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Hobbyists Helping The Hobby:
Part1: Becoming an Effective Aquarium Educator By: Brian Plankis
Hello, I would like to introduce you to Bob and Frank. They are our professional actors for this article and will be assisting me today.


Say Hello to Bob and Frank


Let’s follow Bob and Frank on a journey, one in which Frank becomes an effective aquarium educator.

Bob is a beginning hobbyist in a local saltwater aquarium club. Bob approaches Frank, a slightly more seasoned hobbyist, at the club’s monthly meeting and asks:
“Hey Frank, I heard you know tons about starfish, which ones would you recommend for my 29 gallon?”

Without even knowing it, Frank has just been given a “teachable moment”; an eager learner has given him an opportunity to become an aquarium educator. I will use this simple question as an example of how you can become an effective aquarium educator. But first, let me give you a little background and overview.

Hobbyists Helping the Hobby
In case you haven’t heard, coral reefs are declining around the world (McGowan, 2005; Shimek, 2005; Borneman, 2004a) and one of those pressures is the use of inappropriate practices in the aquarium hobby (Pro, 2006a, Calfo, 2002; Borneman, 2002). At times this news has caused me some distress and I have wondered. “How could I possibly help, this problem is just too big, right?” That question is hard to answer. We know there is a problem. Whether or not it is too big is irrelevant, as hobbyists we should help in any way possible (Pro 2006b; Pro 2004; Shimek 2005). There are many excellent suggestions in the sources listed above, yet I continue to see practices by hobbyists that are obviously not in the best interests of either their animals or the reefs where many of those animals originate. At every opportunity I try to point hobbyists to sources of information that will help them improve their husbandry and minimize their impact on natural reefs.

I’m sure everyone will agree that the contributions of recognized experts in the aquarium hobby have been valuable and extensive. However, the experts are limited; they only have so much time and resources to dedicate to the hobby. This leaves a lot of room for hobbyists to contribute in meaningful ways to a growing base of knowledge. This article is the first in a series of articles that I hope to use to describe ways that hobbyists can help.

From teaching my childhood friend Jack that sticking a toad in your mouth is not a good idea, even when I said it was a very good idea (Sorry, Jack), to teaching classroom teachers how to use technology effectively in their classroom, I have always loved the teachable moment. I am currently working on my doctorate in education and I believe that a little review of educational psychology and practices could offer a fresh perspective for the hobby and spark some interesting discussions.

I have two main objectives in this article:
      1. To define what I think an aquarium educator is, and to provide some background on relevant educational theory and practice.
      2. Use Bob’s simple question to demonstrate how to answer the question as an effective aquarium educator.

So what is an Aquarium Educator?
An aquarium educator is someone who has been asked a question about the hobby, either in person, over email or in online discussion forums and has taken the time to provide an answer. So virtually every hobbyist is an aquarium educator. If you have been on the discussion forums lately, you have probably noticed that there is an endless supply of people willing to answer your questions and requests for help (Zachow, 2006). Are these people aquarium educators? Yes. Are they EFFECTIVE aquarium educators? I would argue that a significant percentage of them are not.

Aquarium educator’s collective hearts are in the right place, but they are missing some techniques or information that could make them much better educators. There is a great deal of mis-information in this hobby (Borneman 2004b, 2003a, 2003b) and novice aquarium educators continuously spread a lot of it. Put simply, there are a great many, either intentional or unintentional mistakes, made by novice aquarium educators who desire to help other aquarists. It is a good idea to take any advice you get from any source, including me, with a grain of salt and attempt to confirm it is good advice (Zachow, 2006; Shimek, 2003).

In a perfect world, experts in the field could answer all questions that are posted online, but the sheer volume of questions is prohibitive. In other cases, animals that make their way into our tanks do not have a matching expert. Some beginning hobbyists will also avoid asking an expert a question to avoid being labeled a “newbie”. This leaves the vast majority of the questions to be answered by aquarium educators.

So what is the difference between an aquarium educator and an effective aquarium educator? This is where our actors Bob and Frank have been paid handsomely to help me. Let’s get back to Bob; he has been patiently waiting for an answer.
“Bob, you heard right! I really like starfish! I would recommend you get a green serpent starfish. They are really cool and you can feed it pieces of shrimp right out of your hand! I’ve had GREAT luck with them.”
“OK, um, thanks Frank. See you later.”

