Recent Content
Life in Crinoids
There's a lot of talk at the moment about living in bubbles; be they on social media or in terms of social isolation and avoiding a particular pestilence that is making a nuisance of itself, to say the least. It got me thinking about some of the creatures I've...
Giris, Thilas, and Reefs
The Maldives has been a mecca for divers and tourists seeking white sand, palm trees and luxury resorts for several decades and for a country with only a fraction of a percentage of its territory able to be called dry land, its punches well above its weight in...
Shooting Nemo
By Richard Aspinall Clownfish are some of the most engaging and characterful fish a diver is likely to encounter out on the reef and for photographers, both new and experienced alike, they provide a constant source of material as well as the occasional burst of...
The Southern Red Sea
By Richard Aspinall There has been a significant interest in the Red Sea recently with several authors and aquarists taking trips over there and of course setting up biotope systems. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the Red Sea and written several general articles...
The Goldflake Angel: A True Beauty
By Richard Aspinall I’ve had a long love affair with this fish ever since I first met one in an aquarium in London, in fact when I decided I’d offer this piece to my good friends at Reefs.com, I’d made up my mind to purchase a specimen, but my recent tax demand and my...
Richard Aspinall meets Jamie Craggs, Curator of the Horniman Aquarium, London
By Richard Aspinall My visit to the Horniman museum was sparked by my interest in Project Coral - a pioneering project undertaken by the team at the Horniman Aquarium, to purposefully reproduce broadcast coral in captivity. But in order to understand how this work...
Deception, Mimicry, Subterfuge and Hiding in Plain Sight
By Richard Aspinall We all know by now that the underwater world is replete with amazing and astounding creatures, many are well known through decades of research and are accessible to anyone interested through public and private aquaria. It’s also the case that a...
Wrecks of the Red Sea: Coral Reefs of Iron, History and Life
By Richard Aspinall Five thirty in the morning; a chill night breeze blows from the Sinai, rippling the sea, which laps against the hulls of our inflatable boats tethered to the stern, past the dive deck. The sky is clear, as it so frequently is here, and a low moon...
Shrimps for the Marine Tank
By Richard Aspinall There are several species of shrimps that are commonly kept in marine tanks, with many of them considered reef safe, but first off, a little biology. Prawn or shrimp – what’s the difference? There are many terms for creatures that offer some...