Cali Kid Corals

What Talk Would You Like To Hear From Rich Ross ?

What Talk Would You Like To Hear From Rich Ross ?


  • Total voters
    15
  • Poll closed .
For our December meeting, Rich has asked "What would the BAR members like the to hear ?"

Here is a list of talks Rich gives with a short description. Please vote as the poll will be closed on 11/24.

Kwajalein Atoll – endemic fish, the ups and downs of trying to get stuff done on a small pacific island, terrible and fantastic culinary experiences, and fantastic underwater life.
Ebeye, Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands was really just a vague place on a map for me until I had the rare opportunity to visit earlier this year. This is what I knew about the trip as I got on the plane – we were going to the island in the atoll where the local lived not the military base, we were going to be meeting a local fish collector, we were going to sail to, and camp on, one of the outer islands. That is pretty much it. *I had no idea where we would be staying, how diving was to be accomplished, or anything much at all about the realities of the trip. Either it would be great, or it would be a great story. This talk will cover, via photos and video, some nuts and bolts about the reality of a first world countries Military base and a third world country separated the high tide, unique fish for the aquarium trade, and how this adventure turned out to be a great trip and a great story.

Coral Sex Therapy: Helping Coral Make Sweet, Sweet Love
Don’t get out much? Feeling like you may never meet that special someone to make babies with? Oh, and are you a tad endangered, too? Welcome to the sex life of a sessile animal. In August, biologists met in the Florida Keys to better understand how spawning is triggered, collect and fertilize gametes in the lab, and then use those juvenile corals to colonize public aquariums, as well as repopulate the area around the Keys with healthy, genetically diverse coral. In this talk we’ll discuss why the corals are endangered, advances in the practicality of their sexual reproduction, and how people are helping protect and repopulate the corals that have been disappearing.

Lives and Money
Reef keeping is as much an art as it is a science. There is so much that we don’t understand about what actually goes on inside our boxes of water that we must rely on cultivating a ‘saltwater thumb’ for success over time. Building that saltwater thumb, however, can be a daunting task. There are a million opinions on every aspect of reef keeping, and todays reefkeeper can access those opinions thru websites, magazines, online forums, or those big heavy things on the shelves at home (Books? I think that’s what they’re called). All that information seems great at first glance, but it turns out that you can find support for every aspect of the hobby regardless of how ‘fringe’ it may be. The question is, how do you sift through all those opinions to make decisions about what to do with your reef tank? In this presentation, we’ll talk about how to deal with conflicting information, methodologies, opinions and products that are available to the modern reefkeeper.

From Hobbyist to Professional Aquarist – 212,000 gallons of reef
In 2008 Richard landed his dream as an aquatic biologist at the Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences, just in time for the migration from its temporary home to its completely rebuilt, state of the art facility in Golden Gate park which houses, among other cutting edge exhibits, a 212,000 gallon reef aquarium. This talk will discuss not only the huge reef tank project from conception to ‘completion’, but also Richard’s transition from being mostly a hobbyist (and stay at home dad) to full time aquarist at a major public aquarium.

Secrets of Reef keeping
***Just added ! Ever wish you could ask Rich his secrets to keeping a successful reef ? Calcium reactor vs dosing ? Bio pellets ? Vodka dosing ? Lanthum chloride ? Well nows your chance !
 
I'm pulling for Coral Sex Therapy! There's still quite a few gaps in understanding about coral spawning cues in nature, as discussed in this thread, and the future of natural reef diversity could depend on what scientists and researchers learn from these spawning events.
 
So hard to decide! Perhaps we should book Rich for all of them! :)

I'm leaning toward the sex therapy subject. And NO, there is no hidden Freudian meaning in my choice. :)
 
Did Rich do the Atoll talk before? I think I missed that one, in which case I want to see it now :D

Not really into coral sex, I'm not happy my pocillipora finds way to breed in my aquarium as it is. Did listen to a talk by Mitch Carl some years back that was fantastic (plus the few jabs that were placed at some other named people in the hobby), although I remember this was at the place next to the fish store with the pirate ship that went out of business in San Jose or there abouts, and that room was like a fricking mausoleum it was so cold.

Ok the reality is I love pot lucks, especially when people put the effort to make something, so you could put on episodes of Sponge Bob for all I care :D
 
Hmmm, because it is BAR and its the potluck, we could also do a talk/discussion about the secrets of reefkeeping. We could talk about many aspects of reefkeeping and where I, and you, stand with them. Just a thought. :D
 
As a newbie, I like the sound of Secrets of Reef Keeping. Also as a newbie, I will learn from any topic, so will be there no matter the topic.
 
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