Fish wounds and injuries can result from a variety of different influences, with tankmate aggression being among the more commonplace. Unfortunately, hobbyists don’t always recognize this problem right away when it manifests itself.…
Saltwater Smarts
Recent Content
Rock Beauty Angelfish: a Finicky Feeder Best Left in the Sea
On one of my earliest dives down in the Florida Keys back in the 1990s, a gorgeous yellow and black angelfish caught my attention as I drifted over a section of reef. In my mind’s eye, I envision the angel hovering boldly above a large barrel sponge, but I can’t be sure whether that’s actually how it happened or just an idyllic memory.…
Salty Q&A: Bay Window Reef Lighting?
Question: “I’m setting up my first reef aquarium and want to keep my approach as natural as possible. The room where I plan to place the tank has a really big bay window in it, and succulents and other sun-loving houseplants really thrive there.…
Astraea Snails Make Short Work of Algae
This past year, I rediscovered how great an army of snails can be. At Tidal Gardens, we go pretty light on cleanup crews in general. For example, there really aren’t any hermit crabs to speak of in our systems.…
For Reefkeepers, It’s Always Something!
Caribbean Chris, who is currently in the process of moving his family down to Florida (apparently Ohio in mid-winter isn’t sufficiently tropical for his taste!), recently tore down his 127-gallon Caribbean reef biotope aquarium and bequeathed to me a variety of invertebrates, including several species of gorgonian, rock flower anemones, Ricordea, lettuce corals, and others, along with a lovely Atlantic blue tang.…
Reader Review: The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist
Special thanks to Patrick Sugent for taking the time to write and submit the following review of Paul “Paul B” Baldassano’s The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist: A 60-Year History of Fishkeeping.…
5 Cleaner Wrasse Myths
The introduction of Labroides spp. cleaner wrasses to marine aquarium systems is generally ill-advised. Though some hobbyists report success in keeping these obligate cleaners long term, the vast majority of specimens entering the market are doomed to perish prematurely from starvation.…
Saltwater Smarts’ Top 10 Posts for 2015
“Top 10” lists are always popular features around the New Year, and with good reason. They offer an idea of what resonated with people or had an impact on our culture over the preceding year—and, by logical extension, what didn’t.…
Salty Q&A: Are Fish in Nanos More Likely to Leap?
This question, recently posted on our website by Eric B, got me thinking about some of the assumptions we tend to make about nano aquariums. So, in addition to my original answer to Eric’s inquiry, I’ve included a few more random thoughts on the subject afterward.…
Ricordea Florida: an Underappreciated Caribbean Beauty
As an American reefkeeper, it’s all too easy for me to forget that some truly gorgeous invertebrate livestock originates relatively close to home in the tropical western Atlantic and Caribbean. I was reminded of this recently when CC entrusted several of his Caribbean specimens to my care in advance of his pending move to the great state of Florida.…