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I didn't know that agsansoo.

I have never seen baby clown fish very cute

Great article ! I use to breed my maroon clownfish. It's not easy ! (time, money & space)



Nothing cuter than a clownfish ball.

Great article, I've always prefered to buy baby fish, but mainly in the theory that I'll get to enjoy their full life span that way. Although, I saw a tiny baby Maroon clown last year, barely 3/8" long, and was tempted to set up an old 65 gal for her she was sooo cute.

Glad to be a supporter of your efforts, everyone. I encourage everyone in the hobby to get behind your efforts.If you're like me, and just don't have the time or resources to do your own captive breeding, support those who do by buying captive bred or sustainably harvested fishes. Let your friends -in and out of the hobby-know about the amazing efforts being made by these folks every day. I really think that the general public- and perhaps even a large number of people within the hobby as well- have no clue about the fact that a good number of animals are captive bred...and that a good number are not yet. There may be as big a job informing the world what is being done in this arena as there is in doing the work! We all have a role to perform, so let's get behind these people once and for all! It's amazing, with all of the negative things you hear in mainstream media about the environmental impact of our hobby, so little is actually said about the amazing job of "self-policing" that we do each day, The hobby is far more sophisticated and responsible than the world seems to know. This will change, if I have anything to say about it!

Great read! Like Marc, I too like to purchase all of my fish as juveniles (which, depending on the species can prove itself difficult to source) simply because I enjoy watching the fish mature in my aquarium. As you mentioned, I also think there's something to be said about the cohabitation of different fish who enter adulthood in the same environment.

Nice article Scott! Thanks for the shout out to us captive breeders.

I totally agree for a few reasons. My first one is that I love tiny fish. I want to watch the fish grow into a bigger fish in my reef over time. I've done so with Six Line Wrasses, Clownfish, and Longnose Hawkfish to name a few.

Leaving the mature fish in the ocean's reefs is wise because they can continue to produce offspring, as you pointed out. Sustainable Aquatics told us about this at the Midwest Fragfest last fall, explaining how they capture the offspring and raise these to eat fish food while the parent fish continue to produce new offspring. That's a great concept.

Nice aticle Scott. For years I have been removing rock from my system and I am on a quest for negative space while conserving the feeling of a true reef by limiting the view of the back of the tank. It is much easier in a very large tank but my tank is only 14" front to back so it is more challenging, but I love a challenge.

thanks for the info. My 90 is a wall and I don't like it. When I move it into the 180 I'm wanting to have much, much more open space and more sand bed. I will have to keep this article in mind.

Nice read, some very good points.

246 views so far, Scott. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the kind words, you two. Marc, you bring a up a great point! I think that we're so indoctrinated into thinking that you have to cram a tank full of rock (a holdover from the philosophy of the early eighties, when it was thought that you need "x" pounds per gallon of rock to "filter" the water, no doubt. The irony is that the only way to fit 200 lbs of live rock in a 100 gallon tank is to build...a WALL! So, hopefully, we will reconsider the idea that "less can be more" in aquascaping!

Always look forward to reading what you have to say Scott.

Great write up, Scott. The one thing you didn't mention is the downside of people asking you over and over when you'll add the rest of your live rock to your tank. I repeatedly got that particular question when I set up the 400g. Not that it made me add more. LOL

I truly miss Steve's tank. I hope he'll put up something amazing in 2012.

Love it love it love it!!!!

I dont know wth "Pink Gorilla Nipples" are but I think I may want some for my tank

The goofy names are pretty funny. They do lead to some confusion, but I suppose they do have the attraction of adding to our sense of "community"- it's like our "secret language", I guess. I think the funniest names are for zoanthids, and I especially laugh when people talk about a coral with "a lineage"...becuase it came from "(insert legendary reefer)'s aquarium." Ahh- now it becomes REALLY valuable. As if there is some genetic difference. Again- it's all in fun, but sometimes I just have to step back and laugh! On the positive side, I suppose the goofy names do give us a basis to describe what we are looking for. To a coral taxonomist, it's absurdity...But to us, it's actually sort of a useful tool. You can go to a frag swap, lok for "Pink Gorilla Nipples" or "Armor of God Palys" and pretty much know what you're getting into. How ironic is that?

I remember when I was about 10 I won a drawing at a lfs for 100 dollar instore credit. I got my first copys of Dr. Axlerods atlas's for fresh and marine. I know what your thinking 10yo bought reference books and no livestock what a dork, yep I was. I spent alot of time learning the latin names for everything and their meanings. They also had a list of common names at a rate of 1 per animal. My love of this hobby even complied me to take latin in high school, even tho the teacher was 85 and fell asleep mid sentence most every day. Anyway it drives me nut trying to follow all these made up names that people throw on things in this hobby and have no clue wth they are talking about without a picture most of the time.

Yeah, the Zoanthus/Palythoa names drive me especially nuts, and they leave the impression that I'll be irradiated if I stare at them for too long; I refuse to use those names. I try to use the "common name (scientific name)" format since people can feel free to ignore what's in the parenthesis, but it's still there for clarification. Scientific names change, but at least they have a paper record that you can trace.