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Dr. Frank Marini |
Frank Marini was born and raised in Hudson Mass. After high school he joined the Army and moved to Ft. Benning GA to complete his Military education. Four yrs later he returned to Massachusetts to attend and complete college. In 1989 he moved to Houston TX to begin his graduate training in Molecular biology at the University of Texas.
From the start, fish, and fish tanks intrigued have always me. My parents setup my first tank, a 30gal metal-framed glass box containing seahorses when I was 12, I was hooked from that day on. Since then, I've kept a number of different fish and have always focused on predatory and unusual fish. I started my first reef tank in 1986, and my first large fish only in 1989. I fell hard for the banggai cardinal fish in 1995, and after solving the mating issues had multiple successful breedings. I have been credited w/ having the first reported breeding of these fish and successfully raising the fry. In 1997, I scaled up my banggai production and was able to supply over 300 banggai fry to local Houston pet stores. I continued banggai breeding for a few years thereafter, but again have refocused on predatory fish (mainly the scorpionfish family: lionfish, etc).
For the past years I've been a vocal proponent of keeping Fish Only tanks and expounding the merits of keeping large visually stunning fish. Ive had the opportunity to breed a number of ornamental fish and in collaboration with Martin Moe wrote a series of articles on Fish breeding for the home hobbyist in the online publication AdvancedAquarist. I currently moderate one of the largest forums on home ornamental breeding called "The Fish breeding forum" at Reefcentral.com, and frequently contribute to topics in both reef fish and Aggressive fish forums.
ABSTRACT
"Taking the Sting out of keeping Scorpionfish - A look into Fish Only Aquaria"
Reeftanks have attracted most of the attention of the SW hobbbyists, yet many people keep Fish-Only tanks and think these tanks as "easier" or more "bulletproof". That these visually stunning fish are more tolerant of less maintenance and poor nutrition. With that in mind, my talk will center around keeping a Fish-Only tank, variations of the mindset in keeping this type of tank, and basic required husbandry. As a theme i will focus on keeping members of the scorpionfish family. As these are very common inhabitants of the home aquarium. I will discuss the scorpion family (especially Scorpionfish we frequently find in the hobby-Lionfish, stonefish, Leaf Fish, waspfish, seagoblins, Rhinopias, weird one-0ffs), discuss their captive care and husbandry, as well as focus on common husbandry problems with these fish and finally look at their venomous attraction.
