Koh Tachai Island closed indefinitely

Koh Tachai, is an island off the coast of southern Thailand in the Similan National Park. The island is best known for it’s stunning coastline and beautiful coral reefs, and Thai authorities say as of October 15th the island will be…

Reef Raft’s 15 year old Rhodactis is more bubbly than a Bounce Shroom

Bounce Shrooms have been rising in popularity over the last few years, kicking off a full-blown craze for any kind of shrooms or corallimorphs like it. There’s no doubt that the capitol-B Bounce Shroom is the Rhodactis that started it it all,…

Where the heck did this Maroonellaris clownfish come from?

A Maroonellaris is a hybrid clownfish cross between a maroon clownfish and an ocellaris clownfish. We generally don’t encourage hybridization in any kind of fish, but something about the genetic portmanteau of a big ole maroon clownfish and a slender…

Testing: Nano-Bubbles

Recently, the folks in my area got enamored with the topic of “nano?bubbles” for the reef tank. Being a curious engineer and avid tinkerer of tanks, I jumped right in to test it for myself. So what are nano?bubbles and…

Catsharks have evolved fluorescence to better see each other

Fluorescent fish and other animals other than corals have been making headlines the past few years. One of the most notable inclusions to the list of fluorescent fish are fluorescent sharks, and recent research has possibly teased out why sharks…

Crazy rainbow Acanthophyllia will knock your socks off!

We’ve seen some pretty epic Acnthophyllia meat corals in our day but a pair of insane specimens from Malaya Reef Aquatic are on a whole other level. If we had an idea of what colors and patterns constituted a top shelf for the one…

Reefs In Decline

I have been lucky in my life to have had the opportunity to dive in some of the prettiest and most diverse underwater habitats on earth. Without exception, the nicest dive sites are far from civilization, which stands to reason.…

Traveling reefer blues and the anxieties of the vacationing aquarist

Piling the kids in the car. The smell of the ocean and coconut sun screen. Getting up in the middle of the night so you can be on the road when there is not much traffic. These are some of…

Identifying Chilean Devil Rays In The Azores Archipelago

For five months every year (June-October), Chilean devil rays Mobula tarapacana gather in large schools above shallow seamounts in the Azores Archipelago. These oceanic wanderers are the least known of the mobulids, and the Azores is one of only a few locations where these rays gather in large…

MaxSpect’s new QBox, magnifyer, breeder box and frag rack

The MaxSpect QBox, Magnifyer, breeder box and frag rack are a suite of new products that qualify as essential accessories for both marine and freshwater aquariums. MaxSpect is better known for creating more high tech aquarium gear like LED lights,…