Fish

Click through to see the images. Sometime between 7.30 PM on Saturday, May 11 and 12:00 PM on Sunday, May 12, thieves gained entrance to the business through the ceiling. All in all, the thieves made off with over $15,000 in fish and equipment. Of which, three breeding zebra L046 plecos (Hypancistrus zebra) and one Flagtail fish were among the items stolen. It's interesting to note that the zebra pleco is banned from export from Brazil is currently threatened in the wild due to construction of the Belo Monte Dam in the Xingu river in Brazil, where the fish is found. Due to this threat, several captive breeding programs are working to captively rear this fish. (via Herald Sun News)

The Fluval FX6 is yet another new Canister Filter for fish tanks and aquariums that need some serious filtration. Building on the previous big mombasa of canisters the Fluval FX5, the sixth iteration does away with grey and orange for black and red, plus a few new bells and whistles. Ratings for canister filters are funny things, as surely no one would use just one Fluval FX6, or any single big canister, to filter a 400 gallon aquarium as Hagen suggests. But the point remains that 500 gallons per hour of bypass-free mechanical, chemical and biological filtration goes a long way. Some of the innovations of the Fluval FX6 canister are built in fittings for performing water changes, although you gotta bring your own hookups and electronic monitoring and control of the pump motor to ensure a strong consistent output. We got really excited when we saw what appeared to be control dials on the top of the Fluval FX6′s top housing. Alas, these turn out to simply be “maintenance dials” so you can set the date for when you last cleaned the filter media, or when you want to remind yourself of when you need to get back in there. For somewhere between $350-399 you can pick up a Fluval FX6 for your dirty fish tank, but at least it comes with the full complement of filter media. Key Features: Multi-Stage Filtration produces healthy aquarium water For fresh and saltwater aquariums Features Smart Pump Technology for optimal filter performance, efficiency and management Advanced motor technology provides better performance and reliability while consuming 10% less electricity Click-Fit AquaStop Valves allow fast setup and leak-proof maintenance Valves are positioned at 45 degree angles and rotate for easy installation Self-starting filter-just add water and plug in-Smart Pump Technology will do the rest Monthly maintenance indicator allows you to remember the date of your last filter maintenance/water change Heavy-duty Anti-Clog Telescopic Strainer ensures continuous flow Multi-Directional Output Nozzles can be adjusted to create specific water flows Purge Valve with Drain Hose for easy maintenance and flushing of the canister Water change feature eliminates need to carry buckets of water-simply attach appropriate hose to the output-Smart Pump Technology will do the rest (Kit sold separately) Flow rate: 2130 litres (563 US gallons) per hour For aquariums up to 1500 litres (400 US gallons) Readers also viewed: Fluval Sea PS1 protein skimmer is a small economy internal foam fractionator New Fluval EDGE 46L aquarium is twice as tall and double the volume Fluval Edge Heater is 25 watts of compact heating for nano aquariums Fluval G3 canister gets reviewed on camera by Practical Fishkeeping C-Series Fluval power filter from Hagen now with lots of stages Fluval Chi, Ebi and Flora nano tank starter kits Fluval G series filter gets its own mini site Deep Sea Aquatics and Hagen partner up for direct distribution deal

You’ve seen CoralVue’s new line of Diablo DC-pump powered protein skimmers and the Diablo 5500s is that pump. Priced at $269, the Diablo 5500s is a controllable DC water pump which, besides its red trim, is virtually indistinguishable from the Waveline 5000 that took the reef world by storm last year. The 50 watt Diablo 5500s is said to draw 2400 liters of air per hour; the actual value will vary greatly depending on what skimmer the pump is used, and especially the water level eight of the skimmer and the water it sits in. Other than it is coming soon, other details on the Diablo 5500s are scant. CoralVue’s Diablo 5500s DC Pump is sure to be the leading model of their stable of pumps to power the forthcoming Diablo DC and Professional Open Volute skimmers, but we’d be hard pressed to get one since new and improved more controllable Wavelines are also coming soon. [Acuaristica] Readers also viewed: CoralVue temperature controller plays with heater or chiller for cheap Waveline DC 6000 & 12000: The pioneering DC pump gets a major upgrade CoralVue to carry Flipper Cleaner product line Reef Octopus DC-X video shows the dense frothy cloud of the CoralVue POV Reef Octopus is loading up on DC skimmers for 2013 Reef Octopus Professional Open Volute is another space saving skimmer with DC pump Reef Octopus BioChurn gets more info and actually offers a very ingenious design Illumin8 LED striplights from CoralVue offer basic solid state efficiency

