Lionfish found at sunken ship off the coast of Florida

Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) found at sunken ship 300 feet below surface off the coast of Florida

 



From
*http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/07/15/lionfish-found-at-sunken-ship-300-feet-below-water-surface-wreaking-havoc/
*Stephanie Green, of Oregon State University

Researchers say they found the venomous invader thriving around a sunken ship at 300 feet below the water's surface.

Oregon State University researcher Stephanie Green stated:
"We expected some populations of lionfish at that depth, but their numbers and size were a surprise"

Last month, Green and colleagues investigated the seafloor near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in a deep-diving Antipodes sub.
At 300 feet deep, the team witnessed a large number of the spiny fish near the intentionally sunken Bill Boyd cargo ship, an artificial reef created in 1986.

While lionfish are typically between 12 and 15 inches long, the Oregon State researchers say they saw unusually large specimens as big as 16 inches long.



Stephanie Green noted: "This was kind of an 'Ah hah!' moment.
It was immediately clear that this is a new frontier in the lionfish crisis, and that something is going to have to be done about it. Seeing it up-close really brought home the nature of the problem."

Native to tropical Indo-Pacific waters, lionfish were introduced to the Atlantic by humans in the 1990s, likely through the exotic pet trade. Now found in reefs from North Carolina to South America, the rapidly reproducing invasive fish have voracious appetites, gobbling up native fish and competing with other species for food resources.

Worse, lionfish have no natural enemies in Atlantic waters, except spear gun-toting humans.
Another study, detailed online July 11 in the journal PLOS ONE, found that not even sharks can curb red lionfish populations in Caribbean reefs.

Researchers are trying to figure out what is keeping lionfish in check in the Pacific so that they might stem the Atlantic invasion, which thus far has looked to be unstoppable. Prepared correctly, lionfish are said to make a tasty meal, but one prick from the fish's venomous spine can cause excruciating pain. Lionfish derbies to bring in big catches of the predator have been held in Florida and the Caribbean.

Stephanie Green also noted: "A lionfish will eat almost any fish smaller than it is. Regarding the large fish we observed in the submersible dives, a real concern is that they could migrate to shallower depths as well and eat many of the fish there. And the control measures we're using at shallower depths — catch them and let people eat them — are not as practical at great depth."

Lionfish also can produce far more offspring when they are large. A big, mature female in some species can have up to 10 times as many offspring as a female that's half its size, researchers say.

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COMMENTARY

Not too much I can say here other than as a person who has kept many Lionfish (& have been stung by them), in particular this species, one needs to be aware of the native waters and what can live or not by dumping your fish in the ocean, rivers, lakes, etc.

Obviously in the case of these tropical Lionfish, these would not survive even a short while in the waters off the coast of Oregon due to the temperature of our coastal water, but even then dumping these fish would still be a cruel way to dispose of your unwanted pets.

Other Credits, Resources:
*http://www.livescience.com/11295-freaky-fish.html
*Saltwater Aquarium Care; Complete Information & Resources
*Red Lionfish Care

Other Recommended Aquarium Keeping Products:
*Aquarium LED Reef Lighting
*Reef Aquarium UV Sterilizers
*Aquarium Sponge Filters

Tsunami Fish, Striped Beakfish in Washington

A small skiff was found washed ashore near Long Beach, Washington in March 2013. This skiff contained 5 knifejaw or striped beak fish, a palm-sized fish tropical fish. The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife euthanized most of them, out of likely misguided fears that the fish would become an invasive species (these are a TROPICAL fish, unlike the ocean waters of Washington State).

However one of the black-and-white striped fish was taken to the Long Beach City Hall where employees there in turn called the Seaside Aquarium, which came to the rescue.

This fish now resides at the Seaside Aquarium in Oregon:
200 North Prom, Seaside, Oregon 97138 Tel: (503) 738-6211.

This skiff was possibly lost in the Japanese tsunami in March of 2011, the boat reportedly has a registration number from a region where the tsunami hit (not as yet confirmed by the Japanese government).

