A flowerhorn on the cover of TFH? Love them or hate them, flowerhorns are extremely popular. These beautiful and expensive hybrid fish are nothing if not controversial. Although they are much more an Oriental phenomenon than a Western one (this specimen was photographed in an aquarium in the lobby of the Miracle Grande Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand), they have their proponents—and opponents—everywhere. The controversy surrounding these hybrid cichlids, as large and aggressive as they are ornamental and unusual, is discussed in Tom Lorenz’s article, “Flower Power.” Feature Articles A Caribbean Sea Biotope Aquarium Author: Jeremy J. Gosnell While many aquariums mix a variety of species coming... Read more»

Gracing TFH’s cover this month are a shrimp goby Stonogobiops nematodes and its pistol shrimp partner Alpheus randalli, a pair that lives in mutual symbiosis: The shrimp digs a tunnel in the substrate, which the shrimp and goby both share. When they leave the tunnel, the pistol shrimp (which has poor eyesight) keeps one of its antennae in constant contact with the ever-alert goby, and at the first sign of danger the pair quickly retreats into the tunnel. As author and photographer James Fatherree explains in his article “A Look at Invertebrates for the Non-Reef Aquarium” (p. 96), these animals make a wonderful addition to a marine/FOWLR system, and their activities and interactions... Read more»