vortech-pump-controllers-1 A trip down memory lane of Ecotech Marine VorTech pump controllers As Ecotech Marine celebrates ten years of business in the reef aquarium scene, I am reminded of how I came to know the once scrappy three young founders Tim, Pat, Justin and first employee Mark. The company cut its teeth on reef tank product engineering with a magnetically stirred kalk stirrer with a built in
Macropharyngodon-marisrubri-head Red Sea leopard wrasse now its own species, Macropharyngodon marisrubri
Cobalt NeoFlow gets groped and handled at ReefStock

Coral groupers use body sign language to communicate on the reef

Slinking across the reef, the coralgrouper shimmies its body and from out of nowhere, a giant moray eel slithers into a crevice to snare the prey and share in the hunt. This unusual scenario actually happens more than you think, says one team of researchers. This unlikely partnership goes beyond inter-species hunting parties. The researchers also discovered Read More

Fisheye Aquaculture Releases first captive-bred French Grunts

Late last year we shared with you “Grunt Breeding 101“, Rising Tide’s compendium of breeding the various Haemulon species. In an excellent example of putting Rising Tide’s R&D to practical use, Fisheye Aquaculture announced today what is believed to be the first commercially available captive-bred French Grunts, H. flavolineatum. From their release: The French Grunts Read More

New website Lionfish Lair looks to connect hobbyists with “things that sting”

Lionfish often get a bad rap. One reason is because they are invasive in the wild and secondly, many times these unique fish get in the hands of hobbyists that don’t know how to care for the exotic beast. Lionfish Lair is a new website that is looking to connect interested hobbyists with information and Read More

ORA Rubrocinctus is now identified as Amphiprion barberi – the Fiji Clownfish

ORA announced today that upon DNA testing, it has been confirmed that the fish they have been selling as the Australian Amphiprion rubrocinctus is in fact the Fijian species Amphiprion barberi.  How did this happen? In short, it happened because years back, when the all-red clownfish from Fiji was brought into the trade as “Amphiprion rubrocinctus“, Read More

Lightning Maroon to be first successfully cloned clownfish

It’s been 10 months since Matt Pedersen anounced the first sucessful spawning and hatching of the world’s only captive bred Lightning Maroon clownfish offspring.  The aquarium world has since held their breath, waiting to see what comes next.  While having any aberrant offspring develop was a positive step, many have bemoaned the project’s results. One of the Read More

Successful First Breeding of Hawaiian Endemic Flame Pipefish, Dunckerocampus baldwini

60 day post settlement Baldwini PIpefish – Copyright Jim Welsh, 2013 Proof that hobbyists can really innovate, we’re pleased to share the news from Jim Welsh, a private aquarist, of his successsful breeding and rearing of Dunckerocampus baldwini, the endemic Flame or Redstripe Pipefish from Hawaii.  For anyone not familiar with this species name, it was Read More

Chaetodon leucopleura offered in The Netherlands

We all know that ‘rare fish’ come with a price tag. Especially if a fish both looks nice and is getting known as a ‘rare fish’ the price can go up to wallet-crouching levels. Interestingly, there are lots of fish which are even rarer in the trade than some of the more well known rare Read More

Clownfish found to increase oxygen supply for their anemone hosts

Clownfish are much loved in the aquarium hobby, and are probably some of the most iconic and most recognizable and quirky reef fish in popular culture. This is primarily because of their text book mutulaistic relationship with anemones, the anemone provides protection and in return the  clownfish keep away any intruders. However, it now turns Read More

Crested Oyster Gobies – 3 years to Commercially Captive-Bred

Image: Crested Oyster Goby – Cryptocentroides gobiodes – quite a looker! (image courtesy Matthew L. Wittenrich) – Male Above, Female Below In a classic example of hobby & scientific collaboration, word broke today that the Crested Oyster Goby, Cryptocentroides gobiodes, should be added to our collective list of captive-bred marine fish.  While the news was Read More

Karen Brittain attempts rearing of the bandit angelfish

Karen Brittain is at it again with an attempt to rear another rare angelfish, this time making progress with the bandit angelfish, Apolemichthys arcuatus. We came across this video of the bandit angelfish larvae posted by Bruce Carlson and are impressed to see the early results. If you may recall in December, we learned about Karen Read More

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