For those of you wondering why all the animals around reefs are so vividly colored, I definitely recommend checking out this multimedia presentation at National Geographic titled “Coral Reef Color, A Fish’s-Eye View.” Join NatGeo photog extraordinaire Tim Laman as he uncovers the mystery of reef colors!

A week ago I wrote about the spawning of the very rare McCulloch’s clownfish from Dr.’s Foster and Smith’s LiveAquaria and was pleasantly surprised to see a Twitter update on the fish that included a picture of a three-day-old fry! Not too much information but two great pics of the fry’s new home and a great closeup I have included below. Make sure you add @LiveAquaria to your Twitter following list or visit their Twitter page at http://twitter.com/LiveAquaria. Also check me out @oceanathome.

I caught glimpse of a message in my Twitter stream today from LiveAquaria.com teasing about “going live with something extra cool” this afternoon. So of course I came back to find out what it was and was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a video of a spawning pair of the ultra-rare McCulloch’s Clownfish. Seems that this specimen has only been successfully bred in captivity once!

I’m going to tell you something and promise not to laugh? I’ve never seen the movie “Finding Nemo” but the good thing is the movie did not inspire me to get into the hobby so “Nemo” was not on my list as the first fish I bought. When I got bitten by the saltwater bug in the mid-1990s I wanted to get a Flame Angel, an anemone and some clowns. I have yet to get the anemone opting for a frogspawn coral but have a pair of Oscellaris or False Percula clowns in the tank. The interesting and peaceful fish are a great addition to any reef tank.

Here I am sitting in front of the post editor screen scratching my head for a cool and unique post. I steal a glance at the tank…yuck! Red slime algae and I already wrote on that. I turn my head to the right and look at my dry erase board asking for divine intervention and inspiration. Nope, no note from God. Wait! What is that in the corner? Hmmm, my “original” fish wishlist from over a year ago when my tank was dry and collecting dust and it seemed as if I’d NEVER finish my stand. So I decided to take a look back and see what fish I wanted to add and how it progressed.

In case you haven’t heard about House Resolution (HR) HR 669, it is a bill Congress is reviewing called the “The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act”. This bill, if passed, will change the way that the US Government classifies animal species that are not native to the United States. With good intent, it may go a bit too far with wide-reaching effects on this hobby as well as for other pet owners.

Hi my name is Brian and I’m an addict. I’m addicted to Pseudocheilinus hexataenia and will do whatever I can to get one to survive. Yes my obsession with the P. hexataenia, commonly referred to as the sixline wrasse, is a bit nutty but I have had the damnedest luck trying to get one of these magnificent fish to survive. I am now on my fifth and hopefully final one that I picked up in Oakland on my way home today.

ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGG!!! Finally got these bastards after 2 hours of chasing and total dismantle of aquascaping. Man it sucks! Rock piled in randomly, coral in tub floating, one murky tank, I am beat!

Heading into the tank to wrangle up seven green chromis, since the fish trap did not work. Four are finding new homes and three are staying!