By Scott W. Michael Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a magical and mysterious place. It boasts some of the most awe-inspiring scenery on earth, is home to incredible cultural diversity (there are over 850 indigenous languages being spoken) and is considered one of the least...
By Scott Michael Why would anyone want to go diving at a site called the “toilet bowl” or another spot named the “rubbish tip?” My draw to these types of coastal, rubbly reefs, which are often adorned with all kinds of manmade refuse, is that they are some of the best...
Creating a deep-water reef aquarium can be both exciting and challenging. Except for the lighting system, there is little difference between the equipment and aquarium care involved in setting-up and maintaining a deep-water and a shallow-water reef aquarium.…
You plunge into the crystal clear water and begin to descent down to the top of the reef. Curtains of plankton feeding fishes rise and fall in the water column as predators approach and then swim past.…
Reef fish posses a variety of anatomical and behavioral characteristics to help them avoid predators. Sharp spines, extreme agility, cryptic coloration, noxious body slime, and Batesian mimicry are all examples of adaptations that some fish possess to lessen the chances that they will become a meal. …
The genus Amblygobius is comprised of 14 species that are distributed in the Indo-Pacific. Two of these gobies are encountered in the aquarium trade with a great degree of regularity, while at least four others show-up occasionally.…
There are many interesting and beautiful pygmy angelfishes that lurk in deep fore reef habitats. Most of us aquarists have lusted over the striking peppermint or Boyle’s angelfish ( Paracentropyge boylei ) – the pomacanthid that mimics a barber pole!…
I have long been a fan of lionfishes. In fact, these fishes were partially responsible for baptism into the marine aquarium hobby over 30 years ago. I have been fortunate enough to keep all the species available in the trade.…
The wrasses comprise a large and diverse family of fishes. They are ubiquitous members of the coral reef community and include tiny species like the pinkstreaked wrasse ( Pseudocheilinops ataenia ) (it reaches a maximum length of about 6.5 cm [2.6 inches]) as well as the largest of the bony fishes, the humphead or Napoleon wrasse ( Cheilinus undulatus ) (it gets over 2 m [7 feet] long).…
One thing that initially attracted me to the marine aquarium hobby was the diversity of fish species available. Not only are the reef’s piscine residents varied in form and color, they also exhibit diverse behavioral repertories.…