When I first agreed to join a major aquarium fish and coral importer on a trip to the Solomon Islands, I blindly agreed knowing that there would be lots of reef fish and corals and diving involved, but I really…
Places
Heading to the Solomon Islands to find all the corals & fish
There’s something utterly surreal about being in Fiji as we write this, not at the final destination, but having a layover to even more exotic corals and genera coral reef diversity. We are headed to Honiara, Solomon Islands with a small…
Trimma yoshinoi, a new species of pygmy goby from Japan
Another day, another new species of pygmy goby joins the ranks of our fishy wish list. Trimma yoshinoi is the latest species to be inducted into the growing genus of ‘Pygmy Gobies’ known as Trimma, this time it’s from southern Japan. Five…
Dynasty’s deepwater deluge series 3: Plectranthias garrupellus and Gonioplectrus hispanus
The final series to this short Curacaoan sampling deals with two prominent and rather well known Serranids from the region. Plectranthias garrupellus and Gonioplectrus hispanus are more or less icons of the surrounding region and are again, one of the few…
What Constitutes a Marine Biotope Aquarium?
For today’s post, I’d like to take a slightly different tack than usual. By presenting my meandering thought process on the concept of marine biotope aquariums, I’m hoping to elicit some input from you, my fellow salties, on precisely how…
Face to face with the mythical Devil Clam, Tridacna mbalavuana
We’ve been writing about the devil clam, Tridacna mbalavuana (formerly T. tevoroa) for years, and even more so in the last couple months since Tonga loosened up its exports of giant clams. But finally, this week we had the chance to see a real…
Dynasty’s deepwater deluge series 2: Schultzea beta and Parasphyraenops incisus
Our second series of deepwater Curacao fish aims to shed light on two very unorthodox aquarium offerings. The waters of the Atlantic are home to a smorgasbord of basslets, and it is no doubt that the family Serranidae attains maximum…
Rising Tide Updates Melanurus Wrasse Breeding Success
Pictured above are Halichoeres melanurus, captive-bred and shown here, fully settled and in juvenile coloration, at 36 days post hatch. Back in mid February, Kevin Barden, a member of the current Rising Tide Conservation program working at the Tropical Aquaculture…
Dynasty’s deepwater deluge series 1: Lipogramma evides and L. klayi
Like an infinite looping paradox, we yet again find ourselves dealing with a deluge of deepwater Curacao fish that would be criminal if we did not at least feature briefly. While it’s usually the more charismatic and regalia clad Liopropoma and…
Cool Tonga giant clams coming through Pacific Aqua Farms
After years of shipping out some really neat corals, the Kingdom of Tonga has finally moved forwards with permits for the export of wild, giant clams. Tonga is in the heart of giant clam biodiversity with at least eight of…