That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  California’s Steinhart Aquarium (a “must see, by the way”) has become the first American aquarium to breed the dwarf cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis), and the first anywhere to do so on a large scale.  Marine hobbyists have reason to celebrate, as this smallest of the world’s cuttlefishes, the only one that can reasonably be expected to do well in home aquariums, has until now been in short supply (large cuttlefish species require a great deal of room, and are not practical inhabitants for most home or even public aquariums).  Lessons learned at Steinhart may someday help to establish breeding populations of this most fascinating Cephalopod among private aquarists. Read More »

Working here I often find people looking for a fish that is just a little different from everything else. Although they may not be the most exotic fish out there, the Bucktooth Tetra (Exodon paradoxus) will bring some life to a tank, as well as some color and attitude like no other fish I have seen in my time here. But these aren’t your average community fish.

At first glance, you can see that these Amazon natives are quite attractive. They have rather elongate bodies, lending to their speed and agility. They are tan with a beautiful, green-gold shimmer along the mid-line, two well-defined, rich, black spots, and orange-red accents in the fins. It is said that the fish gets its name from its prodruding teeth, though these teeth are not always visible. These are hardy, robust fish that can live for many years in home aquariums. Read More »

Hello everyone, Craig back again with another odd and interesting fish species to highlight! In this entry, I want to talk about an old favorite among fish enthusiasts, the Dragon Fish, Gobioides broussonetti. It has a long, slender eel-like body and a huge, gaping basket-like mouth. Coloration ranges from silver to grey to purple depending on health and environment. The Dragon Fish has tiny eyes and can hang vertical on your glass with its suction cup-like ventral fins. Want to know more? Well, let’s get into some specifics! Read More »

We use plastic every day; there is no getting around it. From the cars we drive to the food we eat, plastic materials dominate our lives. Plastics have simplified our lives so much over the past century it would be virtually impossible to reduce our use. The problem with plastics is the inability to biodegrade. Plastics break down over time, but only into smaller pieces. Read More »

When most people think about where some of their favorite aquarium fish come from, they usually think of brightly colored corals and fish darting about in the sunlight. If you ask them how fish are collected, they might picture collectors snorkelling or skin-diving to the reefs to hand-collect the fish that will soon appear in their local fish stores. But, for a large number of fish in the aquarium trade, this is just not a reality. Sure, plenty of fish come from shallow reefs close to the surface, but many also come from deep, dark reefs over 100 feet below the surface where light doesn’t penetrate and even some of the colors of the fish themselves don’t, for all practical purposes, exist. Read More »