The madness of Photoshop corals

I was recently at a friend’s house who is still relatively new in the hobby and he wanted to show me his new tank and his new additions. Like most of us he was proudest of some the new additions…

Crop circle of Fungia fralinae found in Menjangan Island, Indonesia

Fungia is a genus of mushroom or disc coral found throughout the Indo Pacific. Fungia fralinae is a particularly recognizable member of this genus which can be found in bright pink, purple, red and yellow, and some color forms are commonly known as wagon wheel fungia. Fungia corals…

Reef Builders Indonesia Travelogue: Tulamben, Bali

Indonesia is the heart of coral reef diversity and an important source for marine aquarium animals. Reefbuilders is on location in Bali, central Indonesia, and over the next two months we will be saturating ourselves with coral, fish, and reef knowledge to share with all of you.

What’s Wrong with This (Reef Tank) Picture?

Right now, I’m gazing at a magazine ad featuring the image of a reef tank, and the one word that comes to mind is “magnificent.” I’m sure you’ve seen one like it before, but allow me to describe it to…

The Fragging Phenomenon Part Deux

In 1992, I wrote my first article on the fragmenting of corals, fragging for short. At that time fragging corals was primarily done on soft corals and was done more out of the necessity to preserve the corals we had,…

Route 66 Marine closes, leaves behind an incredible legacy of corals

This weekend we learned the sad news that Route 66 Marine, a pioneer in coral-specific wholesaling, has closed its doors for business. The news came as a big surprise to those who knew Eric Camaano well, and to the many…

Sarcophyton Leather Corals: Attractive, Toxic, and Tough as Nails

When it comes to hardiness, ease of care, and general adaptability, few corals can compare to those of the genus Sarcophyton—the so-called toadstool, or mushroom, leather corals. Despite their lack of chromatic brilliance, they’re also pretty neat looking to boot.…

Reefing from Afar, Part 4: The Wong Solution

The last article discussed some of the quick and simple ways to take care of your reef while being away for just a short period of time. Due to my work responsibilities, which require travel around the world for two-…

The demise of reefing road trip

With summer being upon us and life being a little less stressful and gas being cheap, I decided to go on a reef keeper’s road trip. My friend Jim Gintner of Eye Catching Coral and I visited Brett and Todd…

Beware Marine Aquarium Complacency!

A funny thing sometimes happens to marine aquarium hobbyists who have a few years’ experience under their briny belts—they have a tendency to become complacent in their methods and attitudes. Once they’ve mastered the basics of aquarium keeping, it can…