#tropical algae

[pulsethebabyoctopus]

[aroaceleovaldez]

apparently pjotv twt was being weird about book!Percy's eyes being green because they don't think the ocean can be green (???) so consider this a sequel to my Grace siblings eye colors post and here is some visual references of green water for all your Percy inspo needs:

And for reference, the water around New York-ish where Percy is usually is somewhere around this color:

or some alternatives:

or here is a nice hazel green if you want his eyes more on the brown side, which is very common in freshwater ponds and streams:

or if you want him to have totally brown eyes - water rich in tannins will appear brown, greenish-brown, or very dark brown - this is sometimes called "blackwater" due to often appearing very dark or having low visibility:

[waterskies]

40 gallon long update~

Everything is going well in this tank apart from the odd bit of algae here and there.

The new pearl gourami is getting on nicely. Though it is a bit picky and will only eat flakes. He is quite shy and is still nervous when I come up to the tank. Hopefully, he will get used to me soon!

The bamboo shrimp is growing, too! I feed it some crushed up flakes and the powder from my rapashy.

The old dominant harlequin rasbora, who got his nose torn off in a fight, is doing well. He's eating fine, and there appears to be no infection going on. So I think he's okay.

Chiggy, my peppered corydoras that was born deformed, is doing good, too. She doesn't come out much, preferring to chill amongst the Val with the other corys.

Big Mama is still big. I'm still hoping she'll give me some eggs soon, but it's been a while since I've seen any breeding action from them.

The otocinclus and siamese algae eater are doing well, too! Doing their jobs and keeping the tank tidy~

[paulpingminho]

[concertphotos]

Sargassum Seaweed Bloom in the Caribbean Sea Aerial View by David Oppenheimer Via Flickr: Sargassum seaweed algae bloom in the Caribbean Sea high altitude aerial view - photo taken on February 5, 2018 - © 2018 David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions aerial photography archives - www.performanceimpressions.com

[johniac]

Attention-Worthy Links for November 30th, 2024

[addfish]

Last year I could not access my 90l tank to maintain it properly due to building work and as a result it suffered what I like to call Algaegeddon! My tank was plagued with hair algae, green spot algae and black beard algae, also resulting in a loss of a lot of shrimps, fish and snails.

So this year I have had to start over! I removed most of the badly affected leaves, but the algae still kept coming! I bought a treatment only to find out that it was harmful to shrimp and snails, luckily I realised before I used it! Then i bought another which says it was safe for fish/shrimps/snails, but only worked on one type of algae, (green water) which was no good! I finally found Colombo Algisin which treats all kinds of algae and is safe for fish, snails and shrimp! It's a long process to treat it, but it is working well!

I also used Algisin in the 30l Aquacube. I packed the tank away last year and recently restarted it, and although I bought new plants and everything was clean it developed algae from new tank syndrome. The algae is gone now after 2 doses of the treatment, so it's time to buy some more plants!

[jjspina]

Red Tide of Algae in our Fish Tank!

[pulsethebabyoctopus]

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: manta rays

It's time to spread our wings and fly, or rather swim, into another Wet Beast Wednesday. This week's topic is the wonderfully wide manta ray. These gentle giants have historically been misunderstood as dangerous and scary, but now we know better. Here's the real facts.

(Image: a SCUBA diver swimming alongside a giant manta ray, seen from above. It is a large stingray with pointed, wing-like fins along the side of its body and a large head with short tail. Two fin-like cephalic lobes extend from either side of the mouth. The back of the body is black, body with white marking on the head, just before the tail, and the tips of the wings. End ID)

Manta rays are two species of stingray: the giant manta ray Mobula birostris and reef manta ray Mobula alfredi. Mantas have historically been classified as members of their own genus, Manta, but as of 2017, they have been reclassified as members of the genus Mobula, the devil rays. In addition, the two species were thought to be the same species until 2009. As with other rays, they have flattened, disc-shaped bodies with their pectoral fins being enlarged to take up each side of the body. While bottom-swelling stingrays have rounded pectoral fins, manta ray fins have developed into pointed, wing-like structures that are used for active swimming. The width of the ray (measured from wingtip to wingtip) is about 2.2 times the length (not including the tail) in both species. The tail is shorter than the length of the body and has no stinger. Unlike most ray species, the mouth is located on the front of the body. On either side of the mouth is a fin-like cephalic lobe. These fleshy growths are flexible and are used to aid in feeding and possibly communication. Giant mantas reach a max width of 7 m (23 ft), but the average adult size is 4.5 m (15 ft). Reef mantas reach a maximum width of 5.5 m (18 ft) and an average of 3 m (10 ft). They are the largest and second largest rays in the world.

