Top 10 Saltwater Aquarium Fishes
The Most Recommended Fish for Saltwater Aquariums and Tips for Choosing Your Fish
Marine fish are among the top 10 saltwater aquarium fishes, most colorful and beautiful creatures in the hobby, and with hu...
Saber Squirrelfish – Facts and Photographs
The Saber squirrelfish (Sargocentron spiniferum) is also known as the Giant squirrelfish and Spiny squirrelfish. They are named after the large curved spine on the lower gill cover which can be seen in th...
Tricolor Parrotfish-Facts and Photographs
The Tricolour parrotfish (Scarus tricolor) is also known as the Three color parrotfish. Tricolor Parrotfish are relatively common in Tanzanian waters.
Within the various species of Parrotfish which are ...
Feather Star Crab- Facts and Photographs
The Feather Star Crab (Tiaramedon spinosum) is not commonly seen in Tanzanian waters and this is likely a function of both their cryptic habits and camouflage making them difficult to spot and their rarity....
Milky Ovulid -Facts and Photographs
The Milky Ovulid (Procalpurnus lacteus) is also known as the Netted Milky Ovulid. Although they resemble cowries, they are not a true cowries , instead they are in the Ovulidae family also known as False C...
Bluemoon Parrotfish-Facts and Photographs
The Bluemoon parrotfish (Chlorurus atrilunula) is also known as the Black Crescent Parrotfish. They were described in 1984 by Randall and Bruce. Parrotfish obtain their name from their teeth which are fused...
Tomato Grouper – Facts and Photographs
The The Tomato Grouper (Cephalopholis sonnerati) is also known as the Tomato Rockcod, the Tomato Hind, the Red Coral Grouper and the Tomato Cod. All these specimens were photographed on the Tanzanian coast....
Celebes Flathead- Facts and Photographs
The Celebes flathead (Thysanophrys celebica) is also known as the Quarterspined Flathead , the Manado Flathead and the Sulawesi Flathead. They were were first described by Bleeker in 1855. The are fairly c...
Rosy Spindle Cowrie -Facts and Photographs
The Rosy Spindle Cowrie (Phenacovolva rosea) is also known by other local names as the Many Host Phenacovolva, the Double-snouted Spindle Cowrie, Tokio's Volva and the Gorgonian Spindle Cowry. They are not ...
Longsnout Flathead- Facts and Photographs
The Longsnout flathead (Thysanophrys chiltonae) was first described by Schultz in 1966 and they are probably the most common of the smaller flatheads in Tanzanian waters. The specimens in the images were i...
Giant Reef Corallimorph – Facts and Photographs
The Giant Reef Corallimorph (Paracorynactis hoplites) is neither an anemone or a coral but falls somewhere in-between. Essentially they are similar to a single polyp coral but without the calcareous skeleto...
Red Sea Flathead- Facts and Photographs
The Red Sea Flathead (Thysanophrys springeri) was only described by Knapp in 2013. They were named after Victor G. Springer, who collected the holotype off Massawa, Eritrea. They are fairly common in the sh...
Chestnut Eyelash-Blenny – Facts and Photographs
The Chestnut Eyelash Blenny (Cirripectes castaneus) is also known as the Chestnut Blenny. The species was described by Valenciennes in 1836 and were presumably so named (castaneus meaning the color of chest...
Forktail Rabbitfish-Facts and Photographs
The Forktail Rabbitfish (Siganus argenteus) is also known as the Streamlined Spinefoot and Schooling Rabbit-fish. They were originally described by Quoy & Gaimard in 1825. As their one common name allu...
Threadfin Anthias – Facts and Photographs
The Threadfin Anthias (Nemanthias carberryi) is also known as the Threadfin Goldie and Carberryi Anthias. They are not at all common in Tanzanian waters and we have only found them in a few locations on wal...
Spider Decorator Crab- Facts and Photographs
The Spider Decorator Crab (Camposcia retusa) is also known as the Blunt Decorator Crab, the Velcro Crab and the Tarantula Crab. Being well camouflaged they are difficult to spot and are probably easier foun...
Spotted Dwarf Goby – Facts and Photographs
The Spotted Dwarfgoby Eviota guttata is as its name suggests is a small fish. At the time of description they were described as having the smallest vertebrae known but that honor these days goes either to ...
Burrowing Fine Spine Sea Urchin – Facts and Photographs
The Burrowing Fine Spine Sea Urchin (Echinostrephus molaris) is also known as the Boring Urchin. As can be seen in the images they burrow or bore a hole into the reef, usually but not always into Porites co...
Pygmy Squid- Facts and Photographs
Pygmy squid are technically not squid although they closely resemble them. Instead they fall in the genus Idiosepius. Very little is known of their habits and these found in Tanzania among and alongside the...
Crinoid Shrimp-Facts and Photographs
Cinoid Shrimp are also known as Feather Star Shrimp. They live exclusively on Crinoids or Feather Stars. Crinoids or Feather Stars are echinoderms that are mainly seen out at night in Tanzania but on occas...
African Wrasse- Facts and Photographs
The African wrasse (Coris cuvieri) is also known as the African Coris and False Clown wrasse. They are not a common wrasse on Tanzanian reefs but neither are they uncommon. As with many wrasses the colourat...
Spotted Reef Crab- Facts and Photographs
The Spotted Reef Crab (Carpilius maculatus) is also known as the Seven-eleven crab, the Dark-finger coral crab, and the Large spotted crab. They are not commonly seen in Tanzanian waters, probably due to th...
Filefish Teeth Anchoring at night
Some species of Filefish teeth anchorage are known to wedge themselves into corals at night and it is theorized that the corals assist in masking their smell from predators. However as can be seen in the ...
Birdbeak Burrfish – Facts and Photographs
The Birdbeak Burrfish Cyclichthys orbicularis is also known as the Orbicular Burrfish. Burrfish differ from the Porcupine fish in that they have rigid spines instead of movable spines. They have the abilit...
Sea Urchin Cardinalfish-Facts and Photographs
The Sea Urchin Cardinalfish ( Siphamia mossambica) is not an easy fish to spot as they spend most of their time hiding within the spines of an urchin. They are even more difficult to photograph. The images ...
Spot Tail Dartfish-Facts and Photographs
The Spot Tail Dartfish, Ptereleotris heteroptera, is also known as the Blacktail Dartfish, Indigo Dartfish and Blacktail Goby. They are fairly shy fish and are not easy fish to photograph well. As their nam...
Whitemargin Moray Eel-Facts and Photographs
The Whitemargin moray eel (Gymnothorax phasmatodes) is also known as the Ghost Moray Eel, they are similar in looks to G. albimarginatus which is found further east in the West Indo-Pacific area. They are n...