July 2013: Reef Retrospective

As always, the first week of the month gives me the pleasure of sharing the “best of the reef in photos.” Here’s what I saw in July. Seahorses will hitch to anything that offers a good enough grip, as this Mexican turbo snail discovered the hard way: Sun corals rarely extend their tentacles fully, due to the danger of getting nipped by a passing predator.  Once in a while, though, I have the pleasure of seeing these lovely corals at their photogenic best: Snail races. Brought to you by “dinnertime on the reef”: And another one from the snail files

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June In Retrospective on the Reef!

As always, my first post of the new month offers some of the best shots from the previous month on my little reef. Among this month’s highlights: Ghillie the seahorse watching me as I watched him/ Emperor Maximus Angryfish I keeping a watchful eye out for shenanigans. Wilson the urchin wearing a suction cup “hat” that he picked up to use as camouflage. Emo the clownfish hiding out in his host anthelia, but keeping an eye on the Hawaiian sun coral in case there’s food to steal. And, finally, Ghillie  passing a reflective moment on the powerhead: All things considered,

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Dancers of the Reef

Seahorses mate in mid-water, during an elaborate mating “dance” that can last for several hours before the transfer of eggs takes place. The male and female swim together both to bond and also to coordinate their movements so the female can deposit her eggs in the male’s pouch. (Not an easy feat when you have to accomplish the task in a current without any arms or legs.) So far, Cygnus and Ceti haven’t actually managed a successful transfer. Ceti bred twice with her previous mate (little Ghillie, now abandoned in favor of the larger – though less intelligent – Cyg) but

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Best of the Week

Instead of a unified post this week, I thought I’d share a few of the very best moments from this week’s reefing: Cygnus perched in a sea fan: Wilson the tuxedo urchin “cleaning up” algae around the sun corals: Life with brittle stars means you never know where a set of wiggling legs might come from: And, last but not least, Ghillie the seahorse hanging out with Wilson and Phobos the cleaner shrimp: I’ll have another tank-related story post next week, but for today, I hope you enjoy the random moments! If you had to pick a “shot of the

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