(Image: a group of reef mantas seen from the front. They are similar to the giant manta, but smaller and the white marking on their baks are more curved. Their mouths are open and the cephalic fins are curved to sit beneath the mouth. Inside the toothless mouth, the inside of the gill slits can be seen. Bits of the white underbelly are visible. End ID)

Manta rays are found in tropical to subtropical waters. Giant manta rays are found worldwide while reef mantas are primarily found in the Indo-Pacific, thought they have been recorded in the Atlantic ocean on a few occasions. Reef mantas are normally found in shallower, coastal waters while giant mantas will swim through the open ocean. They are somewhat social, sometimes swimming in groups of up to 50, but will also live on their own. Feeding is done by swimming with their mouths open and cephalic lobes angled to direct water into the mouth. They are filter feeders, targeting krill, plankton, algae, and oceanic larvae. While feeding, mantas will swim in different ways, including making somersaults. Mantas feeding in groups will perform coordinated swimming maneuvers, including swimming in giant circles. Giant mantas have been observed making dives to 400 m (1,300 ft) and they appear to target larger food at these depths, such as small fish. as with the other Mobula rays, mantas will breach out of the water. The reason they do this isn't clear. It could be to clear parasites, communicate, or for fun.

(Image: a manta in the process of breaching, with only its rear end still in the water. It is pointing straight into the air, leaving its back and the white markings on it clearly visible. End ID)

Manta rays are known as some of the smartest fish in the world. They have the largest brain-to-body size ratio of any fish. Manta rays are among the only fish capable of passing the mirror test for self awareness. The mirror test is used to determine if an animal can recognize its reflection as being itself rather than another member of its species. Manta rays exposed to mirrors showed some unique behavior that is not what they do when encountering other manta rays. This included blowing bubbles and swimming in odd ways that may be used to examine themselves or test if the reflection really is them. Manta rays are also excellent navigators, able to repeatedly find the same feeding sports or cleaner fish stations from thousands of miles away. This would indicate an excellent memory and the ability to develop a mental map of areas. Manta rays also have the ability to remember other individuals and have been shown to have a preference for spending time around specific "friends". They are also believed to engage in play behavior including acrobatic swimming with each other and maybe jumping. Playing for no purpose other than fun is a rare traits usually seen in intelligent and social species. Divers have reported that mantas are curious and will come investigate them.

(GIF: footage of a manta ray undergoing the mirror test. It is swimming up to the mirror, pausing for a second, then swimming parallel to the mirror, with the stomach facing it. End ID)

Manta ray mating seems to be triggered by the full moon and takes place at different times of the year depending on location. A male will follow a female moving at speeds of about 10 km/h (6.2 mph) and try to grab her fin in his mouth, which may take several attempts. Once he has a good grip, he will moved so their undersides are facing each other and insert a clasper into her cloaca. Claspers are paired appendages in male cartilaginous fish that are extensions of the pelvic fins that function similarly to penises. Semen runs down a groove in the clasper into the female's oviduct. The pair will then part. Females are left with scars on their fins where the males bite them. The quantity of scars can help determine how many times a female has mated. Oftentimes, a female will be followed by a train of multiple males, all attempting to mate with her. Females will bear usually one but sometimes two babies at once. Mantas are ovoviviparous, meaning the female will retain an egg inside of her that will hatch internally once the yolk supply is depleted. Once hatched, the juvenile remains inside the oviduct for some time, being fed by a milky-white nutritious substance called histotroph that the mother secretes. Once the juvenile exits the mother, it is on its own, receiving no parental care. Gestation takes 12-13 months. Mild females typically get pregnant every 1-2 years. Females seem to reach sexual maturity at 8-10 years can can live to 50 years old in the wild.

