What to Consider When Keeping Toxic Marine Fish

Toxic marine fishes kept in aquariums present certain husbandry challenges that hobbyists should be aware of if they plan to purchase one. I’m not referring to fishes that possess venomous spines or deliver a venomous bite, such as lionfishes, rabbitfishes,…

Hammer corals come in a dizzying array of colors, including the two-toned anomaly

We’ve seen the two-toned colour anomaly affecting certain corals such as AquaticArt’s Seriatopora guttatus, but this chromatic phenomenon does not seem to be restricted amongst SPS corals. Most recently we stumbled upon a unique two-toned branching hammer coral, Euphyllia parancora, at Iwarna Aquafarm…

Friday Smorgasbord: Sponges, 3D printed reefs and sharks

We can’t believe October is almost behind us! Seems like this year is just cranking by and we were just wondering how to keep our tanks cool in the hot summer. Now that we are adding redundancy to our tank…

The Magnificent Magenta Dottyback

Despite their diminutive size, many of the dottybacks have a well-deserved reputation for aggression. In fact, some species, such as the royal dottyback (Pictichromis paccagnellae), are so belligerent that it can be difficult to match them with suitable tankmates, as…

Hawaiian Zoanthids are totally hot right now

During the last of couple years, some amazing colored zoanthids have been coming to the aquarium hobby from Hawaii. These zoanthids belong to the same family as the PPE type zoanthids that are collected on Caribbean reefs, except the ones…

Peter Martis’ FOWLR tank is a healthy example of a butterflyfish paradise

We don’t often feature full blown FOWLR tanks but when we do, you know it’s going to be awesome. Peter Martis’ butterflyfish dominated FOWLR tank features a myriad of butterflyfish species in the absolute pink of health. Butterflyfish are almost…

4 Reasons Not to Knock Nano Aquariums

One of our earliest posts here at Saltwater Smarts was titled “4 Reasons to Start with a Bigger Saltwater Tank.” In it, we outlined the various benefits of starting with a larger aquarium and the potential drawbacks to downsized systems—instability…

Thieves in Ohio make away with all of Dirk’s equipment – $1,000 reward if found

While these certainly aren’t the stories we like hearing about or reporting, from time to time we learn about theft within the industry. This time, it hits pretty close to home. We were just informed that while on schedule to…

Beware These 5 Pitfalls When Buying Used Equipment for Your Marine Aquarium

There’s no question that setting up a saltwater aquarium can be a costly proposition. One way to help defray those initial expenses is to buy used equipment and materials when possible. There’s always someone upgrading to a new system, moving…

BlueHarbor acquires a new pair of the super rare Cirrhilabrus squirei

BlueHarbor, whose shop is now flooded with rare fish from the Southern Pacific, is also home to two rare fairy wrasses from the Coral Sea. This is the newest member of the highly perplexing “lunatus” species complex that is also…