Tropical Fish News

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...cientists.html

Genetically modified salmon, which grows at a superfast rate, is safe to be farmed and eaten, American scientists have declared.

The move by experts advising U.S. watchdogs will clear the way for the first GM creature to be sold as food.

The first GM salmon could be on American dinner tables within two to three years, and possibly on British plates soon after that, paving the way for the genetic modification of other fish and food animals into what critics are calling 'Frankenfood'.





Shares in the company behind the technology leapt by 26 per cent on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, providing evidence that analysts see GM as the future of fish production.

However, the science is highly controversial and consumers will have questions about the impact on human health and the environment.

Critics of GM food fear the technology leads to the creation of mutant misshapen fish and could harm wild fish populations if they escape.

Research on GM trout in Canada found that while they grew faster and were much bigger, a number developed misshapen heads and bloated bodies.




The firm behind the GM Atlantic Salmon, Aqua Bounty, says its fish are normal but for the fact they grow up to three times more quickly.

As a result, the AquAdvantage Salmon reach a market weight of around 3kg (6.6lb) in 16-18 months instead of the three years for farmed fish. In theory, they would reach around 6kg after three years, which would be double the size of most natural salmon of the same age.

The growth is speeded up by the insertion of two genes, one linked to the production of growth hormone and a second to ensure growth continues even in very cold temperatures.

The technology allows fish farmers to produce many more salmon at much lower cost, so boosting output and profits.

The scientists behind the salmon have created safeguards to prevent any danger of them escaping and breeding with the wild population. These include ensuring all the fish involved are female and sterile.

Now, two expert reports commissioned by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration have concluded it is safe for GM salmon to go into production.


On health, the scientists on the Veterinary Medicines Advisory Committee said there are 'no material differences' between GM and conventional salmon. They say the fish contains the expected amounts of nutritionally important omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

They concluded: 'Food from AquAdvantage Salmon is as safe to eat as food from other Atlantic salmon.' And they added 'there is a reasonable certainty of no harm from consumption'.

However, they admitted there are gaps in the research looking at whether some types of GM fish - not those currently planned for dinner tables - might cause an allergic reaction.

On the environment, a second team of scientists concluded the safeguards put in place by Aqua Bounty would be sufficient to allow production to go ahead.

Initially, the eggs would be produced in Canada, then shipped to Panama to be grown and then killed. Over time the technology would be extended worldwide.

The FDA is due to make a final decision this month on whether to approve the GM salmon.

But a coalition of 31 U.S. consumer, animal welfare, environmental and fisheries groups is opposing approval.

They claim tests used to show the safety of the GM salmon were based on very small samples and point out that some of the fish had higher levels of growth hormone in their bloodstream, which is claimed to create a cancer risk.

While the GM fish are supposed to be sterile, critics said up to 5 per cent might be able to conceive and breed if they got into the wild.

Pete Riley, director of campaign group GM Freeze, said: 'We are extremely concerned about the potential for these fish to escape.'

:naughty:

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Hello all,

I have a 20G Tall that I'd like to add a mountainscape to. Its a bow front tank that is about a foot deep. The result is a relatively short foreground then a steady slope and then steep edges to get the mountain affect.

I'm not sure, however, which plant would work best to create a nice mountainscape - whether I should stick to a nice moss or add taller plants.

So far I've been thinking about:

Java Moss
Dwarf Riccia
HC

I'm thinking more along the lines of Java Moss only because its a relatively low-tech tank for the moment (my first planted tank). At this point though, I'm fully open to ideas...what have you found to be the best (aesthetically speaking) for your mountainscape?

Any recommendations? I should say that I love miniaturizing scapes...so some tall plant relative to the rocks would not be my idea of ideal

Thanks for the help.

I have a nano diffuser hooked up to a diy yeast reactor... Lately there has been some kind of growth near the white plate thing. It looks like water mold... Help! Last week i wiped it off nut its back again and its not the yeast solution stuff

Hello, just signed up for the forum.

I am interested in getting a pair of red clawed crabs and I am starting from scratch. I don't know much about them so any information on how to care for them/life span/what type of water conditions they need/tank size/etc I would appreciate. I have been reading on the web and it seems like it is mixed reviews as far as water type and living conditions. I just want them to be happy crabs! Thinking about getting them sometime this weekend.

