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...
Color aberrations are a relatively common sight among surgeonfishes and tangs. The Scopas Tang (Zebrasoma scopas) seems especially prone to this phenomenon, often appearing in piebald patterns of yellow, white and brown.…
Wrasses are primarily a shallow-water group. The vast majority of this family’s biodiversity can be encountered in the upper 100 feet or so of the world’s tropical and temperate marine ecosystems, but there are a few interesting exceptions to this.…
The evolutionary history of corals is a fascinating subject, recounting one of the oldest lineages of multicellular animal life. This story is full of mistaken identities, uncertain affinities, and exciting, new discoveries. It’s also a tale of extinctions and...
It’s not unusual to see a new species of goby described from Indo-Pacific waters—in fact, thirteen have been described since March of this year. We are living in a veritable golden age of gobiid taxonomy. What a great time to be alive! And one of the most astounding...
This unusual pygmy angelfish comes courtesy of Quality Marine and was sourced from Fiji… but what is it?
Your first guess might be the endemic Blue Velvet Angelfish (Centropyge deborae).…
https://youtu.be/KMe3PRkRRCI In 2009, Japanese researcher Jiro Sakaue of the Southern Marine Laboratory made a sensational ichthyological discovery, arguably the single most important find since the coelacanth was first hauled up some 70 years ago. While exploring...
There are few reef fishes quite so maligned among aquarists as Dascyllus, the Humbug Damselfishes. Because of their argumentative nature, this ubiquitous group is rarely seen in today’s reef tanks, despite being attractively patterned and almost indesctructibly...
Seadragons are among the most bizarre and charismatic of marine creatures, relying on their impeccable camouflage to perfectly blend into the algae-filled reefs they call home. They were first collected in the 19th century off the southern coast of Australia, and, in...