If we could have your attention please, this is an important public service announcement from your neighborhood Reef Builders to let you know to be very careful when handling your Palythoa zoanthids. Zoanthids are hardy, neigh indestructible flower animals of…
Crossbreeding may be the key to coral survival in warming seas
Researchers are looking for ways to create a more heat resilient coral to battle the negative impacts of warming oceans. By mixing and matching corals of the same species from different latitudes, the team is hoping to find a way…
Palauastrea ramosa is your weird coral of the week
Palauastrea ramosa is one of those bizzar-o corals that we’ve always wondered about from seeing it in books, and which has never truly enjoyed any kind of exposure in the reef aquarium scene. Thankfully, a few recent trips to the…
Hawaii’s reefs gets photographed for Google Street View
First the Great Barrier Reef, then Florida and now Hawaii is getting the Google Street View love. According to a recent Associated Press report, Hawaii’s reefs are getting mapped as part of a larger project by the XL Catlin Seaview…
From the Archives: Live Bottles are reborn as Aquacultured Art by Atlantic Reef Aquaculture
This story was originally published in October of 2009 and it is well worthy of another go-around. Live Bottles for use in Mini Reef aquariums used to be as common as normal output fluorescents, bristle worm traps and dolomite. It…
A Mauritian gem residing in Japan
As the metonymic dust begins to settle after our whirlwind tour of Japan, it becomes increasingly clear that this country is without a doubt, the capital mecca for rare fish and all things associated. With lolita inspired fashion and crazy pop…
Top 5 invasive corals that border on being aquarium pests
We’re so used to thinking of corals as precious and delicate, it’s hard to imagine some of them are invasive species in our aquariums. Invasive corals in the wild are a real problem, with sun coral Tubastrea having two established species…
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…
How to thoroughly quarantine your Corals
With just about every endeavor success breeds new challenges. As I have already noted in several articles, with the improved success we have now achieved in keeping just about every type of coral and invertebrate long-term we are now seeing…
Japanese coral video is in “supernatural” high definition
We share a lot of rare fish and exotic coral eye candy here on Reef Builders, and Japan has its fair share. There is coral “porn”, and then there are superbly close and exquisite corals that look so surreal and perfect,…
