Top 10 Reef Aquarium Stories of 2019

As we look back on the past year and even the last decade, it’s clear that there’s a growing diversity of topics that resonate with you, the Reef Builders audience, and the wider reefing community. We write over 1000 posts,…

Black Belt Yellow Tang is a Fun Remix of the Iconic Reef Fish

The Black Belt Yellow Tang is an interesting variant of Zebrasoma flavescens that was first brought to our attention from a specimen acquired by LiveAquaria two years ago. What makes the yellow tang so supremely iconic is its stark yellow…

Rare Liopropoma latifasciatum Spotted in the Diver’s Den

The blackstripe basslet is a very uninspired name for a little fish we just spotted in the Diver’s Den that deserves a moniker a whole lot more inspired. Better known as Liopropoma latifasciatum to the initiated rare fish fanciers, the pale colored…

Peppermint Angelfish at the Steinhart Aquarium

Earlier this year we personally visited LiveAquaria to spend some quality time with one of the very few peppermint angelfish ever to be sold in the United States. Although we traveled to Wisconsin for our private peppermint angelfish party, as…

The First Aquarium Pitcairn Angelfish is Ready for Prime Time

Pitcairn Island is one of the most pristine and remote marine environments and while it may be the namesake of Genicanthus spinus, thankfully this fish has been found somewhere a little more accessible. The single Pitcairn Angelfish specimen was collected…

Crazy Sandal Coral Resurfaces after 5 Years of Growout!

Normally, when a wild and crazy version of a free living coral turns up, it’s generally sold for a premium and it disappears into a private collection. But thankfully, the truly incredible orange-splashed Fungiid that we featured five years ago…

Blueline Butterflyfish Hybrid Still Going Strong After Four Years

Unlike the celebrated and chromatically gifted angelfish, the world of butterflyfish is colored mostly in shades of white, yellow, black and occasionally a touch of red or orange. This is what makes the hawaiian endemic blue stripe butterflyfish, Chaetodon fremblii,…

Fuschia-Pink Lava Coals Diaseris Coming Soon to the Diver’s Den

The disc corals of the Fungia and Cycloseris genera have always been unique in the aquarium world for being great inhabitants of small and large tanks alike. The small, colorful, free living disc corals also have the potential to make great propagation material,…

Nursalim Flasher Wrasse Enters the Aquarium Hobby

The Nursalim Flasher wrasse is such a rare and exotic fish, it’s been a book fish, a holy grail for rare fish fanciers and we never thought we’d see this species in captivity. But this week LiveAquaria announced that not…

Top 5 Speakers We’re Excited to see at MACNA 2018

MACNA 2018 in Las Vegas will be the thirtieth time this venerable show celebrates the saltwater aquarium hobby and for this milestone MASNA is pulling out all the stops. With thirty speakers this year’s MACNA is the most packed with…