The Pacific sailfin tang (Zebrasoma velifer), not to be confused with its Red Sea namesake (Zebrasoma desjardinii), is a fish with many attributes that make it desirable to marine aquarium hobbyists—it’s attractive, hardy, bold, easy to feed, etc. But don’t…
Scientist scans fish to uncover the amazing world beneath the skin and scales
One scientist began his quest by wondering how sharks and rays are able to move like other fish despite have a skeleton make of cartilage instead of bones. Fast forward 15 years and Adam Summers has an impressive collection of…
Fish Disease Symptoms Aren’t Always What They Seem
Most marine aquarium hobbyists keep a close eye on their fish for certain tell-tale signs of ill health. And that’s a good thing, since quick intervention in the case of fish disease can often be the difference between life and…
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.…
14 Pinterest boards to follow for aquarium inspiration
Pintrest is a visual discovery tool containing all sorts of ideas for everything from Cooking, DIY, Cars and yes even Reef Tanks. We’ve come up with 14 Pintrerest boards you can follow for inspiration in your home reef tank and…
Damselfish can recognize UV markings of a face
Several years ago it was revealed that damselfish could see specially colored markings on the faces of other fish that only show up under ultraviolet light. Now a new study has demonstrated that the fish can not only see these…
Plectranthias winniensis & P. helenae captive raised by RCT Hawaii
Plectranthias winniensis and P. helenae are two species of this adorable group of basslets that grace the pages of Reef Builders today for very good reason. Reef Culture Technologies Hawaii has been trailblazing the captive rearing of various marine fish…
Plectranthias sp. Curacao is in the good hands of Blue Harbor
The new species of Plectranthias that was recently collected from Curacao is probably the first of its kind to make it into a home aquarium. We first featured this fish with a post from Joe Oliver at the source, and…
Chevron tang also turns up in the Philippines
The chevron tang, Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, has long been a popular aquarium tang, and for good reason. Juveniles are brilliantly colored and, like many tangs, does an admiral job of eating nuisance algae. Nearly all chevron tangs make their way to…
3.2 Fairy Wrasses: The temminckii group
The temminckii group plays host to some of the genus’ larger and more unappealing species. Burley, pugnacious and often glazed in matte grey, these un-fairy looking fairy wrasses are more often than not associated with the ugly duckling sobriquet. Despite…
