To the uninitiated, the mesophotic coral reefs would seem like an unlikely place to find vibrant fish life. Antonymous to the ebullient habitat of shallow water coral gardens, the mesophotic zone is a gloomy contrast of seemingly endless dread and forlorn landscapes. Except not…
The Candy Basslet: A Sweet Deepwater Denizen on Many a Hobbyist’s Wish List
Ask any group of marine fishkeepers to name their most sought-after species—the fishes they’d really love to own if money and availability were no object—and most of them will likely place the candy basslet (Liopropoma carmabi) somewhere close to the…
Will you stop hiding from me! Lonesome Liopropoma
Today’s post is c0-contributed by Mr. Tay, a friend of ReefBuilders and one of my best fish buddies in Singapore. Mr. Tay is known online by his alias “Digiman”, and has an extensive collection of deepwater and unusual fish, many…
“Holy Grail” Angelfish Bred in Captivity
Certain marine fish are so uncommon in the aquarium hobby yet so beautiful to behold that they fetch an absolutely mind-blowing price (sometimes in the many thousands of dollars for a single specimen) when they do make a rare appearance…
Differentiating the befuddling trio: Odontanthias chrysostictus, O. katayamai and O. tapui
For a long time, the confusion between Odontanthias chrysostictus, O. katayamai as well as O. tapui has afflicted many. We’ve made the mistake of wrongly identifying these fishes in the past as well. We hope to straighten out the mistakes…
Hawaiian deepwater rarities get an update: Butterflyfish and Aurora basslet legends
The recent expedition by Rufus Kimura into the Hawiian depths yielded some amazing fish. We’re glad to receive some good updates from BlueHarbor on the health and current status of these fish. The most unnerving part of all this is…
BlueHarbor gets ready for the ultimate deepwater Hawaiian collection
The contents in this container is worth more words. Koji’s latest attempts at stunning the general public with his amazing capability of obtaining rare fish did not end in futility. Nearly every popular Hawaiian deepwater twilight zone inhabiting reef fish…
Photoblepharon palpebratus is a unique glowing oddball for your deepwater biotope
The flashlight fishes are a very unique group of light emitting fish that are not often seen in the trade. These fishes are well known for the photophores (light emitting organ) found below the eye, which harbours bioluminescent bacteria, allowing…
Myripristis botche, the lesser known but beautiful blacktip soldierfish on display during Aquarama 2013
If you think Soldierfishes are something unattractive and common, you’ll be sure to change your mind after one look at this exquisite fish that was on display at Aquarama 2013. The subadult Blacktip or Finspot Soldierfish became an instant hit during…
B-Box Aquarium teases with a short clip of Belonoperca pylei
The whimsical and cartoonish looking Belonoperca pylei has long been regarded as a straight up unobtainable “book fish”. In the past year or two however, we’ve seen a few being slowly drip-fed into the aquarium scene. While still out of…