Bob then turns and walks away. What happened here? Well, Frank made the most common mistake I’ve seen from aquarium educators. Frank gave advice without knowing anything about Bob’s setup, what he wants to do or what motivates him.

Knowing Your Learners
One of the most important things to do as an educator is getting to know your learners. Any seasoned teacher will tell you that you need to know your learners to be able to reach them. So who are the learners for aquarium educators? Well, I’ve seen just about every kind of person imaginable become a reef hobbyist. People from every walk of life seem to get hooked on this hobby. The diversity is amazing and contributes to the hobby in both positive (generation of new ideas and rich personal experiences) and negative (different learning styles and difficulty of creating instruction for diverse populations) ways.

With such a diverse population of learners, how can aquarium educators possibly hope to help fellow hobbyists? Again, the problem might appear too big, but I think the size of the problem can either cause us to feel overwhelmed and do nothing or galvanize us to ignore the size of the question and try to help where we can. I like to generalize the aquarium hobbyist population into three broad categories: reluctant learners (Evans 1999), novice learners and advanced learners. But these categories are really points along a continuous scale, shown in figure 1.

Figure 1:

Figure 1: A scale of learners.

On the left hand side of the scale we have the reluctant learners. They appear, at least on the surface, to not care about what other people think, they are going to keep 10 tangs in a 20-gallon aquarium because they want to, who cares what “experts” think anyway? It is their hard-earned money and they are going to spend as they please, thank you very much. We can’t help most of these people, because they’ve chosen to NOT be learners. You can’t teach someone who doesn’t want to learn.

In the middle of the scale we have the novice learners, and that is where I try to focus my efforts. They have done some reading or research, but their level of knowledge and how to apply that knowledge varies widely. On the right hand side of the scale are the advanced learners. These are people that have already done a lot of reading and know how to apply knowledge when they find it. Advanced learners are very good at using search engines and a variety of others sources in a more independent inquiry style of learning. One of the goals of aquarium educators should be to help people become advanced learners.

It should be noted that each learner could be an advanced learner in one topic (electrical wiring), but a novice or reluctant learner in another area (puffer dentistry). Another fairly common occurrence is when a learner spends a great deal of time becoming an advanced learner and once they find something that works for them they decide to stop learning, effectively reversing them into the reluctant learner category.

The ARCS Model of Motivation
So what separates learners on this scale other than knowledge and skill? I would argue it is motivation and the desire to be a better learner. If you can discover how to motivate a learner and help foster a desire to learn then you can start to help learners. There are many different theories and models about motivation, but in the interest of time, I’m only going to introduce one, the ARCS model (Keller & Suzuki 2004; Keller, 1987a, 1987b).

While the ARCS model is usually applied to the design of long-term instruction, such as creating an instructional video or a classroom lesson, I think the concepts in the ARCS model could be used as a guide to helping educate saltwater hobbyists. There are four dimensions to the ARCS model: Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction. I have altered the terminology and description of the ARCS model to fit the needs of the aquarium hobby and listed a description for each in Table 1.

Table 1:
ARCS Model DimensionDescription
AttentionThis dimension focuses on gaining AND keeping learner attention. Gaining attention is a fairly easy task in this hobby as most hobbyists are seeking the answer to a need or problem. However, how you phrase your answer will determine if you keep their attention.
RelevanceWhen you are writing your answer to someone’s question, you need to design it to be relevant to the learner. If the learner is able to understand the relevance of your answer to their situation, they are much more likely to learn from it and apply the knowledge you have given them. This is why it is so important to get to know your learners.
ConfidenceThe confidence dimension focuses on how learners need to feel confident that a positive learning experience is from their abilities and efforts, rather than luck or some other random factor. When writing your answer to a question, you need to be supportive of the learner and help build their confidence they can accomplish a task you suggest.
SatisfactionWhile the first three dimensions are necessary to establish motivation, the fourth is necessary to sustain interest in learning. Hobbyists need to feel satisfied from their learning experience or they will be less likely to seek advice again and continue growing as a learner.

How we answer questions as aquarium educators can change where people are on the scale of learners. If we provide a positive experience they can slowly move towards being an advanced learner, if we provide a negative experience they will move towards being a reluctant learner.

