This sponge sure does look familiar…

We had to chuckle when we came across this image of a stovepipe sponge along side Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster in the Daily Mail. Spotted by underwater photographer Mauricio Handler, while he was diving in off the Dutch Caribbean, this Muppet-like…

Lipogramma robinsi brought up from the depths for just the second time

Lipogramma robinsi is so rare it wasn’t until early last year that we saw our first pictures of a living specimen. Thanks to the work of the deep diving Curasub in Curacao, we’ve been fortunate to have a plethora of…

Explore the reefs seeking out deepwater fish with the C Explorer 5 submersible

When it comes to reef aquarium gear there are toys and then there are Toys with a capital T. The C Explorer 5 submersible is in the latter category, basically offering to carry you down to the depths of the sea…

Blackbar drum Pareques iwamotoi is an unknown but stunning Caribbean beauty

As big of fans as we are of Caribbean drum fish, we’ve only recently learned of the gorgeous black bar drum, Pareques iwamotoi. Hailing from the coastal waters of the United States Mexico and Central America the black bar drum is…

Plectranthias garrupellus – Apricot Bass is a virtually unknown deepwater Caribbean reef fish

Plectranthias garrupellus also known as the Apricot Bass is a pretty wonderful little reef fish that came to only recently came to life with pictures of living specimens. For being a member of the popular Plectranthias genus of aquarium fish it’s…

Caribbean reefs are nearly all dead says grim, new IUCN report

Where once there were 50 to 60 percent coverage of coral on Caribbean reefs in the 1960s and 70s, now surveys measure coral cover at a meager 10 percent marking a significant environmental statement — coral reefs in the Caribbean…

Captive bred Lipogramma klayi successfully raised by Todd Gardner

Lipogramma klayi is an amazing deepwater basslet whose deepwater price has kept it out of the mainstream, but Todd Gardner has just reported successful breeding this stunning species. Since Lipogramma klayi has to be careful collected in very deep water in Curacao,…

New Fish Tank Kings episode on NatGeo features deepwater Caribbean collection and shark tank installation

The second episode of National Geographic’s “Fish Tank Kings” airs this Saturday and this episode promises to be better than the debut. For this week’s show, the team goes deepwater fish collecting in Curacao and a giant shark tank installation…

Prognathodes guyanensis, the French butterflyfish is another exquisitely rare reef beauty coming to the Diver’s Den

Prognathodes guyanensis, also known as the French butterflyfish is up for two honors – it may well be one of the nicest species of tropical Prognathodes butterflyfish, and certainly the nicest in the Caribbean and it is also one of the…

Antilligobius nikkiae is a new genus and species of deep water reef gobies

Antilligobius nikkiae is the name of the deep water sabre goby that was first reported by collectors in Curacao. Not only is the sabre goby a new genus and species to science, it was also discovered in our own tropical backyard…