chad vossen

2010-12-16T14:11:00.001-06:00

Scion Magazine 18: Exotic Fish from Scion A/V on Vimeo.

New Wave Aquaria’s sexy and fun frag tank

2010-11-28T08:47:00.002-06:00

http://reefbuilders.com/2010/11/19/wave-aquarias-frag-tank/#more-26673

I work for New Wave Aquaria, and recently we were one of the many venders at the TCMAS frag swap this fall. There is so much that I wish I had taken photos of, such as the baby clownfish that I had in our tank. I had about 50 one month old clownfish swimming around in our tank.

Ocellaris clownfish

2010-06-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

My very first batch of clownfish that I have raised is the Ocellaris clownfish. Even being my first try, I am surprised with my results.

NOTE: will add more content at a later date. All photos will be compiled and added to a short video later as well.

5 day old clownfish

snapping turtles.

2010-06-20T18:05:00.001-05:00

This post is a little off topic, but people ask to see the pictures and it'd be convenient to just send them here.

Caught this snapping turtle earlier this spring. She was in about 20-30 inches of water and I was able to sneak up behind her and grab her by the tail. I then had to paddle back to the dock with one arm, while holding her upside down so that she could bite nothing more than the bottom of the boat. As I got back to the dock, my uncle saw what I had and came down to take some pictures. After showing everyone the turtle, I released her.

in the photos, you can see how deep I reached into the water by looking at my wet sleeve.

True percula

2010-06-20T17:50:00.001-05:00

I've got a beautiful pair of true percula spawning now. Most of my focus will be put on this pair of fish. Next week I plan to make a large order of aquaculture supplies from Reed mariculture. Once I have my culture supplies and fresh rotifers, I’ll raise some baby percula.

Larval fish traps

2010-05-17T09:31:00.000-05:00

My Larval fish traps make collecting invertebrate and fish larvae much easier. I've made and sold over 50 of these traps around the world in the last two years. could have sold more, but these traps are hand made and time consuming. lately I've improved the design of my traps, and developed better techniques for building them faster. If anyone is interested in breeding marine ornamental fish or invertebrates, you may need one of these larval fish traps. Traps can be sent anywhere in the world, and only cost 30$ USD plus shipping.

interested in buying one? contact me on Mofib (http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=232&t=7104) or email me at Vossen_2012@yahoo.com

The traps operate using an air lift to pull water into the trap. Larval fish and invertebrates are typically attracted to light when they are born, so they will come to the trap by means of the LED flashlight. When the larvae reach the LED flashlight, the air lift will suck them into the trap. Larvae are held in the holding section of the trap until your able to move them to the rearing tank. No more staying up till 2 AM waiting for your fish to hatch and collecting them by hand!

feather dusters

2010-05-17T01:38:00.000-05:00

My Aquatics Command Center

2010-05-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

This is where I live. I've got my broodstock and coral propagation system, larval rearing tank, food culture station (cant be seen in photo), and several other tanks just for fun. The growout system is located somewhere else, since I dont have room for more tanks.

Vivarium project.

2010-04-14T20:55:00.003-05:00

On and off for the last 6 months, I have been working on a Vivarium. The ideal tank for my Vivarium project is an Exo Terra Glass terrarium. The basic construction of my Vivarium is by layering stiff foam sheets and creating a “topographical landscape”. When the basic landscape is finished, cutting chunks out of the foam and adding chunks to break up the lines is done to create a more natural landscape. The next stage involves painting concrete onto the foam to imitate stone. Starting with a watered down mix, and ending with a peanut butter thick mix, while shaping the concrete with tools, the end result should be a realistic rock landscape. Once the stonework is finished, substrate needs to be added. I will be using 100% artificial substrates so that nothing ever has to be replaced. Eco-web is the substrate of choice, as well as my background for the Vivarium. Chunks will be “plucked” out of the eco-web to give it a natural look until plants take over. The back of the Vivarium will be a drip wall for miniature orchids, mosses, and ferns. The substrate on the land area will also have mosses, orchids, and an assortment of other miniature plants.

Water features are an important part of some Vivarium construction. In my project, I’ll have a fully functioning water-scape that includes a drip wall, artesian spring/creek, and a small pond. The water will then drain through the back of the tank through a bulkhead and into a sump for filtration (mechanical, chemical, and biological) before it is pumped back into the tank. This will make water changes easy as well since I can drain water from the sump and never bother the inhabitants of the Vivarium.

A link to a build thread that inspired me to start this project.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/22002-60-gallon-construction.html

when the time comes, most of my miniature orchids will be purchased from this website; http://www.andysorchids.com

The work that I have been doing on the Vivarium in the last 6 months has been practice. I’ve gotten as far as finishing the concrete on the foam before I decided that my plumbing was just not going to work. So I chipped away all the concrete, ripped out all the foam and scraped away all the silicone and paint. Below are some photos of my old Vivarium project. This will be the preview of the work I’ll be doing with the new Vivarium.

Onyx Clownfish

2010-04-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

4/7/2010

I got lucky enough to get involved in the opportunity to raise some onyx percula this week. The clownfish are kept at the Augsburg college, which is over an hours drive from where I live. After work today, I grabbed a cooler, bags, bucket with cover, and 5 gallons of new saltwater. I siphoned out 5 gallons of water into the bucket, and bagged up the tile, which the eggs were on. The bucket of water (with cover) went into the trunk, while the cooler (cover off) with the tile of eggs in a bag sat in the passenger seat next to me on the way home. It was late and dark out so I turned on all the lights in the car to ensure the eggs didn’t hatch on the way home.

