Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Spreads to Curacao

The Carmarbi Marine Research Station has reported that Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease has reached the southern Caribbean island of Curacao. Dubbed the deadliest and most devastating coral disease ever recorded, SCTLD first appeared off the Southeast Coast of Florida…

How to get Reef Aquascaping Right First Time

Because of sites like Instagram, aquascaping is everything these days, and if you want to create a great saltwater aquascape you have to start with great-looking materials. Gone are the days of sloping rock walls with corals displayed like fruits…

Psychedelic Rainbow Umbrella is the most colorful Discosoma neglecta we’ve seen

Umbrella mushrooms are often green, brown, or mottled and as such aren’t highly coveted by the shroom world, but this specimen displayed by Iwarna Aquafarm in Singapore stopped our scrolling fingers in their tracks. Discosoma neglecta is a corallimorph that…

Frequently asked questions on Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs are often the first critters we place into new tanks, but are they reef safe, what type should we add, and how many? We answer all your questions on hermit crabs for reef aquariums here. Are hermit crabs…

Observations on a “new” soft coral in the hobby, Paraminabea rubeusa, by Julian Sprung

After so many years enjoying and looking forward to the coral feature articles that Jake Adams wrote and Vincent Chalias still writes for Reef Builders, I came across a coral that inspired me to want to compose a gushing, over…

Aquascaping adventures with Tropic Eden Morocca rock

We’ve spent a lot of time aquascaping lately, using everything from rocks to plates to branches, white rock, purple rock, dead rock, ceramic rock, and everything in between. The aim with every aquascape we’ve created was to make minimum contact…

Aqua Illumination launches new Blade LED Light Fixture

Aqua Illumination has taken a big leap with the launch of an all-new light fixture called Blade. A change in form factor from the well-known AI fan-cooled models, Blade is a slimline passively cooled LED striplight that can be used…

Our choice of tanks supplied with lids – Reef Builders Gear Guide 

Our way of reefing overwhelmingly favors open-topped tanks. They are easier to light, keep cool, and maintain, but due to jumping fish, evaporation, and rising heating bills there will always be a demand for saltwater aquariums with closed hoods. Here…

Do blue LEDs narrow our reefkeeping choice?

I’m lucky enough to be able to dive some of the best reefs the ocean gods have given us, but there is not a single dive that I pass a coral or a fish, and wonder why they are not…

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…