It’s been almost three years since we first reported about the the Panda Banggai cardinalfish mutation, and we’ve heard nary a peep more about this exciting fish. The Panda Banggai is the first domesticated marine fish strain to show up outside…
Is It Okay to Quarantine Multiple Marine Fish at Once?
As regular Saltwater Smarts visitors are well aware, “Caribbean Chris” and I are strong proponents of quarantining all newly acquired fish for at least four weeks before introducing them to a display tank. But what about keeping two or more…
Now you see it, now you don’t — the secret behind the sea sapphire’s magical disappearing trick
The sea saphire seems to disappear right in front of your eyes and researchers have uncovered its secret. With a quick flex of its body, it reflect light frequencies the human eye simply can’t see. Sea Saphires come in a variety of…
Japanese coral video is in “supernatural” high definition
We share a lot of rare fish and exotic coral eye candy here on Reef Builders, and Japan has its fair share. There is coral “porn”, and then there are superbly close and exquisite corals that look so surreal and perfect,…
Nanipora kamurai, a skeleton-building Octocoral that could already be in your tank
Nanipora kamurai is a new species of Octocoral which may be small and nondescript, but it falls in a very special place on the soft coral tree of life. We are all taught that soft corals are by definition soft, and we…
The MicMol Aqua Air LED channels some very fancy industrial design
The MicMol Aqua Air LED is a new solid state aquarium light that truly goes above and beyond to harness the look and feel of a certain featherweight laptop. MicMol clearly takes a lot of inspiration from that fruit-named computer…
Reefdoser Evo 4 from Aqua Medic with remote control
The Reefdoser Evo 4 is a new ridiculously cheap and somewhat different new dosing pump system from Aqua Medic. The Reefdoser Evo 4 is a 4-channel doser with a wired remote which will make programming and using the thing so…
Review of the Indo-Pacific genus Pseudocoris, with a description of two new species
The genus Pseudocoris has received a full taxonomic review by Benjamin C. Victor, Allan D. Connel and John E. Randall. The paper includes a description of two new species from the Indian Ocean, Pseudocoris hemichrysos & P. occidentalis, both of which are…
Reef Building soft coral has the thickest stony “branches”
Soft corals are called “soft corals” because they are kind of like corals, and they are primarily soft. We know that there are always exceptions to every rule in the animal kingdom, and the most notable of these in the Octocorallia soft…
2.3 Fairy Wrasses: The exquisitus complex
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus is an unusually widespread and variable species which appears to form a lineage alongside the scottorum and cyanopleura groups, with all three sharing characteristically mid-length pelvic fins. Unlike any other species of Cirrhilabrus, the Exquisite Fairy Wrasse has…
