Hello and Welcome!

Oxymonacanthus longirostris pair in my 75 gallon mixed reef.

Hello and welcome to Aquarium Animals! I'll be using this blog to document my experiences working with marine animals in aquaria, both at home in a public aquarium setting. In general, posts will focus on a single species or species group with information on their biology, life history and captive care. I'll be focusing on my favorite animals which also tend to be those that are a bit trickier to keep either because of their cultural requirements or because they have only recently begun to be kept in aquaria. I've always been drawn to keeping animals that represent a challenge. Perhaps it began with my first saltwater fish, an emaciated pair of Scooter Dragonets (Synchiropus ocellatus), about which I knew little other than that I was told they were easier than the fish I really wanted, a Green Mandarin (Synchiropus splenidus). That day I embarked on a fish feeding odyssey that would include 4 species of pipefish, 3 species of dragonets, 1 species of leopard wrasse and 3 species of filefish, including the incredible Long-Nose Filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris), an obligate coralivore in nature. In spite of at times heroic efforts, I've had distinctly mixed results keeping some of these more challenging animals. I regret the losses deeply but I have learned a lot from them as well as from my successes and I'll be discussing both here. Some posts will focus on species with which I've had significant experience while some will rely largely on the reports of other aquarists for care information. I hope you enjoy Aquarium Animals!

Cheers, Paul