Coral Research at Georgia Tech

[GargLabGT]

Hi Everyone,

It is great to meet you all. My name is Paxton, and I am a member of the Garg Lab at Georgia Tech in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Our lab focuses on investigating microbial interactions in coral populations using a metabolomics approach.

We recently received funding from the EPA to study a devastating disease known as stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), which is ravaging the coral reefs throughout Florida's Atlantic Coast, the Florida Keys, and the Cayman Islands. We are working to understand how the bacteria and zooxanthellae help corals fight diseases. We are excited to use this research opportunity to set up a nano reef tank in our laboratory at Georgia Tech. As a part of our project, we offer summer internships to high school students from the metro Atlanta area to promote STEM education by enabling learning of fundamentals in microbiology, chemistry, coral reef ecology, and climate change.

Currently, we are looking for any equipment donations (nano reef tank, live rock, air pump, filters, etc.), and a volunteer to help us set up the tank in our laboratory. These donations and volunteers will be highlighted on Georgia Tech's news website. We also greatly appreciate any suggestions or advice regarding tank set up and maintenance, so please feel free to comment them below. Thank you all.

- Paxton Threatt

 

[ichthyoid]

Glad you posted on here about your initiative. I believe we may be able to help on both the equipment & volunteers.

Fwiw, we also have diseases which occur in captive corals, often referred to as RTN & STN (rapid & slow tissue necrosis). Some of us are intrigued by the effects microbial interactions may have on coral health also.

 

[urbanknight]

I have a 40 gallon breeder I can donate. It's not reef ready but could be used as a sump or whatever the need may be.

 

[ZapataInc]

Depending on when you need volunteers I can help.

 

[GargLabGT]

Glad you posted on here about your initiative. I believe we may be able to help on both the equipment & volunteers.

Fwiw, we also have diseases which occur in captive corals, often referred to as RTN & STN (rapid & slow tissue necrosis). Some of us are intrigued by the effects microbial interactions may have on coral health also.

Great, thank you for your help. We will be sure to share published research with everyone on these forums.

 

[GargLabGT]

I have a 40 gallon breeder I can donate. It's not reef ready but could be used as a sump or whatever the need may be.

Thank you for your offer, but unfortunately we are not in need of a 40 gallon tank at the moment. Due to space constrictions, we are ideally looking for a 10-15 gallon nano tank.

 

[GargLabGT]

Depending on when you need volunteers I can help.

Thank you for offering your help. Once we gather our equipment and begin setting up the tank, I will check in with you to see if you are available. Hopefully, that'll be within the next two weeks.

 

[Steve Burton]

I have a couple compact heaters good for small tanks. Tetra HT10 good for 2-10 gallon tanks and a HT30 good for 10-30 gallons, both new. If you're still in need of a heater let me know which one you'd like. You also mentioned air pumps, I've got some spare Whisper pumps, I could donate one with some air line.

 

[GargLabGT]

I have a couple compact heaters good for small tanks. Tetra HT10 good for 2-10 gallon tanks and a HT30 good for 10-30 gallons, both new. If you're still in need of a heater let me know which one you'd like. You also mentioned air pumps, I've got some spare Whisper pumps, I could donate one with some air line.

Thank you for your offer. Fortunately, over the weekend, we received a Finnex heater, so we are all good on the heater front. We also managed to track down a Champion wavemaker, so we no longer need an air pump either.

 

[Jarad]

I have some dry rock from a recent rescape of my aquascape in mine. Bleached, rinsed, and dechlorinated and clean. A couple softballish size pieces, and some smaller ones as well that were used when making the scape. Maybe 10-15 pounds. Happy to donate back to the Jackets! THWG

 

[Ba6982]

Hi Paxton,

Congrats on the grant and so glad to see folks wanting to help our coral reefs!

What size (gallons) set up are you planning for the SPS coral?

In my experience, it’s sometimes quite difficult to keep SPS coral happy in a nano tank environment, especially if it is something that you are new at starting.

You may need to request specific help and advice from those who are experienced and successful with SPS nano tanks.

 

[ichthyoid]

+1 ^

Fwiw,
It may also be worth considering some degree of automation on your system? Growing SPS especially can challenge the resolve, knowledge & skills of even the most dedicated of individuals. We usually find water parameter stability essential.

I also think most, or all, of the items you require may get donated by our members. They tend to be very generous, especially when the cause is worthy.

 

[Frigus Reef]

Pm sent

 

[gainesvillereef]

Just sent you a pm

 

[popsbjd]

I can offer lots of experience in swiftly killing SPS. Good luck with your research. It sounds like an interesting project.

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk

 

[GargLabGT]

I have some dry rock from a recent rescape of my aquascape in mine. Bleached, rinsed, and dechlorinated and clean. A couple softballish size pieces, and some smaller ones as well that were used when making the scape. Maybe 10-15 pounds. Happy to donate back to the Jackets! THWG

Thank you. For now, we're trying to stick with live rock, just to make the set up process quicker. If we change our minds, I'll be sure to reach out. THWG!

 

[GargLabGT]

Hi Paxton,

Congrats on the grant and so glad to see folks wanting to help our coral reefs!

What size (gallons) set up are you planning for the SPS coral?

In my experience, it’s sometimes quite difficult to keep SPS coral happy in a nano tank environment, especially if it is something that you are new at starting.

You may need to request specific help and advice from those who are experienced and successful with SPS nano tanks.

Thank you for your advice. We're setting up a 11 gal. nano tank, and we're only starting with 1-2 corals. We enlisted the help of a senior aquarist at the GA Aquarium, and he's been very helpful. Once we get our tanks and research started up, I'll be sure to post updates here on how the project is going

 

[GargLabGT]

Update:

Thank you to everyone who responded to our post. We've received lots of offers and advice from members, and we have all our equipment to start our nano tank. In the next week, we will begin setting up our tank, and in the next month, we will begin introducing our corals into the water. If you're interested in project updates, I'll make new posts over the next couple months for updates. Hopefully, we make big strides in our understanding of the microbial relationships of corals and their impact on the progression of SCTLD.

 

[wake125122]

Update:

Thank you to everyone who responded to our post. We've received lots of offers and advice from members, and we have all our equipment to start our nano tank. In the next week, we will begin setting up our tank, and in the next month, we will begin introducing our corals into the water. If you're interested in project updates, I'll make new posts over the next couple months for updates. Hopefully, we make big strides in our understanding of the microbial relationships of corals and their impact on the progression of SCTLD.

Pictures would be greatly appreciated! I know probably all of us would love to see the set up.

 

[ichthyoid]

Fwiw,
Relevant literature below which may be of interest to your study.

Since we (in this hobby) grow corals in isolated systems, my attention has been on allelopathic interactions & probiotic influences for microbial dominance. (Eg- Facilitating Lactobacillus vs vibrio dominant communities).

In aquaria, we can control for ‘global warming’, yet sometimes still battle these pathogens. So, there must be more to the story.

Vibrio coralliilyticus infection triggers a behavioural response and perturbs nutritional exchange and tissue integrity in a symbiotic coral - The ISME Journal

Under homoeostatic conditions, the relationship between the coral Pocillopora damicornis and Vibrio coralliilyticus is commensal. An increase in temperature, or in the abundance of V. coralliilyticus, can turn this association pathogenic, causing tissue lysis, expulsion of the corals’ symbiotic...

www.nature.com