looking for information on reef biotopes

[nbgen12]

Since my 55g tank crashed in the power outage, my plans to transfer everything to my new 75 have clearly fallen through. I plan on doing a little research for my fresh start on corals/fish/inverts which thrive in certain regions. What is a good website/source to find this kind of information?

Now that I understand a TON more since my 1st tank(the 55g), I want to try and minimize any coral wars, and figure it would be best for me to select a biotope or at least livestock common to a specific ocean climate.

If I don't go the biotope type route, I know I will probably not do the mixed reef again because trying to get the flow so everything is happy is a big PITA.

I don't really know alot about corals ability to co-exist which each other based on their species, and would just like to find any source where I can compile some information going into my next tank, which I plan to have up by the end of the month.

If you know of any links or books please post them!

 

[THS]

I can't think of any websites off the top of my head, but my method of research is looking at all the past TOTMs and seeing what works for mixed reefs.

Being a microbiology major, fortunately I have access to a large collection of information, as many of my advisors and professors are currently researching marine ecology.

If you have a university near you, you may want to consider looking in their book store for marine biology, marine ecology, invertebrate biology, and/or ichthyology books. (Though this is the more expensive way to go.)

For now, check out the past TOTMs

 

[drdavethedude]

http://www.aquariumslife.com/marine-biotopes/reef-zones/

Check out this link...I think it gives a very nice summary of the various reef zones and is a good start.

 

[ReeferBatman]

Most of the wildlife bought in our hobby comes from Indonesia (<--- i'd say 60-70%) or the Caribbean.

Pick your species wanted, and do the research on each individual species.

If your lucky you can specify things down to a particular region of Indonesia - that's what I'd go for as you have more options.

 

[ReeferBatman]

PS

drdavethedude, that link was awesome

 

[nbgen12]

Thanks guys!

Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2

 

[FNDsalt]

I don't know about coral, but fisbase.org is a great site for getting the right fish from a particular island, region or country. You can select from different regions of the world and narrow it down even further to aquarium trade species.

 

[velvetelvis]

There's a site called Undersea Productions that has tons of footage of reef animals and habitats. I've spent hours going through their free library. Most of it is in Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Australia/Coral Sea. I referred to it when setting up my clownfish biotope.

Another thing I've found helpful is to think of depicting a micro-habitat within a biotope. Which fish/coral/invert do you want to focus on, and which part of the reef does it inhabit? If the reef were visually divided up into a grid, with each square being about the size of your tank, what would be living in the bit you find the most interesting or appealing--a pair of clownfish and their anemone surrounded by pocillopora colonies? A colony of staghorn acropora sheltering a shoal of cardinalfish? A cave with a dwarf moray hiding inside? How would you go about depicting that scene? Might sound a little offbeat or restrictive, but looking at it that way really helped me narrow down my choices and come up with a "theme" for my aquascape.

Scott Michael's reef fishes series is a great source of information on the habitats of individual species, as are many of the hardcover books that focus on specific groups of fishes. CORAL magazine often has articles on specific species or habitats. Diving guides and videos are also excellent--I have an outstanding one on the Red Sea. Too lazy to get up & check the title ATM, but I can find it later if you want.