While there are certainly sexier marine aquarium topics I could be writing about, I’d like to dedicate today’s post to one of the more mundane, albeit essential, elements of our hobby—aquarium brushes. This subject came to mind recently after I…
Don’t Overestimate Piscine Individualism!
LFS staffer to customer eyeing sohal tang as a potential purchase: “Hmm, I don’t think that fish would be a good choice for your tank. It can get very aggressive, and most of the fish you have in there now…
The Green Brittle Star: Little Fishy, Beware!
“Voracious predator” is not a term one commonly associates with brittle stars—that is, of course, unless the brittle star in question happens to be Ophiarachna incrassata, or the green brittle star (aka “the green death”). This bold species has a…
The Harlequin Bass: An Exceptionally Hardy, Beginner-Friendly Marine Fish
Prized for its striking patterning, modest adult size, exceptional hardiness, and overall adaptability, the harlequin bass (Serranus tigrinus), denizen of the tropical western Atlantic and Caribbean, makes an excellent choice for the novice marine aquarist and experienced hobbyist alike. (In…
What Gives with that Marine Fish that Never Eats?
I’ve had this fish in my aquarium for months now and it’s as fat and happy as can be, yet I’ve never actually seen it consume any of the food’s I’ve offered. How on earth is it getting enough to…
Marine Aquarium Terminology: Activated Carbon vs. Carbon Dosing
As if our hobby weren’t perplexing enough to the average beginner given all the oddball jargon we toss around, things can get doubly befuddling for novices when they come across two or more similar-sounding terms that actually apply to very…
How to Tell if a Marine Fish Is Dying of Old Age
We aquarists try very hard to keep our animals alive as long as possible for a few reasons. The first is that we are caring people and don’t want to see them hurt. The second is that our specimens cost…
Beginners: Never Add Livestock to Your Marine Aquarium under These 5 Circumstances
In a nutshell, the reason people are drawn to this hobby (not counting the genetic mutation unique to marine aquarists that I can only assume researchers are close to isolating) is to enjoy up-close-and-personal encounters with exotic marine life. In…
The Hammer Coral: A Sizeable Stinger with Showpiece Potential
Several of the so-called large-polyp stony (LPS) corals offer the advantages of being very hardy, adaptable, and beautiful and, thus, make excellent reef aquarium candidates, even for relatively new reefkeepers. The hammer coral (Euphyllia ancora), however, I would characterize slightly…
Is the Internet a Viable Resource for Marine Aquarium Research?
Virtually since the advent of the internet, there’s been a tendency in our hobby to rate the reliability and trustworthiness of online content beneath that of print-format materials—books, magazines, and so forth. But is this assessment really fair? The general…