The vitiligo angelfish, and Centropyge colouration

The dwarf angelfishes of the Genera Centropyge and Paracentropyge are amongst our favorite reef fishes, in part for their fabulous array of colour morphs and hybrids. We’ve always been fascinated by the variety of these aberrant individuals, and seem to…

2013 Marine Breeder’s Year in Review

It’s the 4th annual installment of the Marine Breeder’s Year in Review (see past installments at 2010, 2011a, 2011b, and 2012) and frankly, it’s been an interesting if not arguably “slow” year for a change, and yet I’ll probably write more…

A Look at Shane Graber’s 3D-Printed Frag Plugs

Last month Shane Graber, on a whim, threw up a batch of 25 3D-printed frag plugs on eBay. At $9 shipped to my door, I snagged them up immediately just so I could see what they’re all about. Turns out…

Digiman revisits BlueHarbor and closes 2013 with a spectacular bang

We are closing this year with one last travel story and it’s contributed again by rare fish expert Digiman from Singapore. Following up on his Hong Kong trip, Digiman visited Japan as a final pit stop to his year end…

The Great Cleaner Wrasse and Cleaner Goby Throwdown!

Imagine you have your heart set on getting a cleaner fish for your marine aquarium so you can observe this iconic form of symbiosis right in your own home. Now imagine you’re in your local fish store looking at two…

End the Toil and Trouble of Bubble Algae

“Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble” could be the lament of any marine aquarium hobbyist battling a stubborn outbreak of green bubble algae. (Okay, “Double, double toil and trouble,” is the actual incantation from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but I digress.) Green bubble…

Orphek’s Azurelite is an indispensable reef aquarium tool

When we first received a sample of the Azurelite LED flashlight from Orphek, we knew that it would be a good little light toy, a useful accessory, but we never thought it would get so much regular usage. We use the…

Marine leeches are a poorly known and rare group of macro ectoparasites

Parasites are a common occurrence in any hobby and we as pet owners deal with them on a regular basis. Parasites are nasty opportunistic organisms that latch onto animals (in our case, fish) and feed on their blood, tissue, fluids…

Plectranthias face-off: Two incredible species, P. fourmanoiri and P. garrupellus

We LOVE Plectranthias! Now repeat it with conviction, and then again while you read this post. Here at ReefBuilders we’re always on the ball with the genus Plectranthias for new discoveries, new species for the trade, you name it. We’ve covered…

Andrew Sandler’s reef tanks are a cumulative 1,600 gallons of awesome

Andrew Sandler, or his online alias Hedgedrew, is a dedicated and real hardcore reefer with several amazing set ups. A cumulative total of roughly 1,600 gallons comprising numerous set ups, including amongst others a 1,250 gallon SPS tank, a butterfly…