When you spend enough time with fellow reefers, you tend to get into some pretty esoteric discussions: You know, stuff like the merits of vodka dosing, LED photoperiods, coral feeding, etc. And then, you also get into those conversations about the bigger picture. I hear a lot of reference to various TV shows, forums, vendors, and individuals, with a lot of reefers telling me that “those guys are buffoons”, giving the hobby a bad name, etc. It’s interesting, and I have pondered why it is that we’re so, well….ticked off! Do we have some sort of self-righteousness…are we jealous of the success or fame of others? Or, could it be that we simply understand the responsibility that goes with being a reefer?
I’d like to think it’s the latter.
As a group, reefers have a good sense of the responsibilities that come with acquiring and caring for aquatic animals. We really understand the impact of irresponsible collection, improper handling, marketing misrepresentation, and incompetent husbandry. The drop out rate in our hobby is quite high during the first few years. This stuff isn’t easy. Nonetheless, we’ve worked very hard to elevate the state of the art, promote responsible stewardship of precious natural resources, and perpetuate the species that are under our care. Most importantly, we’ve worked hard to communicate responsible practices to others, both within- and outside of -our small, but vital community.
We are a vital, growing community that shares our successes- and failures- so that we all benefit.
We take great pride in the efforts that have been made to understand, care for, and propagate corals, invertebrates, and fishes, so that the world’s reefs will be around for generations to come. We gently (and maybe not so gently, sometimes!) “correct” our fellow hobbyists when they lapse into poor judgement (“You put HOW MANY Tangs into that 75 gallon aquarium?”), admit our wrongdoings, and take responsibility for our mistakes. As a community, we occasionally have to rally together to address the unfair accusations from our hobby’s detractors (Remember “Snorkel Bob” and “For the Fishes” and the mess in Hawai'i?)- and, more often than not- we open our minds to the very real problems (coral bleaching, negative impact from sewage runoff, unsustainable collection practices, etc.) that impact our beloved natural reefs and the animals that we cherish.
Overall, we’ve done a pretty good job, haven’t we? Consider that any modern “frag swap” consists of large numbers of hobbyists trading, selling, and sometimes giving away (wooah!) captive-propagated corals and animals. It’s awesome, huh? We couldn’t have even imagined such a thing two and a half decades ago. Our hard work has resulted in many new fishes being bred successfully, and a wide variety of propagated coral specimens appearing on the market that have never even been on a natural reef. Dedication, care, discipline, and passion are paying huge dividends for the hobby, and for the priceless natural treasures that we so admire.
It all starts- and could end- here.
The responsibility of being a reefer is more than just occasionally speaking out, or reacting to an external threat. It’s having the intellectual honesty to question ourselves and members of our own community- to be accountable for our actions or inactions. While we can’t take ourselves too seriously, we cannot allow our community to be portrayed to the general public in an irresponsible manner. It is our responsibility to police our ranks, lest government agencies do it for us, perhaps closing down the importation or trade of marine animals altogether.
We need to question anyone who detracts from the real progress that we have made. Sadly, I’ve made many poor decisions over my hobby and professional career, which have resulted in loss of life to precious aquatic animals. Lousy decisions that I regret. My company has, too. We all have. I’m sure most of you do what I have done: Own up to them, learn from them, and share the lessons learned, so that others will not duplicate these costly mistakes. It is our shared responsibility in this hobby.
I was very impressed recently by the response to my thrashing of the practice of “Photoshop Abuse”, and the tremendous positive comments received supporting my assertions. With literally only one exception, there was near universal condemnation of the absurd practice from WITHIN the hobby and industry ranks. That’s very encouraging to me, and reflects a “maturing”, if you will, of the hobby and industry. The idiots, and their are a few- are plainly obvious by their deeds and words.
The future is bright, thanks to all of us.
We need to educate, propagate, and innovate. We need to make sure that we share what we know with open hearts and patience. When we have the opportunity to show the hobby and the general public what we’re all about, we cannot waste that opportunity. So, lest you feel I’m blindly supporting those who criticize a certain television show or group of industry people or individual hobbyists, etc. for criticism, or taking it “too seriously”, I assure you that I’m not. I’m doing what we all need to do: Asking to hold ourselves accountable to nature and the life forms that we work so hard to protect. To educate those who don’t understand about our dedication and caring. To expand our knowledge and skills so that future generations will enjoy our hobby, as well as the natural reefs.
