by AquaNerd | Sep 15, 2014 | Corals, Eye Candy, Industry, Photography
The LPS scene was dominated by green goniopora for decades. They were just so commonplace that everyone had them, or at least tried them out in their reef with mixed results. Then, along came the bright red ones and everyone was like, “ooohhh, ahhhh”. These red gonis have since dominated, as they sported vibrant reddish pink colors and occasionally a blue disc atop their tentacles. While both of those morphs are fine and all, but there’s a new color morph on the block that is set to put all others to shame. It’s a sparkling, glittery red goni, and it is amazing.This stunning piece features reddish, almost copper colored tentacles that are infused with glitter and punctuated with those hypnotic yellow eyes. by Francis Yupangco | Sep 15, 2014 | Fish, Photography, Science
Transporting live fish over long distances is challenging at the best of times. But, can you imagine what it was like to transport live fish across the country over 140 years ago? Beginning in 1874, just 5 years after the first transcontinental rail linkup, an... by Francis Yupangco | Sep 14, 2014 | Cephalopods, Photography, Science
A 10-foot, 200 lb giant squid was found dead by Angler Michael Belvin, and his friends, about 100 miles off the Coast of Texas. This is only the fourth giant squid ever reported found in the shallow waters of the Gulf of... by AquaNerd | Sep 11, 2014 | Conservation, Fish, MACNA, Photography, Science
For some reason, we’ve been sitting on this story for a couple of weeks and just never got around to actually publishing it. We will let MACNA take the blame for that. Regardless, here is an interesting find out of the waters of Southeast Australia. The crew at Pro Dive were spending a little time getting to know the inhabitants of Lord Howe Island when one of the rarest angelfish in the world just so happened to cross their path. The Ballina Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus ballinae), referred to as “one of those unicorns of the sea”, can be seen casually strolling about in its somewhat abnormally shallow habitat nibbling on stuff as it nervously keeps a safe distance from the diver in pursuit.These fish are incredibly rare. The first described specimen was hauled up in 1959, after which only a handful (or less) have even been seen. The species normally inhabits deepwater reef habitats in excess of 100 meters below the surface, but apparently at Balls Pyramid (just south of Lord Howe Island) they have been spotted in shallower waters.Due to its natural rarity and that its already limited range occurs within marine sanctuaries, the fish is non-existent in the aquarium trade and will continue to be for probably as long as we’re around. Still, it is a beautiful fish that is worthy of its moment in the limelight, and we’d love to see more dive footage of it. Or, we could take Pro Dive up on their offer (in the video clip) to come and dive Balls Pyramid to see them in person. by AquaNerd | Sep 10, 2014 | Fish, Photography, Reef, Science
With the entirety of the aquarium trade forever under the judgmental microscope of anti-aquarium activists, it’s wonderful when good news surfaces out of Hawaii, the epicenter of the on-going debate. In this video from Hawaii News Now, which features footage from aquarium collector Ron Tubbs, reef fish are more than abundant in all areas of the state. The aquarium collector states that where he would normally see hundreds of fish, he is instead seeing thousands. Of course, there isn’t an accepted explanation for why this is happening, and some are giving credit to the warmer waters caused by an El Nino year.Despite the bloom in fish, anti-aquarium activists like Rene Umberger are raining on the parade. She thinks it will just fuel a greater appetite for fish by the aquarium collectors, though Ron claims that is far from the truth. Either way, it’s nice to see fish populations booming again. by AquaNerd | Sep 8, 2014 | Industry, Invertebrates, Photography, Science
Well isn’t this just the scariest thing to behold? A fisherman in Fort Pierce, Florida hauled up a massive mantis shrimp while doing a little nighttime angling. It appears as though the stomatopod was hooked through the tail (there is a treble hook just above the tail in other photos posted online), and it was estimated to be approximately 18 inches. When the shrimp was pulled up onto the dock, it was striking at its own tail, presumably in an attempt to escape capture. So the fisherman grabbed it by its back like a lobster, trying every way to avoid the business end of the very dangerous critter.Scientists haven’t been able to identify the species just yet, but they are supposedly pouring over the images that have been posted online in order to get an idea of exactly what was caught.Images and story pulled from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Conservative Commission.
