Salem Clemens
Salem Clemens
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Salem Clemens has been in the hobby for a decade and has worked in the industry for the last five years. He has worked with numerous fish stores and now farms coral, phytoplankton, and copepods on his own.Salem is in his senior year pursuing a degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology with a minor in Chemistry. He is researching coral pathogens, zooxanthella, and holobiont-associated signal transduction pathways. He wants to pursue a doctorate and would like to go into conservation work eventually. His favorite corals are Goniopora and zoanthids, but he has recently fallen in love with Dendronepthya and Scleronepthya. His favorite fish are Blue Chromis and Moray eels.

An Interview with a Coral Nursery Technician from the Bahamas

While staying on Cat Island in the Bahamas one day my family and I went to eat at the Greenwood Resort. Not only did it have a spectacular view and food but the people were all very warm and welcoming.…

My Top 10 Predatory Fish for 50-Gallon Aquariums and Under

One of my favorite types of tanks is nanos with predatory fish. In a small water volume, it’s easy to manage the high nutrients that come naturally with keeping more predatory fish due to their metabolism and food source. Nanos…

Reef Builders to Construct a New Multiomics Coral Disease Database

Today, I will begin accepting data to construct a multi-faceted coral disease database. This database aims to draw correlations from multiple data points in relation to coral disease. We would like both quantitative and qualitative data. If you have ever…

The Emperor of Commensal Shrimp Relationships

The Emperor shrimp is a very small, rarely imported shrimp, typically sporting bright orange and white primary colors. They can be found across the Indo-Pacific. Typically, we see this species associated with “Medusa worms” in captivity as their most popular…

Rare Mesophotic Acropora pichoni Surfaces at ACI Aquaculture

Last week, I visited ACI Aquaculture in Plant City, Florida. While there, Chris showed me a variety of specimens that he had recently imported. Among them was something I had never seen before. At first, I thought I was looking…

DOC is The Most Important Parameter For A Healthy Reef Tank: Here’s a New Method to Manage It

In this article, I will provide an overview of my take on the current zeitgeist of reefing and explain why the entire industry is ignoring a critical aspect of coral care. I will explain what issues this parameter causes, how…

Amazing Solomon Island Favites from Vibrant Corals

Remy and I were in Dallas after Aquashella, and we visited Vibrant Corals, a wholesaler that brings in corals from all over the world to distribute to US-based stores. While there, we made some videos, talked, shopped, and looked at…

Return of the King – Is The Adonis Zoanthid Back?

I am an avid collector of zoanthids. I have almost all the typical “high ends” prevalent on the market; thus, my attention has turned to the scarce specimens. Zoas such as the ultimate space monster, snow owls, dayglow volcano, OG…

Why is my Coral Dying? The Answer is Far From Simple

On social media, I often see the question, “Why is my coral dying?” In this article, I will explore how complicated it is to answer that question even from a scientific standpoint.  In previous articles, I have covered the idea…

Does Dosing Fluconazole Have Negative Consequences?

Fluconazole is a triazole antifungal compound. It inhibits the enzyme lanosterol 14-alpha-demethylase, which leads to various downstream consequences in fungal cells by stopping the production of ergosterol. This leads to issues with cell membrane stability and ultimately leads to either…