How could Frank possibly use the ARCS model to help out Bob? Frank doesn’t have to know everything about Bob and his motivation, a simple question such as “What do you want to do with your tank?” can go a long way towards finding out the information he needs to help Bob. Armed with the knowledge of the ARCS model, lets use a really wonderful hypothetical device called a time machine and send Frank back in time to just after Bob asked his first question and let Frank answer him again.
“Thanks for asking Bob. What do you want to do with your tank?”
“Well, I want to have a reef tank with minimal maintenance; I don’t want to have to feed things by hand (a clue to why Frank’s first answer didn’t work). Honestly, I don’t want one, but my wife really likes those blue Linckia starfish. Got to keep the missus happy, know what I mean?”
“Bob, your wife is an IDIOT, those starfish should never be removed from the wild, let alone purchased! Purchasing them just encourages collection of more of them that will sentence them to DEATH! DEATH I tell you! You NEED to tell her she NEEDS to like something else!”
“I’ll teach you to call my wife an idiot, you, you, you idiot!!”

Bob then proceeds to introduce Frank to the business end of his fists. Not exactly the outcome any aquarium educator would want. What happened this time? Well, Frank started off good by trying to get to know Bob and his goals (Attention and Relevance), and definitely got Bob’s attention with his answer, but how he answered insulted Bob and his wife. Frankly, Frank forgot to respect his learner and resorted to a personal attack.

Respecting Your Learners
I have seen many people treat new hobbyists in a very negative way, especially when mistakes are made that could have been easily prevented with knowledge. Mistakes are constantly repeated and it is commonly believed that people just have to learn from their mistakes before they become successful hobbyists. This is true of almost any hobby, but in this hobby, not learning from mistakes results in the deaths of animals and it should be minimized.

As aquarium educators we must remember that when we started this hobby we went through many of the same mistakes and failures. It is our job to pass on the knowledge we gain from our problems to help prevent them from occurring again. The example above demonstrates that personal attacks can pass on knowledge, but very few people will be receptive to that knowledge when it is embedded in a personal attack.

Personal attacks just amaze me when I see them. Not only do they have the potential to destroy the confidence of the person asking questions, they push the learner towards being a reluctant learner and have little to no relevance for the questions being asked. Encouraging questions and providing positive relevant feedback can go a long way in helping a learner succeed. Let’s put our bloodied actor Frank back into the time machine and let him try again.

“... Got to keep the missus happy, know what I mean?”
“I can totally understand that! Happy wives mean happy husbands. However, a blue Linckia might not be the best choice Bob. How does your wife handle the death of animals in the tank?”
“Oh, not good at all. When we lost Nemo she was mad at me for weeks, especially since he cost us $29!”
“Well Bob, Linckia laevigata, one of the largest Linckia sea stars, have a low survival rate in aquariums, especially smaller tanks such as your 29-gallon. You need to read these articles and make sure your wife reads them. Anthony Calfo’s Starfish: Considerations for the Common and (Commonly Misunderstood) Varieties, and Ron Shimek’s We Owe A Lot To Brainless Dominance and Echinoderms in Aquaria….” “Once you have that basic knowledge, you really should read Williams (1999) and read some of the excellent references at the end of the article. Linckia sea stars are best left in the wild where they can remain healthy (Figure 2). Otherwise they may suffer damage from poor acclimation in the trip to an aquarium or in the home aquariums themselves (Figure 3). Even if they survive the initial acclimation, it is common for sea stars to waste away from their dietary needs not being met (Figures 4 and 5).”

Figure 2:

Figure 2: A healthy Linckia sea star in the wild. Photo courtesy of Eric Borneman

Figure 3:

Figure 3: Figure 3: A Linckia sea star dying in an aquarium after less than two months in captivity. Photo courtesy of Mark Pandanell

Figure 4:

Figure 4: Figure 4: A healthy red Fromia sea star in an aquarium just after purchase. Photo courtesy of Mark Pandanell

Figure 5:

Figure 3: Figure 5: The same sea star 6 months later with obvious signs of starvation from inadequate diet despite 200+ lbs of live rock. Photo courtesy of Mark Pandanell

“OK, thanks for all that um…helpful information Frank.”

Frank did some things right, but obviously Frank has some more things to learn here. Frank did a good job passing along the commonly accepted knowledge that blue Linckia are poor choices for most tanks, especially small tanks. He also asked a good follow-up question that revealed another motivating factor (money) and tried to get Frank to be a more active learner by mentioning pursuing sources beyond what he gave him. However, Frank then fell apart.

