That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information
Over the past few weeks, we’ve gotten a lot of new and exciting livestock in our fish room for both freshwater and saltwater aquariums. These are some of our favorites, but hurry in because they aren’t likely to be here for long!
Lots of colorful adult peacock cichlids:
In addition to our smaller, juvenile African cichlids, we’ve gotten in a lot of colorful adult male peacocks over the past couple of weeks. These cichlids range from three to six inches in size and have the bright, mature color prized by collectors. Some of the species we have right now are:
Aulonocara rubescens, both the “Ruby Red Peacock” and the “Albino Ruby Red Peacock”
Aulonocara hyassae “Red Shoulder Blue Peacock”
Aulonocara steveni “Albino Taiwan Reef”
Aulonocara maulana “Bicolor Peacock”
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi, both the “Lemon Jake” and Lwanda” variants
Copidachromis mloto “Ivory Head Mloto”
Sciaenochromis ahli “Electric Blue Ahli”
Friendly fish for small marine aquariums
Two fairly uncommon, peaceful blenny species are back in stock – the Segmented Blenny (Salarias segmentatus) and the Lined Blenny (Ecsenius lineatus). Both are adorable small species that are perfect for smaller aquariums that might be too small for another algae-eating blenny like the Lawnmower or Starry Blennies.
The even smaller Panda Goby (Paragobius lacunicolus) is ideal for tiny nano-reef aquariums. These tiny gobies have a maximum size of only one inch and have white bodies with black fins and an orange head. They aren’t available often so when they’re gone, they might not be back for several months.
Another small goby, the Tangoroa Shrimpgoby (Ctenogoboips tangaroai), is a good partner for small pistol shrimp or on their own in community aquariums. They have generally white bodies with a long dorsal ray and can be found building a burrow or scooting along the bottom of the aquarium.
Rare and unusual saltwater fish:
Hybrid Lemonpeel Pygmy Angel (Centropyge flavissimus var.) – a first for TFP! We only have one of these pygmy angels in stock, but it is a new favorite worth mentioning. While most of its coloration is typically of the Lemonpeel Pygmy Angel, this particular fish has a black tail and black trim around the back of its body, making us think it hybridized with an Eiblii or Half Black Pygmy Angel at some point. Very unique!
Mystery Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus ocellatus) – This rare little wrasse has been here for a few weeks now and is making himself at home! The Mystery Wrasse has a gorgeous blue and green coloration and is safe for most reef tanks. The one we have is super active and definitely has put aside the secretive “mystery” part of his common name!
Helfrichi Firefish (Nemateleostris helfrichi) – This little dartfish is on on the wish list of most of our Fish Room staff. It has a beautiful coloration, a peaceful nature and small adult size, and isn’t a picky eater. These fish never stay in our Fish Room long when we are able to get them and we don’t expect to be able to keep the one we have left for very long.
Acro, Acro Acro!
It’s been a good week for SPS lovers! A few new coral shipments have left us with some gorgeous Acropora’s – ultra colorful, unique formations, dense colonies, even a large Table Top Acropora.
Keep in mind, patrons of our Lancaster, PA retail store have first dibs on the livestock listed here. If you are interested in a species, I would recommend giving the livestock department a call ASAP at 1-877-367-4377. Even if we’re no longer in stock, most times we can special order what you’re looking for.
Thanks,
Eileen