4.0 Cirrhilabrus laboutei & the Origins of Fairy Wrasse Diversity

At last, we’ve reached the thrilling conclusion to this comprehensive review of Fairy Wrasse evolution, and it’s time to once more dwell upon the topic of the group’s origins. As we’ve previously discussed, this enormously diverse genus can be comfortably categorized…

A Photographic Identification Guide to Stenopus Shrimp

The Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) is a staple of the aquarium hobby, but there are many more species in its genus that are less familiar to aquarists. Nearly all of the dozen or so species appear in exports from…

Pseudojuloides polackorum is the newest species of pencil wrasse from South Africa

The genus Pseudojuloides constitutes a collection of fusiform torpedo shaped wrasses with chisel like incisiform teeth that are more often found living in lose sandy rubble instead of the usual coral cover. Pseudojuloides was last revised in 1981 where five new…

Undescribed Plectranthias from Papua shows up in Bangkok, Thailand

If there’s a genus we love more than or equal to Liopropoma here at Reef Builders, it’s got to be Plectranthias. Unfortunately, Plectranthias is poorly reviewed and the genus is riddled with numerous undescribed members which leads to confusion in identifying various species. To make…

Liopropoma lunulatum offered in the pink of health for the first time by De Jong Marine

Liopropoma has been a much talked about genus here, especially in the last few months. With Liopropoma fasciatum claiming fish of the year and L. aberrans making a scene in Singapore, our obvious love for this genus is poorly concealed. We even have a pretty…

Awesome possum: The diminutive and taciturn Wetmorella

Unlike Awesome Possum, Wetmorella does not can haz chezburgers, neither does it enjoy being an internet meme. Wetmorella is a small yet very interesting genus comprising of three Indo-Pacific species that lead very cloistered lives in dark caves and ledges.…

BioSPON hybrid sponge filter has more than one trick up its sleeve

The humble sponge filter is the unheralded hero of aquarium keeping which first made it possible to both filter and aerate aquariums in the early days of aquarium keeping. We can think of almost nothing that has changed about sponge…

Corrente Digital Flow Meter from Perfect Reef Systems (PRS)

The Corrente Digital Flow meter is a new cutting edge reef aquarium from Perfect Reef Systems. Flow meters, analog or digital are all but absent in the world of aquariums save for some crude flow ‘indicators’ sometimes built into certain…

Dr. Chung Wing Hung’s Pomacanthid perfection

Dr. Chung from Hong Kong is a familiar name to any rare fish lover worthy of his salt. A dentist by profession, Dr. Chung has had the privilege of owning some of the most elusive and rare species in the same tank.…

Awesome Fish Spotlight: The Mauritian endemic Pseudojuloides xanthomos

Pseudojuloides is a genus of touchy labrids that are aptly named pencil wrasses for their slender figure. The genus boasts a sizeable number of mostly colourful sexually dichromatic species, of which only a small sampling is offered to the aquarium trade.…