Nano Gobies

correspondence from our readers
THE THREAT OF TANKED
I think that Mr. Mark Grabow, in his answer to my letter
about [the TV show] Tanked, is indeed missing the whole
point. (January/February CORAL Letters.)
The more we learn about the animals we keep, the
more we know that an aquarium is much more than
simple “laboratory” equipment in which we just need to
keep proper salinity, oxygen, pH, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
No matter how pristine your tank chemistry, stress
will be a serious issue unless the
environment has the required
“complexity” of the animals’ natural
habitats. And stress will lead
to disease and early death.
Moreover, those disgusting
posh fishbowls offer no educational
value at all. It is completely
impossible to observe anything
resembling the natural behavior
of a fish inside those phone
booths and gimmick-filled boxes.
Which of course leads to the attacks
to which aquarium keeping
is being subject right now.
Aquarium keeping can be
done in an ethical way. Aquarium
keeping can have an outstanding
educational value. But of course
I am speaking about aquariums,
not bizarre fish bowls. Tanked is
a real threat, maybe one of the
worst, to the credibility of aquarium keepers and the
whole aquarium industry.
Borje Markos
Algorta, Vizcaya, Spain
ZEN & THE ART OF AQUARIUMS
My husband and I were excited to hear of the Animal
Planet show Tanked from a non-aquarist neighbor, but
were very disappointed once we actually saw it. Tanked
more closely resembled a slap-dash DIY home remodeling
segment than an educational and environmentally
responsible introduction to the hobby we love.
We wondered what sort of hefty service contracts the
obviously wealthy clients of Tanked had agreed to pay for.
Obviously they knew nothing about their new equipment
or the new creatures in their care. Would they be
willing to take care of it all, or would they would simply
throw money at their cool new piece of “aquarium furniture”
by paying someone else to deal with the upkeep?
We decided they’d definitely pay.
While I was watching the first episode, the book Zen
and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance came to mind. The
book explains that having a motorcycle requires a steady
commitment to continually educate yourself in order to
understand the complex details of its essence. Gaining
understanding is part of the joy of ownership, and only
comes from time spent in handson
experience. We think having
a marine aquarium brings the
same responsibilities to its owner.
It would be interesting to see
some expert, one-on-one maintenance
mentoring in Tanked, but
instead, we get the “wow factor”
of flashy set-ups and super-fast
installations. This show, now
starting a second season, was
produced for our debatable entertainment
pleasure, not to promote
the love of nature or good
husbandry.
If Animal Planet had simply
stuck to what has made other
nature shows great (The Undersea
World of Jacques Cousteau, Wild
Kingdom, Nova), the result would
have been of much better quality
and much more interesting.
We are in complete agreement with the sentiments
expressed by reader Borje Markos and feel that Tanked
casts us all in a very unfavorable light.
Dianne Krogh
Oak Harbor, Washington
MARINE BREEDERS INVITATION
Kudos to CORAL for the excellent cover stories on breeding
successes in the March/April issue. Serious and
would-be breeders are invited to attend the 3rd Annual
Marine Breeders Initiative Workshop on July 28 at the
Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Tal Sweet
www.mbiworkshop.com
Readers are invited to write the Editor:
Editors@CoralMagazine-US.com
8 CORAL