The members of the lanceolatus group are some of the largest and showiest fairy wrasses, collectively celebrated for their grandiose caudal fin and chromatic brilliance. The group spans most of the Indo-Pacific, with its various species occupying a series of…
Search Results For: build my led
The Rockmover Wrasse: What a Difference Adulthood Can Make!
In a previous post titled “Marine Fish Bait and Switch—5 Adorable Juveniles that Blossom into Brutes,” I listed the rockmover wrasse (Novaculichthys taeniourus), aka the reindeer wrasse or the dragon wrasse, among four other species that are typically sold in…
Beware Marine Aquarium Complacency!
A funny thing sometimes happens to marine aquarium hobbyists who have a few years’ experience under their briny belts—they have a tendency to become complacent in their methods and attitudes. Once they’ve mastered the basics of aquarium keeping, it can…
The rarely seen Striking Sea Star
Despite the diversity of sea stars that abound in tropical waters, relatively few species find their way into aquariums with any regularity. One of the most interesting species—morphologically, behaviorally and evolutionarily—is also one of the most seldomly encountered: the “Striking…
The Ecosystem Aquarium Method: What’s in the Miracle Mud?
Of all the articles that I’ve written and all of the talks I’ve given over the years, none have stirred the souls of reefkeepers as much as my discussions of “Miracle Mud” and what it does and doesn’t do. For the…
Warm blooded fish, the deepwater Opah rewrites the rules of fish biology
The opah, Lampris guttatus, is rewriting the rules of fish biology with a recently discovered ability to keep most of its body warm. Fish biologists have long since known that certain fish species such as tuna can keep certain parts of their bodies…
Rare species of Arothron pufferfishes
Dogface pufferfishes are as common a marine fish as you’ll find in the aquarium hobby, but this is by no means true of all the species in this diverse group. The genus Arothron, as currently classified, contains fifteen species, several…
Mocha Frostbite Clownfish are one of the Newest Designer Hybrids
ClowfishDepot.com has started offering one of the latest permutations of designer hybrid clownfishes, the Mocha Frostbite. It didn’t take rocket science to create this new variation. At its core, the Mocha hybrid has been around for over a decade, being the…
Marine Aquarium Decorations: Tacky, Tasteful, or Somewhere In-Between?
I’ve always favored very naturalistic aquariums, so when an acquaintance recently asked me what I think about using decorations in saltwater systems, my immediate response (more or less) was that I find them tacky and cringe-worthy and that corals and…
Peanut Worms in the Reef Aquarium
A well-stocked reef aquarium can be a diverse place, full of invertebrate surprises. But identifying the fauna traipsing about on live rock can be a challenge for the average aquarist and few creatures are quite so confusing as the Peanut Worm.…
