For some of us, planning an aquarium system is a joy. It’s a process that allows us to makes list and complete tasks and people love making lists and checking off those tasks. For the rest of us planing an…
Diploprion drachi, the Drachi soapfish from the Red Sea
Soapfish may not be the first group of fish that jump to mind when it comes to selecting a good reef inhabitant. Heck, they may not even be in the first 8, 9,or 10 groups of fish, and generally there…
Symphyllia: So Stunning, Yet Success Eludes Me!
Symphyllia are some of the most colorful large-polyp stony corals out there. Their bodies resemble Lobophyllia in many ways, but unlike lobos, they have a much more diverse color arrangement. I’ve seen them come in just about every color imaginable,…
Cleaner wrasses are vitally important to the health of reef fish
The five species of cleaner wrasses of the genus Labroides are truly an interesting group of fish. While not a unique behavior in the underwater world, their pathogenic cleaning service is quite remarkable. These small, busy fish set up ‘stations’…
Chevron tang also turns up in the Philippines
The chevron tang, Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, has long been a popular aquarium tang, and for good reason. Juveniles are brilliantly colored and, like many tangs, does an admiral job of eating nuisance algae. Nearly all chevron tangs make their way to…
Curacao Sea Aquarium Deep Sea Display update
After 4 years in Curacao and some of the most amazing fishes known to man, I thought I had seen it all and was beginning to have doubts about whether we would find a new species that is as unique…
Macropharyngodon moyeri discovered and collected in the Philippines
Being a self-proclaimed fish nerd my interest gets piqued anytime one of those ‘rare to the hobby’ fish becomes available, even if it is a type I am not normally excited about. But when a particularly enticing specimen comes available, well forget…
Sicce XStream-E review, an efficient and silent water mover
Sicce isn’t new to the aquarium pump game by any means and they’re constantly churning out new products. So anytime we can get out hands on their newest offerings we’ve obviously got to give them a whirl. The XStream-E propeller pump…
Chronic Stress in Captive Tangs
Tangs and surgeonfish are a diverse, beautiful, and often highly personable group of fish. It is no wonder that so many of us want to keep these fish in our systems. Inexperienced keepers do the right thing by going to…
The deep sea is on display in Curacao
To most people the Mesophotic Zone is an entirely unknown part of the ocean that very few study and even fewer have physically visited. Yet these areas are more diverse than anticipated and contain a cornicopia of life from the…