(Images: black and white photos of a manta ray giving birth. The first photo shows the juvenile having just exited the mother. The second shows the juvenile after leaving the mother, resting on some coral. The juvenile exits the mother with its fins curled up like a burrito. End ID)

The IUCN classified reef mantas as Vulnerable and giant mantas as Endangered. Their largest threat comes from overfishing, both targeted and as bycatch. Mantas are fished fro their skin, meat, and liver oil. More recently, a demand for manta gill rakers in alternative (read: quack) medicine has led to an increase in fishing and poaching after a historical decrease. Mantas are highly vulnerable to becoming entangled in fishing lines and nets. Because they need to continuously swim to force air over their gills, an entangled manta will quickly suffocate. Their attempts to free themselves typically just gets them more tangled. Manta rays are also vulnerable to boat strikes, pollution, climate change, and microplastic ingestion. Mantas are now protected in international waters by the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals and have local protections on many places. Manta ray tourism has become an industry that brings in an estimated US$140 million per year to local economies. Tourists are offered the chance to observe manta rays in the wild on boat and SCUBA trips. While manta ray tourism can increase awareness of their conservation needs, it can also lead to in increased risk of injury and disease transmission to the rays. Manta rays in the past were often feared by sailors due to their size. They were named devil rays due to their cephalic lobes resembling horns and were believed to pull up anchors and drag ships off course.

(Image: Inspector Clouseau, a pink manta ray seen off Lady Elliot Island, Australia. It is believed to be the result of a mutation in pigment cells and is the only known case of a pink manta. End ID)

[waterskies]

The corys getting a good nom on some frozen brine shrimp~

[alexanders-pokemon-adventure]

Sharpedo-Variant(whale shark)

“Whale Shark” Sharpedo are regional variant evolution of Carvanha found through much of the worlds open temperate and tropical oceans roughly one out of every 4000 Carvanha from these populations will evolve into this variant. Possessing a generally friendly disposition compared to their standard counterparts. They are filter feeders with a diet, consisting, mostly of algae and various phytoplankton‘s ,with a general lifespan, between 80 and 130 years. A Water/Fairy type Pokémon they generally possess the abilities, cute charm, Water veil ,or water absorb.

[tribbetherium]

'While some of the armored rattiles known as shingles live firmly on dry land, and another class, the seashingles, living entirely in the open ocean, some species dwell in the numerous inland bodies of fresh water all so abundant in the Middle Temperocene, with its ponds, lakes and streams conducive to the flourishing of an assorted diversity of life. The pond turtduck (Anatochelymys atla) is one such species of freshwater shingle, foraging at the bottom of ponds with its broad flattened snout to feed on an assortment of food, ranging from algae and aquatic plants to freshwater snails, clams, worms and other invertebrates that it stores in its cheek pouches and chews when it surfaces to breathe. Found mostly across Gestaltia's tropical regions, the pond turtduck, defended by its sturdy skeleton and protective keratinous armor plates, is largely unconcerned with enemies, feeding at its own leisurely pace--though, if an aggressor proves persistent, the sharp raking claws on its flipper-like limbs acts as an additional deterrent, particularly on land where the turtduck is clumsy and unsuited for a quick getaway.'

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[vixensbrainrotts]

Tr headcanons (volume ||)

Content: headcanons

Warnings: none, lmk if I’m wrong

Vixen’s two cents: this is the part two I sorta promised. Do you agree with some of my headcanons? Please do tell me some of your own I would love to hear about them!! Let me know if you enjoy this, I love hearing about it!!! Now enjoy! I’ll link the part one once I figure out how to change the link

VOLUME I

Rindou who went through a long stage of denial about having to wear glasses before he finally admitted that he can’t see jackshit without them.

Mikey who genuinely stops and stares at every rainbow he sees. No matter where, no matter what situation, if the refraction hits his eye all pretty and colorful he‘s going to take a moment to appreciate it.

Kakucho who is a bitch for crystals. Diagnose him with a clear lack of Rose-quartz and push some shiny rocks in his hands and he's happy. He melts when he's presented with personalized crystal pouches and pretty rocks that he can caress in his pockets. He doesn't really buy the whole rocks as remedies thing but he likes the stones that come with it.

Izana who has a whole Ecosystem figured out for his aquarium. He takes it super seriously and makes sure that every tropic level is sufficiently cared for. The plants are non-invasive and regenerative, he has a moss-ball for natural filtration and the algae that he does allow is probiotic. He makes sure to have a predator fish to control the exessive baby-making his Guppies do, and has shrimp as decomposers. He specifically cares to make sure he has the correct school-size for each type of fish and makes sure that there is no stress between species.

also Izana who has a log book for his aquarium where he enters all the plants and fish he's gotten, how many times he's done a water change, and whenever a creature dies. It's the most controlled part of his life.

