Hawkfishes (Family Cirrhitidae) are one of the most characteristic groups associated with tropical coral reefs. The 33 species currently recognized are typically to be found perching out in the open atop rock and corals in the uppermost portions of the reef, posturing...
Yellow polyps are nothing new to the reef aquarium world, but the specimens that recently showed up at DeJong Marinelife are a bit out of the ordinary. There's no word yet on precisely what these are, but, as best I can tell, they are likely Parazoanthus axinellae, a...
Aquarists have long recognized the regional color differences inherent in the Regal Angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus. Those from the Indian Ocean have always been held in higher esteem, as their breast coloration is a vibrant yellow in comparison to the drab grey of...
Tropical sand flats are a great place to find strange species of fish not normally encountered in aquarium exports. Fishes from this ecological niche are often highly specialized for living in this relatively featureless and unprotected habitat, showing adaptations to...
https://youtu.be/AtZ90-xAOsQ Signalfishes (Pteropsaron spp.) are a poorly known group of small, benthic fishes found in deep sandy habitats adjacent to coral reefs. While they have yet to be collected for aquarists, their attractive colors and interesting behaviors...
Most corals from shallow tropical reefs rely heavily upon an intracellular alga, Symbiodinium, to meet their nutritional demands. This hugely important symbiosis is the foundation on which a coral reef’s biodiversity is built, but, as it turns out, this is not the...
In the last decade, genetic data has forced us to dramatically rethink our assumptions on the evolution of stony corals (Order Scleractinia) and how best to classify them. The emerging consensus is that a pair of lineages—informally referred to as “complex” and...
It’s not every day that a new species of large pufferfish is described from Indo-Pacific coral reefs, but such is the case with the recent description of Arothron multilineatus, a girthy fish documented from Japan and the Red Sea. Reported to reach a length of nearly...
The deep, sandy plains that surround coral reefs are often full of a colorful and charismatic fish fauna ideally suited for marine aquaria, but, seeing as these habitats are hard to get to and far-removed from the typical reef collection sites, little of this...
There are a great many fishes found in shallow tropical waters that remain unavailable to aquarists, but few are as beautiful and recommendable as the signalfishes. These small, peaceful bottom-dwellers are ornately patterned, vibrantly colored and exhibit some...