It's just a frag...but it means so much more to so many people.
If we give the public the impression that we are irresponsible, whether it’s via writing, internet, photography, television, or even our own actions-then we ARE being irresponsible. Of course, a TV show, an overly Photoshopped coral, or one seized coral shipment alone will not destroy the hobby. However, the dissemination of inaccurate or incomplete information just might. Maybe we typically don’t create “instant aquariums”, make absurd stocking decisions, over-collect wild corals, or hype up over-saturated, over-priced corals all the time, but the new hobbyist, or the general public doesn’t know that. Neither do the “activists” out there who would love to see the “cruel” aquarium hobby banished forever.
Whether it’s because of bad photo editing, business or husbandry miscues, or genuine bad practice, inaccurate or incorrect portrayals of the hobby and hobby/industry practices undermine the good work done daily by hobbyists and businesses all over the world. “It’s just entertainment.” was what critics said when hobbyists railed on a certain TV reality show about aquariums a few years back. They told us to "lighten up." I feel that "entertainment" is not an excuse for glossing over the realities-the responsibilities- that come with disseminating this information, like it or not . And it’s not just reefers…it’s the responsibility of all who are in the aquatic hobby community.
Just a few of the untold thousands of people in the hobby/industry who have a heavy responsibility to do it right: Justin Credabel (ReefGen), Me (Unique Corals), Joseph Caparatta (Unique Corals), Tony Xiong (Unique Corals), Laura Birenbaum (ReefGen), and Tony Vargas ("Mr. Reef" to thousands).
Inevitably, I’ll receive a response or PM from someone who just doesn’t get what I’m saying here. They’ll say that I am somehow putting myself or my company on a pedestal and attacking everyone else…If you really feel that I am doing that, I suggest you wake up and read more carefully. Of course I'm not. You missed the entire point. I know feedback comes with the territory, but quite frankly, it’s annoying to hear responses accusing me of self-righteousness, when the whole point of my argument is that all of us- MYSELF, MY company, YOU, YOUR company (if you’re in the industry)- all of us-need to accept the responsibility that comes with this hobby.
It’s bigger than any of us.
I've said it before and it stands repeating again: The future of the hobby is in our hands. Please, let’s not let it slip through them because we don’t recognize and correct our own mistakes.
Until next time,
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
I’d like to think it’s the latter.
As a group, reefers have a good sense of the responsibilities that come with acquiring and caring for aquatic animals. We really understand the impact of irresponsible collection, improper handling, marketing misrepresentation, and incompetent husbandry. The drop out rate in our hobby is quite high during the first few years. This stuff isn’t easy. Nonetheless, we’ve worked very hard to elevate the state of the art, promote responsible stewardship of precious natural resources, and perpetuate the species that are under our care. Most importantly, we’ve worked hard to communicate responsible practices to others, both within- and outside of -our small, but vital community.
We are a vital, growing community that shares our successes- and failures- so that we all benefit.
We take great pride in the efforts that have been made to understand, care for, and propagate corals, invertebrates, and fishes, so that the world’s reefs will be around for generations to come. We gently (and maybe not so gently, sometimes!) “correct” our fellow hobbyists when they lapse into poor judgement (“You put HOW MANY Tangs into that 75 gallon aquarium?”), admit our wrongdoings, and take responsibility for our mistakes. As a community, we occasionally have to rally together to address the unfair accusations from our hobby’s detractors (Remember “Snorkel Bob” and “For the Fishes” and the mess in Hawai'i?)- and, more often than not- we open our minds to the very real problems (coral bleaching, negative impact from sewage runoff, unsustainable collection practices, etc.) that impact our beloved natural reefs and the animals that we cherish.
Overall, we’ve done a pretty good job, haven’t we? Consider that any modern “frag swap” consists of large numbers of hobbyists trading, selling, and sometimes giving away (wooah!) captive-propagated corals and animals. It’s awesome, huh? We couldn’t have even imagined such a thing two and a half decades ago. Our hard work has resulted in many new fishes being bred successfully, and a wide variety of propagated coral specimens appearing on the market that have never even been on a natural reef. Dedication, care, discipline, and passion are paying huge dividends for the hobby, and for the priceless natural treasures that we so admire.
