I like the name of this website, because I think it's accurate. While to most people the word "microcosm" (microcosm means "a world in miniature") doesn't spring to mind when thinking of a coral reef, maybe it should.
When most marine aquarists are asked "where did that (insert fish or invertebrate here) come from?" the common answer is "a coral reef". However, most marine aquarists have never seen a reef first hand. While this isn't a bad thing, the knowledge to be gained from observing a reef could benefit the animals in their care. Garden reef aquariums are an all-too-common occurrence, as well as misnomers such as "this lighting will work for all corals" or "this amount of water flow will let you keep anything you want" (often heard advice on aquarium forums!). People spreading advice such as this (and following it) are doing the hobby a huge disfavor.
The truth is, a coral reef is a habitat, or a mAcrocosm. Coral reefs expand hundreds or thousands of miles, and range in depth from one to tens of meters. The areas on the outside of the reef receive much more water flow, and the shallow parts receive much more light than the deeper parts. While aforementioned hobbyist is correct in saying their animals are from a coral reef, they are not correct in assuming just because animals come from a coral reef means they all have the exact same requirements. A reef system is made up of thousands of mIcrocosms, with no two given areas of a reef being exactly the same. Diving or snorkeling on a reef will reveal microcosms that vary wildly: one section could be all large scleractinian colonies reaching to within inches of the surface, and just a few meters away will be a patch of sandy bottom with manatee grass growing and a slight turbidity to the now-ten-meter-deep water. Not even the same coral species (and tens of other invertebrate species) are found in these two microcosms, even though they may be separated by only a few meters. If a picture was taken of both, they would look completely different. Obviously, an aquarium couldn't be designed ideally for species from both areas!
The point I'm trying to make is that species have unique requirements, even species from the same reef. These species should not be housed in the same aquarium, because their needs are different. Time and time again I preach on aquarium forums "decide what you want to keep, and design the aquarium around that animal(s), not vice versa!". It is not responsible or ethical to attempt to keep species with different requirements in the same aquarium. Can it be done? Yes. Can it be done long term (remember, corals can live hundreds of years, "success" in the home aquarium is not something to be measured in a few months to a few years)? Maybe, maybe not, and certainly not with optimum health. Please take it upon yourself as an aquarist to provide the proper conditions for your animals. There are many excellent books about coral care, and articles online. Also keep in mind that forums are rarely a good place to go for accurate information. The amount of misinformation I see followed and repeated on forums is just sickening! Bottom line: educate yourself, don't take someone else's word for it.
Aquarists would also do well to remember that virtually each and every marine animal is physically collected from the wild, and not always in an environmentally low impact manner. Purchasing animals, or housing animals together inappropriately without first educating yourself regarding their habitat requirements is irresponsible, unethical, and causes lawmakers to further restrict the importation of marine species. Aquacultured and maricultured animals are becoming more and more commonly available, alleviating somewhat the impact on coral reefs. While collecting isn't an all bad, black and white issue (the marine hobby often provides incentive to native peoples to keep the reefs mostly intact, and food for their children) aquaculture is almost always a good thing.
Images: Pictures I took of the Belize Barrier Reef. The last three images were taken only meters apart from each other. © Mike Maddox
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