Captive Raised Hawaiian Yellow Anthias Are Quite The Stunners

Karen Brittain has been quietly breeding some very exciting fish in Hawaii for the last few years. She brought us a big batch of captive bred personatus angelfish, a batch of bandit angelfish yielded some novel ‘ghost bandit’ angels, and…

This Hawaii Biotope Aquarium is the Best FOWLR Ever!

Reef tanks have all but taken over the saltwater side of the aquarium hobby but we’ve still got a special place reserved in our hearts for tanks dedicated to showcasing nice marine fish. Today’s feature is quite possibly one of…

Guyote butterflyfish and many other sightings by Okeanos deep sea ROV

Prognathodes guyotensis, the uber rare Guyote Butterflyfish is the pinnacle of a whole suite of awesome deepwater animals that have been documented over the last week. The Okeanos Explorer is an ROV expedition by NOAA that has been live-streaming its…

Fluorescent Friday – Reef fish edition

Coral reefs are one of the most richly fluorescent ecosystems on the planet. When it comes to fluorescence, most of us reef aquarists tend to think of corals first, but many of the tropical reef fish in your tanks right…

The Coolest Hawaiian reef fish get visually checklisted in this Kure dive video

Hawaii is renowned for its endemism which extends from the land down to the deep reefs. It’s been a while since we’ve posted a really good dive video featuring some rare fish so you can be certain that this one…

Plectranthias winniensis & P. helenae captive raised by RCT Hawaii

Plectranthias winniensis and P. helenae are two species of this adorable group of basslets that grace the pages of Reef Builders today for very good reason. Reef Culture Technologies Hawaii has been trailblazing the captive rearing of various marine fish…

Okayama’s “Liopropoma boss” shows us how he got that name

We’re at the penultimate last leg of our recent Japanese tour recount, and if you’re just following, be sure to check out the previous parts here, here, here, here and here. We’ve toured Osaka and the surrounding Kansai region extensively…

The ABCs of deepwater Chromis

The pan-oceanic genus Chromis is a ubiquitous component of any coral reef, and can be found anywhere from sun speckled coral gardens to lung compressing depths in the mesophotic twilight zone. Despite their near abrasive presence both in the field and in…

A Mauritian gem residing in Japan

As the metonymic dust begins to settle after our whirlwind tour of Japan, it becomes increasingly clear that this country is without a doubt, the capital mecca for rare fish and all things associated. With lolita inspired fashion and crazy pop…

Brian Greene, Richard Pyle and Sonia Rowley teases with a surfeit of undescribed species from Pohnpei

To the uninitiated, the mesophotic coral reefs would seem like an unlikely place to find vibrant fish life. Antonymous to the ebullient habitat of shallow water coral gardens, the mesophotic zone is a gloomy contrast of seemingly endless dread and forlorn landscapes. Except not…