By Richard Aspinall Scuba diving and reef keeping are, for me at least, two sides of the same coin and two hobbies which share a great deal in common – both require an awful lot of kit, gadgetry and an almost obsessive zeal. Add a great deal of underwater camera...
Recent Content
Indian Ocean Coasts – Lagoons, Rock pools and Sandy Bottoms
By Richard Aspinall Text and photographs, by author, unless stated otherwise Roaming around the tidal pools and rocky shores of my native Northern England undoubtedly fostered my interest in the natural world and ultimately my passion for reef keeping and diving....
Reef Zones: Firsthand Experience and Inspiration from the Indo-Pacific
By Richard Aspinall I’m fortunate in that several editors over the years have allowed me the opportunity to share my interests with a wider audience, not just in terms of reef keeping, but in my deep and abiding passion for visiting, exploring and taking inspiration...
Fish Tales: The Binominal – Its Origin, Uses and Benefits to the Aquarist
By Richard Aspinall Back in the increasingly distant and hazy past, when everything was in black and white, a young and slightly plump teenager in the North of England asked why he should study Latin. “But, no one speaks it,” he said. “It’s a dead language.”...
Bicinctus Clowns in the Wild
By Richard Aspinall I’ve had a long standing interest in the bicinctus clown (Amphiprion bicinctus), I think in the main because it was the first clown I ever saw in the wild and the one that I’ve photographed the most and of course the one I’ve enjoyed watching in...
Beginner’s Coral Guide
By Richard Aspinall One of the most exciting parts of setting up a marine aquarium for the first time is the introduction of corals, but the process can be nerve wracking, especially to the newcomer to the hobby. This is entirely understandable, just about all of what...
The Best Snorkeling Trip in the World?
I‘ve never been on a cruise before and to be honest I had never really thought I ever would, not for some years yet anyway – massive floating hotels with an ‘all you can eat’ theme – not really me to be honest.…
Aquarium Fish: Halichoeres Wrasses – Are they the best reef fish?
Like many marine hobbyists I have a great fondness for wrasses, which is quite fortuitous as there are so darn many of them, if you pick a chunk of sea anywhere on the planet, the chances are there will be a wrasse in it.…
Partner Persuasion: Advanced techniques in getting and keeping a new aquarium
For the aquarist unencumbered by family, partner, spouse etc. … life, at least in terms of aquarium purchasing, is limited to only one thing – the size of the pay cheque. The house, the tanks, the utility bills, the numbers of salt buckets required etc… They are all within this lucky person’s control, if the cash is there.…
Aquarium Review: Behind the Scenes at the Deep – Part 2
Read Part I of Richard’s article in the May issue.
Last time I took you on a tour of The Deep’s tanks, its exhibits and its mind bogglingly huge systems. I marveled at the eleven metre high skimmer and the 30,000litre water changes that are regular components in the maintenance of the massive Endless Oceans exhibit.…