Thanks for any info,
Sara

My bristlenose catfish (about 1.5") has been doing nothing but following and sucking onto my raphael catfish (about 2"-2.5"). I know that BN plecos can be territorial. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

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http://www.petblvd.com/cgi-bin/pb/ES...?mv_pc=froogle
Would this fixture put me at low/med lighting? It will be on a 20G long tank its only 12" high. Thanks

this may not be in the right section and if it is not mod please move this!( thanks in advance and sorry)

I had a 55gal set up for a white and i started getting these little white worms ( I think i have narrowed it down to nematodes, but i could be wrong). they live in the grvale and they also attach to the side walls of the tank. The worms also do not seem to be bothering the fish. I recently got a larger tank and bleached boiled etc every thing that went into the new tank, and what do i see tonight, the little white squiggly worms...

i know of course that you will all say i'm over feeding... i am not, but i will lessen what i feed now to try and starve the worms.

I intend on doing 30% eater changes every day for a week

I also intend on adding aquarium salt ( tablespoon per gal)

besides that what else can i do to get rid of these buggers... i'm going to clean my filters again and put all new cartridges in my power filters...

should i adjust the temp?

any medications i can use that will not require me breaking down the tank or removing my fish?

Great site ! I found it by accident and saw all the great resourses you have available as members here, and decided to join.

About My Tank : Currently running a tank that I was breaking down to sell, but after months of debating the decision I decided to keep it. After going high tech for years I am back to the basics as I sold off almost all equipment. The tank is a JBJ 28 gal HQI, the only piece of equipment is a chiller.
Live stock includes frags of colt, xenia, montipora, and a lone sps (ORA red planet), a pair of B/W misbars and a YWG and tiger pistol shrimp. The tank was previously a sps tank, the soft corals where just hitch-hikers.
My plan is to keep it simple and maybe aquire some BTA's, that is really the only thing I have planned for the tank at this time. Despite the lack of high tech equipment and supplements the tank is thriving with just water changes every 2 weeks, who knew.

About Me: Love the science of this hobby and the beauty of wild reefs. Born and raised at Lake Tahoe Ca. and some how ened up in Southern Arizona ( serious lack of reefs here ).
Dealt black jack until going on to get degrees in nursing and marine biology.
Hobbies include reading, hiking, scuba, bird watching and traveling when I can. I just returned from a trip to the Monterey Aquarium so I am including some pictures. I hope you enjoy them and I look forward to being a member of this forum.

Cora

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hey everyone. i just did my water change today and after that i tested my water it is

calcium is 360 its low i add supplements in everyday it doesnt seem to get any higher

phosphate is 1.0
kh is 14 dkh its a little high i think
ph is 8.4
alk is 2.0
ammonia is 0
nitrate is 0

is there any corals i can get or is my water parameters not good enough for them and they will die? is some of these need to be higher or lower before i get anything then let me know any help will be appreciated :)

Hi all,

i was just wondering if hc likes one type of fert more then the others?

my hc looks ok abit stringy but im trying to workout how to make it thrive and was thinking maybe i should dose more of one fert or all

is there anything else that i can try?

more light or longer photoperiod, more co2?

17g tank
light: 2hours weak white leds (sunrise) 6hours 2xT5HO (24w) 2ours leds (sunset) the leds just gives me more viewing hours
co2: presurized, drop checker turns light green/yellow after 3hours once it turns on

and this is how im dosing atm

So I just picked up a 135 tank and stand and a couple of weak filters for $80 on craigslist in the bay area. I am planning to put 2 (4 in) ocells, a ( 7 in ) rainbow aro, and idk what else. I was thinking a tigrinus. Does anyone know if those fish with interfere with each other? In about a month im going to get a fx5, until then i will do water changes every 4 days or so. all advice will be greatly appreciated. thanks.

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lol had to put them in my sisters 10 gal.

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Hi all,

i was just wondering if hc likes one type of fert more then the others?

my hc looks ok abit stringy but im trying to workout how to make it thrive and was thinking maybe i should dose more of one fert or all

is there anything else that i can try?

more light or longer photoperiod, more co2?