Frank added a lot of excess information to his answer that didn’t really help answer Bob’s question. Bob is a new hobbyist and none of this excess information was in his previous experience. Frank tried to do a good thing by giving Bob advice, but he made a mistake and overloaded Bob with too much information and the feeling it is entirely too much work to research this sea star. Answering with too much information, especially irrelevant information can sometimes push a learner away.

Scaffolding and Chunking
Frank missed an opportunity here to use two of the most powerful teaching techniques in education, scaffolding (Greenfield, 1984; Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976; Bruner, 1975) and chunking (Driscoll 2005, Miller 1956).

Some of you might be thinking, how could scaffolding possibly help Frank? Greenfield (1984) has what I think is a clear definition of scaffolding:
“The scaffold, as it is known in building construction, has five characteristics: It provides support; it functions as a tool; it extends the range of the worker; it allows the worker to accomplish a task not otherwise possible; and it is used selectively to aid the worker where needed” (p. 118).

In education, scaffolding has the same five characteristics, but the teacher and the instruction they create are the scaffold. The teacher is there selectively to support the learners, be a tool for them, increase their ability and allow them to accomplish tasks not otherwise possible. I think aquarium educators can use scaffolding to help learners bridge the gap between hobbyist’s current skill level and a desired skill level. Sometimes the gap between the skill levels is very large and intermediate steps are needed to give the learner a chance to get past the gap. This is where chunking can come in handy.

Chunking is breaking up an important educational message into useful chunks of information. This allows people to handle smaller bits of information at one time and gain confidence while learning something new. A simple example of chunking is this:

MGPHCAFGALORPALK

If you break up the above string of characters into chunks you get: Mg – pH – Ca – F – gal – ORP – alk. These are all common abbreviations seen in the aquarium hobby that are much easier to understand when separated. By using scaffolding and giving Bob chunks of information, Frank can still get his message across and even pique Bob’s interest to learn more. Let’s send Frank back in time again and give him another chance at helping Bob.

“Oh, not good at all. When we lost Nemo she was mad at me for weeks, especially since he cost us $29!”
“I hear you! I think blue Linckias are fascinating sea stars. I would like to keep one too, but Linckias have a low survival rate in aquariums, especially in smaller tanks such as your 29-gallon. It probably would be wasted money and grief for you and your wife. I would recommend reading Dr Ron Shimek’s article about sea stars in aquariums; it is a really good read. If you have any other questions or want to know more about sea stars, ask me any time.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that Frank, I’ll read up on that tonight. Can you recommend a better choice for our 29-gallon?”
“Sure, you should check out Asterinid stars or possibly very small brittle stars, there are pictures of them in that article. Both are excellent choices that survive well and help keep your tank clean. I don’t know about you, but I like less work!”
”Right on man! The less work for me the better! Can I email you some questions if I have them?”
“Sure Bob, feel free, I like helping!”

Bob walks away happy that he has a solution to his problem (keeping his wife happy with a sea star), can save money and keep his tank clean with less work. It might take some convincing to change his wife’s mind, but he now has two ways to convince her (less time cleaning the tank is more time for her and the kids and less wasted money on inappropriate animals that die and cause grief for him and his wife). Frank, through many failures, has finally helped Bob, feels good and is well on his way to becoming an effective aquarium educator.

A Note to Classroom Educators and Popular Hobbyists
While the average hobbyist may only be exposed to a few other people in the hobby, there are two types of hobbyists that have access to a much larger audience: teachers and popular hobbyists.

Teachers, at any grade level, have access to a lot more people than a typical hobbyist. I think the classroom is an ideal place to use an aquarium as an educational tool. The numbers of things that can be taught using an aquarium as a tool are astounding and gives students hands on experience and first hand knowledge. Students sometimes hold their teachers in high esteem and like to follow the examples set by their teachers. This is why as teachers we need to be extra careful to set good examples in our tanks. If you are a teacher and just must have 10 tangs in a 20-gallon, do it at home, not in your classroom where your students can see it and may see it as an acceptable practice.

Popular hobbyists, especially those capable of maintaining beautiful tanks, are often looked upon as experts in the field. I’ve personally seen many instances when a popular hobbyist has tried something and many others have quickly tried to duplicate the feat. This happens a lot online where pretty pictures and brief explanations can lead to a lot of trouble. What is usually not stressed is the amount of time, equipment or effort it took that popular hobbyist to succeed at something. What is easier to do? Look at a picture of 5 pretty tangs in a 55-gallon tank or reading 5 long paragraphs of text describing why this is a bad idea?

