advice

Which Corals to Add to a New Tank

There are many fun aspects to setting up a new tank, from planning and getting the equipment and then on to aquascaping the tank. But to me, the most fun aspect is selecting and adding the corals. This is when the…

Acropora speciosa – what you need to know

We’re seeing quite a few lovely examples of Acropora speciosa turn up in stores lately, including the coveted “Flaming Sunrise.” Here’s a montage of everything we have on them, written by experts, to aid in our knowledge, and their aquarium…

Seven Ways to Reuse Dead Hard Coral Skeletons

Don’t throw away those dead coral skeletons as we have seven useful ways for your aquarium corals to live on: 1. Use as home decor In the 1970s and 80s coral skeletons made popular home decor items, especially in bathrooms.…

How to select a Local Fish Store and How to Buy Online

During the last forty years things have changed dramatically, and with the pandemic things changed even more. In terms of the hobby, from the pandemic until now have been the best of times and the worst of times, for virtually…

Five Mobile Invertebrates To Avoid

Many mobile inverts like crabs, shrimp, and snails can make great clean-up-crew, while others can eat corals and even fish. Here are five mobile invertebrates to leave out of your reef aquarium. Blue Starfish The Blue starfish, Linckia laevigata, is…

The Importance of Proper Fish Feeding

This may seem like a rather simple topic, and I used to think it was as well, but over time I have come to realize that feeding the fish, keeping them healthy and not polluting the tank is actually a…

FAQs on Coral Sand

Coral sand is one of the first materials that new saltwater aquarium owners add to their tanks. Here we answer your most frequently asked questions on this popular reef aquarium substrate. Do I need to wash coral sand? If the…

How to Acclimate New Fish

For those of us who started with freshwater tanks, the general rule for acclimating a new fish was to simply float the bag until the temperatures matched, gradually add some tank water to gradually acclimate the fish to the tank’s…

Why and How to Quarantine Saltwater Fish 

One of the dirty little secrets of the hobby is that fish a large number of fish come with parasites. Even though most of them look healthy when we buy them, and who would buy a sick fish, the stress…

What to do with a Dead Anemone

Dead anemones are not only a shame, a loss of life, and a financial loss, if not diagnosed and dealt with quickly they can make a real mess of your tank. Here’s what to do if you find a dead…