Lawrence Chan’s SPS reef from Hong Kong

Lawrence Chan’s SPS reef is just a plain nice looking SPS dominated aquarium. Great coloration, enough room for the corals to grow and a big hammer dominating the scape make this aquarium a pleasure to look at. Located in Hong…

The highly elusive and beautiful Bodianus opercularis surfaces in Hong Kong

The Bodianus hogfishes get loads of quality air time here at ReefBuilders, and for good reason. Hogfish are gorgeous, rare, easy to keep and overall a group of very hardy fish that can withstand the rumble and tumble of a…

Hong Kong scores with two butterflyfish demigods – Prognathodes basabei and Roa excelsa

Apart from FOWLR dominated set ups and the typical over-stocked fish tanks that have fast become a stereotype there, the reefing scene of Hong Kong is well known for another aspect of the hobby – the ability to procure rare…

Small Tigerpyge hybrid angelfish imported to Hong Kong by Red Heart King

This super cute Tigerpyge anelfish just surfaced in Hong Kong where it was imported by a marine fish outfit called Red Heart King. The striping on this individual is very broad at this small size but we expect that with…

Bubble Pioneer cone skimmer from Hong Kong

Here you thought that Europe and America were the only places to find a cone skimmer. This Bubble Pioneer skimmer which is awfully close to the phrase “Bubble King” but not the same  is another skoner that uses a specially…

Ostorhinchus Cardinalfishes are suitable for reef tanks of all sizes

When we speak about cardinalfishes within the reef aquarium hobby, most people relate to the classic Pajama Cardinalfish, Sphaeramia nematoptera, or the Bangaii Cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni, which have been popular fish for reef tanks of all sizes for decades now.…

Goniopora-eating nudibranchs: A Goni Gardener’s Worst Nightmare!

As if reefkeeping wasn’t hard enough at times, and keeping Goniopora spp. Flowerpot corals in particular, we must now treat Gonis like we would treat Zoanthus or Montipora, and treat, and inspect them for predatory nudibranchs.  Goniopora naturally inhabits turbid,…

Observations on a “new” soft coral in the hobby, Paraminabea rubeusa, by Julian Sprung

After so many years enjoying and looking forward to the coral feature articles that Jake Adams wrote and Vincent Chalias still writes for Reef Builders, I came across a coral that inspired me to want to compose a gushing, over…

Tangerine Coral Beauty flexes its colorific DNA

RVS Fishworld has shown off a Tangerine “super xanthic” Coral Beauty that it just sold to a well-known fish collector. For many of us, a Coral Beauty was our first introduction to dwarf angels, their purple coloration complimenting the yellows…

Dendrophyllia ijimai might just need too much food

I have seen these amazing Non Photosynthetic Scleractinian (NPS) on a few occasions, mainly in exporting facilities around Indonesia. Dendrophyllia ijimai is a stunning bright orange, thick branching azooxanthellate coral. But with quite a lot of diving under my belt,…