Bubble algae has a nasty reputation, and it is mostly earned by people who tried to squeeze the shiny green spheres and watched a dozen new ones appear the following week. The plant is not that hard to control once you understand the one rule that governs it: each...
If you want a reef tank that feels alive with behavior rather than just color, few things beat a goby and pistol shrimp pair. The shrimp is nearly blind but a tireless digger; the goby has sharp eyes but no home. Together they run one of the most charming partnerships...
The first time you take a cutter to a coral you paid good money for, your hands will shake. Mine did. But fragging is one of the most rewarding skills in the hobby: it lets you shape colonies, trade with other reefers, and rescue a coral that is getting shaded or...
If you have kept a reef for more than a few months, you have heard someone say “the big three” like it is a secret handshake. Calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are the parameters your corals draw down as they build skeletons, and once your livestock grows...
Everybody wants a magic list of critters that make algae disappear, and I understand the appeal after you have scrubbed the glass for the third time in a week. The honest truth is that a cleanup crew (CUC) is a maintenance tool, not a cure. It grazes film algae, turns...
