“Yellowtail Damselfish” C. parasema Range: Philippines north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Sabah, Java Sea, Flores Etymology: Greek “streamer”, allegedly in reference to the pale tail Size: 5cm Aquarium Rarity: Abundant ID: Entirely blue, except for a bright yellow...
“Springer’s Damselfish” C. springeri Range: Indonesia, though likely absent from the Java Sea and Sumatra. Etymology: After ichthyologist Dr. Victor Springer of the Smithsonian Size: 5cm Aquarium Rarity: Common ID: Mostly blue, with little black exposed. Notes: Very...
Damselfishes are usually thought of as a cheap staple of the aquarium trade, more often treated as “starter fish” than desirable species in their own right. But such prejudices belie the fascinating evolutionary story these fishes have to tell. One group in...
Of the roughly 1,100 species in the Family Gobiidae, there may be none stranger than Austrolethops wardi, a bizarrely shaped fish with even more-bizarre habits. Pale, wrinkled, and nearly blind, this curious fish lives a reclusive life in tropical marine...
https://youtu.be/_EVcLhdX_ak The Chagos Archipelago is comprised of a small isolated group of coral atolls located to the south of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and is home to the world’s largest protected marine reserve. A curious blend of species occurs here,...
There are only a handful of jawfishes that seem to be regularly collected for aquarists (Yellowheads and Bluespots... Duskys and Gold Specs... the occasional Chinstrap), but the genus Opistognathus, to which nearly every jawfish belongs, is enormous, currently...
An unusual dragonet recently turned up in the Philippines, and it’s leaving fish nerds around the world scratching their heads. While at first glance this might seem like your typical Ruby Dragonet, there is a lot going on here that doesn’t quite make sense....
One of the most seldom seen members of the triggerfish family was recently collected for the aquarium trade—Abalistes filamentosus. In fact, this fish is so hard to find in the wild, it was only scientifically described in 2004, making it the only balistid species...
Sandperches are a hugely diverse and surprisingly ubiquitous part of the Indo-Pacific fish fauna, but, despite their abundance in the wild, few ever seem to make it into the confines of an aquarium. Only one or two species are regularly collected, but even these...
Late last year, a curious sandperch showed up at the Dutch aquarium wholesaler De Jong Marinelife. It had originated from Cebu, in the Philippines, from a depth of 55-65 meters. Parapercis is an enormously diverse genus in shallow tropical waters, with 88 species...