Pseudanthias sp. 4 is an undescribed anthias from Palau and parts of Micronesia. Aptly called the double-bar anthias, the spectacular specimen possesses two vertical bars on it’s predominantly pink body. The fish is apparently not uncommon in the reefs of Palau and has been a popular photography subject for years. The anthias shares its habitat with Read More

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The walking cat shark of Raja Ampat was recently discovered in 2006 and is just one of many incredible species found in this hotspot for diversity. From the video above it is clear where the shark gets its name from, as it crawls through the seagrass beds with its fins. The walking epaulette cat shark Read More

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Cirrhilabrus exquisitus is an ubiquitous species both in the wild and in the trade. The familiar fish is most often exported out of Africa but can be found in other parts of the world with a myriad of color forms. Like the ventralis anthias we covered the last time, the difference in these specimens from Read More

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The Rowley Shoals is a group of atolls located south of the Timor Sea, NorthWest of Australia. The undisturbed reefs of Rowley Shoals really speak for themselves in the video above. Check out the awesome male Pseudanthias tuka with the incredible yellow dorsal fin. Apart from the standard reef fare, the Rowley Shoals is home Read More

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Cirrhilabrus nahackyi has just been officially described a few days ago and here are some beautiful pictures of the species by Dr. Hiroyuki Tanaka. In case you have not heard, C. nahackyi is the newest member to join the Cirrhilabrus genus and hails from the exotic islands of Tonga and Fiji. For those not lucky Read More

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Cirrhilabrus sp. 1, known commonly as the Nahacky’s fairy wrasse, has been officially described by Dr. Hiroyuki Tanaka and Fenton Walsch in the latest issue from the International Journal of ichthyology as Cirrhilabrus nahackyi. For a while now the “used-to-be-undesrcibed” fairy wrasse has been entering the trade in small numbers, and was known amongst the Read More

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Cirrhilabrus blatteus, more aptly named the purpled-boned fairy wrasse, is a member of the genus that is so extremely seldom seen that these handful of pictures of the fish in this post are probably some of the best out there. The elusive fish is a deep water species that as of yet, has not entered Read More

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There’s always something about rare fish that really gets me going, regardless of species. I have however, a soft spot for wrasses and I secretly moonlight as a Cirrhilabrus nerd. For those living under a liverock, the quintessential genus, more commonly known as “Fairy wrasses”, boasts of more than fifty species, many of which have Read More

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 We’ve posted plenty of aberrant butterflies, angels and tangs but have you ever  wondered why we’ve not been posting any aberrant fairy wrasses? For some strange  reason, major aberrations seem to be pretty rare and nearly unheard of in  the Cirrhilabrus genus. The aberrant C. luteovittatus posted above and left is one of the  few that we’ve Read More

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Cirrhilabrus katherinae is a very seldom seen species of fairy wrasse in the trade but a nice harem of Katherine’s fairy wrasse has showed up at Pacific Island Aquatics. These red and green labrids are found only in the waters of Japan, it’s surrounding islands and the Marianas. The katherine’s fairy wrasse resembles closely in Read More

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