Up Close with an Aberrant Pictichromis Dottyback

Dottybacks are some of the most colorful, small & hardy perfect aquarium fish, and this is especially true of the several different species of Pictichromis. These fish are packed with personality and are very easy to care for, but unfortunately they…

This is the Coolest Picasso Triggerfish Hybrid to date

The picasso triggerfish is one of the most recognizable patterns of tropical marine fish, and it is one of the few that we occasionally see hybrids from. As the Picasso name implies, Rhinecanthus aculeatus has a wild and wacky pattern unique…

Aberrant Cleaner Wrasse From Philippines is Out of this World!

Wrasses are not a group of reef fish that don’t deviate from their template too much, but when they do it can be quite spectacular. Case in point is this aberrant cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, fished up in the Philippines by…

Chromis anadema is the newest species of Damselfish from Japan & W. Pacific

Chromis anadema is the kind of discovery that happens when researchers take a closer look at an other wise common group of fishes. In this case, a new investigation into the paletail chromis, C. xanhura revealed a new species with…

The Magma Fairy Wrasse, Cirrhilabrus shutmani, Just Described From Northern Philippines

Cirrhilabrus shutmani, the magma wrasse which was first discovered by RVS Fishworld has just been described. This completely novel wrasse species made a big splash when it first appeared as it was unmistakably new to both science and the marine…

The Black Phantom Is One Of The Rarest Angelfish In The Hobby

The black phantom angelfish is an unusual ‘species’ of angelfish from the northern Philippines which is by far much rarer than may of the holy grails we seek out in the saltwater aquarium hobby. Its body is the deepest shade…

Sustainable Collecting Is Bringing An Explosion Of New Filipino Fish

There’s a new hub for very interesting and novel reef fish in the aquarium hobby and it’s the Philippines. This might be somewhat counterintuitive since so many of the fish for saltwater aquarium fish have come from this nation of…

The Best Pictures Yet Of The Rare Greytail Angelfish

The greytail angelfish, Chaetodontoplus poliourus, is one of the newest species of marine angelfish. It’s also pretty special to us because it was the first ‘new species of angelfish’ we ever got to write about here in Reef Builders. First described…

Some People Just LOVE Tailless Pygmy Angelfish

There is something so cute and even a little bit endearing about a saltwater reef fish which has an obvious physical deformity, but acts just like a normal fish. We’ve all seen them, the one-eyed fish, the clownfish swimming in…

Young Purple Chromis albomaculata Are Deepwater Darlings

When fish collectors venture into new regions and show us fish that we’ve never seen before, it’s easy to get excited at the potential of some of these specimens being new species. Alas, ichthyologists have been hard at work for…