Giesemann has revealed the Matrixx II, the next generation purely T5 light from the famous German lighting designer. Taking a heap of inspiration from the incredibly suave Giesemann Teszla LED, the Matrixx II T5 light inherits the same enclosure, cooling system and of course those cool speaker grilles to cover the air vents. LEDs may be all the rage, especially for the small to medium size tanks but where halides still rule the larger tanks in America, in Europe they are proudly employing T5 lights to create awesome aquariums. Of course the Matrixx II T5 light employs high end individual reflectors for each fluorescent tube. The specially designed cooling system of the Matrixx II uses both passiv and active cooling with an all aluminum build that passively wicks away heat and a pair of built-in fans to help keep the lights running cool and bright. The Matrixx II’s built in ballast is hidden within its very thin profile which is more like its Teszla counterpart at just 1.8 inches (45mm) thick. The Matrixx II comes with separate power cords for controlling two or three different circuits depending on the model and dimmable versions thereof are available on special request. The high level design and build quality of Giesemann’s Matrixx II doesn’t come cheap but this is probably the top of the line T5 light is you are looking for a fixture that is purely fluorescent. Distribution of the Matrixx II in England will be handled by Reef Eden Int. which has prices listed for the T5 fixtures and accessories and we’ll have to wait and see about availability across the pond here in the Americas. [Giesemann via Reef Eden] Readers also viewed: MATRIXplus hybrid fixture from Giesemann combines T5 and LED light Giesemann Teszla gets groped and handled in special edition Reef Builders blue Reef Eden becomes UK distributor for Giesemann LEDs, Aquariums and Furniture Giesemann Teszla hands-on is a piece of LED art Futura LED from Giesemann is a supersized radio controlled Teszla LED Lagoon Blue Powerchrome T5 lamp adds to Giesemann’s rainbow of fluorescent bulbs New details from Giesemann highlights the differences between the Teszla and Quazar LED More images of the new Giesemann Teszla LED

The most important Italian pet show, Zoomark International, held every two years at the Bologna fair, closed last week. We went to visit Zoomark, and our vision, limited to a small part in the PET sector, the aquariology, is quite mild for the industry. Speaking of aquarist world, as already announced in the post presentation of the fair, Zoomark 2013 International Pet Show in Bologna Italy, the omens were all negative. The exhibitors were few, very few, but continued the downward trend triggered off 6 years ago, now more than a parable has become an exponential loss. This was not a good omen, and while hoping that some exhibitors were added at the last minute we found that instead someone missed just some days before the fair. The entire section based on aquarium market, with a few rare exceptions, was included in one hall, number 19, along to other product categories. 6 years ago we had one halls and a half, just to make a comparison. A major step back for the world of aquariums. One of the reasons for this failure, speaking with vendors, was surely the costs, in fact we are talking about a major investment in order to expose at Zoomark, the same requested to go to Interzoo, that’s too much seen the major differences between these two shows. Two years ago we went during saturday, and this year tried to go on Sunday, but we found a rather low number of visitors, especially enthusiasts who instead were strongly present at least up to four years ago. The first comment that comes to mind is that this type of trade does not draw more, but mostly it is the Zoomark does not attract people. Why? But instead why do international fairs such Interzoo, Macna and Aquarama attract so many visitors? Evidently there are several factors that play a great role against exhibitors and visitors, always of course talking about aquarium industry, one factor is the booth cost, and once again the lack of the public, the general public, because Zoomark continues to be open only to vendors, in contrast for example, with Interzoo in Nuremberg, that does have a couple of public days. If companies can not have contact with the public to understand fads and trends, it decreases their willingness to participate in events like this. There aren’t neither workshops or seminars as a corollary of this show, unlike, for example, to what happens to MACNA, that being primarily oriented towards the general public can arrange a variety of events. We have fear that, if this trend will be confirmed once again, soon the aquarium part of the Zoomark might even be cancelled for lack of interest. We hope of course that it will be not absolutely so, and the management of the fair will consider another way to proceed that could involve many companies to participate. During this fair we were very happy to see beautiful aquariums with a strong predominance of marine aquariums, with higher level than we usually see in this show. In the coming days we will present all the news we’ve seen at the show, with pictures and explanations, because in each case several interesting products were presented. Readers also viewed: Zoomark 2013 International Pet Show in Bologna Italy Royal Nature test kits launching at Zoomark LGMAquari releases new fluidized bed filter and phytoplankton reactor LGMAquari shows off new HOB skimmer at Zoomark BAYMAC coming to Bay Area tomorrow, make sure to check out this free event The beautiful aquarium of Enzo Romeo

