The brain child of architectural designer Jacob Douenias and Industrial designer Ethan Frier, the ‘Living Things’ art installation in Pittsburgh contains furniture of a possible and not too distant future where the symbiosis between human beings and microorganisms are on…
An introduction to coral crabs, good and bad
There is surprisingly little information specifically about coral crabs in aquaria. Every now and then some hitchhikers arrive on our aquacultured and wild corals and we are able to gain a bit more insight into the life of coral crabs. Some crabs…
Xynosphaera: the Parasitic Nephthea Shrimp
Green Nephthea is one of the most colorful and popular soft corals in the aquarium hobby, but most aquarists (and scientists) have never heard of the curious crustacean which calls it home. The above illustration [credit: Bruce, 1994] depicts Xynosphaera colemani,…
Tomato Clownfish: A Stunning Beginner Fish Ripe for the Picking
Lately it seems many of the species profiles I’ve written have been on fish that either grow too large for the average home aquarium or are otherwise poor choices for aquarium keeping for one reason or another. By now, some…
The Great Cleaner Wrasse and Cleaner Goby Throwdown!
Imagine you have your heart set on getting a cleaner fish for your marine aquarium so you can observe this iconic form of symbiosis right in your own home. Now imagine you’re in your local fish store looking at two…
Cryptocentrus albidorsus is a beautiful and seldom seen shrimp goby
Cryptocentrus gobies are such a marine staple that almost every beginner reefer would own one within their first few months of the hobby. The classic C. cinctus, or yellow watchman goby is a hardy, ubiquitous shrimp goby that is widely available.…
Coral goby-hosting acropora found to chemically signal their gobies for help
You are probably aware of the symbiotic relationship between Acropora and coral gobies, with the coral providing shelter and the coral gobies in return fighting off predators and other threats to the health of the coral. Now however, researchers at…
Zanclea hydroid is an Acropora and stony coral parasite you’ve probably never heard of
Zanclea is a genus of small hydroids that specializes at living on other marine creatures like corals, anemones, sponges and bryozoans. About five years ago we visited a healthy stony coral reef aquarium Seattle that had some staghorn coral colonies…
