Biota offer cultured coral alternative from permit-restricted Palau

Most aquarium hobbyists in the United States today have never seen hard coral from Palau. Palau’s national congress passed the Marine Protection Act of 1994 which restricted hard coral exports, and starting in 1997, the MPA stated that only citizens…

Trimma panemorfum, a Gorgeous New Goby Species from Palau

Trimma panemorfum is the new official name of the beautiful and strikingly patterned goby photographed in Palau way back in 2016. The colorful new Trimma goby was first seen by Dr. Richard Pyle as far back as 1997 but the first…

Palau Acropora Start Trickling in from Biota

With our ever present fixation on truly unique corals, we’re always looking for new, rare, uncommon and exotic species and strains of corals, especially the small polyp stony corals. Some people seek ‘rare’ corals with blue light, orange glasses and…

Aquarium Grown Palauastrea has Really Blossomed

Palauastrea is one of the least known SPS coral that is not just rare in the aquarium hobby, but pretty much all but unknown. P. ramosa is in the family Astrocoeniidae which includes some familiar aquarium corals including Pocillopora and Seriatopora and…

Swallowtail Angelfish Captive Bred by Biota Palau

It’s no secret that we absolutely adore marine angelfish so it’s with great pleasure that we discovered that Biota Palau was adding one more species to the captive bred mix. The common blackspot swallowtail angelfish, Genicanthus melanospilos, is a widespread species…

Biota Palau Acquires Rare Abei Angelfish Broodstock!

The Abei Angelfish is one of the rarest and most elusive species of pygmy angelfish in the world. The very few specimens ever collected, mostly out of Australia, sold for astronomical, five-digit sums but a trio of recently collected specimens…

Palau Once Again Has the Largest Giant Clam Farm in the World

Giant clams are some of the most enigmatic creatures both on the reef, and in the aquarium. Over the years we’ve written countless stories about the multitude of species of Tridacna and Hippopus from all over the world, culminating with a visit to…

New Micro Polyp Species Described from Japan and Palau

Micro polyps are a broad group of tiny encrusting octocorals that can be so small that they are easily overlooked, both on the reef and in the aquarium. The only one we see with any regularity is ‘blue Anthelia’ a…

Tosanoides annepatrice Described from Pohnpei & Palau

Tosanoides annepatrice is the newest member of this colorful deepwater genus of anthias that come hardly a week on the heels of another new inductee, Tosanoides aphrodite. But where that species was a huge surprise due to being found in…

Transport Yourself to a Natural Reef in Palau’s Rock Islands

The reef aquarium hobby has grown so much, and become so successful at growing corals, that we’ve become far removed from what natural corals and reefs look like. One the one hand it’s nice to be self-sufficient from wild harvests…