The boat also contained several other forms of sea life including marine worms, crabs, scallops, a sea cucumber and marine algae, making it a reasonable substainable miniature ecosystem for the fish but for the temperature.

Considering the stripes on this particular rescued striped beak fish, it is likely this fish is immature. Mature beakfish turn a charcoal grey, and are considered a prized food fish in Japan.

A few Specifics:

Scientific Name: Oplegnathus fasciatus
Size; 80.0 cm, 31 inches.
Weight; at maturity 6.4 kg, 14 lbs.
Habitat; Inhabits tropical coastal rocky reefs
Diet; shelled invertebrates
Distribution; Northwest Pacific: Japan, Korea, Taiwan. Eastern Central Pacific: Hawaii.

References:

*Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1844)
*Striped beakfish spearfishing in Japan

Other Useful Resources:

*Aquarium Information
*Saltwater Aquarium Care; Basics to Advanced
*Freshwater Aquarium Care; Basics to Advanced
*UV Sterilization; Aquarium UV Sterilizer Information, use
*Aquarium Power Head Pumps
*Aquarium Lighting; Complete Information from Freshwater to Reef

Grants Pass Oregon Aquarium Secret

Grants Pass Best Kept Aquarium Supply and Information Secret

While this weblog has long carried links to resources from American Aquarium Products and others, I have not posted an updated article/blog post about what many who keep fish (pond or aquarium) in Grants Pass are missing.



"American Aquarium Products" along with its sister site "Aquarium & Pond Answers" have grown into one of the leaders in cutting edge aquarium products (& some pond too).

As examples, American Aquarium Products is the largest seller of High End Aquarium LED Lights as well as T2 Aquarium/Multi-purpose lights in North America!

American Aquarium Products is also the leader and information about the use of Sponge Filters in aquariums & ponds. Although these are not new filters, the sponge filter fell out of popularity due to a lot of misinformation put forth by big box pet stores and disingenuous online retailers and aquatic forums. However the Sponge Filtration article proved how the the sponge filter beat out many popular power filters such as the Bio Wheel in bio capacity

Another unique product that American Aquarium has led the way in use, researched tests, & internet promoting are the Wonder Shells Aquarium mineral blocks. AAP has been using these unique mineral blocks that have been shown to improve essential positive mineral ion levels for 30 years, yet many right here in Grants Pass are not even familiar with this product.


As well these websites have the most researched aquatic articles found ANYWHERE on the Internet.
Many of these articles such as Aquarium Lighting and Aquarium/Redox Balance have received acclaim from around the world (often from researchers outside the anecdotal aquarium/pond keeping industry).

There are many more affiliates now of American Aquarium/Aquarium Answers, especially in their other field of expertise; UV Sterilization!
American Aquarium Products is an industry leader in both knowledge of UV Sterilizers, Clarifiers as well as having one of the deepest inventories of Premium UV Replacement Bulbs found anywhere (many clients hail from as far away as Australia).

UV Bulbs
UV-C Replacement Bulbs from the experts in UV Sterilization since 1979; ONLY quality UV Replacement Bulbs at competitive prices such as the popular 9 Watt UV Bulb

What is sad, despite the many research experts, visitors of sponsored forums, and regular clients of American Aquarium Products and Aquarium Answers, these websites are still not well known in their home town of Grants Pass Oregon, but for a few rude emails challenging information contained in the researched articles only to buy products from less than reputable sellers such as DR. F & S (which is well known inside the aquarium industry for their less than honest business practices).
It does not help when the local paper (the Grants Pass Courier, AKA the "Daily Discourager") ignores their home town aquatic experts when doing a story about poisonous fish a few years back only to get their facts wrong (of course the media nationwide are on a downhill slide).

Hopefully many aquarium/pond keepers will wake up to the internet leader in aquatic information/products in their own back yard before they are lured away (offers have already come in from New Jersey and Texas)to move these internet business base of operations to these states.

