Convict blennies are the closest thing to cichlids in the sea

Think of cichlid-like saltwater fish and you’ll probably think of damselfish or angelfish, bass, or groupers maybe, but few aquarists are aware that the marine fish most closely related to freshwater cichlids is the Convict Blenny, Pholidicthys leucotaenia.  Also known…

Cyphastrea is the ultimate ornament encruster

It’s been a while since we started getting creative with aquarium ornaments and corals, but nothing makes you look twice more than an ornament with a tight skin of encrusting Cyphastrea. For a long time, ceramic skulls were the ornament…

Awesome Fish Spotlight: Freckle Face Tang 

If you’re in the market for a show-stopping surgeonfish that won’t cost the earth, look no further than the Freckle Face Tang, Acanthurus maculiceps. Also known as the Spot Face Surgeon or White Freckled Surgeonfish, A.maculiceps is native to the…

Study sustainable harvesting of reef fishes for Ph.D

The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA,) is supporting two research projects that will examine how wild-collected ornamental fish can be caught sustainably and how the industry can contribute to conservation in source countries. Both projects are being run in collaboration…

AAC lands ten Zebra tangs, Acanthurus polyzona

Advanced Aquarium Consultancy has successfully imported no fewer than ten Zebra tangs, Acanthurus polyzona, into the UK. A holy grail amongst surgeonfish, Zebra tangs look superficially similar to Convict tangs, Acanthurus triostegus, but Zebras only come from  Madagascar, Mauritius, and…

Bluelined surgeonfish inhibits coral growth says Coral Sea Foundation

The charitable organization Coral Sea Foundation has observed Bluelined surgeonfish, Acanthurus lineatus, actively suppressing coral growth at one of its monitoring sites, Lizard Island, on the Great Barrier Reef. Also known as the Lined Surgeon, or Clown Tang, A.lineatus is…

Aberrant Domino damselfish is one in one thousand catch

Kusuma Aquarium in Bali, Indonesia, has sold what they say is an aberrant Domino Damsel. The leucistic fish pictured clearly lacks the jet-black color its species is known for but you can just about make out where the black pigment…

Among The Reef Brings Back the Prized Mauritian Zebra Tang

The zebra tang is a fish so rare in the aquarium hobby that most reefers have never even seen one, let alone know that they exists. Although very few specimens have been imported to the aquarium hobby to begin with,…

Coral Finder 2022, the Annual Revision of the Best ID Guide

Coral Identification can be a tricky undertaking but one tool has risen to the top to help make sense of polyps and corallites, Russel Kelley’s Coral Finder guide. Now in its fifth edition and second annual revision, this 2022 edition…

How to Frag Acropora tortuosa [Video]

Acropora tortuosa is one of the most beloved strains of SPS coral in the reef aquarium hobby being celebrated by the classic Oregon Tort, California Tort, Miyagi Tort and our very own Immortal Tort. Like many other A. tortuosa the…