Our top six smashing aquarium debuts of 2013

Here’s another 2013 recap, but this time, we’re featuring smashing aquarium debuts of 2013. Yes that’s right, 2013 is a year of first times, and these five fishes have had their moment in the spotlight in the past months. While…

Reef Builder’s recap on 2013’s most alluring hybrids

We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t cover any hybrids this year, and like the hardworking elves at Santa’s factory, we made sure we did it with glitter and bow ribbons. This year we had our fair share…

Three snippets of recent good news about fish and corals

With a the whole news-cycle industry programmed to grab your attention with “if it leads it bleeds” headlines, we’ve got a trio of stories to counter all the downer news out there. Earlier this year, aquarists at the Zoological Society…

How to Handle a Hunger-Striking Saltwater Fish

Having a fish that refuses to eat anything offered—or having a specimen that had been eating suddenly lose all interest in food—is a problem virtually every marine aquarium hobbyist can expect to encounter at one time or another. While such…

Why Did My Pulse Corals Stop Pulsing?

Pulse corals (e.g., Xenia and Heteroxenia spp.) are among the more enigmatic sessile invertebrates. Many hobbyists and non-hobbyists alike find their rhythmic, hypnotic pulsing behavior fascinating and relaxing to observe, but precisely why they pulse the way they do has…

H2O Plus Marine Based Skincare for Men

H2O Plus is a skincare company that has been in business for over twenty years. The company, based in Chicago offers ocean based skin and bath and body products that are sold in over 40 different countries. Their tagline is …

The five best new reef fish species of 2013

As in previous years, 2013 has been an excellent year for new species of reef fish being discovered, and described. As usual there’s been a lot of Eviota and Trimma gobies, the dwarf gobies are plentiful, and there’s been a…

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…

Keeping the Aptly Named Coral Beauty Angelfish

If you have a real yen for marine angelfishes but lack the tank space to accommodate one of the large iconic species, such as the queen angel (Holacanthus ciliaris) or French angel (Pomacanthus paru), you’ll be pleased to know that…

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…