Here are a few other popular articles:

Aquarium Information
Basic to in-depth aquarium and pond articles.


Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
The most accurate, researched, updated article on the subject of the Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle and cycling found anywhere on the Internet!

Freshwater Fish Care, Basics
Sound basic freshwater keeping information from someone with decades of aquarium keeping experience with links to more in depth information for those looking to step up in their aquarium keeping knowledge.

Aquarium Medications
the MOST in depth and accurate source of information about aquarium treatments, from antibiotics, chemical, to organic treatments and most importantly how to properly use them!

Gone Fishing Aquaculture Project; Klamath County Oregon

“The Gone Fishing" Aquaculture Project in Klamath County Oregon

I was recently researching Aquaculture projects in Oregon and I stumbled across this gem here in Southern Oregon (not far from the California border) that I feel my readers would be interested in. This aquaculture farm is used to raise 85 varieties of Cichlids from Lake Malawi in Africa’s Great Rift Valley as well as some from Central America.
“Gone Fishing” sells 250,000 of the fish annually to tropical fish wholesalers from Portland, OR to San Francisco, CA; shipped weekly by truck to Sacramento, and then by air to the various other outlets.

The “Gone Fishing” aquaculture project is located about 10 miles south of Klamath Falls, Oregon, near Merrill in the Lower Klamath Valley adjacent to the Klamath Hills.
The original ponds at this facility were constructed in 1984 and have seen limited use. Ron Barnes started the current facility in 1990 using the effluent from a geothermal greenhouse operation on the Liskey Ranch located on Lower Klamath Lake Road.

Geology/Logistics:
The geology of this part of Southern Oregon in Klamath County consists of large normal fault blocks, typical of the Basin and Range province. The Klamath Hills are typical of these fault blocks, allowing geothermal waters that circulate at depth, and move to the surface in shallow aquifers that are easily tapped for the Gone Fishing Aquaculture Farm.

At the original location, a greenhouse complex consisting of four 6,000 square-foot buildings are heated using a peak of 400 gpm from six geothermal wells ranging in temperature from 80F to 200F and all are around 100 feet deep.
The newer set of ponds are provide geothermal water from a 460-foot deep well that pumps up to 300 gpm of 210F water. The water surface in the newer well is at 120 feet and the line shaft pump bowls are set at 190 feet.

The water from the wells is alkaline with a pH of 8.8 out of the wells, but the chemical composition of the pond liners (diatomaceous earth) and soil surrounding the ponds reduce the pH to about 7.5 as the water flows through the system. The water is primarily a sodium-sulfate type of about 600 ppm that can be used directly in the ponds without harm to the fish. This is about the same chemical composition as the water of Lake Malawi.

The average annual sunshine in this part of Oregon is also quite high (as even winter cloud cover is not as continuous as western parts of Oregon due to the blocking affects of the Cascade Mountains). This also allows for some duplication of Africa’s Rift Lake areas high amount of sunshine, although the lower winter sun here at this latitude does substantially lower beneficial light energy such as UVA as well as PAR light wave lengths (UVB is not considered necessary for fish, while UVC although useful for UV Sterilization as found in UVC Bulbs does not even reach the Earths surface even in tropical latitudes). This may slow the growth of plant material grown in the ponds for these generally omnivorous fish.

A Little History
In 1998, Ron Barnes purchased 80 acres of land just north of the greenhouses on the opposite side of the road. The operation has grown to 37 ponds located on the Liskey Ranch and 35 at the new “Gone Fishing” location.
Future plans (that may already have been accomplished) are to raise food grade Tilapia here as well.

For further information, please see these sites:
*http://geoheat.oit.edu/bulletin/bull23-3/art2.pdf
*http://www.geothermal.org/articles/fish.pdf
*http://geoheat.oit.edu/bulletin/bull24-2/art3.pdf

For more Aquarium Keeping Information/Resources:
Aquarium Information