At a recent Friday-night rendezvous of the Southern California Marine Aquarium Society (SCMAS), those in attendance were treated to an informative evening with Julian Sprung, coauthor of the three-volume series The Reef Aquarium, a how-to, must-have collection for reefers.
Whenever a bunch of dedicated hobbyists convene under one roof the back-and-forth discourse is sure to be interesting and beneficial to all. And that was pretty much how the evening went as hands went up and, one after another, SCMAS members fired questions at Sprung. The line of questioning covered Sprung’s many marine writings to his business ventures to his aquaria. Of course, many questions dealt with the challenges faced by individual hobbyists and their systems. And Sprung gladly troubleshot for them.
As often happens in the course of open aquarium discussions, sometimes tangential and unusual topics come up. One such topic was Sprung’s recounting of a European aquarist who had some heretofore unknown, at least in the hobby, creatures multiplying and overrunning his system. Sprung theorizes that these creatures (actually quick-reproducing photosynthetic foraminiferans) might actually be a natural food for the difficult-to-keep Mandarinfish. Sprung said that he woud like to get some of these creatures in order to test his theory.
Julian Sprung addresses a crowd at the monthly SCMAS meeting.
Photo by Clay Jackson |
After Sprung finished up, a protein skimmer manufacturer introduced a whole line of new and affordable skimmers to the rapt audience.
They say the best advice is free, and advice flows like water through a powerhead at aquarium society meetings.
International Coral Reef Symposium Visits the U.S.
In affiliation with the International Year of the Reef, the International Coral Reef Symposium takes place the week of July 7 to 11, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If the plight of corals — the basis for the marine hobby if you stop to think about it — and what’s being done to ensure their survival into the future is something you care about, you should consider attending the 2008 ICRS (details provided in this issue’s “Coral Revival” article, which starts on page 32).
Besides scientific talks by renowned coral experts from around the globe, there are numerous diving trips scheduled the week of the event and to follow. Some are as far afield as Central and South America.
Attending the 11th ICRS, essentially in our backyard, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The last time the ICRS was held on U.S. soil Jimmy Carter was the president. The event is similar to the Summer Olympics in that it is held every four years, and the next time it occurs it will be held at an overseas location, making it cost prohibitive for most of us to attend.
So consider attending this year’s ICRS by going to the ICRS website and registering today. I know I’m going. I’m even going to take some days after to go snorkeling in the Florida Keys, the third largest living coral reef in the world and the largest in the U.S.