The vitiligo angelfish, and Centropyge colouration

The dwarf angelfishes of the Genera Centropyge and Paracentropyge are amongst our favorite reef fishes, in part for their fabulous array of colour morphs and hybrids. We’ve always been fascinated by the variety of these aberrant individuals, and seem to…

Eshopps IV Dosers in 2-channel master & 3-channel slave dosing pumps

The Eshopps IV doser series of dosing pump is the veteran acrylic filter manufacturer’s first foray into the more mechanical side of the aquarium hobby. Eshopps will be making the IV doser in a 2-channel master unit and a 3-channel…

Pempheris flavicycla sweeper is endowed with a brilliant yellow eye

The yellow eye sweeper, Pempheris flavicycla is new species of a group that gets no airtime in the aquarium, but just because we don’t acknowledge them doesn’t exist in beautifully colored species. For the unfamiliar with sweepers, their overall shape is…

The Long and Short of Marine Aquarium Tank Shape

Here at Saltwater Smarts, we often make the case that size matters when it comes to saltwater tanks. The bigger the tank, the better for a variety of reasons (though we can’t dispute that nano tanks offer certain advantages too).…

This is the best photo of Chaetodontoplus niger to date

For a fish that gets as big as a football, it’s a mystery why the black angelfish, Chaetodontoplus niger is scarcely ever seen much larger than a juvenile fish in size and color. We know that large adult C. niger are…

Blue Hypnea algae is a macroalgae worth growing for its looks

Blue Hypnea is a new macroalgae from ORA which is interesting and colorful enough to be cultured in aquarium for its own sake. Not to be confused with more purple colored Ochtodes from the Caribbean, the blue Hypnea algae is an attractive algae which…

2013 Marine Breeder’s Year in Review

It’s the 4th annual installment of the Marine Breeder’s Year in Review (see past installments at 2010, 2011a, 2011b, and 2012) and frankly, it’s been an interesting if not arguably “slow” year for a change, and yet I’ll probably write more…

Reef-Friendly Resolutions for 2014

Happy New Year to all our salty friends around the world! Chris and I wish you and your loved ones the very best in 2014. We’d also like to express our sincere gratitude for the support you’ve given us since…

A Look at Shane Graber’s 3D-Printed Frag Plugs

Last month Shane Graber, on a whim, threw up a batch of 25 3D-printed frag plugs on eBay. At $9 shipped to my door, I snagged them up immediately just so I could see what they’re all about. Turns out…

Two days left to jump on $99 full MACNA 2014 conference pass

MACNA 2014 is continuing to set records for ticket and booth sales, as well as hotel bookings.  We’ve got over 100,000 sq ft in the Colorado Convention Center, conveniently located in Downtown Denver, Colorado.  The show floor is over 90%…