Top 7 new coral species of 2015

2015 was a record-setting year for new species of corals, not in terms of the number of new descriptions, but in sheer biological extremes and new discoveries. There were far more new species of reef fish described in 2015, but…

The Best Beginner Large-Polyp Stony Corals

Throughout my years as an aquarium enthusiast, I have followed all the advice from all the books I could get my hands on since there were no other hobbyists with the same interest as I in my circle of friends…

The Best Beginner Small-Polyp Stony Corals

Upon entering the world of small polyp stony corals (or SPS), many people ask the magic question, “Which types are best for beginners?” In my opinion the most beginner-friendly choices are found in the genera Montipora, Pocillopora, Seriatopora, and Stylophora.…

Can Reef Primer really save corals from bacterial infections?

I saved one really, really nice Blastomussa from infection using Reef Primer and it’s gotten me really curious. Can Reef Primer really be used to save some of these corals that are notorious at coming down with aggressive bacterial infections?…

A visit to the Smithsonian Institution’s vast coral collection

Aquarists spend the majority of their coral-keeping career looking at, staring at, and growing live corals, hopefully. This is the inverse case for coral taxonomists such as Dr. Stephen Cairns who studies the remains of corals as skeletons, and all…

An introduction to coral crabs, good and bad

There is surprisingly little information specifically about coral crabs in aquaria.  Every now and then some hitchhikers arrive on our aquacultured and wild corals and we are able to gain a bit more insight into the life of coral crabs. Some crabs…

How to grow the most colorful SPS corals

During the course of history men have always searched for the unobtainable. The knights of King Arthur searched for the Holy Grail, Captain Ahab obsessed about a white whale, in similar fashion we hobbyists have been searching for how to…

Aquacultured stony corals and Acros now coming directly from Australia

Australian corals have been lighting up the reef aquarium hobby for about eight years now, and Australia is probably the number one source for brilliant, shallow water Acropora in the hobby. With only wild colonies to work with, the job…

How to thoroughly quarantine your Corals

 With just about every endeavor success breeds new challenges. As I have already noted in several articles, with the improved success we have now achieved in keeping just about every type of coral and invertebrate long-term we are now seeing…

Coral flatworms can even infest our beloved Trachyphyllia

Coral flatworms come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors, but if we find them on our beloved corals, chances are that the flatworm is not doing any good for it. The more corals we keep and see and…