Fish or Fishes? Shoal or School? A Few Fishy Terms Defined

In my nearly two decades as an aquarium writer and editor, I’ve noticed that certain terms routinely used in hobby literature when discussing our fine, finny friends are often a source of confusion to readers. So for today’s post, I…

Is There a Jellyfish Tank in Your Future?

One of the product lines that really caught my eye at MACNA 2014 were the jellyfish tanks at the Boyd Enterprises booth. Until recently, home aquarists did not have access to jellyfish systems. When I think of jellyfish systems, I…

Tinker’s Butterflyfish: Beautiful, Hardy, and Way Beyond My Wages

Novice marine aquarium hobbyists—especially those making the transition from freshwater to saltwater fishkeeping—commonly experience “sticker shock” when they see the prices of many marine species offered in the trade. After all, when you’re accustomed to spending only a few dollars…

Chrysiptera parasema: a Gem of a Damsel

Ask the average marine aquarium hobbyist to identify the most aggressive coral-reef fishes, and the damselfishes of the family Pomacentridae are likely to be placed somewhere very close to the top of the list. For many damsel species, the reputation…

Royal Gramma: A Hardy, Beginner-Friendly Beauty

One of the true piscine treasures hailing from the Caribbean is the royal gramma, a.k.a. the fairy basslet (Gramma loreto). Not only is this little gem a real showstopper aesthetically speaking, but it’s also a hardy, beginner-friendly, and generally very…