Visiting the wild reefs, like we did in the Solomon Islands recently, is an incredible experience that really helps connect us to where our corals come from. Not only do we get to see a greater variety of coral species…
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All the New Reef Gear from Reefapalooza Orlando 2019 [Video]
Reefapalooza Orlando this year was a really fantastic show. Historically the show has been dominated by coral farmers and fraggers tryina sell us sticks and polyps but last weekend we got treated so much more. In five short years the…
Papua New Guinea Fish & Corals Coming Summer 2019
Papua New Guinea has long been a hotspot for biological diversity on land and especially in the Sea. Taxonomists of every discipline always find new species when they search PNG’s natural environments, birders marvel at the endemic birds of paradise,…
ACI’s Purple-Tail Purple Tang was the Star of Reefapalooza Orlando!
The purple tang’s official scientifically designated name is Zebrasoma xanthurum – ‘yellow tail’ is the hallmark of this species. While tens of thousands of purple tangs have no problem following this convention, every once in a while a lone ranger decides to…
Soft Coral Safari in the Solomon Islands
It’s not a stretch to say that stony corals represent at least 75% of the corals we keep in our tanks, both in diversity and numbers. If you don’t count zoanthids, shrooms and anemones, then there’s just a tiny sliver…
Understanding the Ideal Australian Coral Habitat
Having learnt my Acros while living in Indonesia, I’ve grown up as an inshore reef stony coral freak because offshore reefs conditions are almost impossible to find in Indonesia. Even though we can find some of the species there, they…
Coral Diving in the Solomon Islands, Series Preview
Every coral in our aquariums did not ‘come from’ a fish store, they did not originate at an exporter, their journey began much, much further away. Every Acro, Chalice, Monti or Soft Coral came from a tropical, equatorial country most…
‘Black’ Regal Angelfish is one of the Wildest Specimens Ever
The iconic appearance of the regal angelfish is so recognizable across its wide range that it is one of the visual ambassadors for coral reefs. Since its appearance is so conservative and it has no closely related species with which…
A Rare Look at some Crocea Clams from Japan
From the perspective of the aquarium world, we tend to think of Japan as a country where lots of exotic marinelife goes, but it’s easy to forget that Japan has nearly 30,000 kilometers of coastline, and much of that is in…
Montipora: A Practical Guide to the Variety of Forms Part 1
If there is a group of coral, where we find ourselves struggling to properly identify to the species level, that’s Montipora! Montipora are probably the most popular coral right after Acropora, it’s a fast growing, very colorful group of SPS…