David Gallo, an oceanographer and explorer gave a short speech at the TED conference and showed the world some of the more bizarre creatures within the seas. He is an advocate of ocean conservation and has worked with Titantic Hunter Robert Ballad.

Gallo shows us yet another example of the unique and wonderful creatures that live within the ocean, and the how it is important to explore as much of the ocean as possible. To date man has only explored about 3% of the world’s oceans.

From squid that can split their coloration exactly down the middle of their body, to octopus and cuttlefish that can see their surroundings and change their coloration and texture to match, this video is absolutely jaw dropping.

In this video by Jonathon Clay, locals and resort owners who live around large reefs are propagating corals in a similar fashion as reef hobbyists. A group called Corals for Conservation teaches people to preserve declining reefs and fish populations by coral gardening. The idea is that by preserving and regrowing reefs, fish will come back to the area and help replenish areas that have been over-fished.

The methods they use are very similar to that of the common aquarium keeper. The main difference is that it is on a larger scale and they use the ocean as their aquarium. It is a genius idea, promotes conservation, educates, creates jobs and supports the local community. Hopefully we will see more of these projects popping up throughout the world.

This is a sequence from the film “Fragile Paradise“, part of the BBC’s documentary series “South Pacific.“

In this video you can watch rays glide through space, sharks on the prowl, giant groupers float slowly by, and a myriad of other beautiful fish swim freely about. One of my favorite parts of the video is the schools of tangs that swim by. Their dark colors are a nice contrast to the blue background.

I shot the Sea Voyager footage as an ocean meditation, to display the beauty of a sea full of fish. This video also exemplifies the impressive size of whale sharks in relation to schools of fish and other sharks. These immense fish are actually harmless to humans as they are filter feeders, sucking krill and other small crustaceans from the water.

Keep an eye out for more videos of the Georgia Aquarium including an in depth interview with Kim Hall of the Tropical Diver exhibit, where she walks us through the one of the largest reef tanks in the world.

Sea Nettles have a bell shaped “head” and long stinging tentacles. These tentacles are covered in nematocysts which help them to capture plankton and small fish. These types of jellies will not kill a human with their sting unless someone is allergic. The stings will be moderately painful and cause a rash that should be treated immediately with vinegar.

The Pacific Sea Nettles were first cultured at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and are now seen in many public aquariums around the world.

This video explores these creatures graceful movements and is meant to be a meditation on weightlessness and disorientation. As with all jellyfish exhibits, the Sea Nettles in the Georgia aquarium are kept in tanks that have no corners and no objects, so as to not inhibit the movement of the animals. The blue background against the red fleshy jellyfish bodies creates a beautiful and infinite environment for visitors both young and old.

Like most LPS corals orange hammer corals thrive in areas of the tank that get moderate light and moderate flow. It is also good to target feed them once every 1-2 weeks with something like mysis shrimp.

Hammer corals will sometimes be hosted by clownfish (if the clown feels inclined) and they are usually considered moderately easy corals to take care of. If you are a beginner it is probably best to try to get your hands on a green hammer coral as the orange hammers tend to run 4-5 times the price. If you can get your hands on a propagated hammer coral that is always ideal. Hammer corals can be fragged but it usually take a while for a colony to get large enough to frag without disrupting the soft flesh of the coral.

Type of Coral: Large Polyp Stony Coral
Level of Care: Moderate
Temperament: Aggressive
Lighting: Moderate
Waterflow: Medium
Placement: Bottom
Family: Caryophylliidae

The fascinating thing about these corals is how quickly they go from their day time state to their night time feeding state. Usually after the lights go out I notice that this LPS coral is in feeding mode. But I have never taken the time to site and watch the transformation take place.

Brain corals are fairly sturdy corals and can be kept by beginners. They come in a whole slew of colors and the recent demand for rare corals has beautiful brain corals popping up all over the internet for hundreds of dollars. Brain corals can be propogated, but they are one of the more complicated ones to frag. Only do this if you are sure of what you are doing.

Type of Coral: LPS Coral
Level of Care: Easy
Temperament: Peaceful
Lighting: Medium
Waterflow: Low Medium
Placement: Sandbed
Family: Trachyphylliidae

This videos shows a tan toadstool but they also come in greenish and brownish colors. The have tons of tiny polyps that extend from the soft body of the coral to feed. The time lapse of this toadstool coral shows how the polyps extend over a period of 30 minutes.

Toadstool corals do not require feeding however they will eat cyclopeeze if you target feed them. The video shows their response to feeding.

Type of Coral: Soft Coral
Level of Care: Easy
Temperament: Peaceful
Lighting: Low to High
Waterflow: Medium to High
Placement: Anywhere
Family: Alcyoniidae

Luckily they are not like Green Start Polyps (which also grow like weeds) and do not burn or irritate other corals. Many people believe that they need constant iodine supplements and while it will not hurt, it is not necessary. They will flourish in a tank with out extra iodine supplements as seen in this video. I have found that they get enough from regular tank water changes.

They are hardy corals and seem to do well in many environments and at many light levels. They are a great beginner coral because they grow quickly giving the aquarist a sense of accomplishment. They also are just plain cool to watch pump.

Type of Coral: Soft Coral
Level of Care: Easy/Moderate
Temperament: Mild
Lighting: Low to High
Waterflow: Low to Medium
Placement: Anywhere
Family: Xeniidae

The pulsing sinularia is relatively easy to take care of but like most corals blossom in an aquarium with good water parameters. Keeping proper calcium, magnesium and alkalinity levels will help these corals thrive. As with most soft corals keeping the pulsing sinularia in moderate to high light with moderate to strong flow is ideal. It is also okay to feed these corals some meaty foods like cyclop-eeze every 1-2 weeks. It is also a good way to initiate their pulsing action.

While it is difficult to find these corals in stores it is sometimes possible to find them through your fellow community reefers, so make sure you stay in touch with your reefing friends.

Type of Coral: Soft Coral
Level of Care: Moderate
Temperament: Mild
Lighting: Moderate to High
Waterflow: Medium to High
Placement: Anywhere
Family: Alcyoniidae

It is relatively easy to take care of but like most corals blossom in an aquarium with good water parameters. Keeping proper calcium, magnesium and alkalinity levels will help these corals thrive. As with most LPS corals keeping the Euphillia Torch Coral in moderate light with moderate flow is ideal. It is also okay to feed these corals some meaty foods like mysis shrimp every 1-2 weeks.

It is important to provide plenty of space between torch corals and other corals as they have long sweeper tentacles that can sting other corals.

Type of Coral: Large Polyp Stony Coral
Level of Care: Moderate
Temperament: Aggressive
Lighting: Moderate
Waterflow: Medium
Placement: Bottom
Family: Caryophylliidae