That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information
Greetings! The big news this week? MACNA!! Our team is on location in Atlantic City for this year’s main event, and Dave will be tweeting on all the cool stuff going on there. I’m sure we can also look forward to a blog recap highlighting the showstoppers.
In the news this week: more new species. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the diversity we find on this little blue planet blows my mind. This time the newly discovered critters were found at around 500 meters depth near the Canary Islands. Don’t be expecting to see these deep water oddities in your local aquarium store, but take a look anyway because they’re just cool.
There was also this article on a risque new Chimera or Ghost Shark species discovered off the Southern California coast!
As if there wasn’t enough at the beach to look out for as a hazard, people in New Zealand now have to be aware of puffers and puffer toxin when they’re frolicking on those beautiful coasts. This piece should hit home with aquarists, too, as fun and adorable as puffers are there is a risk involved in keeping them in aquariums that has to be kept in mind, as the toxin has the potential inflict some serious damage. Read more on puffer toxin in Eileen’s blog about toxins.
And now for a look at the future of the aquarium hobby! We all know that leaving our precious aquariums home alone for extended periods of time can be stressful, and many of us can relate to the horror of tank disasters that can occur while we’re on vacation or working long hours. Why not construct your own robot to monitor your tank? Seems like an impossibility? Not when it comes with the help of the braniacs at Erector! The Spykee Robot may be the key to giving you a little piece of mind.
This week we got some pretty cool stuff in the fish room in addition to all the favorites. Here are the highlights:
I’m a fan of Possum Wrasses. Also known as Arrowhead Wrasses and Pygmy Wrasses, these little beauties are fun to watch, s 
and they’re reef safe. Their small size makes them suitable for even smaller tanks. The Tanaka Possum Wrasse is the newest arrival!
We also received a lovely little Polleni Grouper. Only about 3-4″ and very pretty! Of course, I’ve never seen an ugly Polleni.
On the fresh side, the Zebra Loaches that arrived this week are looking particularly robust and active. Those attractive stripes would complement any community tank. The new Bug-eye Squeaker Cats, Synodontis contractus, also caught my eye. Synos are interesting looking cats in general, but the patterns on these are very attractive and the current stock is fat and happy. If you’re on the market for African Cichlids, I recommend the adult Pseudotropheus acei with their spectacular blue color.
Until next time, Patty
Pufferfish image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Mbz1
Patty here. So about once a week we get a shipment of bulk corals, anything from polyps and mushrooms to leathers and acros. Every once in a while we find something new that we don’t immediately recognize, and this week we got an interesting piece that is very unique and hasn’t been immediately recognizable as anything we’ve ever received. Though we have our suspicions, we haven’t positively identified it yet, nor found anything quite like it in images and sources to confirm its identity.
The Grunion are running! AHHHHH! Actually, if you don’t know what grunion are and you’re concerned about why they are running, don’t worry, it’s actually a good thing. This might be something I would put on my bucket list of things to experience before I die. (I’m easily amused.) 
If anything could be more exciting than the running of the grunion, check out the image captured by Google earth!!! I always knew she was there somewhere, not even Nessie can escape the spying eyes in the sky! 
Everybody has an opinion on goldfish in the aquarium world, and sadly, the opinions are not always good. But when you see those bulging eyes and that bobbing, bulbous body, its hard not to smile. In case you didn’t know already goldfish do have some redeeming qualities, and they may be cause to consider them again as a new family pet. 
We get questions all the time from customers about something that emerged from their live rock or from a coral or from seemingly nowhere. Strange worms are often a fact of life in reef aquaria, and though you may not always see them, chances are there are some hiding away in the dim recesses of your rock. This little gem might help you ID or at least get closer to IDing the little surprises that come along with reefing.
We got a 
You can see where the Spanish Shawl Nudibranch gets its name, flamenco anyone? Very cool but they are specialized feeders like many other nudis!
This Hawaiian Cultured Blue Maxima is A-mazing!
Two sweet War Coral Frags…Get them while they’re here!