“Tanked” Has a “Finding Nemo”-like Effect on the Hobby
When the television show “Tanked” first aired on Animal Planet, many aquarium hobbyists immediately cringed. The pilot episode, and every episode following for that matter, showed bad aquarium husbandry, massive tanks filled to the brim with fish, and the cut-up antics typical of any reality tv show. Now, we do understand that Animal Planet has [...]
Black and White Maxima Clam Seen in the Wild
Our contact in the Marshall Islands has been very busy since his last update, and the latest set of images that he sent our way shines a little light as to why. Chuck has naturally taken to SCUBA diving, after all there’s not a whole lot to do when your stuck on an atoll in [...]
Tiny Reef Aquarium Invertebrates
Our aquariums are full of a huge variety of organisms that include exotic fish, stunning corals, and unusual invertebrates. Hobbyists tend to focus on the larger animals, after all we do pay for them, and the tiny creatures that roam our tanks are often overlooked. These animals can be nearly microscopic in many cases, usually [...]
Picture of the Week – 7/18 – 7/24
Pictured in this week’s AquaNerd Picture of the Week is a Yellow Eye Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) seen virtually floating in place. This fish has a deep purple body with bright yellow eyes and hints of darker yellow lining each of its fins. The fish also possesses blue dots on it face that gradually turn [...]
New Damselfish Species Discovered in New Guinea
Damselfish may be the bane of many saltwater aquarium keepers across the globe, but despite their attitude and typical aggressive natures, they can be quite beautiful. The “striking” blue damsel (Chrysiptera cymatilis) seen above, is a gorgeous fish that is a also a recently described new species that was found in Papua New Guinea by [...]
Corals and Clams in Up Close Video
Corals and reef invertebrates are so extremely intricate and beautiful that sometimes the best way to view them is in extreme closeup. The swaying of individual polyps and the details of an animal’s tissue brings a whole new perspective to the aquarium hobby, one that many unfortunately go their entire lives without experiencing. And seeing [...]
Picture of the Week – 6/20 – 6/26
Pictured in this week’s AquaNerd POTW is a large flame hawkfish, seen here perching on a piece of rock with an attached chalice coral. These fish are known invertebrate predators, but their unique personality and perching behavior really attract reef keepers to keep them. Fortunately, large shrimp will probably no be bothered too much, though [...]
Get Your Earl’s Fairy Wrasse While They’re Still Here
The stunning Earl’s Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus earlei) is a very rare species of wrasse that has been wowing reef hobbyists as of late. Despite their rarity, a select few aquarium owners have gotten their hands on these fish, along with a very short list of retailers. One of these fish retailers, Pacific Island Aquatics, has [...]
Animals Killed and Encased in Plastic Jewelry
Over the weekend, my wife and I took a little getaway trip to San Antonio. We visited a couple of the local fish stores, enjoyed a little of the nightlife, and managed to spend quite a bit of time on the city’s famous River Walk. The river cuts through a mall, which is where I [...]
Using Live Rock as Tridacna Clam Cradles
Tridacna clams are commonly available in the aquarium hobby in six different species. Some of these clams live their entire lives in the sand, while others on the hard calcium substrates of the reef. The Tridacna gigas, T. squamosa, and T. derasa are all sand dwellers, and all have small byssal openings because of this. [...]
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