17g tank
light: 2hours weak white leds (sunrise) 6hours 2xT5HO (24w) 2ours leds (sunset) the leds just gives me more viewing hours
co2: presurized, drop checker turns light green/yellow after 3hours once it turns on

and this is how im dosing atm

Ok, again, I have a cycling 36 gallon. I just woke up to add water to the tank because the HOB filters were being loud... I noticed a very weird growth of something on the bottom of my heater... this is the only spot in the whole tank that I can see it growing... I dont know what it is and I really dont even know how to describe it.. it is whitish clearish and it looks like fog or clouds or something surrounding the bottom plug thing of the heater...

So you know what I am talking about.. the very bottom of this heater..


I would take a picture, but I am pretty positive that nothing would show up...

Little history... brand new 36 gallon.. started cycling last sunday... yesterday was the first day ammonia went down... todays readings were:

ammonia -- 1 ppm
nitrite -- 0.25 ppm
nitrate -- 5 ppm

I did raise the temp the other day very rapidly from about 74 to 90 (didnt mean to go that high)... but turned it down and it is now 86.

Like I said, it is nowhere else in the tank, just on the bottom of the heater... today was the first day I noticed it because I always keep the light off in the tank (while cycling)..... It is clinging to the heater, but it is not super tightly against it.. it "flows" with the current I guess you could say...

Anyways I am stumped as to what it could be... please please help!!!!!!

i know that the white stringy feces my blue acara has been having are an internal parasite. but what type? how do i go about treating it? i have the fish isolated from the big tank in a 10 gallon tank with clean water and a sponge filter. what else can i do to help him?

i know it's a brackish water eel, my tank is brackish.

i have him in there with 2 green scats.

i was wondering a few things:

can eels see red light?

is there an easy way to ween them onto dead food? like raw shrimp or fish filets?
will weening them deter them from hunting live prey?
could i buy raw shrimp form a place like shoprite or acme? or should i get something frozen form petsmart?
is there any reason a hungry g. tile wouldn't eat ghost shrimp in the tank? if they've been in the tank for a while, would he not want to eat them for any reason?

and lastly, what would some other good tank mates be?


sorry for all the questions, and i apologize if any are obvious answers, but i don't want to do anything wrong.

thanks in advance,
Gavner

Picked up a HOT Magnum last week. Got it specifically to erradicate some nematodes in my shrimp tanks...

Pics below show what was done in order to attach a gravel vac hose to the Magnum.

The hose adapter is a 3/4" to 1/2"
the O ring is the same size as the one on the original pick up tube.
the nylon washer was a bit too thick, so I ground it down a bit with a dremel tool.

Cut the hose barb at the blue line. Dremel tool works well, but it will melt it, not cut it, so work carefully.
Slip the washer over the 1/2" side.
Roll the O-Ring on the other side.

When you attach the hose to the barb, be sure to push it TIGHT up against the washer. the washer should probably be glued to the barb, but gluing Nylon is nearly impossible, this way the hose holds the washer in place.


Should also mention that I modified the gravel vac too, by replacing the wimpy little hose that was on it with a 1/2" hose. the OD of the original hose fit perfectly inside the 1/2" hose, so this was a snap.

Anyway, I put a dab of silicone lube on the o ring, and gently twisted it into the housing. It needs to fit right in order not to leak.
the hose clip snaps onto the nylon washer and holds the assembly in place.

Works surprisingly well. Nematodes stink! Literally.

Hose barb $.49
O-Ring $.59
Nylon Washer $.29
total cost $1.37

I had the gravel vac and tubing.
Last pic shows the gravel vac mod...

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from your experience, that's the quietest submersible pump you've had? does having a clamp and suction cups for your pump really help? thanks!!

does tube diameter affect flow upwards?
i'm thinking smaller diameter means a pump will have to work harder since it has to push X amount of water through a smaller hole, but also a bigger diameter means more water in the return tubes pushes back down on the pump. if you could help me that would be great!!

Okay so I'm currently cycling my 29 gallon fw tank. I have used some filter media from my other tank that has been up for about 8 months and I put some rocks and plants (3 small ones) form the older tank in the new tank aswell. Well I bought a java fern the other day and put it in there too. and a few days ago I bought 3 more plant one medium/small and two large ones. Will they filter out the ammonia? Will the bacteria still grow with all the plants in there? =\ I do have a few young guppies in there from my other tank and I'm feeding food into the filter...