Prognathodes: more than meets the Aya

The following is a guest contribution from Joe Oliver, a resident Marine Biologist for the Curacao Sea Aquarium and Substation Curacao. The Banks Butterflyfish (Prognathodes aya) and its relative the French or Three-Banded Butterflyfish (Prognathodes guyanensis), are both striking deepwater butterflyfish that…

Prognathodes guyanensis (French butterflyfish) and P. aya (Banks butterflyfish), neptune grouper and clarion passer hybrid are at House of Fins this weekend

Prognathodes guyanensis, Prognathodes aya, Holacanthus clarionensis x H. passer and many more of the rarest reef and marine fish will be on display and for sale at this weeekend’s Splash sale event at House of Fins in Greenwich CT. The…

Poey’s Butterflyfish is an Exception to the Prognathodes Rule

The wonderful Prognathodes aculeatus, or Poey’s Butterflyfish, happens to be my favorite species of butterflyfish in the world. This beautiful Prognathodes species originates from the tropical Western Atlantic and can be found off the coast of Florida all the way…

Okayama’s “Liopropoma boss” shows us how he got that name

We’re at the penultimate last leg of our recent Japanese tour recount, and if you’re just following, be sure to check out the previous parts here, here, here, here and here. We’ve toured Osaka and the surrounding Kansai region extensively…

Opulent Osaka Part 1: Makoto Matsuoka’s decade old Prognathodes collection

We just got back from a three day trip to Osaka and if you’re a fish lover, you’re going to want to keep your eyes peeled and attention focused on this page for the next week at least. Japan as…

Prognathodes guyanensis pictured up close in this video by B-Box Aquarium

Prognathodes guyanensis is a rare deepwater butterflyfish from the Caribbean which is very infrequently available; maybe one or two appear in the aquarium trade every year. Also known as the French butterflyfish, Prognathodes guyanensis is much less known than the bank’s…

Prognathodes obliquus and P. dichrous are two similar yet unobtainable species from the Atlantic

The Prognathodes butterflyfishes are an underrated and seldom kept group of fishes that surely deserves some quality air time. While commoner species such as P. marcellae, P. aculeatus and P. aya make it into the trade from time to time,…

French Butterflyfish, Prognathodes guyanensis available for the first time from LiveAquaria, hybrid coming soon

The French Butterflyfish, Prognathodes guyanensis, is an extremely rare deepwater Caribbean butterflyfish which has very seldomly been collected for the aquarium trade. Most fish books list this species as being widespread in the Caribbean and absent from Florida, but recently,…

Steinhart Aquarium’s Caribbean display is a truly realistic representation of a biotope

Few set ups truly elicit fascination and marvel quite like those done in a biotope fashion. A biotope refers to an area of uniform environmental conditions which provides a specific niche for a particular set of organisms. Because aquarists are spoilt for choice…

What’s in a name?

Scientists are often pretty whimsical in their own way when it comes to describing a new species for science. To the undiscerning amateur like us, we may find scientific names cumbersome, made up of an unpronounceable mass of consonants with an unearthly…