by AquaNerd | Aug 19, 2013 | Corals, Eye Candy, Industry
You would be hard pressed to find a more visually appealing soft coral in all of the aquarium hobby than the new ORA Vargas Cespitularia, whose commercial availability has only just been announced. This latest addition to the vast library of ORA aquacultured corals was donated by the world famous Tony Vargas, who gave them a couple of frags two years ago. The coral has thrived in ORA’s systems, demonstrating a level of hardiness that is much appreciated in the captive world, but nobody was sure about the coral’s identity, at least up until the experts were brought in. Because identifying corals isn’t always a walk in the park, ORA sent samples of the Vargas Cespitularia and a few others to coral expert Michael James of AquaTouch in Arizona. Michael took a very thorough approach to properly identifying the coral, using various microcsopic techniques to measure sclerites and other morphological features. He eventually landed on the species Cespitularia erecta while at the same time highlighting the difficulty in identifying corals, especially when it comes to factors like coral coloration and geographical distribution. If you would like to read Michael’s paper, here is the PDF found on the ORA website. There are plenty of images detailing the morphological features that Michael viewed during the ID process. by Todd Gardner | Aug 19, 2013 | Eye Candy, Fish, Science
This time of year, when I get a call from my friend, Bob Janke, it usually means he’s on his way home from a snorkeling trip in Shinnecock or Moriches bay and he’s giving me a tropical fish report. When I find multiple missed calls and text messages, it usually means... by Dan Rigle | Aug 12, 2013 | Corals, Eye Candy, Photography
Acroporas such as the Red Dragon started becoming popular a few years ago, but it took some time for the craze to catch on. Many of these deeper water species acroporas tend to be fragile when first imported and take a great deal of acclimation and care to realize... by Josh Saul | Aug 5, 2013 | Aquaculture, Corals, Eye Candy, Photography
Our friends at Pacific East Aquaculture are having a sale on some very special Australian corals, including their selection of “Ugly Acans”. If nothing else, enjoy the eye... by Francis Yupangco | Jul 31, 2013 | DIY, Eye Candy, Home Decor, Tanks
In the first installment of this series I gave you a quick glimpse of some of the awesome Mega Home Aquariums that have been built-in the Middle East over the past decade. In this final article of the series, I will provide a little more insight into how these large... by Josh Saul | Jul 31, 2013 | Corals, Eye Candy, Photography
Check out this interesting color variation on a pectinia teaser shot from Exoticsealife in preparation for MACNA next month! ...