While many of the butterflyfishes are challenging—if not outright impossible—to maintain in captivity for one reason or another, there are various species that go against the grain and make excellent or reasonably solid aquarium candidates. Among the “reasonably solid” species…
5 Traits of a “Beginner” Marine Fish
What exactly does it mean when we say that a marine fish is “good for beginners”? After all, it’s not like certain fish species come with training wheels or have a set of care instructions tattooed on their dorsal fins…
Inappropriate Feeding—Not Just Overfeeding—Kills Marine Fish
“We lose a lot more fish to overfeeding than we do to underfeeding.” I’ve read or written that sentence—or some variation upon it—more times than I can recollect. While I still consider this statement to be true on balance, I…
Can Live Rock Be Added Directly to an Established Marine Aquarium?
“Caribbean Chris” and I are very frequently asked whether it’s okay to add new pieces of live rock directly to an established system. Ever erring on the side of caution, we generally discourage this practice. Instead, we recommend curing them…
What’s Your Excuse for Skipping Water Changes?
Excuses, excuses! When it comes to putting off those tedious maintenance chores, such as routine partial water changes, we hobbyists have a million of ‘em! But for every attempt we make to justify our indolence, there’s a more compelling counterargument…
Sarcophyton Leather Corals: Attractive, Toxic, and Tough as Nails
When it comes to hardiness, ease of care, and general adaptability, few corals can compare to those of the genus Sarcophyton—the so-called toadstool, or mushroom, leather corals. Despite their lack of chromatic brilliance, they’re also pretty neat looking to boot.…
What a Difference a (Good) Protein Skimmer Makes!
Here at Saltwater Smarts, we’re not, generally speaking, in the business of writing product reviews. But when we have positive personal experiences with products that we think can make your life easier—and are available at a reasonable cost—we want to…
Marine Aquarium Acronyms: SPS and LPS Defined
It’s been far too long since I last attempted to dissect the dizzying “alphabet soup” of acronyms we marine aquarium hobbyists use to simplify our terminology. So, for today’s post, I’d like to clarify two particular acronyms that arise early…
The Royal Dottyback: Pretty but Potentially a Royal Pain
Often described as a purple fish that looks like it’s been dipped in yellow paint (or is it a yellow fish that’s been dipped in purple paint?), the royal, or bicolor, dottyback (Pictichromis paccagnellae) is a visually stunning marine species…
How Can You Prevent Marine Fish from Jumping Out of Tanks?
Take away their trampolines, of course! Okay, being serious now, far too many marine fish are lost unnecessarily when they leap from their tank and become “carpet jerky.” While jumping is among the most common (if not the most common)…