Koi Scopas Tang Photographed in Thailand!

The Koi Scopas tang is a special variant of Zebrasoma scopas which appears sporadically in the aquarium hobby. The first specimens were discovered in the Maldives, and often made their way to European aquarists.  In recent years a concentration of these…

Pinto Seahorses: Captive Bred Seahorse Can Get Domesticated Too

Because they bear live young, seahorses were among some of the first marine fish to be bred in captivity. With a long history of captive breeding you’d think that there would be more domesticated strains of various Hippocampus species, and there…

The speciation, biogeography and hybridization of Zebrasoma

The family Acanthuridae boasts of charismatic, charming and iconic reef fishes that are immediately recognizable both in the field and in the trade. All eighty or so species spanning the six various genera have a single unifying trait, and that is…

Cooper the sterling Siganus is the new Silver Fox in town

Move aside Casper. Cooper’s the new silver fox in town and he’s giving the real Anderson Cooper a run for his money. Off-coloured piebald aberrations are uncommon, but can be seen from time to time especially in certain genera of fish.…

Aberrant Ctenochaetus binotatus shows up with patchy skin coloration

Another surgeonfish has been collected in the wild with the strange piebald coloration that seems to be pretty common in wild surgeonfish and now we’re really getting anxious to know what this condition is, or what causes it. The genus Ctenochaetus is…

Aberration reversion of Ctenochaetus documented by Cairns Marine

We’re not unfamiliar to the sight of “xanthic-koi” type aberrants that plague various fishes. Vitiligo and other forms of patchy off-coloured specimens appear from time to time, and seem to be particularly prevalent in surgeonfish of the genus Ctenochaetus as…

The vitiligo angelfish, and Centropyge colouration

The dwarf angelfishes of the Genera Centropyge and Paracentropyge are amongst our favorite reef fishes, in part for their fabulous array of colour morphs and hybrids. We’ve always been fascinated by the variety of these aberrant individuals, and seem to…

Hong Kong through Digiman’s eyes part 1: Legendary reefers Dr. Chung and Jimma Ma

Here’s another exciting Reef Builders travelogue showcasing the sights and adventures of the reefing scene in a foreign country. Like our Japan and Bangkok travelogues, we visit yet again another Asian country – the mystical land of Hong Kong. This…

Mysterious “Koi aberrants” are not exclusive to the Zebrasoma and Centropyge genera

Over the years we’ve featured a myriad of “koi” aberrations, which mostly seem to inflict large fully grown adults of the surgeonfish genus Zebrasoma, as well as the dwarf angel genus Centropyge. While not always aesthetically pleasing, from a genetic…

The Indian Ocean is producing some really nice tricolor “Koi” Scopas Tangs

We’re not sure exactly what’s stirring up in the waters of the Indian Ocean, but it’s definitely producing some gnarly aberrations of the commonly known scopas tang, Zebrasoma scopas, that we know and love. This little gem shows similar characteristics to…