Arrow crab introduction Fish are nice, corals are pretty. But if you want something with a real personality for your aquarium, I’d like to introduce you to a creature that’s sure to entertain. With its exotic look and graceful-yet-gawky movements, few aquarium specimens are as charming as the arrow crab. The arrow crab is a fun and fascinating addition to …
Harlequin shrimp care guide
Introduction The Harlequin shrimp, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful marine invertebrates in the world. Just take a look. They are mostly white with colorful spots all over their mantis shaped body. In general, they grow to a maximum size of 2 inches. Females will be significantly larger than the males. The three most common reasons aquarium …
Brine shrimp: all about cysts and hatching
What are brine shrimp? The non-scientific short answer: brine shrimp are fish food that will drive your reef fish crazy. The more specific answer: brine shrimp are tiny invertebrates (arthropod crustaceans really), from the genus Artemia, that naturally grow in salt lakes. When fully grown, they are about 0.4-0.5 inches in length (about 1 centimeter)–which means they are totally bite-sized …
Chocolate chip starfish: reef safe?
Chocolate chip starfish are quirky-cool and easy to identify, but are they reef safe? That’s the question I set out to answer with this blog post. Introduction So, what is a chocolate chip starfish, anyway? Here’s one, take a look: As you can see in the picture above, the chocolate chip starfish is a star-shaped marine invertebrate that gets …
Cerith Snails: MVP of the clean up crew
Looking to add another little critter to your clean-up-crew (CUC)? Maybe you could pick out a few cerith snails, the next time you head to your local fish store. Ceriths are small, snaily scavengers with a pointy spiral shell. They only grow to be about 1 inch long and are well suited for small or large tanks alike. A popular …
The Pistol Shrimp: an awesome reef invertebrate
The pistol shrimp is an amazing reef invertebrate. It isn’t quite as popular as some of the cleaner shrimp species, like the blood red scarlet shrimp and the skunk cleaner, and for a very good reason I’ll highlight in a moment, but it certainly is just as interesting. The most fascinating thing about of the pistol shrimp is that it …
Serpent starfish
Serpent Starfish Serpent starfish belong to the family Ophiuridae (one of the five Echinoderm families), which also includes basket and brittle sea stars. These species are very popular in the aquarium trade for their bright and exotic colors and hardiness in the tank. The serpent and brittle starfish are closely related species. The difference is that the brittle star has …