Posts from ‘June, 2010’

Here’s a huge threat to clam lovers. The Pyramidellid snail will hitch hike in on clams and snails, and will constantly feed on the fluids of their hosts. A small number of these parasite snails on your clam isn’t much to be alarmed about. However, these snails reproduce rapidly and will quickly become too much [...]

The Zebra Hermit Crab (Calcinus laevimanus) is a great herbivore for any aquarium. It eats various forms of algae and detritus, but it will attack snails and take their shells. This behavior is quite common among hermit crabs, and they get a pretty bad rap for it.

Here’s one of the easiest corals to both care for and propagate. The Kenya Tree coral is a soft coral that relies both on photosynthesis and, to a greater extent, planktonic food. This coral will pop up in various places throughout your aquarium. Branches will be cleaved off, set adrift, and settle on rocks and [...]

Pictured above is the Lubbock’s Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus lubbocki) in a mixed reef aquarium. The patterns on individuals seem to vary quite a bit. Some have horizontal stripes while others have blotched patterns, similar to the one above. As with most wrasses, two male Lubbock’s wrasses will become aggressive towards each other if housed in the [...]

Here’s quite an interesting snail, the Fighting Conch. This snail has a very long proboscis, making it look similar to an elephant. This snail is a wonderful detrivore and sand cleaner. It will bury its entire body in the sand, only keeping its eyes above where it can see passing predators. Another good thing about [...]

Pictured above is a nice mixture of Zoanthids and Palythoas. These two colonies have done very well under T5HO lighting, and have even grown together with polyps intruding into each others’ space. The Button Polyps are noticeably larger in size than the Zoanthids, and can even eat large food, such as frozen dried Mysis and [...]

Glowing in the picture above is a Platygyra Maze Brain Coral. This coral, among other “brain” corals is a very common coral on wild reefs. They can grow into massive colonies and can extend their tentacles great distances. These tentacles lazily flow in the current and can sting other corals nearby. Additionally, it’s quite fun [...]

Not the greatest picture in the world, but a decent one. Shown above is the Red Firefish Goby (Nemateleotris magnifica). This spectacular looking fish has a striking red coloration on its tail, with hints of yellow on its face and dorsal fin. They typically hover near the bottom of the aquarium and flick their dorsal [...]

The Sally Lightfoot Crab is one interesting crustacean, and one of my favorites. They have a flat shape, menacing claws, move about very quickly, and have a beautiful color. Additionally, their yellow antennae move up and down very quickly, further adding to their appeal. These crabs aren’t predatory though. They are algae eaters. Of course, [...]

Here is every fish keeper’s best friend, the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. These cleaner shrimp do just that, clean. But they don’t specialize in cleaning your tank. Instead they clean parasites and dead tissue off of your fish. The Skunk Shrimp will eat prepared foods, so they aren’t completely reliant on fish for food.