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Perfect Aquarium Nerd Christmas Gifts 2014 Edition

by | Dec 21, 2014 | Corals, Fish, Industry, Invertebrates, MACNA, Science, Tanks, Technology

With Christmas about three weeks away and closing in fast, we’ve decided to compile our annual list of aquarium goodies that you can get the aquarium nerd in your life. This is a diverse list that represents different price points and different types of gear. Of course, this list isn’t all inclusive, but we tried to represent the most popular and most useful products available.

Mutant White Yellow Tang Shows Up at Pacific Island Aquatics

by | Sep 19, 2014 | Eye Candy, Fish, Industry

Here’s a totally awesome fish. Pacific Island Aquatics recently showed off this amazing aberrant yellow tang, which sports a large amount of white coloration instead of the normal solid yellow we’re so accustomed to. According to information posted on Reef2Reef, the fish was collected off the south side of Kona and tips the scales at just 4.5″ in length. This is about the average size for yellow tang sold in the aquarium hobby, if not a little bit larger, but it’s one of the smallest aberrant tangs collected. This makes it far more appealing than those huge aberrant tangs we normally see.The tang will be listed at $1500 (originally $2000), but PIA is entertaining reasonable offers. This is a pretty typical price for yellow tangs with this coloration.It should be noted that this is not an albino yellow tang. Rather, it is technically a leucistic yellow tang, meaning it’s simply lacking some of its natural pigmentation. This genetic condition results in the fish exhibiting significant white coloration, and in this case a small amount of yellow on its fins and random patches on its body.

Gigantic Mantis Shrimp Caught in Florida Waters

by | 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.