Deepwater acropora are a category of SPS and staghorn corals unto themselves, in some parts of Europe they are called ‘naked’ acros for the smooth tissue between their widely spaced corallites. Nowhere in the world does the species diversity of these…
Deep Water
Plectranthias sp. Curacao is in the good hands of Blue Harbor
The new species of Plectranthias that was recently collected from Curacao is probably the first of its kind to make it into a home aquarium. We first featured this fish with a post from Joe Oliver at the source, and…
Deeper look at some recent deep water acros
Let’s face it, as SPS lovers most of us we started out loving the polyp waving, the bushy, skeleton burying acros like the ORA Chips or the many varieties Acropora millepora. But over the years we’ve been privileged to see…
Blackcap Basslet: A Comely Deepwater Cousin to the Royal Gramma
Most marine aquarium hobbyists are well acquainted with the royal gramma (Gramma loreto), a worthy tank inhabitant by virtually any measure. But G. loreto isn’t the only member of the Gramma genus that is well worth its salt. Another is…
Deep sea exploration of the Canadian northeast Pacific Ocean
Ocean Network Canada (ONC) in Partnership with the exploration vessel Nautilus, research vessel Thomas G. Thompson, and the University of Victoria have launched a three week long expedition in the Canadian northeast Pacific Ocean. As part of the expedition the E/V…
Brian Greene, Richard Pyle and Sonia Rowley teases with a surfeit of undescribed species from Pohnpei
To the uninitiated, the mesophotic coral reefs would seem like an unlikely place to find vibrant fish life. Antonymous to the ebullient habitat of shallow water coral gardens, the mesophotic zone is a gloomy contrast of seemingly endless dread and forlorn landscapes. Except not…
The Candy Basslet: A Sweet Deepwater Denizen on Many a Hobbyist’s Wish List
Ask any group of marine fishkeepers to name their most sought-after species—the fishes they’d really love to own if money and availability were no object—and most of them will likely place the candy basslet (Liopropoma carmabi) somewhere close to the…
The deep sea is on display in Curacao
To most people the Mesophotic Zone is an entirely unknown part of the ocean that very few study and even fewer have physically visited. Yet these areas are more diverse than anticipated and contain a cornicopia of life from the…
Coryphopterus curasub newly described from mesophotic curacao
Coryphopterus curasub is the newest species of deepwater reef fish described from the depths of Curacao. The new Coryphopterus goby species is yet another new discovery made by the deep-diving Curasub which now gets its full name included in the binomial designation of…
Warm blooded fish, the deepwater Opah rewrites the rules of fish biology
The opah, Lampris guttatus, is rewriting the rules of fish biology with a recently discovered ability to keep most of its body warm. Fish biologists have long since known that certain fish species such as tuna can keep certain parts of their bodies…