Flora & Fauna

Slender, schooling dartfish with a distinctive forked tail and blue-grey body. Best kept in pairs or small groups; will share a burrow. Reef-safe and active in the mid-water column.

Solitary LPS coral with a single large fleshy polyp in extraordinary colour patterns. Slow-growing but stunning. Target-feed meaty foods for best growth and coloration.

Elegant, understated tang ranging from brown to blue-grey with fine markings. Peaceful and hardy. Excellent algae grazer and reef-safe.

Bright green, tissue-thin sheets of macroalgae familiar on coastlines worldwide. Fast-growing nutrient exporter and a relished food for tangs, urchins, and rabbitfish. Tolerates a very wide temperature and salinity range. Can become weedy if not harvested — keep export-focused.

Tiny brown-orange shrimp with white polka-dots and a characteristic upward tail-bob dance. Commonly lives among anemones and Zoanthids in groups. One of the most endearing nano reef invertebrates.

Unmistakable calcified macroalgae resembling an old-fashioned shaving brush — white stalk topped with a tuft of fine green filaments. Anchors in sandbed. Relatively short-lived (months to a year); when it dies it releases calcium into the water. An endearing curiosity for Caribbean reef displays.

Active and colourful wrasse with six horizontal blue stripes. Pest controller — eats flatworms and small pests. Can be territorial with similar species.

Spectacular black-and-white patterned eel. One of the most reef-compatible morays as it eats crustaceans rather than fish. Needs a very secure lid.

Green star polyps (GSP) are one of the most popular beginner corals, forming rapid-spreading mats of bright green polyps. They are extremely hardy, tolerating a wide range of conditions. Their fast growth can become invasive, so placement should be considered carefully.

Fast-moving, flat-shelled snail that looks more like a slug. Reproduces readily in reef tanks, forming beneficial colonies that graze film algae and coralline. Fish generally ignore them; a great hitchhiker species.

Stylophora is a classic branching SPS coral with short, rounded branch tips. Commonly called cats paw coral, it is a good entry-level SPS and grows quickly under reef lighting. Available in pink, green, and purple colour morphs.

Spectacular non-photosynthetic coral with bright orange or yellow star-like polyps. Does not need light but requires target-fed mysis or brine shrimp every few days. Challenging but visually stunning — a showpiece coral.

One of the most popular reef blennies — mottled tan with a characteristic black tail spot and expressive eyes. Grazes on algae and is generally reef-safe with corals. Full of personality.

Larger turban-shaped snail with a heavily ridged shell. A workhorse algae grazer on rockwork and glass — handles tougher hair algae that smaller snails cannot manage. Peaceful and active.

The toadstool coral is a large, distinctive soft coral with a stalk and a broad, ruffled cap covered in polyps. One of the most beginner-friendly reef corals, it tolerates a wide range of conditions. It periodically closes up and sheds a waxy film — normal behaviour.

Bold, tomato-red with a single white cheek stripe. Hardy and beginner-friendly, closely related to the Ocellaris. Pairs readily with bubble-tip anemones in captivity.

Torch coral is a striking LPS coral with long flowing polyps tipped in gold, white, or green that wave like flames in gentle current. It shares care requirements with other euphyllia corals but is somewhat more sensitive to elevated nutrients and temperature spikes. Torch coral disease (rapid tissue necrosis) can devastate colonies, so quarantine new specimens.

Conical-shelled snail that rights itself when knocked over — unlike turbo snails. Efficient algae grazer on glass and rock. Reef-safe and long-lived.

Slightly more vibrant coloring than its ocellaris cousin. Pairs beautifully with Bubbletip or Magnificent anemones. Very popular reef fish.

LPS coral with trumpet-shaped polyps arranged in clusters. Hardy and fast-growing. Comes in green, blue, and gold. One of the best beginner LPS corals available.

Heavyweight saltwater clean-up crew member. Excellent at mowing down hair algae on glass and rock. Can knock over frags — secure corals in its path.

A dense mat of mixed short filamentous algae — the dominant algae type on wave-swept reef flats in nature. In captivity it traps detritus and is extremely difficult to manually remove. Sea urchins (Diadema, Tuxedo) and tangs are the most effective grazers. Consider a manual scraping plus herbivore-stocking approach.

Brilliant solid yellow tang from Hawaiian reefs. A staple of the reef aquarium hobby. Excellent algae grazer and generally peaceful.

Vibrant yellow with blue spots, best known for its mutualistic relationship with pistol shrimp — the shrimp digs and maintains a shared burrow while the goby stands guard. A staple of any reef tank.

Zoanthids (zoas) are colonial soft corals that form mats of individual polyps in an extraordinary range of colours and patterns, making them highly collectible. They are among the hardiest corals for beginner reef keepers and grow rapidly under good conditions. Some zoa morphs contain palytoxin; always wear gloves when handling.