While many of the butterflyfishes are challenging—if not outright impossible—to maintain in captivity for one reason or another, there are various species that go against the grain and make excellent or reasonably solid aquarium candidates. Among the “reasonably solid” species…
Saltwater Fish
Colours of the Reef, a sprawling new book by Roger Steene
Colours of the Reef is a massive new picture book by Roger Steene that is setting new benchmarks for marine life photography. The sprawling new work consists of three volumes, with more than 7,000 pictures spread across an astounding 1,400 pages.…
Balinese faux gold: Captive bred hybrid Goldflake Angelfish
In continuation with our previous post on Bali Aquarich’s new Euxiphipops angelfish, we’re revealing the second angelfish to hit the scene. This time its not one species, but a hybrid combination of two. This marks the eighth species of angelfish…
5 Traits of a “Beginner” Marine Fish
What exactly does it mean when we say that a marine fish is “good for beginners”? After all, it’s not like certain fish species come with training wheels or have a set of care instructions tattooed on their dorsal fins…
Bellissima bellus: The biology and hybridization of Genicanthus bellus
The genus Genicanthus boasts of ten medium to large angelfish species that have evolved away from the regular substrate perusing stereotype. All members of this genus are rather streamlined, being longer than they are tall. Their caudal fins are festooned with…
Orange is the new black
With all the buzz surrounding Bali Aquarich’s newest captive bred angels, let us not forget some of their perennial, evergreen staples that really started it all. The spectral Platax pinnatus and chromic Holacanthus clarionensis are without a doubt two of Bali Aquarich’s most…
Inappropriate Feeding—Not Just Overfeeding—Kills Marine Fish
“We lose a lot more fish to overfeeding than we do to underfeeding.” I’ve read or written that sentence—or some variation upon it—more times than I can recollect. While I still consider this statement to be true on balance, I…
Monday Mystery: Majestic bluefaces abound in Bali
Pomacanthus navarchus. Pomacanthus xanthometopon. These are a few of my favorite things. But what exactly is going on in Bali right now? Apart from the smouldering volcano (Mt. Raung) spewing out ashes and trapping hapless tourists in this island paradise,…
Awesome Fish Spotlight: Valenciennea helsdingenii
Chances of bumping into cool fish increases exponentially when you’re out and about marauding the various Balinese wholesale facilities. Picking out a truly rare gem amidst a swathing plague of reef fish requires a keen eye and an innate intuition. That…
Awesome Fish Spotlight: The scarlet Synchiropus
Synchiropus is an immaculate genus famed for the unorthodox juxtaposition between cute and freaky. With frog like faces, huge bulging eyes and pursed lips, coupled with their undulating fin movements, they make for a highly peculiar animal. In the aquarium context, few species illicit…