Reef Aquarium Rock Wall Aquascapes can be interesting

Reef Aquarium ‘Rock walls’ have gotten a bad rap over the past , as Adam Blundell recently pointed out. This reputation is not necessarily undeserved as there are plenty of rock walls that are unappealing, flow stopping, detritus collecting piles…

Octopuses love them some HDTV

The octopus is a curious and quite resourceful creature and recent research has seen the cephalopod respond to visual stimuli on HDTVs giving scientists a better way to monitor and learn from their behavior. Before researchers were befuddled by the…

ReefStock 2010 pictures part 2: so many LEDs under one roof

With over 30 aquarium LED products showed off by more than 15 companies at this year’s ReefStock, were going to go ahead a call it: The future is now and LED lighting has truly arrived to the aquarium world. Spotlights,…

Steinhart Aquarium working to raise Rhinopias scorpionfish from their own fertile spawns

One of the advantages of working at the the Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences has is being able to care for, and observe so many different animals that we might not be exposed to anywhere but a…

Steinhart Aquarium the first to successfully breed dwarf cuttlefish

The California Academy of Sciences’ Steinhart Aquarium recently became the first aquarium in the U.S. to successfully breed Sepia bandensis, more commonly known as dwarf cuttlefish. Pioneered by Academy marine biologist and Reef Builders’ own Rich Ross, the breeding program…

Steinhart Aquarium’s Rich Ross gives a MACNA talk that is edutainment about octopus and cuttlefish

We can’t think of a more entertaining way to wake up to coffee and breakfast than to attend Rich Ross’s ceph talk while he amuses and entertains. Whether or not you have a dedicated interest in Octopi or cuttlefish, ex-comedian…

ReefBuilders welcomes new blog contributors Guin Burnard and Rich Ross

As you may have noticed, things are happening here at ReefBuilders. We are staying busy reporting the world of science, art and hobby of the marine aquarium and everything associated with it but the site has grown so much readership…

Top Ten New Species of Reef Fish of 2017

More than any other year 2017 felt like it was jam packed with a deluge of new species of marine fish being described. These included many from the tropical reefs that we all so love but there were even more…

Some Gorgeous New Reef Species Discovered In Easter Island

Every year there’s a great number of reef fish described but many of the coolest fish, as far as aquarists are concerned, are discovered by a small band of usual suspects. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the California…

Friday Smorgasbord: Floating art, dolphin stampedes, tidepools and more

We are a society built on consumption and our reliance on plastics is having a major impact on our environment, especially in our waterways and oceans. We’ve know about the floating islands of plastic, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and other horror stories…