Hi! My name is Trevor Caughlin and this is my GARF website.
I have always been interested in aquariums, but I lacked the courage and the money to go marine. The equipment lining the stores of pet store shelves is enormous-protein skimmers, metal halide lights, RO units, wavemakers, kalkwasser units, mechanical filters, biological filters- and not only are these gadgets expensive, there is no way that my mother would have allowed me to take up an entire corner of a room with noisy buzzing, and dripping liquids.

It gets to the point where all those aquarium devices hooked up to an outlet begin to resemble the inside of a Borg cube from Star Trek.

Then, a year ago, I applied for an internship at GARF. I was filled with joy when I learned I would have the chance to work at Boise's famous aquaculture center, but not even the website could prepare me for my first day at work. Not only had I never seen so many corals, or for that matter so many bright colors, but the aquariums were being maintained without all that fancy equipment.

I would soon learn that GARF creates its little slices of the ocean using principles that even a first year biology student could understand.

Since that first day, I have become focused mostly on coral propagation. I'm constantly researching and experimenting with new ways to keep coral healthy and increase production of frags. Feel free to email me (amphitritea@yahoo.com) if you have any ideas or research that you would like to share!

My background lies in marine biology, and before GARF I spent time studying various sea creatures. I have researched the coloration of tidepool sculpin (Oligocottus) on the Oregon coast, seen coral regeneration in Hawaii and explored the sea life of the California coast.

My most recent project was with the Earthwatch Institute, on Andros, Island in the Bahamas, where I studied microbial symbionts in sponge species, looking to find novel chemicals that may someday help to cure diseases.

Next year, I will be attending the New College of Florida in Sarasota, where I will continue pursuing my love of marine biology.

GARF has taught me a lot about coral, and I can't wait to begin sharing that information with all of you out on the internet through this webpage!

Gorgonians
The Pacific ocean is the center of coral diversity, and usually the Atlantic pales in comparison to the vast amount of different SPS and soft corals found in its sister ocean.

Gorgonians are one exception to this rule. Found exclusively in the Atlantic ocean, Gorgonians are a beautiful, and wildly different addition to the Cnidarian order.

Classification
Gorgonians belong to the class Anthozoa, and the subclass Octocorallia (so named because they have eight pinnate tentacles).

Anatomy
Gorgonians are most notable for their rigid, or semi-rigid skeletons. Though classified as soft corals, gorgonians often rely on skeletons made silicate or some other material for support. These skeletons allow the coral to maintain their upright shape underwater, even in strong current.

In the wild, gorgonians always face the current. This probably allows them to better feed on plankton and other particulate matter. In the aquarium, it is best to recreate this by standing them upright, placing them in relatively strong current and feeding them plankton substitutions, such as brine shrimp.

I will be posting more information on the care of gorgonians, and on the particular plankton mixture that GARF uses to feed our plankton-loving animals.

In the meantime, GARF has excellent gorgonian plugs for sale. Each plug has several different kinds of gorgonian, and can be included in our soft coral set (14 colorful soft corals for $100, which is a half-price sale!)

Until they run out, we'll have a new type of gorgonian-one that GARF hasn't ever had enough of to sell before- available. This new gorgonian is bright orange with large, reddish-orange polyps. Leroy says it's the most beautiful gorgonian he has ever seen!