Write Up Wednesdays
Write-Up Wednesday: Keep This In Mind If Your Coral and Tank Don’t Get Along
Every tank I’ve ever run has at least one type of coral that it doesn’t like. No matter if the water parameters are perfect, the lighting and flow is right and no fish are picking on the coral, there are …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: Time To Update
Several years ago I compiled a list of test kits that I use on my tanks as well as my client’s tanks. Over the years, new test kits became available and not surprisingly, some of them were nothing short of …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: Four Years with Several Leopard Wrasses
I remember the first time I saw a Leopard Wrasse (Macropharyngodon meleagris) in a saltwater tank because when I saw it, I immediately wanted one. Never before had I seen a fish with such unique patterns mixed with …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: Blue Caribbean Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)
After my Yellow Bellied Hippo Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus var.) decided zoanthids were lunch and after several other Hippo Tangs in client tanks decided to pick on other corals, I needed a blue tang that would leave coral alone, …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: How I Get New Arrivals To Eat
One of the most exciting parts about owning a saltwater aquarium is acquiring new fish for your system. There are few things more boring than a saltwater tank with no fish in it!
Whether you get your fish at a …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: Meat Corals (Acanthophyllia deshayesiana)
Meat corals (Acanthophyllia deshayesiana) are a large polyp stony (LPS) coral that I love – even if they don’t sway in the current of your tank.
Sold as doughnut or button corals and often confused with Scollies (…
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: 3 Phosphate Removing Medias and My Experiences With Each
Phosphate (PO4) is directly related to algae outbreaks and coral health as lower phosphates (<0.03 ppm) usually mean less algae outbreaks and healthier corals. I say “usually” because every tank is different. Some tanks do well on lower phosphates, some …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: Australian Stripey (Microcanthus strigatus)
I love fish that are rare and/or unusual and the Australian Stripey (Microcanthus strigatus) definitely fits into both of these categories. While I consider myself knowledgeable of the fish available for the saltwater aquarium trade, I had never …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: Orchid Dottiback
When I give presentations on fish selection and I mention Dottibacks, someone in the audience always blurts out, “devil fish!” For some dottibacks, yes. For the orchid dottiback, no.
The orchid dottiback (Pseudochromis fridmani) is not only the …
Read moreWrite-Up Wednesday: The True Test Of A Reef Keeper
One of the few things that saltwater tank keepers agree on is that small polyped stony (SPS) are hard to keep coral. Therefore, you can argue that a SPS dominant tank is the hardest type of saltwater tank to maintain. …
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