Poetry in motion, Chaetodon daedalma in notion

A leather bodice, of gunmetal grey, Of polished iron, for which I overlay. Woven in chains, I shine like mercury, A knight I am not, of the 17th century.

Chaetodon daedalma X C. guentheri is one of many hybrids from the waters of Ogasawara

Ogasawara in Japan is home to many rare species and hybrids such as the Genicanthus semifasciatus X G. takeuchii hybrid and the Wrought iron butterflyfish hybrid above. The hybrid love child isn’t nearly as impressive as one half of its…

Hundreds of Chaetodon daedalma form an awesome wrought iron ball

We might think of some reef fish as being rare but this video of a huge school of wrought iron butterflyfish shows how locally common some fish species can be. While most aquarist would be content to see even one…

Serpentine Gobies are a Rare Import from Japan

Singaporean retailer Iwarna Aquafarm is offering an interesting fish originating from the temperate shores of Japan. Pterogobius elapoides goes by several names including Serpentine Goby, Brown Barred Hover Goby, or simply Kinubari in Japan, and it hangs out in rocky…

Instagram’s Ancolie Coral is our favorite #reefbuilders tank right now

Every day we scroll through some of the 300,000 reef-related posts and videos carrying our hashtag on Instagram, but this Japanese aquarium by @ancoliecoral caught our attention for all the right reasons. At 160x160x70cm/63”x63”x28” and holding 1792 liters/473 gallons this…

Is Japan really home to any endemic Fairy Wrasses? Cirrhilabrus katoi disagrees

The reefs of Japan are known to harbour unique fauna found nowhere else on this earth. Rife with endemics, species such as Centropyge interrupta, Chaetodon daedalma, Genicanthus takeuchii, Chromis mirationis and a whole hodgepodge of other reef fish call this…

Opulent Osaka Part 4: A BlueHarbor tribute, and the man behind the brand

We’ve come to our last and final installation of our four part Osaka travelogue. If you’ve been following parts 1, 2 and 3, we hope you’ve enjoyed it, and thank you for exploring some of Osaka’s most opulent reef keepers…

Sugoi Sakana Supottoraito: Chaetodon nippon

No, your screen isn’t displaying random alphabets in a series of unpronounceable words. Our atrocious attempt at translating today’s title post into Japanese was intentional. We’re going international on today’s Awesome Fish Spotlight (literally), and we’re featuring a butterflyfish that could…

Dr. Chung Wing Hung’s Pomacanthid perfection

Dr. Chung from Hong Kong is a familiar name to any rare fish lover worthy of his salt. A dentist by profession, Dr. Chung has had the privilege of owning some of the most elusive and rare species in the same tank.…

Pearl of The Orient: Mr Wong’s butterflyfish collection

When it comes to the rare fish game, there are only two players that immediately come to mind. Hong Kong and Japan. Together these two are undeniably the largest absorbers of rare fish, and have been consistently spitting out amazing specimens…