The gold crown butterflyfish, Chaetodon flavocoronatus, is one of the rarest species of butterflyfish that we’ve been writing about since 2009, but had never seen for ourselves until last week. Closely related to the tinker’s butterflyfish from Hawaii, the declivis butterflyfish…
Global Coral Reef Week 2020 Is Happening July 1st to July 14th
Global Coral Reef Week is a virtual event where you can watch over 100 recorded talks by coral reef scientists and practitioners around the world. We love the idea of virtual conferences, especially for marine science as they provide opportunities…
First Live Photos of Rare Deepwater Grammatonotus xanthostigma
Grammatonotus xanthostigma is a new species of deepwater basslet that was recently described in 2017 after their discovery by technical divers Drs. Brian Greene and Rich Pyle in 2015. Despite its objective beauty both in shape, pattern and color, the…
Dr. Rocha is Treating us to some Delectable Anthias Photography
Anthias are the quintessential reef fish which can occur in huge schools on shallow sunlit reefs. But anthias are also quite common in deeper reefs as well, these being species we rarely get to see, unless deep diving collectors go…
Luiz’s Snapshots: Odontanthias katayamai In Pohnpei
If you’ve read Reef Builders for any length of time then you know that in order to find the rarest, most colorful and interesting fish, you have to dive deep. Like really deep. That and be Dr. Luiz Rocha or one of…
Great New Pictures of BLUE Queen Angelfish from St. Paul’s Rock
The Queen Angelfish is one of the most iconic reef fish in the Caribbean Sea. It’s appearance has some regional variation throughout its range from Florida to Brazil, but there’s one place where the queen angels put on some very…
Sacura parva Pictured and Filmed Alive For The First Time
Sacura parva is a gorgeous little anthias that we’d only seen in pictures of dull, freshly dead preserved specimens. But thankfully, there’s a few intrepid ‘biofreaks’ like ourselves who actually leave the comfort of their armchair to bring us face…
Crazy little Trimma species photographed in the Abyss of Palau
Take a moment to soak in the wild color and pattern of the rarely seen Trimma goby pictured above. This is the first time this fish has been seen in nearly twenty years, having been photographed by Dr. Luiz Rocha in…
The Truth About Yellow Tang Collecting in Hawaii
Along with the common clownfish, yellow tangs are one of the most iconic and familiar reef fish, on the reef and in our home aquariums. Because of this status there is a lot of attention paid to this species; it’s…
Understanding Ascension: The road less traveled
Situated along the mid-Atlantic ridge, the Ascension Islands is a place oozing with mystic charm and celestial voodoo. This far flung outcrop of volcanic rock has captivated the hearts and minds of intrepid explorers alike, all with the intention of unraveling…