After getting home, I added the 5 gallons of water to a 10 gallon tank that I use for rearing clownfish. The bag with the clownfish eggs was then floated for 15 minutes. After removing the tile from the bag, I put it in a shallow dish of tank water and took some photos under the microscope. A few eggs detached from the tile, and I was able to get a good photo of the egg from the side. .

UPDATE April 8th. Eggs did not hatch, and were taken over by fungus during the night.

2.4 gallon shrimp tank

2010-03-29T12:01:00.002-05:00

I work at petsmart part time and watch for good deals while working there. A while ago we got some picture frame aquariums that were to be sold at 120$ each, which I thought was outrageous for a 2.4 gallon tank. However, last week I noticed those same tanks were reduced to clear for only 40$ so I thought I'd give one a chance. After I got my new tank home, I opened it up and had a good laugh at the background they provide then through it away. I also threw away the gravel they provide. It’s nice they include it all in a package, but I simply don’t enjoy the artificial look. So now I had the issue of making a background, and thought of just using tile found at the hardware store. Took me awhile, thought about using granite, but settled on a stone tile. After an hour with the tile saw, I cut each side to fit perfectly into the little tank. I have a spacer under the gravel and above the water to keep the sides from collapsing in.

At first I decorated the tank with narrow leaf java ferns on the sides only, having them grow into the center. But the super glue did not hold on the tile and the ferns fell off. Then I remembered some fossils that I collected last summer and sized them up to the tank. Perfect fit! Then I super glued the java ferns to the edges of the fossil rock and I think in time it will look great! Over time I expect the java fern to send hair like roots over the fossils and grow in nicely. I’ll trim any java fern that covers the fossils to much though.

Now I need to decide what to put in this tank for movement. I think it’s to small for fish, and I don’t want another tank of fish to feed either. I think this little tank is ideal for shrimp though! I’ve always wanted crystal red shrimp. So I think the future shrimp list will be a colony of crystal red shrimp, 1 female cherry shrimp, 1 female yellow shrimp, and a blue tiger shrimp. I only want females of the other shrimp so that I don’t get babies from them.

hydroids

2010-03-23T20:21:00.001-05:00

anyone with reefkeeping experience has probably found hydroids of some kind in their aquarium. sometimes they are harmless, other times a big pest. i've dealt with up to 5 kinds of hydroids at one time or another, and only two of those types have been an issue. one of those hydroid types has invaded my larval rearing tank (just a 10 gal tank) and is now starting to produce dozens of jellyfish looking creatures called medusa. the adults are thin hair like structures extending into the water up to 1/8th inch into open water, with a fan of tentacles at the end which can withdraw into the hair like tube. the tubes are all connected by fibers on the substrate which makes them a colonial hydroid of some kind. further classification is beyond me though.

here's a cool video.

Neon Gobies

2010-03-14T22:52:00.002-05:00

I’ve spawned neon gobies about a year ago. Unfortunately my female passed away before I was able to raise some of her babies. This pair of gobies was just two random fish bought from the local fish store and I got lucky enough to get a pair. I currently have a pair of sharknose gobies, however I cant confirm if they are spawning at all. I’ve found no eggs, yet they have been together for months.

For anyone who's interested in spawning and rearing cleaner gobies, i would suggest reading The Complete Illustrated Breeder's Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes

peppermint shrimp

2010-03-12T20:27:00.000-06:00

I have only tried once to raise peppermint shrimp, and succeeded with raising 5 total shrimp. I did a bit of research before attempting the shrimp by reading How to Raise & Train Your Peppermint Shrimp, 2nd Edition. This book has been a valuable reference tool while raising peppermint shrimp. I know raising 5 shrimp is not impressive, however it was my first try and those 5 shrimp survived a tank crash, as I was using the water from my reef tank to do water changes on them.

The aquarium I used was very basic. I had a 10-gallon aquarium, with all the sides painted black except the front. For water movement, I had an air stone in the corner. The larval shrimp were fed 2-3 times per day, with frozen foods such as cyclopeeze, brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp. For the first few weeks, cyclopeeze was the main food, and brine shrimp was fed a few times a week. After the shrimp grew, they were fed brine shrimp and mysis shrimp. It was easy to feed them large food items because they would carry it around and chew on it, sometimes up to 5 larval shrimp pulling on the same brine shrimp. Another advantage of using frozen foods was that the shrimp would often pick up the left over food off the bottom of the tank. Water changes were a daily chore, starting with a siphoning of the bottom to remove uneaten food. If algae growth was present on the bottom or sides, I would scrape algae first before siphoning. The greatest challenge is not siphoning up a larval shrimp that you’ve been working 50+ days on. I used a rigid air hose and flexible silicone air hose to do the siphoning. Water was dripped back into the larval tank from above. I used old tank water from my reef as new water for the larval tank.

still in the larva catcher. that "mass" just left of the center is all peppermint shrimp.
03-02-2008

03-19-2008

04-08-2008
this picture shows the pleopod buds that are forming on the tail

05-17-2008

first 3 shrimp to settlement!

Nudibranchs

2010-03-09T20:34:00.000-06:00

While cleaning aquariums today with Jen, two Nudibranchs were discovered in a reef aquarium. These are the kinds that eat soft corals, such as colt coral. Very interesting little invertebrates that I had to collect and save for later. After getting home, I just had to get a closer look under the microscope. I took a video, and a few photos and edited them into a video to share.

please visit Jen's blog at: http://newwaveaquaria.blogspot.com/