For some time now I’ve had a deep curiosity and interest in all the corals that we don’t regularly see in our home aquariums, namely the non-photosynthetic and azooxanthellate corals. Unlike the photosynthetic corals that can get most of their…
The Signal Goby: A Master Mimic with a Sketchy Captive Survival Record
The signal goby (Signigobius biocellatus), aka the twin-spot, two-spot, or crab-eye goby, is an appealing little sand sifter with fascinating behavior that, unfortunately, often adapts very poorly to aquarium life. Nonetheless, specimens still appear in the aquarium trade, so it’s…
Specialized Care is Key to Success with Sun Corals
When ascribed to the various species of the genus Tubastraea, the common name “sun coral” is both fitting and ironic. It’s fitting when you consider that the spectacular polyps of many Tubastraea species can quite justifiably be described as sun-like…
How to feed a coral reef tank
We can sometimes forget that corals are living animals which have a mouth and digestive system, and therefore need to eat. While the first step in keeping corals alive and healthy is a properly lit and flowed tank, feeding is…
How to Prevent Fish from Stealing Coral Food
When it comes to acquiring food, fish will take the path of least resistance. And one of the best ways for a fish to score an easy meal is to snatch morsels away from their glacially slow-moving invertebrate tankmates. Heck,…
Don’t Get Burned by Flame Scallops!
Mention beautiful bivalves for the marine aquarium, and the various tridacnid clams (the so-called giant clams) will probably come to mind. Likely, the flame scallops of the genus Ctenoides will too. However, while the tridacnids have a fairly decent survival…
How to Handle a Hunger-Striking Saltwater Fish
Having a fish that refuses to eat anything offered—or having a specimen that had been eating suddenly lose all interest in food—is a problem virtually every marine aquarium hobbyist can expect to encounter at one time or another. While such…
4 Techniques for Target Feeding Marine Fish
Feeding saltwater fish isn’t always a simple matter of plopping food in the water and looking on as the frenzy ensues. In any community of fishes, some species (or individual specimens) are going to be more aggressive in their eating…
Coral bowl at Dorkfish Aquatics is a creative way to observe and target feed a red goni
Imagine our surprise when we visited a brand spankin new aquarium shop in the Denver area to discover something we had never seen before. The place is Dorkfish Aquatics, and when we swung by the new retail location we were flabbergasted by…
Mini review of Julian’s Thing for target feeding a reclusive fish
Julian’s Thing hit our aquarium product review bench just in time for us to try it out on a frightful triggerfish. About a week ago we obtained a hybrid picasso triggerfish which has been almost completely un-socialized with other fish…
