is probably not in itself necessary, dismissing it's benefit to the overall health of the tank without more understanding is a bit of a simplistic viewpoint.
The one thing I have learned about this hobby, there is nothing simple about it. The fact that we are successful at it, does not mean that we understand it.

Jen
 
For plankton I hatch brine shrimp every day. I think we need some type of plankton and I believe live is always better than dead.
I have never used DT or anything else.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10669904#post10669904 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PrivateJoker64
Hey, Paul -
I think something that causes a lot of problems is that too many people believe ANYTHING they read, and as you stated, there is a lot of inaccurate / simply wrong information floating around.

I dont think thats the problem...the problem is people believe what they read, and then try to give advice.


People dont question anything these days. Nobody asks why. This is a hobby, you're supposed to be interested in why things work the way they do.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10673124#post10673124 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by animaldoc1
So while the dosing of large amounts of phytoplankton, not to mention most supplaments, is probably not in itself necessary, dismissing it's benefit to the overall health of the tank without more understanding is a bit of a simplistic viewpoint.

Jen, the biggest issue with phytoplankton comes from the issue that phytoplankton consumers in our aquariums are very limited. Simply put, everything eats them. The vast majority of phytoplankton added to a tank either ends up in the skimmer, or ends up dieing. We'd be much better off adding zooplankton.

When you add phyto, you're also adding all the prep water, etc, and frankly, its chock full of phosphates.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10669801#post10669801 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B
Actually "Erectus" seahorses are common in New York and can be collected in large numbers in the summer.
Here is an article I wrote about erectus about ten years ago
http://www.breedersregistry.org/Articles/v4_i3_paul_b/paul_b.htm


Many peopel currently believe that the erectus found in New York to be a different spieces then the erectus found as far south as Uraguay. There is a size difference, a physical appearance difference, and one has benethnic fry, one has pelagic. The genetic tests are yet to be done as far as I know.

Currently breederes selling erectus often will mark if it is northern or southern.

Thanks for the article Paul, I'll give it a look.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10674172#post10674172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
I dont think thats the problem...the problem is people believe what they read, and then try to give advice.


People dont question anything these days. Nobody asks why. This is a hobby, you're supposed to be interested in why things work the way they do.

I'm glad you are speaking in generalities here--and I can't imagine the "proactive" participants in alot of these threads really being blind followers
speaking in generalities :) don't you find the bulk of successfull reefers possessing alot of mechanical(manipulative) and scientific skills--and the basis of scientific thinking or reasoning is to question what you observe--hear, see, read etc.
this is the basis for good science teaching and life skills in our schools---but it doesn't assure everyone is going to get it ;)
 
Hey, I think you have to have some light on upstairs to *follow* this thread. So far it's led left, right, under the chairs, up on stage, and down again...

In my own only moderately scientific opinion, re feeding---*variety* within the reasonable limits of the likely inhabitants of the tank helps support the no-see-ums that larger and larger no-see-ums eat, and the more variety available, the more likely we are to deliver the nutrients various critters may need. If some micro-critter metabolizes something into a form my higher micro-critters may use, he's worth feeding, again imho and within bounds. So I spatter my tank with a broad range of foods, and I'm delighted to see a new sponge pop up [I've got some threadlike blue stuff that's an interesting item] and even a new algae appear.

So far, and here's what I'd like to toss out for discussion, my tanks in various incarnations, tend not to have blooms of one thing---[I make an exception for the cursed caulerpa, which I am finally rid of]---but rather of a broad range of sponges, crawlers, algaes, amphipods, copepods, and worms.

So could it be, well, not a misconception that there's a specific 'best diet' for your tank, because a tank has a finite set of organisms---but could we consider it with the accompanying statement that a general stew, often changed, might be advantageous for many tanks?
 
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10675533#post10675533 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
I'm glad you are speaking in generalities here--and I can't imagine the "proactive" participants in alot of these threads really being blind followers
speaking in generalities :) don't you find the bulk of successfull reefers possessing alot of mechanical(manipulative) and scientific skills--and the basis of scientific thinking or reasoning is to question what you observe--hear, see, read etc.
this is the basis for good science teaching and life skills in our schools---but it doesn't assure everyone is going to get it ;)

IMO the best reefers are usually obsessive people that are good problem solvers. However, I think being obsessive to the point of wanting to keep everything just right is a hinderance in this hobby. So by obsessive I mean someone that will put a lot of energy towards doing something right and not lose interest easily.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10675710#post10675710 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
Hey, I think you have to have some light on upstairs to *follow* this thread. So far it's led left, right, under the chairs, up on stage, and down again...

In my own only moderately scientific opinion, *variety* within the reasonable limits of the likely inhabitants of the tank helps support the no-see-ums that larger and larger no-see-ums eat, and the more variety available, the more likely we are to deliver the nutrients various critters may need. If some micro-critter metabolizes something into a form my higher micro-critters may use, he's worth feeding, again imho and within bounds. So I spatter my tank with a broad range of foods, and I'm delighted to see a new sponge pop up [I've got some threadlike blue stuff that's an interesting item] and even a new algae appear.

So far, and here's what I'd like to toss out for discussion, my tanks in various incarnations, tend not to have blooms of one thing---[I make an exception for the cursed caulerpa, which I am finally rid of]---but rather of a broad range of sponges, crawlers, algaes, amphipods, copepods, and worms.

So could it be, well, not a misconception that there's a specific 'best diet' for your tank, because a tank has a finite set of organisms---but could we consider it with the accompanying statement that a general stew, often changed, might be advantageous for many tanks?

I feel that what a lot of that comes down to is mechanical filtration. Since I've stopped using any form of mechanical filtration in my aquariums I have noticed an incredible variety of sponges, worms, algaes, and various critters that I've never experienced in previous tanks. For some time with previous tanks I owned my fishfood company and the two trips a week to the seafood wholesalers and wide variety of dried and powdered foods I experemented with was mind boggling. However, I feel various particulate matter in my current tank is spuring on a wide variest of organisms moreso than the vast variety of foods I used to feed.
 
That's a very good point: I don't mechanically filter either...what I DO have is a mega-ball of cheato that's in the second chamber in my sump, and it functions as a filter sponge and bubble-trap, with the little critters running all over to eat what it traps---and wending their own way topside via the pump.
Bottomside the rock is full of little featherdusters; can't grow them topside for love nor money. So I've got two different environments, and that's probably to the good, too.
 
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