In October 2014, we visited one of the most beautiful reef tanks we have ever seen, at Seabox Aquarium in Viareggio Italy. These images and video have been ensconced since then but now the time is right for this incredible…
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Bounce Shrooms all start out as really nice Rhodactis
Bounce Shrooms and Mushroom Mania in general is taking the reef aquarium hobby by storm. Not since zoanthids has a soft coral captured the collective collectoritis that is gripping the high end coral frag market in the U.S. today. To be…
First Odontanthias randalli collected in South Java
Randall’s deepwater anthias first came to our attention a scant five years ago when the Original description of Odontanthias randalli was published. With that intro of the new anthias species, all we got was one lousy picture of a very colorful fish.…
Where are thou, Thrive Aquatics and your Waterlab?
This is the story of the rise and fall of Thrive Aquatics, and their missteps with the Thrive Water Lab which led to empty promises to retail stores across the United States and abroad. It was a cold morning when Jeff…
Reefbuilders Indonesia Travelogue – How corals get from Farm to Tank
We’ve spent the past two month traveling around Indonesia to answer one question, do you know where your corals come from? To find the answer, we met with coral farmers, dove with coral collectors and toured export facilities in Bali…
Reefbuilders Indonesia Travelogue – Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat is a true underwater paradise, and this past week we had the privilege of diving some of the best reefs the Park had to offer. For those of you that are not familiar, the Raja Ampat Marine Park…
Reefbuilders Travelogue – Padang Bai and the search for Euphyllia baliensis
Padang Bai Pier is located 40 km (25 miles) east of Denpasar City and is the main ferry terminal for boats leaving Bali to Lombok and Gili Islands. There are a handful of dive sites North of the main ferry dock,…
The future of the saltwater aquarium hobby
Since this is my last piece for the year I thought rather than reflecting back on the past year, I would answer one of the questions I get asked the most: What do you see as the future of the…
Top 15 new reef fish species of 2015
This has been a very big year for new fish species, both described and discovered. Normally we finish up each year with a ‘Top 10’ new species but 2015 was so well endowed with fish being inducted into the hall…
DIY Gift kits for anyone who loves Aquariums
Looking for the perfect gift for the Aquarium lover on your list, why not make one of these DIY kits! Or if you are just looking for a few stocking stuffer ideas why not mix and match and pick a…