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
DSC_5775 Sicce’s booth at Zoomark 2013 featured lots of goodies for the future
Kessil A360N & A360W LED lights announced with excellent new features

Tour de BlueHarbor – Part 2. Fixing a deepwater malady

This is the second and final installment to the two part BlueHarbor tour visit. In this article, we visit one of Koji’s customers with perhaps the biggest and most impressive collection of deepwater fish ever. Rare fish aficionados, you do not want to miss this. The visit was initiated when Koji received a call requesting Read More

Tour de BlueHarbor – Part 1. Beyond the shopfront.

BlueHarbor is perhaps, one of the more iconic and reputable fish stores in the East and maybe even the world – Renowned for their incredible repertoire of some of the rarest reef fishes, as well as Koji’s incredible knowledge and skill in caring for them, particularly the deepwater species. Corals are also a prominent feature Read More

Serranus phoebe is an uncommon basslet from the deeper waters of the Atlantic

Serranus phoebe is an uncommon monochromatic basslet from the deeper waters of the Atlantic. Like many of its cousins, they are hardy and generally bold fishes that adapt very well to aquarium life. S. phoebe is very uncommon with only a few pieces entering the Japanese market, and even fewer pieces to enter the U.S Read More

Belonoperca soapfishes are striking predators that prefer cool and dimly lit setups

Belonoperca is small genus with only two species which includes the amazing clown like Dr. Seuss Fish and the lesser known B. chabanaudi. These predatory fish are elongated and fierce looking and prefer living under overhangs and ledges in deep and cooler waters. The two species bears similar resemblance in shape and behavior but are Read More

Rare Lipogramma klayi basslet from Curacao makes it all the way to Bangkok

It’s always our pleasure to see rare deep water species start showing up in aquarium trade more recently. This time is not a shocking stripe color basslet such as the Candy, but a lesser seen Lipogramma klayi as it is restricted to Curacao. This time the fish is imported by Crazy Aquarium, one of the Read More

Researchers try to understand how fields of Leptoseris can grow at 300 feet deep

We absolutely love all corals in the family Agariciidae which includes Leptoseris, Gardinoseris, Pavona, Agaricia and Psammocora. These corals are hardy, colorful, undemanding in terms of light and flow and they have really neat color and pattern which is unique among stony corals. Apparently their singularity is not lost on coral reef scientists who are Read More

New Odontanthias discovered in Puerto Rico

Odontanthias is a popular genus of deepwater reef fish that includes the Borbonius and Yellow Fin Anthias. Odontanthias is so far only known from the Indian and Pacific Ocean but the unusual fish from Puerto Rico pictured above is a very exciting find. In a very surprising turn of events, it seems the genus Odontanthias Read More

“Bubble gum” coral possibly new species from Coral Triangle

Scientists recently revealed their findings after an expedition to the Coral Triangle – “a region where currents from the Pacific and Indian Oceans bring together different species from Asia and Australia to mix within Indonesia’s Sulawesi Sea”. As many as 50 deepwater animal species caught on high-definition video appeared to be new to science, in Read More

Multiline basslet video shows a Liopropoma in it’s natural habitat

The Multiline Basslet, Liopropoma multilineatum, may not be the highest target of deepwater basslet enthusiasts but this video of a Liopropoma in it’s natural habitat is extremely informative. It is well known that many basslets and Liopropoma in particular live in deeper parts of the reef and this is well documented in the literature. However, Read More

Serranus phoebe is the latest feather in the cap of Old Town Aquarium basslet collections

Tattler’s basslet, Serranus phoebe, won’t be the most sensational rare fish collected this year, but that bold pattern of stripes on a light body with subtle blue markings sure are distinctive. The blue snout and angular head makes this serranid look more like a hamlet than a basslet, although the color pattern reminds of us Read More

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