An extremely vocal instructor taught my high school health class; he loved to shout at us about how bad habits could KILL you. Cigarettes will KILL you, Brian. Too much fat in your diet will CLOG your heart and KILL you, Brian, etc, etc. For most of the semester I respected his advice. Then one morning I saw him coming out onto the playground with a box of donuts in one hand and a cigarette in another. As you can imagine, my level of respect for his advice dropped dramatically. If you are going to give people advice, it will help your cause if you aren’t doing the exact opposite of your advice.

The Hidden Audience: Lurkers
Our advice goes a lot further than just the one person we help, there is almost always a hidden audience. What we don’t even see in this story, because I couldn’t afford to pay two more actors, is two other people listening in on Frank and Bob’s conversation and seeing how Frank handled the situation. They see Bob very happy with the advice and the next night they log onto their club’s forum and shoot Frank a PM on another topic. Later that week Bob meets another hobbyist at a softball game. He just bought his tank, hasn’t even mixed the saltwater yet. Bob tells this new hobbyist about the club’s website and tells him to ask Frank if he has any questions.

Extra care should be taken in online forums. There is a large hidden audience that is generally considered to be composed of new learners that are just soaking up information, otherwise known as lurkers (LaRue, 1994). Our words can stay online indefinitely and lurkers may do a search on the forum before even asking someone a question. If they find an answer from someone that has thousands of posts (Zachow 2006) that blue Linckia are fine, they might go out and buy one without even asking questions. Normally I encourage hobbyists to use search engines to find answers. However, this advice can backfire if someone who appears to be an expert is dispensing bad advice in an old thread. As aquarium educators we have to be aware of lurkers and bad advice and adjust our responses accordingly.

Aquarium educators don’t get many opportunities to hand out advice to the same learner, especially on larger national or international websites. We also don’t know how many times the hobbyist asking the question has been given bad advice or encountered a negative attitude when asking a question. If we provide them with a positive learning experience they will be more likely to seek advice again and slowly work their way towards being an advanced learner. If we create a negative learning experience and they have already experienced many of these, they may just decide to stop asking for advice and become a reluctant learner.

Conclusion and Suggestions
I like to help people in this hobby; it makes me feel good and more importantly helps save the lives of animals that might otherwise die in inappropriate conditions. It is important to realize as aquarium educators we are not experts. It is a good rule of thumb to not hand out advice if you don’t have extensive experience in the area being asked about. Does this mean we should just shut our mouths and not answer questions from struggling new hobbyists? Of course not! If we have found information from experts, we can provide a link to an article, forum or a title of a book that will help the hobbyist.

If asked a question, it is a lot better to be honest and say you don’t know anything about the topic and point the hobbyist to someone who might, than to try to give advice like “My friend Bob knows this guy that heard those are definitely good in most situations.” By using some basic educational psychology, some common sense, and just a little bit of effort in researching topics, we can all become more effective aquarium educators and help the hobby improve.

While it isn’t always possible, or even necessary, to use all four parts of the ARCS model, I feel it is an excellent framework from where to start helping hobbyists. The ARCS model becomes even more important for aquarium educators that like to provide educational threads, materials or websites. Using some of the tips in this article can help maximize the effectiveness of your efforts. Table 2 is a list of recommendations for all aquarium educators based on the ARCS model:

Table 2:
ARCS Model DimensionSuggestions
Attention1. Get to know your learners.
2. When you take a genuine interest in someone’s problem, it is easier to get and keep their Attention.
Relevance1. If you do not know the answer, don’t create one! That is worse than not answering; you are spreading bad information!
2. If you don’t know the answer and the learner isn’t getting any help, you can always direct them to an appropriate forum or expert for a Relevant answer or suggest they try a search engine.
Confidence1. Always respect your learners.
2. Avoid personal attacks even if you disagree with the other person’s opinion.
3. Chunk information so you don’t give your learners information overload.
4. Learner Confidence is critical to them staying motivated and becoming advanced learners, do everything you can to support their confidence.
Satisfaction1. Take the time to know your learners and find out what motivates them. You can then tailor your answers so they get greater Satisfaction from your answers.

Does it take more time to be an effective aquarium educator? Yes!

Can it be frustrating when people get angry when you try to help or save the lives of precious animals? Absolutely!

Wouldn’t it just be easier to not help and avoid all the extra effort and frustration? Certainly!

