Photo Gallery

The blue tang is called many names. In latin, it's Paracanthurus hepatus but usually people call them Hippo tangs, palette surgeonfish, or regal tang.  And of course, from the movie Finding Nemo the blue tang is called Dory. While I've kept them in the past in previous tanks, this fish was beckoning me to purchase it before Finding Dory released in theaters. It's been growing slowly. This image was taken October 2017. At some point, I'll have to move it to a larger aquarium.

I added a harem of skunk clownfish in March 2015, and they've been in my 400g reef ever since. They explore the reef during the daytime, but at night they are all in the Sebae anemone.

I took a few top down pictures of the new acroporas that Duane planted in my reef three months ago. All of them are doing very well, showing new growth around the base as well as new branches bursting out. These will look really great in another six months or so.

While visiting fish stores during my travels, I'm always looking for that special something. This anemone's huge bubbles was just the thing that day. And these clowns loved their home... who could blame them?  That BTA is awesome, the striations mesmerizing! 

While tabling corals are my passion, I don't proactively seek them out for my reef. This one was added to my 280g reef and grew out slowly but man was it amazing.  The best view of course was from above. It didn't survive the period of time it took for me to set up the next reef tank when the 280g leaked, so pictures will be the only way to appreciate it forever. I need to get a few more like this acropora. :)

I purchased a coral that looked like an oversized ricordea, but was told it was a bubble coral. The best description I'd ever come close with was a 'pearl bubble coral' and it was grew nicely in my 280g for several years. Eventually it perished and I've never seen another one like it. The pinks and greens looked painted upon the inflated pearls, mesmerizing me often. 

I had to park this picture here as one of those times you know you'll likely not re-live later. Holding a massive colony before it has a chance to break up into smaller chunks was a fun time. Plus it puts into perspective the size of the colonies that had grown in my 400g reef over a 3.5 year period.

This coral was commonly called the Scripps acro, purportedly because it came from the Scripps Institute. Apparently they had a reef tank at some point in the past. I really enjoyed how this SPS grew, creating a thicket or forest like area along the back of the 280g's rockwork. The bright green sticks were especially nice to see in the dusk blue period.

When you see clownfish eggs, usually they are brightly colored the first 24 hours.  Mine have been vivid orange, and then they turn brown for the next week or so. When they appear silvery like this one, that's because all those eyes are looking at you, and they are about to hatch in the next 24-48 hours.

The Colt Coral is the very first one I ever purchased. It's in the leather family, growing talk stalk-like appendages that sway in the current. It was a fast grower, requiring me to trim it often.