by AquaNerd | Jun 17, 2013 | Industry, Invertebrates, Photography
Anyone who has been around the hobby long enough knows that marine snails, specifically turbo snails, can get pretty big. Mexican turbo snails are typically the largest we see, with certain individuals growing to be just a tad smaller than a baseball. But a recent import of ultra large Trochus snails (Trochus niloticus) by UK based Ocean Corals has us rethinking just how big and beefy marine snails can get. They recently shared images of what they’re calling King Turbo Snails on their Facebook page, which show these mega Trochus snails to be near 4-5″ in diameter and several inches tall. These snails are almost too large to fit in your hand! The going rate for these ginormous snails is £30 each, or just a shade under $50 at current exchange rates. A total of four were imported, but two have been sold as of yesterday. As far as information about this species goes, Gerald Heslinga of Indo-Pacific Sea Farms has a viewable paper on them HERE. by AquaNerd | Jun 14, 2013 | Corals, Eye Candy, Industry, Photography
To say that we have an obsession with those big, beautiful Scolymia australis corals is a bit of an understatement. We just can’t get enough of them, whether its watching videos of them inhaling various food items or just gazing at vivid pictures. In our constant perusal of Scoly web content, we always randomly find one or two that put all of the others to shame, but this latest beauty from Unique Corals has really raised the bar for this coral species altogether. Appropriately dubbed the Supernova Scolymia, this amazing piece has out of this world coloration. In fact, it is the best coloration of any Scoly that we’ve laid eyes on, even surpassing the beauty of those legendary ‘Master Scolys’. The 2.5″ WYSIWYG specimen is currently listed at $498, but we don’t expect it to stay on the Unique Corals site much longer, assuming it is still there when this article publishes. by Reef To Rainforest | Jun 7, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Tanks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKSXEsejEK4 This 3-gallon (11-L) reef, complete with stony corals and an astonishing array of marine organisms is tracked as it matures and evolves over its three-year life by owner Aaron Belandre, known to members of the Nano-Reef.com forum as El Fab—a bit of a legend in his own time among pico reef enthusiasts. Spoiler alert: Belandre had to move the tank toward the end of the time period, and the results are dismaying to watch. CREDIT: Aaron Belandre | YouTube by Josh Saul | May 29, 2013 | Corals, Eye Candy, Industry, Photography
For your viewing pleasure, limited release from Cherry... by AquaNerd | May 24, 2013 | Corals, Funny, Industry, Technology
The aquarium hobby often competes with video games for the attention of today’s youthful aquarists. So, it should come as no surprise that we are glad to see somewhat of an inclusion of reef life into one of the most popular video game series that the gaming industry has ever seen. The reveal trailer of the upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts has one very beautiful and lifelike scene of a wild reef, complete with push corals, a powder blue tang, and a heniochus butterflyfish. According to the trailer, the action heats up on said reef, as the playable character in the game fights opposing forces. A large jet fighter appears to crash in the previously tranquil reef scene. Obviously the game will have a ton of intense action sequences, and the digital reef makes for a great backdrop. We just hope that some of those reef animals are interactive and add some details to the storyline. Image originally shared on the Pacific Island Aquatics Facebook page.
