Rich Ross

Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly

The Reef Table: Ret Talbot and Rich Ross on Sustainability and Conservation

From http://www.reefs.com/blog/2015/01/19/reef-table-ret-talbot-rich-ross-sustainability-conservation/

WAIT! Don’t tune out – this will be interesting. Is it a glamorous topic? Not at all. I sat down (giddily) with one Ret Talbot and one Richard Ross to talk about sustainability, conservation and what it means to the hobby. We talked about just how sexy it is (spoiler alert: it’s not even the tiniest bit sexy).

The Top Five Speakers I Can’t Wait to See!: Grand Finale

From Reefs.com
Posted on August 28, 2014 by Caitlin Goldenberg

ulufeke 300x225 The Top Five Speakers I Cant Wait to See!: Grand FinaleHere we go, guys, the final round of my Top Five! This particular speaker sparked my interest not too long ago, based not only on the strides he’s made in the aquarium industry and his fascination with my absolute favorite thing ever- Cephalopods, but for how he came to be the Octo-Guru he is today. Richard Ross, Senior Biologist at the Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences, actually kicked off his career in a comedic fashion in the form of juggling and improv while pursuing a degree in Philosphy instead of the expected field of Biology. Eventually establishing himself as a full -time entertainer, he also began exploring the arts of glass blowing, founding his own glass blowing studio in Alameda, CA. After the birth of his daughter, Ross left his career as an entertainer and fulfilled the duties of a stay-at-home dad, where he was able to completely engulf himself in the beauty of the reef keeping hobby. He eventually made incredible breakthroughs in keeping Sepia bandensis, the Dwarf Cuttlefish, documenting the entire process. Rich began volunteering at the Steinhart Aquarium in 2003 after a divesting earthquake forced the animals to be moved to a holding facility. After years of volunteering and part-time employment, in 2008 he was offered an opportunity he could never turn down – the full-time position of managing their 212,000 gallon Philippine Coral Reef and associated exhibits. I haven’t had the pleasure of viewing this phenomenal system in person, but it’s on my list for this upcoming year. The reason this all fascinates me so much is I myself started of on a vastly different career path before I found myself here, writing this. While I’ve always had a passion for the ocean and it’s occupants, and my first job was scrubbing algae and doing water changes at the local fish store, I ended up following the culinary road, with a degree in Professional Cooking. Unhappy with the field I found myself itching to get back into Reefs, discovered my love for the Octopus, and quickly started following Ross’ career. Needless to say, I consider him a huge influence in my endeavors. This year, he’ll be speaking about Phosphate, what it means, and how it effects your reef systems and how it influences a thriving tank. It’s going to be riveting, I seriously am jumping up and down with glee for this one. For more about Rich and his career path, check his website here.

MBI Species Firsts

From Reefs.com, by Tal Sweet

Part of the MBI’s goal is to promote captive breeding of new species that haven’t been done before and to recognize the efforts of those that succeed. To be granted a species first award, the breeder must be able to provide proof of the date of the success via a verifiable third party publication including, books, scientific journals, online forums, or the MBI system. Extremely detailed Journals within the MBI are required for this award. When granted a Species First Award, a star medal will be applied over regular success icon to indicate that it is a Species First. The MBI Council is proud to register and confirm the following Species First awards:

Sepia bandensis: Richard Ross, 2007

Sepia bandensis 1st MBI Species Firsts

TFH 5 of 6 300x199 MBI Species Firsts

http://www.mbisite.org/DReview.aspx?ID=89

http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?m=47829

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Life before the big fish bowl…A closer look at Richard Ross

From Reefs.com

Many marine aquarium enthusiasts know about Richard Ross as the Aquarist Extraordinaire behind Steinhart Aquarium’s stunning 212,000 gallon Philippine Coral Reef. He has kept marine aquariums for over 25 years and has made a name for himself through his many conference presentations, articles and for just being an all around nice guy.

222527 358755317547273 1699593298 n L Life before the big fish bowl...A closer look at Richard Ross

Those of you attended the banquet at MACNA 2013 will no doubt recall Richard’s brilliant and somewhat unorthodox  performance as MC.  For those of you who missed it…he juggled swords while precariously balancing on a board on top of a pipe while standing on a stool! Before seeing his performance at MACNA, I had no idea that aside from being a darn good aquarist, he actually had a few other “tricks” up his sleeve.  I managed to catch up with Rich for a quick  interview just before his talk at Reef A Palooza last week. I was curious to hear about how he became such a good showman and where he learned all his cool death defying tricks. (more…)

Hitler finds out about AEFW – revamped for 2013 MACNA

From Reefs.com

For your amusement in the lead up to this years MACNA, here is a reefers version of the popular Hitler subtitle meme from the film “Downfall”. Humble beginnings can have terrible endings, and most importantly, don’t forget to QT your Acros.

CEPHALOPOD BREEDING