Casting my mind back on my early days as a marine aquarium keeper, it’s funny how some of my stances on various aspects of the hobby have, shall we say, evolved in the intervening years. Of course, these changing opinions…
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The Kole Tang: A Commendable Surgeonfish for Medium-Sized Aquariums
Among the so-called bristletooths of the genus Ctenochaetus is one of my favorite tang species and one that I highly recommend to other hobbyists with well-established, medium-sized to moderately large systems—the Kole tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus). Physical traits C. strigosus, which…
D-D makes official statement on Powerchrome T5 tubes
During Interzoo Giesemann announced a new line of Powerchome T5 bulbs that had current D-D/Giesemann Powerchrome T5 owners and distributors scratching their heads a bit. We received an official statement from D-D in the form of an FAQ we shared below. Back…
Top 12 new reef aquarium products of InterZoo 2014
If one thing became clear walking the floor of InterZoo 2014 a couple of weeks ago, it’s that there an avalanche of innovation happening in every sector of the marine aquarium hobby and industry. The marine aquarium companies who displayed…
Marine Aquarium Antacid: Understanding Alkalinity
When I first made the switch from freshwater to marine fishkeeping, I was somewhat befuddled by the term “alkalinity” as it’s typically used on the saltwater side of the hobby. During all my years of keeping freshwater systems, I had…
Ribbon Eels: Elegantly Exotic but Usually Best Left on the Reef
Why are the most attractive and interesting-looking marine fish always the most difficult to keep alive in aquariums? Okay, maybe this isn’t actually such a truism. After all, there are lots of gorgeous-yet-easy-to-keep fish in the aquarium trade. It just…
DeJong Marinelife’s Interzoo Booth is a rare fish oasis amid exhibition chaos
Wandering the numerous halls of Interzoo 2014 is intense. It requires endurance, comfortable footwear and ton of caffeine to take it all in. But once we found DeJong Marinelife’s booth among the chaos, we found ourselves in fish-geek heaven. Unlike…
Does the Emerald Crab Earn Its Algae-Eating, Reef-Safe Reputation?
Among the various and sundry marine life commonly sold to aquarium hobbyists for utilitarian purposes is the emerald crab (Mithraculus sculptus). Oft touted for its propensity to gobble up bubble algae and other irksome algal forms, M. sculptus has become…
Before Adding That Marine Aquarium Supplement, Ask Yourself These 5 Questions
You’re perusing the shelves of aquarium supplements at your local fish store when you come across a colorful bottle labeled “Dr. Hfuhruhurr’s Magic Reef Elixir.” Intrigued, you read on to discover the product’s intended purpose. The claims on the label…
Green Gramma sp. found deep below the Cuban water surface
As mentioned in my previous post, we decided to take the plunge to see ‘something special’ in the deep waters of La Boca, near Trinidad, Cuba. In relatively shallow waters, say from 10 meters and deeper, the first Gramma loreto…
