yikai

Heteropriacanthus cruentatus from hawaii. looks interesting.

the unidentified Pseudojuloides was found in 1997 from palau. here's a picture.' i think this may be the holotype

C. katherinae for sale in LADD. what do you think? they say it's from indonesia. looks like katherinae. but could also be one of those weird species in the temmicnki group.

yah the photos just uploaded today

i know that i always come across as rude and arrogant and a smart alec know it all. it pains everyone here trust me i knowww. i also know that i ain't exactly the nicest and friendliest reefer here. ok maybe i am the most unfriendly reefer here. and i do a bad job at hiding it. and i deserve it. i'm not being sarcastic here. i also know about your secret hate lemon PMs you hold with your friends everyday and how you had an army of lemon haters. back then i would device plans to make you angry and piss everyone off. i was an ignorant and angsty kid then. while i am still a kid now, i try, now and then, to be nicer and more friendly. but i think i'm still doing a bad job at it. that's why i quit as a moderator and that's why i've abstained from the forum for most parts now and resided in my hybrid thread section where i can post on all the rare fish i want. but sometimes even there, i still manage to offend people. but really. i'm trying. so considering you know me so well. you must know that this is very hard for me to say. and i'm swalllowing my pride and saying a big sorry to you here, and to johan, in public, not in PM. so, peace. and sorry. and i really mean it. i wish to put all our past behind us, if you want to.

and jackywong please. stop acting so petty by giving me -1 post. it's been so long already and if you can't let go then there's something wrong with you.

that's funny. you addressed digiman's previous comment and called him henry, and then edited the post. i know that you are unhappy with, *other things* besides this. and i'm sorry if i've offended you in my previous posts. but i still stand my ground that there is no difference between a rusty flame and a shepardi. so i think lets just end the argument here and since you have the 37 years of experience and the PhD, i'll just take your advice and listen. afterall what do i know. i'm just a 19 year old hobbyist with a fish tank in my living room.

and yeah, you win. it's pointless for me to go on anyway. you win. you have the 37 years and the phd. i just have my fish tank.

Oh please. to say that "suppliers can tell whatever they want" is not throwing a stone at you. you are supplying philippine fish. it is true that 90% of philippine fish suppliers list the fishes wrongly. is it wrong then i would assume? absolutely not. i have seen your real shepardi and your rusty flame hybrids. there is no difference. i am not saying you are wrong, i am just telling you that there is no way to differentiate these two fishes based on appearance. i also did not say that shepardis are found where rusty angels are found in. i don't think you understand what i am saying. i am saying that there is a chance, a shepardi angel IS a hybrid of the flame and the rusty. which got separated many years ago and are isolated by themselves, which then got classified as a species on it's own. you come here trying to prove to me how smart you are etc etc. but yet you have not displayed a single backing towards your story. tell me then. how do you differentiate the real shepardis from the hybrid flame/rusty? there is no difference! because they are the same! assume this. years ago rusty and flame angels hybridised in the philippines. due to allopatric speciation, the hybrids landed up in guam where they got isolated. years later, they are described as shepardi angels. but wait, now there are similar looking fish in the philippines that are rusty x flame hybrids!? YES. my point exactly. the are the same. while it is true that i have no field experience. i have no phd. i only have a tank and i only search the books and internet. yes that is all true. but right now, you are not presenting me with any information that i don't already know to support your claim to fame. so if you expect me to sit here while you attack me with baseless arguments, then i'm sorry. at this point, you're no better than me. and until you can show me how your 37 years of diving and a phd can teach me how you differentiate a rusty x flame angel from a shepardi based on appearance, you have just wasted your time and everyone's time. i know i am wayyy under your league. and you may be better than me. show me then. don't just type things that everyone can type.

this photo was posted by tony vargas. 8 semifasciatus females! this is the most number of these rare fishes i've seen together in one picture. so nice. tony is going to be writing an article on these fishes soon. can't wait to read.

and btw, i was the one who wrote the reefbuilders article complementing your fishes and have been to unpack all the shipments that you sent to junkai and victor of iwarna. i was, and remain very impressed by your livestock quality. arriving very healthily and with numerous rare and undescribed species. that is, until now. it's really a shame that you replied in such a childish and angry manner where a simple healthy discussion on this grey area in flame-rusty hybrids could have been carried out.

