Cover of CORAL Magazine Volume 20, Issue 2: SEXY SHRIMPS (March/April 2023). On the cover: : Harlequin Shrimp, Hymenocera pictus, James D. Watt./Blue Planet Archive. Background: “OA Blasto”, Blastomussa sp.; MVargas Photography at Ocean Avenue, Arlington, Texas
HEREWITH, a sampling of articles and opening pages for readers curious about what the new CORAL Magazine issue brings.
Table of Contents for the March/April 2023 issue of CORAL Magazine. You can view this TOC online.“‘Conundrums are us’ seems to be our editorial motto these days, or, as one in-house skeptic put it as we assembled this issue, ‘Why put a species (Harlequin Shrimp, Hymenocera picta) on the cover that most people cannot feed or keep?’ The answer, of course, lies in the ever-evolving nature of marine aquarium husbandry.” – James Lawrence, CORAL Editor in Chief, introducing the latest issue.REEF NEWS presents findings and happenings of note in the marine world. In this issue: Stony corals put the brakes on growth as water overheats; Sea Grapes: healthy delicacies from the ocean; Meet Coradion calendula, the charismatic new Australian “Marigold” Butterflyfish; “Secret” underseas storms traced to mysterious bleaching events in French Polynesia; Coloring microscopic coral larvae to aid tracking in the wild.Reef Visions, a portfolio of extraordinary marine life spotted in the current aquarium trade, returns with an opening spread featuring the new “Memories of Jake” Acropora, a specimen collected by Tim Kelley in the Solomon Islands, and so-named as it was the last coral that URI’s Derek Hopkins discussed with the late Jake Adams.CORAL Senior Editor Scott Michael presents an unparalleled look at the enigmatic and challenging-to-keep Harlequin Shrimps, Hymenocera picta, ranging from an incredibly historic perspective to the most advanced, reliable, proven modern husbandry techniques for these iconic shrimps.Harlequin Shrimp are certainly “sexy”, but then there are the actual “Sexy Shrimps”. Scott Michael illuminates the Thor spp. complex in Here’s Twerking At You, Reefkeeper!Thor amboinensis is one of the wonderful reef aquarium and nano/pico reef species that even a home aquarist can breed. Claudia Grawe shares how to breed the Sexy Shrimp.Just because you can breed something, should you? Veteran aquarist Ramon Villaverde documents his experiences raising captive-bred Harlequin Shrimp, noting that they are “fairly easy compared to other pelagic invertebrate larvae I have worked with…”The mere mention of “drop off reefs” got some aquarists really excited about this issue. Well, here it is! Visit A Reef on the Edge, Federico Lavezzi’s dropoff reef aquarium on the Italian Riviera coast as captured and shared by author Danilo Ronchi.Once again, Felicia McCaulley and photographer Michael Vargas team up to bring you an in-depth look at one of the more misunderstood genera of LSP corals; the plate corals of the genus Cycloseris.CORAL Field Editor Vincent Chalias continues the Cycloseris deep dive with an unprecedented viewpoint of these solitary corals in the wild.Not all copepods and isopods are friends, or food! Jay Hemdal reports on the Crustacean Invasion: Parasitic Copepods and Isopods that Sometimes Attack Marine Aquarium Fishes.Looking for the current issue of CORAL, or perhaps a hard-to-find back issue? Or, just wondering if there’s a local fish shop in your area that you’ve overlooked? Be sure to check the CORAL Sources page, in print and online, to find exceptional aquarium retailers that carry CORAL Magazine.