When it comes to stylishly functional lighting, there are few that hold a candle to Giesemann. They’ve introduced some of the best looking light fixtures that the aquarium industry has seen, and in recent years they’ve only added to their allure with products like the Teszla and Futura LED. In keeping with the same styling cues that made those too fixtures so darn beautiful to look at, Giesemann has revamped their Matrixx T5HO fixture, giving it a very similar look. Appropriately dubbed the Matrixx-II, this T5HO fixtures has a body made of heavy duty extruded and formed aluminum alloy that comes either coated in an anti-corrosion anodized silver finish or painted in a high gloss white. But the corrosion protection doesn’t stop just there. Each item that makes up the outer body of the light fixture (e.g. all joints, faces, internal faces, etc.) receive the same treatment and are either anodized or painted prior to the production of the fixture. While still on the topic of the fixture’s externals, a rather snazzy looking glass panel adorns the top of the Matrixx-II and, as we sort of mentioned, the bodywork is borrowed directly from Giesemann’s flagship LED fixtures, the Futura LED. Getting into the internals, the Matrixx-II doesn’t employ all of the same run-of-the-mill products found in other, far more boring T5HO fixtures. Where most other manufacturers might battle with quality versus price in an attempt to keep their products within a certain price range, Giesemann didn’t skimp on anything. According to the German aquarium equipment producer, each Matrixx-II is assembled using only the finest quality internals from ballasts, to lamp holders and wiring. The reflector, long thought to be the most important aspect of any T5HO system, is made from highly polished aluminum that is 99.8% reflective. Additionally, it was designed in such a way to maximize the light transfer back into the aquarium. Of course, protecting all of these internals and keeping the reflector clean is an acrylic splash guard. Temperature control was also an important aspect that Giesemann included in the Matrixx-II. This stylish T5HO fixtures uses both passive and active cooling, with the passive coming in the form of the aluminum chassis and glass panel facilitating heat transfer, with circulation fans forcing air through the system. Both of these types of cooling techniques make sure the lights are run at their optimum temperature to prolong their lifespan. The last major feature of the Matrixx-II is it’s flexibility with illuminating your aquarium. Lamps are grouped onto several power cords, allowing for added control over with the use of timers and aquarium controllers. Also, a dimmable version of the Matrixx-II is available. In terms of sizes and bulb configurations, the Matrixx-II will come as two, three, four, and five foot models, with layouts ranging from four bulbs up to eight. The goal of the Matrixx-II, as with most Giesemann products, is quality and reliability over being affordable. While this approach prices the fixture out of the hands of most aquarists, it’s hard to argue with the quality and style this fixture brings to the table.

Monday is gracing us with its presence once again, and we’ve got some great things to share while you sip your coffee. To kick off your week, we’re looking back at last week’s top articles before pressing on. From the week of May 12th through the 18th, our most read articles include a new Mitras fixture from GHL, a pet store being shut down, a wildly popular picture of the week entry, an updated Orphek LED fixture, and an aquarium livestock wholesaler shutting down. We hope you enjoyed the articles, and as always, we’ll have another week full of aquarium hobby coverage ahead of us, so stay tuned. GHL Releases Newer, Bluer Mitras LX 6200 HV LED Fixture Michigan Pet Store Without Water or Power Shut Down for Deplorable Conditions Picture of the Week, ORA Sprung’s Stunner Ultra Closeup Orphek Announces 4th Generation DIF 100 LED Pendant Oculus Aquatics Closes Its Doors for Unspecified Internal Reasons

Unique university lecture held 18 metres underwater Students at the University of Essex have taken their lectures to a whole new level – 18 metres under the sea in remote Indonesia to be precise. The ground-breaking underwater marine biology lectures were the first of their kind, revolutionising the teaching, educational and learning experience during dives [...]The post First-Ever Underwater Lectures appeared first on TFH Magazine Blog.

For this week’s AquaNerd Picture of the Week, we’re revisiting Daniel Leija’s 40-gallon mixed reef aquarium, which houses one very beautiful Maxi Mini carpet anemones. Carpet anemones have always been a favorite among aquarium keepers, but they are far too large to house in smaller aquaria. So, it’s no surprise that the Maxi Mini anemones are so popular with the small tank crowd. These anemones often exhibit a rainbow of colors, often outlined with a green ring. Despite their name, these anemones can get quite large. While most are sold in the 1-2″ diameter range, they can grow to be 4+” across.

When corals start to rapidly decline in your aquarium with no obvious reason in sight, there are a few paths to take to prevent all out destruction. For one, don’t lose your cool and panic. Chances are that the problem is simple and fixable. Once you’ve gathered yourself, prepare and perform a water change. This will dilute any chemicals or metabolic byproducts that could be harming your corals. After a big water change, add carbon to your filtration scheme to further remove any harmful pollutants that might cause damage. After these two important steps, start trying to find the source of the issue all the while prepping for more water changes. Check every piece of equipment in use to eliminate voltage issues. Then make sure there is nothing within the tank that can be releasing harmful chemicals. If none of that works, try bouncing ideas off of fellow hobbyists and keep troubleshooting until the problems are resolved. It may take a while, and you may lose a lot of livestock, but acting quick and being smart are key to ensuring that you minimize those losses.