Hi Johan, thanks for your reply. how sure are you that Centropyge shepardi and rusty flame angels are not the same thing? there have been extensive discussion on this topic by john coppolino and other ichthyologist that pure shepardis are a result of natural hybridisation between the flame angel and the rusty angel fish that have set up camp and distribution in guam and the marianas. and some parts of japan. assuming that that is true, which i believe is so, then there is technically no difference in a rusty flame, and a shepardi. and the only difference in the fish would be the name that's given to it over many years that everyone is so accustomed to. a rusty flame is no difference in appearance to a shepardi. i would believe that someone of your 37 years of knowledge and your holding of a PhD would know. so how then, would you tell me the difference between a rusty flame and a shepardi, phenotypically based on appeance only. and NOT location, nor DNA testing? if i were to dump 100 "rusty flame" angels into your shepardi collection area without you knowing, would you be able to differentiate these 100 fakes from the real shepardi? i doubt it. i would say impossible even. appearance wise there is no difference look, no one here, especially not me, is questioning your knowledge on this and certainly not your expertise. it is a grey area as with most hybrid stories. i am not saying you are wrong and i am right. neither am i forcing you to believe me. i don't have a phd and i am not an expert like you. but i am dissapointed that a person with your qualification would lash out here with such hostility and lack of composure. i mean, you have been collecting for some 37 years right? i'm sure you can shed more information and enlighten ignorant ol' me.

haha. post a pic of your rusty angel harem. i only have a pair. wanted a harem but diversity is more important for me. interested in the appearance of your rusty flames as every one is different.

flames can breed with rusty flames to produce a rusty flame x flame angel back cross. the hybrid will show more flame characteristics but still remain a rusty flame. i had a pair of very dominant flame angel pair that spawns every night. i added in one rusty flame and initially the fight was bad, but subsided after awhile. but the fight got worse suddenly and i had to separate the flame angel pair. the lone rusty flame was very territorial and soon took over the entire tank. i added another rusty flame and fighting ensued. so i separated the new rusty flame. then i added back the flame pair and the new rusty flame, and the old rusty flame got wacked very badly. but i decided to leave it. 1 week later, all 4 are leaving each other alone and the flame pair has begun spawning again after all that disruption. the rusty flames have also paired up and the flame angel male is showing interest in the female rusty flame.

carribean longtail jawfish for sale at LADD. 2nd piece recently. and only at 80 USD.

where was the rusty flame collected? fuel, there is no such thing as a shepardi angel being collected anywhere near philippines. i give up trying to convince you. suppliers can list what they want and besides, rusty flames are 100% identical looking to shepardi. so even if i fly to guam and personally collect one real shepardi for you now, no one will ever tell the difference unless DNA test is being done. dom, you still have your harem of flames? or are they all gone now.

very nice. good luck adding it into the tank with the flame angel. i have a pair of rusty flames and a pair of flame angels. very difficult for me to do because the pair of flames were established, and i added in the rusty flame pairs at different time. so the fighting was quite severe for 2 occasions.

gumdrop gobies come from africa shipments usually cf, ml, iwarna all brought in before.

oh wow! it's an encrusting palythoa. grows in a super thick rubbery mat and all the polyps are connected like that.

i think it's insane how gorgeous it is.

v nice!

the coral beauty at coralfarm is not a hybrid. it's just an aberration, with a funky colour morph.

cocos lemonpeels are rare, but they have appeared before but are always expensive and i've never seen the juveniles. this isn'st the first cocos- lemonpeel with the juvenile spot. i think it's the 2nd one we've posted here. still extremely rare to see a small sized one like this!

cf is the only sole distributor of joculator angels in singapore that come direct from the collector himself at cocos island. all other sources in singapore except coral farm are parallel imports from other lfs around the world.

how they manage to get pthirophagus cleaner wrasse!?? isn't it banned? i don't see them anymore!