Reef Builders Editor’s Choice: 10 best new products of 2016!

Another year has come and gone, and that means that it’s time for one of everyone’s favorite posts, the annual Reef Builders Editor’s Choice Awards. It’s crazy to think that what was once a novel exercise on our part has become…

A Few of My Favorite Fish

This time of year when they play “These are a few of my favorite things”, and I am in the Christmas mood I thought I would list some of my favorite fish. Besides just listing them, I would also loke…

Red Zoanthid Nudibranch Are Beautiful, But Not In My Reef

Corals can harbor such a wide variety of different pests and parasites, that learning about and controlling all of them is a hobby unto itself. This is especially true of live coral dealers who are at the front lines of…

The Masterpiece Aquarium of David Saxby

As an Italian, I consider the three great masters to be Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. Similarly, there are also masters in this hobby and I have been fortunate to see their works of art, the tanks of Wayne…

What is Red Slime and How to Avoid It

Red Slime or Cyanobacteria is an algae-like pest can commonly creep upon rocks and soon devour our aquascape and consume hours of our time to clean up.Red Slime can be a nightmare or simply a warning sign that there is an imbalance…

Biota’s Bristletail Filefish are TRAINED to Eat Aiptasia!

Bristletail filefish, Acreichthys tomentosus, is a well known reef fish that has a strong potential to eat Aiptasia and Majano pest anemones. Despite their long record, I’d actually never personally employed one for this purpose, opting instead for peppermint shrimp and/or copperband…

How to Eliminate Aiptasia in Aquariums

Aiptasia is a group of pest anemones that all aquarists will invariably have to deal with. Whether you have a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) or a full blown reef tank, these troublesome anemones seem to pop up out of nowhere.…

Centropyge abei, Close Up With This Rare Deep Water Angelfish

Centropyge abei is an angelfish species so rare, that only a few specimens have ever been photographed. Pictures of this deep water pygmy angelfish are very few, and only a few fish have ever been photographed, period. Since there has…

Nano Bubbles in the Reef Aquarium

As Don Ho used to sing:” Tiny bubbles, in the wine, make me happy, make me feel fine”. However, this refrain does not seem to be the mood on the reef aquarium side of the hobby, as judging from the heated discussions and…

5 Practical Uses for Rock Rubble in Marine Aquaria

When working with rocks, live or otherwise, in marine aquaria, we often end up with little chunks of rubble that break off the larger pieces. While this rubble may not be particularly useful for large aquascaping projects, it can come…