It all starts- and could end- here.
The responsibility of being a reefer is more than just occasionally speaking out, or reacting to an external threat. It’s having the intellectual honesty to question ourselves and members of our own community- to be accountable for our actions or inactions. While we can’t take ourselves too seriously, we cannot allow our community to be portrayed to the general public in an irresponsible manner. It is our responsibility to police our ranks, lest government agencies do it for us, perhaps closing down the importation or trade of marine animals altogether.
We need to question anyone who detracts from the real progress that we have made. Sadly, I’ve made many poor decisions over my hobby and professional career, which have resulted in loss of life to precious aquatic animals. Lousy decisions that I regret. My company has, too. We all have. I’m sure most of you do what I have done: Own up to them, learn from them, and share the lessons learned, so that others will not duplicate these costly mistakes. It is our shared responsibility in this hobby.
I was very impressed recently by the response to my thrashing of the practice of “Photoshop Abuse”, and the tremendous positive comments received supporting my assertions. With literally only one exception, there was near universal condemnation of the absurd practice from WITHIN the hobby and industry ranks. That’s very encouraging to me, and reflects a “maturing”, if you will, of the hobby and industry. The idiots, and their are a few- are plainly obvious by their deeds and words.
The future is bright, thanks to all of us.
We need to educate, propagate, and innovate. We need to make sure that we share what we know with open hearts and patience. When we have the opportunity to show the hobby and the general public what we’re all about, we cannot waste that opportunity. So, lest you feel I’m blindly supporting those who criticize a certain television show or group of industry people or individual hobbyists, etc. for criticism, or taking it “too seriously”, I assure you that I’m not. I’m doing what we all need to do: Asking to hold ourselves accountable to nature and the life forms that we work so hard to protect. To educate those who don’t understand about our dedication and caring. To expand our knowledge and skills so that future generations will enjoy our hobby, as well as the natural reefs.
It's just a frag...but it means so much more to so many people.
If we give the public the impression that we are irresponsible, whether it’s via writing, internet, photography, television, or even our own actions-then we ARE being irresponsible. Of course, a TV show, an overly Photoshopped coral, or one seized coral shipment alone will not destroy the hobby. However, the dissemination of inaccurate or incomplete information just might. Maybe we typically don’t create “instant aquariums”, make absurd stocking decisions, over-collect wild corals, or hype up over-saturated, over-priced corals all the time, but the new hobbyist, or the general public doesn’t know that. Neither do the “activists” out there who would love to see the “cruel” aquarium hobby banished forever.
Whether it’s because of bad photo editing, business or husbandry miscues, or genuine bad practice, inaccurate or incorrect portrayals of the hobby and hobby/industry practices undermine the good work done daily by hobbyists and businesses all over the world. “It’s just entertainment.” was what critics said when hobbyists railed on a certain TV reality show about aquariums a few years back. They told us to "lighten up." I feel that "entertainment" is not an excuse for glossing over the realities-the responsibilities- that come with disseminating this information, like it or not . And it’s not just reefers…it’s the responsibility of all who are in the aquatic hobby community.
Just a few of the untold thousands of people in the hobby/industry who have a heavy responsibility to do it right: Justin Credabel (ReefGen), Me (Unique Corals), Joseph Caparatta (Unique Corals), Tony Xiong (Unique Corals), Laura Birenbaum (ReefGen), and Tony Vargas ("Mr. Reef" to thousands).
Inevitably, I’ll receive a response or PM from someone who just doesn’t get what I’m saying here. They’ll say that I am somehow putting myself or my company on a pedestal and attacking everyone else…If you really feel that I am doing that, I suggest you wake up and read more carefully. Of course I'm not. You missed the entire point. I know feedback comes with the territory, but quite frankly, it’s annoying to hear responses accusing me of self-righteousness, when the whole point of my argument is that all of us- MYSELF, MY company, YOU, YOUR company (if you’re in the industry)- all of us-need to accept the responsibility that comes with this hobby.
It’s bigger than any of us.
I've said it before and it stands repeating again: The future of the hobby is in our hands. Please, let’s not let it slip through them because we don’t recognize and correct our own mistakes.
Until next time,
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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