When I traveled from Sydney to Cairns to visit Cairns Marine, I knew I’d be treated to see some very neat rare fish, and some juicy corals. But as luck would have it, the fish collecting crew brought in something…
An Unforgettable Close Encounter With Centropyge abei
As you may have noticed in the last couple of weeks, we’ve been touring the east coast of Australia with stops at many notable aquarium businesses. In addition to seeing a ton of great reef stores in Sydney and Brisbane,…
Cairns Marines Discovers the Ultimate Scribbled Regal Angelfish
With its brilliant yellow, black and white striping, there is no angelfish that looks quite like the regal angelfish. There’s only species fish in the genus Pygoplites and a rare case of subspecies which are slightly different from each other, but every once…
Abei Angelfish Collected in the Coral Sea
The Abei Angelfish, Centropyge abei, is a reef fish so rare that most of us, ourselves included, have never seen one in real life. To date, your only chance to see a living Abei Angelfish has been at the Waikiki Aquarium…
Truncatoflabellum veroni, this unseen azoox coral makes reef aquarium debut
Truncatoflabellum is a genus of Azoox corals so obscure, and rarely documented (alive), that we never had hope of seeing specimens in our aquariums. Thankfully, Cairns Marine, purveyor of so much exotic marine life from Australia has scored again by…
The first ever Marine Aquarium of Australia happening next month in Cairns
America has MACNA, Europe is setting up for MACE, and now Australia is getting in on the act with their very own Marine Aquarium Conference of Australia. Happening next month in Cairns Australia, this inaugural event will be hosted by…
Awesome Fish Spotlight: Cirrhilabrus roseafascia from the Coral Sea
Among the two dozen or so most commonly encountered fairy wrasses, the elusive rose banded fairy wrasse, Cirrhilabrus roseafascia is not among them. This species is a relative newcomer to the documented fairy wrasse group, having only been described in 1982.…
Plectranthias bennetti, a new species of anthiine from the Coral Sea
The anthiine genus Plectranthias contains over fifty species of small to medium sized benthic, reef dwelling species. With the exception of P. garrupellus in the Western Atlantic, the genus is restricted to the Indo-Pacific region. Most species are small, highly secretive, and…
A fly/spy on the wall at Cairns Marine – Part 2
The caliber and quality of sustainably collected animals from Cairns Marine are some of the best anywhere in the world today. From miniature shrimps to magnificent sharks, stinging anemones to demanding Acropora, every animal that pass through these doors are exposed…
So, you glow in the dark? That don’t impress me much
Coral fluorescence is a magical phenomenon that is well documented, studied, and exploited by all who enjoy it. Fluorescence is an emission of light at a different wavelength from which was absorbed, and this causes a visible glow. Excitation however dies…