Roll in the Tanks!

We're setting up some new tanks for a HUGE assortment of zoanthids coming in from Asia really soon. Pics to follow. Woo-hoo!

Oh boy! Coupon!

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**We do not sell dancing ducks. Sadly.

When You Wish Upon A Star....

A four-armed Fromia Starfish

We've had a whole bunch of cool starfish come through our warehouse this month. Most recently was a  perfectly formed four-armed Fromia Starfish. This shipped out to a lucky aquarist at the end of last week. Fromias are incredible stars. (Some folks might know them as "Marble Stars.") The coloration can vary from all red to reddish orange with black marbling, or it can be closer to the one pictured here with a red center and tips, white in between, and marbling throughout. No two are exactly alike, especially when the number of arms varies.

Corn Cob Linckia

But as I said, we've gotten a BUNCH of a cool starfish. Check these guys out. Two new kinds of Linckias we had never seen before. This first one, the Corn Cob Linckia, (named for its resemblance to kernels of corn on the cob) is crazy strong. Normally Linckias are pretty easy to move. But these Corn Cobs stick to our tank walls like super glue! Of course, this isn't unheard of amongst starfish. Some starfish have been reported to be strong enough to rip metal off of ships. This starfish wasn't THAT strong, but compared to the other stars we normally have, he was the Hulk.

Blue Plasma Linckia

Then we got these little stunners. We named them Blue Plasma Linckias since they resemble those little plasma balls every kid used to play with at the science museum.

Picture by Kez

These starfish behave more like the Linckias we all know and love, but they have the crazy awesome pattern you see here. Sadly, we sold out of all of our special starfish for now. We have our divers and suppliers on the watch for more, but who knows if we'll ever find such unique and stellar stars again.

Mushroom Madness

We have so many new mushrooms!

Rainbow Florida Ricordea

Lavender Florida Ricordea

Our divers found a treasure trove of mushrooms around the new year, and we've been cultivating them in our tanks. Can you believe the colors on the Rainbow Florida Ricordea? Oranges, greens, blues, even purples! Speaking of purples, we got a bunch of new Lavender Florida Ricordea in, as well. Sometimes it can be tough to tell the difference between the Lavender Ricordeas and the Blue Ricordeas. All of the Florida Ricordea are the same species, and the colors are really more of a spectrum. These leaves us in a predicament at times: is it more blue or is it more purple? Is it more green, or is it a rainbow? This is where lighting really comes into play. You've got to look at your corals under the aquarium lighting in which they will regularly reside, or you'll have a tough time identifying any of your stunning colors. So on occasion, we have to override our light timers to get a look at the coloration. With the right lighting, the difference between the Lavender Ricordea and the Blue Ricordea is like night and day.

We also got some new Actinodiscus mushrooms in that we're gradually releasing from quarantine. The Cheetah Mushroom, named for, well, the obvious:

Cheetah Mushroom

Actual Cheetah

And a bunch of others that we're keeping under wraps until they're officially released on the site. The colors are spectacular. Makes you want to get a whole tank of nothing but Mushrooms.

...Hey, anyone else suddenly want mushroom pizza?

A Haiku From Our Tanks

"Oh, for the last time,"

Muttered the little clownfish.

"My name's not Nemo!"

--A Haiku by Steve the Clownfish