Everybody loves an angel! They are some of the most spectacularly colored fishes on the coral reef. In captivity, they can become as personable as the family dog once they have adjusted. Occasionally, a “new” angelfish will show- up in North American aquarium stores.…

There are a number of sharks that a regularly make it into the ornamental marine fish trade. Most of them are poorly suited for all but the most immense home aquarium. But there are a few species that show-up in aquarium stores that are well-suited to the large home aquarium.…

In my mind, the dragon moray ( Enchelycore pardalis ) is the most beautiful and fearsome of all the muraenids. With its crooked jaws, its always visible, needle-sharp teeth, the “horn” over each eye, and the tubular nostrils, it is truly as frightening to look at as its mythical namesake!…

The first time I met a cheeklined Maori wrasse ( Cheilinus diagrammus ) I was not in my local aquarium store, but on a coral reef in Fiji. I recognized the fish, having had seen its photo in books before, but I was not aware that it was a fish with such “personality!”…

Many reef fish groups have been ascribed with “colorful” common names, that are in many cases quite descriptive. For example, there are the hawkfishes, which perch on reef substrates, their are the cowfishes, which have horns and big sad eyes, there are the hogfishes, which have swine-like appetites, there are lionfish, which have elongate fin filaments reminiscent of the mane of their feline namesakes, and there are stonefish, which simply look like a stone.…

As a youngster I remember seeing a photo of the bluestripe angelfish ( Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis ) and falling in love with this fish. When I first started working in the aquarium trade, I insisted that the store owner order one these lovelies – it was even more beautiful than the photos I had seen!…

These are good times to be a marine aquarist! I know the economy is in a bit of a slump and we are in a long and important war against terrorism. But even so, there are some good things happening in the marine aquarium trade.…

So many wrasses, so little aquarium space! Yes, I am a “wrasse” man! This amazing family of fishes contains some of the most spectacularly attired of all fishes. The family is the second largest fish family found on coral reefs, with over 500 species.…

The marine aquarium opens up an amazing world to the amateur naturalist. Not only does the aquarist have an opportunity to observe a wide array of interesting invertebrates and fishes, they can also witness some of the fascinating symbiotic relationships that occur between these animals on the coral reef.…