But I’m not here to make my life or your life easier; I’m here to find ways to help hobbyists help the hobby. The coral reefs and the animals removed from them need our help. I frequently encounter hobbyists interested in challenges. Sometimes, the result of this is hobbyists becoming interested in the challenge of keeping a difficult to keep species. More often than not, this results in the death of those animals. I would suggest another challenge, arguably much more difficult and rewarding: Learn and take pride in becoming an effective aquarium educator.

This article was written specifically to present some information and generate discussion on giving effective advice. I welcome you to join me in Reef Hobbyist Online’s author forum to start the discussions of how all of us, including me, could do better. In my next installment of this series, I’ll give you a little introduction to the concept of community of practice, aquarium research and how even someone with just a box of live rock can help advance the hobby!

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the editing team of Reef Hobbyist Online and Dr. Mimi Lee for helping me find the correct voice for this article. I would also like to thank Bob (Trent Apple) and Frank (um..me) for their help in illustrating this article.

References

Bruner, J.S. (1975). From communication to language: A psychological perspective. Cognition, 3, 255-287.

Driscoll, M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston 476pp.

Evans, J.G. (1999). Motivating Reluctant Learners. Kappa Delta Pi Record 35(2) p55-6

Greenfield, P.M. (1984). A theory of the teacher in the learning activities of everyday life. In B. Rogoff & J. Lave (Eds.), Everyday cognition Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Keller, J.M. (1987a). Strategies for Stimulating the Motivation to Learn. Performance and Instruction 26(8) p1-7

Keller, J.M. (1987b). The Systematic Process of Motivational Design. Performance and Instruction 26(9-10) p1-8

Keller, J.M. (1999). Using the ARCS Motivational Process in Computer-Based Instruction and Distance Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning 78 p39-47

Keller J.M. & Suzuki, K. (2004). Learner motivation and E-learning design: a multinationally validated process. Journal of Educational Media 29(3) p229-239.

LaRue, J. (1994). Is this the party to whom I am typing? Wilson Library Bulletin 69(Oct) p73-4+

Miller, G.A. (1956). The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-97. Also available at: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Miller/

Sankaran, S.R.; Bui, T (2001). Impact of Learning Strategies and Motivation on Performance: A Study in Web-Based Instruction. Journal of Instructional Psychology 28(3), p191-98.

Williams, S. T. (1999). Species boundaries in the starfish genus Linckia. Marine Biology. 135:137-148.

Wood, D., Bruner, J.S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 291-301.

Additional Reading

Coral Reef Decline and Bad Practices
Borneman, E. (2004a) Is It Time to Sell Your SUV? A Tale of Coral Reef Decline. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 3(8) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/eb/index.php

Borneman, E. (2002). Additional Commentary on Dyed Corals. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 3(8) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-09/eb/index.php

Calfo, A. (2002). The Tragedy of Artificially Colored Live Corals. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 3(8) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-09/ac/feature/index.php

McGowan, C. (2005). Coral facing crisis. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 3(8) Available at: http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1009275

Pro, S. (2006a). Cyanide and Its Unfortunate Use in the Marine Ornamental Industry. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 3(8) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-01/sp/index.php

Szmant, A.M. (2002). Nutrient enrichment on coral reefs: Is it a major cause of coral reef decline? Estuaries 25(4b) p743-766.

How to Help the Hobby
Shimek, R. L. (2005). Faunal Extinctions and Coral Reefs; What Can Hobbyists Do? Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 4(6) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rs/feature/index.php

Pro, S. (2004). An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 3(9) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php

Pro, S. (2006b). Selecting Healthy & Appropriate Marine Fishes. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 5(1) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/ft/index.php

Chamberlain, B. (2002). Recognizing Problems and How to Solve Them. Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 1(3) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/bc/index.php

Mis-information and Myths
Borneman, E. (2003a). Mything the Point: Part One Reefkeeping Magazine. Vol 2(10) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/eb/index.php

Borneman, E. (2003b). Mything the Point: Part Two Reefkeeping Magazine. Vol 2(11) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/eb/index.php

Borneman, E. (2004b). Mything the Point, Part Three: Conclusion Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 2(12) http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-01/eb/index.php

Shimek, R.L. (2003) A Guide to Building a DIY BS-o-meter Reefkeeping Magazine Vol 2(5) Available at: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-06/rs/index.php

Zachow, S. (2006). Advice: Consider The Source. Reef Hobbyist Online Vol 2(2) http://www.reefland.com/rho/2006/03/saltwater_aquarium_advice.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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