Emma who has a single Orchid flower in her room that Shinichiro gave her for her Birthday one year. She's read books on how to care for it properly and nurtures it like a mother. She cried once when it lost its blossoms, thinking it would whither and die, but later figured out that it was just the change of seasons.

Baji who unintentionally mean-mugs people when he spaces out and stares. It's real bad because his eyebrows furrow deep and his lips fall into a frown. He doesn't mean it at all, and is kind of upset that he keeps scaring people away.

Takemichi who has really bad allergies against seasonal greens. You can't catch him outside during spring without a puffy, snotty, swollen face. Its bad-bad.

Ran who sort of lived for the buzzcut he had in juvie, and thinks about just buzzing off everything again every once in a while.

Mitsuya who has both his eyebrows pierced right where the slits are. They are (by some miracle) aligned perfectly and suit him sooo well.

German/Russian Hanma who gets frustrated whenever he forgets a word, because he doesn't only forget it in one language, but all languages he speaks. Its not like he could translate it cause he knows it in another language, no! He straight up forgets the word in every language he speaks

Hakkai who wants to be good at baking so bad but created poison whenever he tries. They aren’t even salvageable by sugar coatings, fruits or sprinkles- they’re dry and crumbly and sometimes salty. It’s sort of a shame because he tries really hard.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this Conservation Works blog on Substack:

Michael Soulé, the founder of conservation biology, used to say that one of the most important pieces of advice he got as a young scientist was “when in doubt, count.” Monitoring — counting or otherwise measuring organisms in the same place over time — is the foundation of conservation biology, and in many ways it’s the foundation of conservation, too. Unless someone counts how many lizards, salmon, ferns, or species of butterflies live in a certain place, and repeats the count at regular intervals, that group of organisms can decline or even die out unnoticed. Before an organism can be conserved, it has to be counted.

But what’s the point of counting organisms that seem doomed to extinction? That’s the question tropical biologist Peter Edmunds addresses in a recent BioScience essay titled “Why keep monitoring coral reefs?”

For nearly four decades, Edmunds has been monitoring coral reefs at two locations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, using annual photographs to measure changes in the relative extent of coral and algae. He started the project in 1987, less than a year before the first known Caribbean-wide coral bleaching event; since then, coral extent at one of his sites has shrunk by 92 percent and at the other by 52 percent. Both reefs used to be dominated by boulder star coral, a large, stony species that provides structure to Caribbean reefs and protects the region’s coastlines from erosion. Now, they are dominated by fast-growing “weedy” corals and algae. Given that climate change continues to drive up water temperatures and increase the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, writes Edmunds, “the prospects for community recovery are bleak.”

Yet he argues that monitoring matters, and will continue to matter. The series of photographs Edmunds and his colleagues have accumulated, for instance, suggests that acute disturbances such as hurricanes and major bleaching events cause less damage over time than the everyday stress of rising water temperatures. Moreover, as he writes drily, “the past is an imperfect predictor of the future, ensuring that old data can never fully take the place of new information.” Even a grievously altered system such as the Virgin Islands reefs will continue to change in different ways for different reasons, and understanding those changes will be essential to protecting the life that persists — both at sea and on land.

I was reminded of Edmunds’ argument earlier this month, when I attended the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Biennial Scientific Conference, held this year in Big Sky, Montana. One of the speakers was Tom Olliff, an ecologist who, like Edmunds, has dedicated himself to one ecosystem: he spent 32 years living and working in Yellowstone National Park, eventually directing its Science and Resource Management Division.

Olliff noted the remarkable changes in and around Yellowstone during the course of his career, including the reintroduction of wolves, the recovery of grizzly bears, the boom in visitor numbers, and the excruciating and still-growing development pressure on private lands. He called on his listeners, who included many colleagues and friends, to undertake “audacious acts of conservation,” projects that take a long time to realize and may face determined opposition.

Olliff named some headline-grabbing audacious acts, like wolf reintroduction and dam removal. But he ended his talk with a quieter example. In his current position as a regional research manager for the National Park Service, he has been working with wildlife biologist Don Swann on the long-term monitoring of saguaro cacti in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and Mexico. Though adult saguaros are still common, young saguaros are struggling to survive as temperatures rise. How long should scientists plan to monitor the population? Four decades from now, a report on the saguaro population might be as grim as Edmunds’ assessment of the Virgin Islands reefs.