Though the overwhelming majority of articles intended to be applied as guidelines for marine aquarists are based on anecdotes and present personal, undocumented evidence as husbandry guidelines and recommendations, an explanation as to ‘why’ a technique or practice works is…
Azoox Corals
An Interview with NPS Coral Pioneer Boris Bielan
You think keeping NPS corals is difficult now? Try doing it 11 years ago! Florian Gaudig speaks to NPS coral-keeping pioneer Boris Bielan. While researching for my last article, I came across a ReefBuilders feature I had read years ago…
Does Size Matter in an NPS Coral Reef Tank?
One of the questions I get asked most often from people planning their NPS or azooxanthellate coral reef tank, besides my feeding schedule, is the ideal tank size for such a system. With regular, photosynthetic reef tanks, it’s a common…
A Reefkeeper’s Guide to NPS Corals
NPS coral specialist Florian Gaudig gives us the lowdown on how to select NPS corals, which ones we should try, which ones we should avoid, and what to feed them. Many new and seasoned reefing hobbyists find themselves struggling when…
Rare Soft Coral Surfaces at QGI Aquatics
We have all seen our fair share of soft and azooxanthellate corals in the hobby, but this one is definitely different. Not much is known about Chromonephthea as they rarely make it into the hobby. The specimens pictured were imported…
Mark’s Simply Elegant NPS Biotope Aquarium
Mark's NPS Biotope It's hard not to fall in love with juicy NPS aquariums. Mark's NPS Biotope is a fine example, and we jumped on the opportunity to feature Mark's simply elegant tank. Mark's NPS Biotope is a rimless Elos 120XL…
Maine Coral Gardens are filled with Azoox corals and marine life
When we think of the state of Maine in the Northeast United States, we tend to think of lobsters and clam chowder. But as it turns out, there’s a really rich coral reef right off the coast of this northerly…
Preliminary success with Dendronephthya carnation corals
Dendronephthya soft corals, better known as ‘carnation corals’, are some of the most beautiful and iconic members of natural reef communities. However, their captive care requirements have remained elusive and to date, no one has really been able to keep…
A visit to the Smithsonian Institution’s vast coral collection
Aquarists spend the majority of their coral-keeping career looking at, staring at, and growing live corals, hopefully. This is the inverse case for coral taxonomists such as Dr. Stephen Cairns who studies the remains of corals as skeletons, and all…
Dendronephthya colonies can grow to massive sizes
We’ve always read that certain species of Dendronephthya soft corals can grow to massive proportions but it really took seeing a colossal one in person to appreciate what this means. While diving for the Fluval Sea Flores Expedition, we came…