Sometimes good things come in small packages. Such is the case with Canthigaster valentini, better known as the saddled toby, black-saddled toby, or Valentin’s toby (you may also see “sharpnose puffer” substituted for “toby” in various sources). Reaching only about…
6 Holiday Gift Ideas for the Marine Aquarist in Your Life
It’s only natural for family members and friends of marine aquarium hobbyists to want to buy holiday gifts that support their loved one’s briny habit. But choosing an appropriate hobby-related gift is sometimes easier said than done. Giving actual fish…
Tomato Clownfish: A Stunning Beginner Fish Ripe for the Picking
Lately it seems many of the species profiles I’ve written have been on fish that either grow too large for the average home aquarium or are otherwise poor choices for aquarium keeping for one reason or another. By now, some…
You Can Help Discourage the Sale of Hard-to-Keep Marine Species
Regular Saltwater Smarts readers might wonder why we often post profiles of fish or invertebrates that are very difficult if not impossible to keep in home aquariums. After all, if we want to discourage you from buying these animals, why…
The Sohal Tang: A Big, Belligerent Beauty
The sohal tang (Acanthurus sohal) is one of many fish species available in the marine aquarium trade that should come with a warning label. It’s a gorgeous fish and generally very hardy, which is a plus, but anyone contemplating purchasing…
Don’t Get Burned by Flame Scallops!
Mention beautiful bivalves for the marine aquarium, and the various tridacnid clams (the so-called giant clams) will probably come to mind. Likely, the flame scallops of the genus Ctenoides will too. However, while the tridacnids have a fairly decent survival…
4 Marine Aquarium Problems That Sneak up on You
There’s an old saying that only bad things happen quickly in a marine aquarium. That’s certainly true enough, but it’s also important to keep in mind that some problems that can affect the health and wellbeing of livestock tend to…
Chaetodon kleinii: An Excellent Beginner’s Butterflyfish
The word “beginner” and “butterflyfish” aren’t often paired together, as so many of the butterflyfishes seem to present some manner of husbandry challenge, often related to diet. Still, certain butterflies have a well-deserved reputation for hardiness and general ease of…
Should You Try to Keep Pace with Evolving Marine Aquarium Practices?
Spend any amount of time in this hobby of ours, and you’ll soon realize that the methods and technologies favored for maintaining marine organisms are continually in flux. What’s considered dogma today is heresy tomorrow—and maybe back to dogma again…
Marine Aquarium Acclimation: Bridging the Specific Gravity Gap
In today’s post, I’d like to address a very common issue marine aquarium hobbyists encounter when purchasing livestock (particularly fish) and offer a simple method for addressing it. The issue in question is how to deal with the dramatic difference…