Reef Nuggets 3: Fairies and Flashers, with notes from the wild

Today’s Reef Nuggets deal with a topic very close to my heart. Cirrhilabrus and Paracheilinus, or more commonly known as the fairy and flasher wrasses. Instead of my usual banter on “this ultra rare flasher wrasse” or that “extremely deepwater…

“What good are refugiums?” and two more talks from MACNA 2014

Another week brings the release of three more videos from Bulk Reef Supply TV of the MACNA 2014 presentations. Two of those we haven’t yet seen either in person or in video but they are both on exciting aquarium topics, collecting…

Keeping “Difficult” Marine Fish

There are no real “difficult” fish; they survive just fine in the sea before someone comes along and collects them. They know what they need, and if we studied them in the sea, we would also know what they need,…

Quarter million crown of thorns starfish eradicated by new injection method

The news about the natural reef environment can be so overly bleak, it’s nice to hear some progress coming out of Australia that bodes well for the future of the Great Barrier Reef. The Crown of Thorns starfish, Acanthaster placi,…

Blackworms Mean Better Health for Marine Fish

Live worms are about the best thing we can feed to our fish. How do I know this? Am I just making it up so I have something to write? Actually, no. Live California blackworms have been used for ornamental…

Tank Profile: Paul B’s 40+ Year Old Saltwater Aquarium

When it comes to standing the test of time, few aquariums have more history than Paul Baldassano’s 100-gallon glass box. Ask any aquarist who has spent time on internet forums, and they’ve likely encountered Paul (more commonly known as Paul…

Reef Builders Prediction – Captive Bred Butterflyfish by the end of 2014!

It has been a long time coming, but just as we see aquaculturists banging hard on the door, demanding to be let in on the secrets of captive-bred Tangs, so too we see the captive-breeding barrier being approached from every…

Observations on the yellow hawkfish, Paracirrhites xanthus

What more can be said about Paracirrhites xanthus, the yellow hawkfish? Reef Builders showcased a beautiful yellow hawkfish specimen a few years ago, and although still very rare, one has turned up in my care in a private collection in London,…

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…

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…