News

By: Chris Fong As the hobby continues to evolve with advancements in technology ever growing nano reefs are becoming more and more popular. These setups are attractive towards most people due to their small size requirements, significantly smaller setup cost compared to larger systems, and the wide variety of options aquarist can choose from in terms of equipment and livestock. However, even as our understanding of aquariums has improved along with advancements in technology small tanks in general are still considered more difficult due to their smaller volume of water. As a result, the aquarist should pay extra attention towards...

By: David Ogando Jr. For most people, when they choose to get a fish from the store, they tend to look for the vibrant and modern kinds such as the clownfish or the tangs or the cichlids of Africa and Central & South America. However, there are also some examples of fascinating fish that are living fossils from the past. They’ve outlived the dinosaurs and can become a wonderful addition to your tank! Below are some examples of “primitive fish” that you may find at Absolutely Fish. Bichirs (Polypterus spp.)     Native to Africa, bichirs (also known as a...

Corallimorpharia is a widely popular order of Cnidaria in the reef hobby today. Closely related to stony coral, Corallimorpharia can be easily identified by the lack of a stony skeleton. Corallimorpharia can be broken down into many families and genus. The genus Ricordea being one of the most diversely colored and sought after. Only two species make up the genus Ricordea, Ricordea florida and Ricordea yuma. Let’s take a closer look! Ricordea can be easily distinguished from other mushroom species by rows of bubble-like tentacles. Telling Ricordea florida and Ricordea yuma apart can be a bit more tricky. Ricordea yuma...

Black Water Fish and Their Environments  By: Christopher Fong To understand the fish that live in black water habitats it’s imperative that there is a proper understanding of what black water is and what makes it unique. The term “Black Water” is a term that refers to very soft/acidic water which is stained brown from the accumulation of tannic, humic, and fulvic acids. These acids form and accumulate when various organic matter decomposes in aquatic environments particularly dead plant matter. Due to the coloration and the chemistry of the water many black water habitats house very interesting and unique populations...