Bristletail filefish, Acreichthys tomentosus, is a well known reef fish that has a strong potential to eat Aiptasia and Majano pest anemones. Despite their long record, I’d actually never personally employed one for this purpose, opting instead for peppermint shrimp and/or copperband…
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Kung Pao Monti is the Ultimate Strain of Montipora palawanensis
Montipora palawanensis is a species of Monti that has been in our reef tanks for quite some time. However in recent years we’ve seen a huge uptick in the number of strains of this coral, especially coming out of Indonesia. Of…
Where the Big Corals Are: The Tank of Martin Lakin
A couple of months ago I wrote a piece asking where all the big corals went. Well on my recent speaking trip to England, I found them. In the tank of my friend Martin Lakin I was amazed to see…
An insight into documentary film making with Richard Fitzpatrick
The best things in life often come unscripted and unplanned, brought upon by sweet serendipitous moments that take you by surprise. While visiting Cairns Marine earlier this month, we were treated to an enchanting encounter with one of documentary filmmaking’s…
Unsung pioneers in the reef aquarium Hobby
After attending last year’s MACNA in Denver and a couple of the recent Reefapaloozas, I have come to the realization that the majority of the people now in the hobby have been in the hobby for less than ten years. …
1.1 Fairy Wrasses: The lubbocki group
The lubbocki group houses six members divided evenly into two separate but closely related clades. They are the lubbocki clade and the marjorie clade. All members of this group are small to medium sized species with a recurring red and white…
Reef Builders Reboot Phase One
Some of you may have read my recent post about deciding when to reboot. For me, the time is now. My family is anticipating the arrival of another kid in a few months, and so there has been some shuffling of…
Pros and Cons of the aquarium hobby being so expensive
Recently I became involved in something I hadn’t done for a long time: helping a total newbie set up his first reef tank. Initially he wanted to set up a 300-gallon reef, but after we came up with the list…
End the Toil and Trouble of Bubble Algae
“Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble” could be the lament of any marine aquarium hobbyist battling a stubborn outbreak of green bubble algae. (Okay, “Double, double toil and trouble,” is the actual incantation from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but I digress.) Green bubble…
Green Mandarinfish: Gorgeous, Good-Natured, and a Very Finicky Feeder
Many coral reef fishes are renowned for their spectacular coloration and patterning, but there’s one particular species, commonly available in the marine aquarium hobby, that arguably surpasses them all in this regard. I’m talking about the green mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus).…