Another aberrant Sailfin Tang has been collected from the Indian Ocean for the aquarium trade. Because of its unusual pattern and unknown catch location, it’s hard to tell if this fish is Zebrasoma desjardinii like the world-beating Picasso Tang we…
indian ocean
Coris flava, a New Species of Large Wrasse from Réunion
Coris flava is a new species of large wrasse from Réunion in the western Indian Ocean which belongs to a genus that we thought had been well documented already. Unlike other species of Coris wrasses, the new ‘Yellow Coris’ has…
Maldivian Koi tang comes with valuable catch information
For every aberrant koi tang we feature here at Reef Builders, we’re bombarded by about six more from around the globe. To the point where we weren’t even going to feature this fish, based just on its looks and high…
Black and white Penguin tang is the latest aberrant Scopas to appear
Reefbuilders is the home of saltwater color morphs and has covered more koi, calico, yellow and piebald Scopas tangs than anyone else. So let us introduce you to our next example of polychromatism in Zebrasoma scopas, the Bicolor.
Tridacna elongatissima ‘Resurrected’ in the Western Indian Ocean
Tridacna elongatissima is a species of giant clam that was first described from the Western Indian Ocean all the way back in 1856. Somewhere along the way the characteristics of this species were thought to be synonymous with Tridacna maxima…
Rare Tridacna squamosina Photographed by Diver in Kenya
Tridacna squamosina is one of the least known, and most recently recognized species of giant clams (sort of). A fresh new set of pictures taken by Dawn Goebbels while diving in Kenya really showcases some nice examples of the rarely…
Echinophyllia bulbosa & E. gallii, Two New Species of Chalice Corals from the Indian Ocean
The diversity of chalice corals in the aquarium hobby is already very high but now we’ve got two new species to add to that lineup. Echninophyllia gallii and E. bulbosa are two new recently described species of chalice corals from the Indian Ocean, the…
Terelabrus flavocephalus, third candy hogfish finally gets described
Terelabrus flavocephalus is the newest species of hogfish to be described and added to the growing family of the ever popular marine wrasses. This third species of candy hogfish has been known from the Indian Ocean, Maldives to be precise,…
New rare subspecies designation for the beloved Regal Angelfish
Subspecies seem to be rarely used in marine and reef fish but the monotypic genus Pygoplites is fixing to be one of the first angelfish species to receive this designation. We’ve long been aware that Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific regal angelfish look…
Unknown Mauritius Valenciennea sleeper goby spotted at Greenwich Aquaria
Sleeper gobies are large showy sand-sifting gobies of the genus Valenciennea, of which there are many popular species in aquariums. A newly discovered specimen from Mauritius hints that there could be yet another new addition to this highly desirable and attractive…