Articles

A few months ago, on April 4, 2019, Reef2Reef published an article called "Depression in Fish". Although the article was well researched, and I personally fact-checked it, we received from our readers a lot of pushback to the article's premise that, yes, fish can and do suffer from depression. So, when I was fortunate enough to talk to Dr. Culum Brown recently, the first question I asked him was about depression in fish. Yes, fish can and do suffer from depression. "Their physiology is...

Note from the Editor: These profiles are only possible with the help and participation of aquarists willing to talk about their tanks and practices and answer a long stream of questions. Reef2Reef thanks @4FordFamily for letting us profile him. It's always interesting for readers to get to know the staff of Reef2Reef. @4FordFamily is a staff member. He takes his aquariums very seriously and is an expert on fish health and disease treatment. If you look at his identity on the forum, you...

This week's Profile of a Reef Aquarist (#7) introduces you to @Bob Weigant, a resourceful and pragmatic gentleman, who believes in making the most of what you have and making good use of your resources, whatever they may be. Bob has almost 25 years of reef experience. The 200G. Photo is courtesy of @Bob Weigant, ©2019, All Rights Reserved. Until very recently Bob had a beautiful 225G that he just took down following an unexpected and unpleasant exchange with his power company...

We have in our midst a reef aquarist who has had aquariums for the past 40 years and saltwater aquariums for 30 years. That's an enormous amount of reef experience by any measure. He also does things a little differently than some of the others profiled recently. This gentleman in the southern US has taken frugality to a whole new level. He recently set up a new 93-gallon cube reef tank for under $1000. Pretty amazing stuff. And you can read about it in great detail in his build thread. Of...

When you're starting a reef tank, it can take a long time before your tank starts to look like something you can be proud of. It takes patience and perseverance. We always say, "nothing good happens fast in a reef tank." Recently I visited a big LFS in Vancouver, BC, that had a nice display reef tank set up at the front. My daughter--who knows nothing about aquariums--asked me, "can someone walk in and say they want a tank that looks just like that?" My answer was, "well, sort of. It's a...

This is a royalty-free photo covered by Creative Commons License CCO. Sperm whales or cachalots Physeter macrocephalus are world’s largest toothed mammals, and they have the largest brains of any living things. They belong to the cetacean group of mammals along with dolphins and whales. Sperm whales get their name from spermaceti, secreted by the spermaceti organ. Spermaceti is an oily substance that fills up a large cavity in their heads. People called the oil spermaceti because they...

Depression in Fish The photos included in this article are not depicting depressed fish, but rather they are just some good fish photos from the Reef2Reef archives showing different species that we commonly see in saltwater tanks. ©2019, All Rights Reserved. We often set up aquariums for the joy that they bring us, the soothing feelings we get watching colorful fish flit around beautiful coral displays and the deep satisfaction the aquarist gets from having built and cultivated something...

The author's dog-eared copy of Moe's book. Photo courtesy of @Seawitch, ©2019, All Rights Reserved. The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder by Martin A. Moe, Jr. Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: TFH Publications, Inc.; Revised, Expanded edition (September 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 9780982026212 ISBN-13: 978-0982026212 ASIN: 0982026218 Clownfish in an anemone. Martin A. Moe started breeding clownfish commercially in the early 1970's. This is royalty-free image...

Forum member @cancun has had reef tanks for the past six years. Because of either extraordinary skill or extraordinary luck or some combination, during those six years, she has had very few problems with her tanks. This is her story. She also has a terrific build thread you can read. All the photos below are courtesy of @cancun, and used with permission, ©2019, All Rights Reserved. Former 80-gallon tank. Current Stock List in New Tank Below 1. Red Coris wrasse 2. Earmuff wrasse 3...

An overview of Kenya’s Ornamental Marine Fish Trade On the western coast of the Indian Ocean, Kenya is the biggest exporter of marine aquarium fish. Other countries in this region include Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Somalia. The reefs off the shores of these countries are rich in many colorful fish, and reefs extend all along the eastern coast of Africa from north to south. The trade in Kenya started sometime in the late 1960s and early 70s. At that time, about 48 species of fish...