Below are brief biographies and pictures of some of our regular contributors!

John Clipperton, Editor

Our Editor, and an award-winning photographer and lifelong aquarist, John has worked with numerous top marine retailers, publishers and manufacturers on a freelance basis over the last 20 years. He has also collaborated on a range of projects with senior experts in the field, and supported organisations such as zoos, public aquaria, conservation initiatives and educational establishments. Acknowledged as a ‘World Class’ aquarium photography expert, his images have featured in, and on the covers of, an extensive range of publications in recent years and he has written dozens of articles covering a wide variety of subjects. With extensive knowledge and an eye for naturalistic aquascaping, his aquaria have won critical acclaim in the reef-keeping community.

Mike Paletta

Mike was awarded the prestigious MASNA award in 2022 for his lifelong involvement in promoting the marine aquarium hobby. Throughout the past 40 years he has devoted his time and knowledge to educate all interested in the hobby. Mike has been keeping reef tanks since the mid 1980’s and during the past 30 years he has written over 250 articles on marine fish and invertebrates in both the US and Europe. Magazines he has written for include Aquarium Fish Magazine, SeaScope, Practical Fishkeeping, UltraMarine, Aquarium Frontiers, Coral Magazine, and Freshwater and Marine Aquarium. His first book “The Modern Marine Aquarium” is an attempt to simplify marine fish keeping for the beginning hobbyist while at the same time incorporating advances that have been made due to reef keeping. His second book “Ultimate Marine Aquariums” illustrates how far the hobby has come in the past 15 years. Michael has enjoyed speaking at over 200 marine societies and national conferences in North America, Canada, South America and Europe. Michael has appeared on both local and national radio shows to discuss the hobby and to help new hobbyists become successful. Michael has also done over 20 videos for American Reef. Currently Michael has 300, 120, 90, 75, and 26- gallon reef tanks of various types set up in his home. He has helped in the set-up of over 200 tanks throughout the U.S, including several tanks over 4,000 gallons in capacity. Michael is also currently writing a weekly blog on ReefBuilders and a monthly article for Reef2Reef. Michael also acted as a consultant with the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Zoo Aquarium in Pittsburgh. Michael has B.S. from Dickinson College and a Master’s degree from Yale University. Michael has also been a technical consultant for several equipment manufacturers and online companies.

Keith Moyle

Keith’s early years in the hobby were spent keeping tropicals before moving to marines five years later and he now has over forty-five years’ experience of saltwater aquaria. He has kept various systems from large fish only aquaria to mixed reefs as well as nano and pico set ups. Continually learning, Keith’s knowledge is based on practical experience, backed up by detailed research in respect of both natural reef environments and the science behind the hobby. He first wrote about his experiences in the hobby during the 70s and 80s as a regular contributor to the British Marine Aquarists Associations journal, Marinews. Since then, he has written articles and equipment reviews for various web-based forums and groups, where he can often be found sharing experiences and contributing to discussions. His current 100-gallon system has evolved over nine years from a mixed reef to an SPS dominated system. A self-confessed gadget geek, he has an affinity with all aspects of aquarium technology, as reflected in his relatively high-tech reef. Whilst maintaining an interest in all aspects of the hobby, he is passionate about marine science and sustainability issues. Now semi-retired he can devote more time to his aquarium and keeping up with new developments.  Keen to put something back into the hobby by sharing his knowledge and experience he is now providing an aquatic consultancy and advice service to both hobbyists and retailers.ly employed in sales in the biotechnology field. 

Chris Sergeant

Chris holds an Honours Degree in Marine Biology and a Master’s Degree Coastal and Marine Resource Management from the University of Portsmouth. During his studies, and post-graduation, he spent time volunteering on marine conservation projects in Indonesia, local freshwater initiatives in the UK, and at his local public aquarium. Having previously worked with freshwater species in a laboratory environment, Chris is currently the Animal Care and Welfare Officer at the Institute of Zoology. A keen SCUBA enthusiast, he spends as much time as possible underwater diving or snorkeling, both in the UK and abroad. He keeps both marine and freshwater aquaria and is a regular contributor to aquarium publications.

Campbell Robertson

Campbell started keeping both native and tropical marines in 1970 and became editor of the British Marine Aquarist’s Association’s journal Marinews for several years. Having left the hobby at this point he followed a career as a Physics and Science teacher till retiring in 2012. He continued to be active in education writing various publications and teaching material for Physics courses taught in Scottish schools. Having now returned to the hobby he has enjoyed catching up with the changes and advances which have taken place during his absence from the hobby.

Dr. Paul Anderson

Dr. Paul Anderson’ childhood fascination with marine aquariums fueled his drive to pursue an education and career in marine science. Today, he is a Fisheries Scientist with a broad background in the conduct of conservation research, education, and outreach to inspire people to learn about, and engage to conserve, our marine environments. He has done so throughout his career from the context of public aquaria because of this sector’s ability to change the minds and behaviors of millions of visitors annually.

In 2017, he founded The Coral Reef Aquarium Fisheries Campaign, a collaborative of universities, public aquaria, and international NGOs, whose collective goal is to empower sustainable coral reef aquarium fisheries that support biodiversity conservation, healthy coral reefs, and the livelihoods of fishers, traders, and others who depend on them across the global value chain. The Campaign pursues its goal through three approaches:

1. Policy:  Assess the regulatory frameworks of these fisheries in source locales, producing actionable recommendations for governments and trade stakeholders.             
2. Upgrade the Value Chain: Change the paradigm from a volume-driven to a value-driven approach, building financial inclusion for fishers as part of a responsible supply chain.
3. Aquaculture: Offset fishing pressure by advancing aquaculture for those species that are inherently vulnerable to fishing pressure

Dr Richard Smith

Dr Richard Smith, is a British award-winning underwater photographer, author and marine conservationist. A marine biologist by training, Richard’s pioneering research on the biology and conservation of pygmy seahorses, led to the first PhD on these enigmatic fishes. Richard is a member of the IUCN Seahorse, Pipefish and Seadragon Specialist Group where he is the focal point for pygmy seahorses. He has named the two most recent pygmy seahorse discoveries from Japan, Hippocampus japapigu, and South Africa, H. nalu. Richard organises and leads marine life expeditions where the aim is for participants to get more from their diving and photography by learning about the marine environment. His bestselling book, ‘The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs’ is out now: www.OceanRealmImages.com

Timothy Smith

Tim is a public aquarist by day, freelance aquarium writer by night. Growing up on the warm South African east coast, he took a liking to fish and aquariums some 20-odd years ago and hasn’t been able to look back since. Now holding a Master’s Degree in Ichthyology and Fisheries Sciences, he has taken to the public aquarium world and all the wonderful creatures that come with it; at home, he puzzles the intricacies of fish reproduction, one breeding project at a time.