Behind the face of LiveAquaria – Kevin Kohen’s fish collection part 2

Here’s part two of our trip to LiveAquaria and a peek inside Kevin Kohen’s office and his fish collection. Incase you still do not know, Kevin Kohen is the man behind the company and as mentioned in part 1 of…

The Blunt-nosed Basslet is a perfect Caribbean curiosity for your deepwater tank

Bullisicthys caribbaeus is a remarkably cute fish from the deep waters of the Caribbean that is worth taking a second look. Not often is the word cute used to describe a fish, but the blunt-nosed or pug-nosed basslet is certainly cute,…

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…

Two new Lipogramma sp from Curacao, including a never before seen juvenile makes these the 4th and 5th known specimens caught alive

The incredibly deep and rare Curacao undescribed Lipogramma robinsi lookalike strikes again, and this time, two new specimens including a never before seen juvenile were caught by the Curasub. These two are currently the 4th and 5th specimens that we…

Juvenile Bank’s butterflyfish gets a closeup on video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuHDypcsxjg[/youtube] B-Box aquarium is one of the select few fish stores always at the forefront of something rare or exciting. This time, with a video of a juvenile Bank’s butterflyfish (Prognathodes aya). While not as rare and not nearly as expensive…

Serranus chionaraia, the snow basslet, is the Plectranthias pelicieri of the Atlantic

The snow basslet, Serranus chionaraia, is a beautiful and interesting deepwater basslet from the Carribean Sea. As with many of these curiosities of the rare fish world, the snow basslet above was recently collected by Dynasty Marine and sent to…

Three Young Up and Coming Additive Companies from around the World

Reef aquarium chemistry was once such a nebulous subject, no one really knew what was required to keep marine life alive and thriving in an aquarium environment. But as the curtain has been pulled back over a whole generation of reef…

Curacao Sea Aquarium Deep Sea Display update

After 4 years in Curacao and some of the most amazing fishes known to man, I thought I had seen it all and was beginning to have doubts about whether we would find a new species that is as unique…

Joe Lichtenbert and Reef Propagations, Inc. retiring

A quiet Midwestern dynasty spanning two decades is coming to a close.  After 21 years as a commercial ornamental marine fish hatchery operator, Joe Lichtenbert, proprietor of Reef Propagations, Inc., is hanging up the nets. I first became aware of…