by AquaNerd | Aug 8, 2014 | Corals, Science
We’ve seen some rather creative ways to mount fresh cut coral frags, but this one takes the cake. Where most aquarists would use a frag plug or even a magnetic frag plug, the crew at FX Charity Corals decided to use a dinosaur fossil…and not just any fossil, but the tooth of the greatest predator to ever roam the ocean, the Megalodon shark. Over on their Reef2Reef page they shared these images of their chalice, which they’ve named Megalodon Bubble Gum Monster Chalice, along with the humorous tag line “feast your eyes on this…” While the image above could easily pass for a frag encrusted over a piece of branching live rock, flipping the coral over reveals the epic awesomeness of this piece. You can see the tooth in full detail, with coral tissue encroaching on all sides. The chalice has been priced at $500 shipped, which is considerably affordable if you take the size of the coral and the Megalodon tooth into account. We aren’t sure if the tooth is legit or if it is a replica, but either way it is a very cool and unique way to grow out a piece of coral. by AquaNerd | Aug 5, 2014 | Corals, Science
Recently, Exotic Reef Creations shared a nice batch of fresh Aussie Mini Scolys over on their Reef2Reef page, and for us it served as a beautiful reminder about just how cute these little corals are. About the size of a quarter, the mini Scolymia is packed full of colors that are right on par with their larger cousins. But the fact that they’re essentially miniatures means there is so my more appeal. Seriously, outside of the current trends in smartphones, everyone loves making normal things smaller. The Mini Scolys are priced at $90 a pop, which is pretty much their normal going rate for colors and quality such as this. The tiny corals, like the larger Scolymia, benefit from regular feeding, which is always fun to watch since they extend their feeding tentacles and gobble up all they can within reach. Pictured below is our very own mini scoly, which we picked up months ago at the local Reef Currents event by AquaNerd | Aug 4, 2014 | Corals, Science
We have been saying this over and over again, but our point keeps getting proven. Mushroom corals are really coming into their own, and with corals like this Pantsdropper Discosoma from Legendary Corals, it’s hard to focus on other coral types. The ‘shrooms are showing up in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and we’ve grown quite fond of the latest the hobby has to offer. The Pantsdropper, which was shared by Legendary on their Reef2Reef page, was hilariously named because its colors are enough to knock your trousers right off. This approach was taken because apparently when the Jawbreaker mushrooms were first gazed upon, the person’s jaw fell right to the floor. For the Pantsdropper, the situation goes like this…”our pants dropped after changing them when we first laid on this phenomenal shroom.” The colors are astounding to say the least, and any mushroom collector would be in heaven if their got their hands on one. Speaking of that, there will only be one of the PD mushrooms available, but Legendary Corals hasn’t put a price tag on it. Instead, they are fielding offers, accepting the highest one after one week’s time. This approach hasn’t sat well with many Reef2Reefers, but that’s just how the market works by Matthew Stansbery | Aug 1, 2014 | Conservation, Corals, Fish, Technology
On the forefront of technological reef research the country of Belize has assigned drones to combat illegal fishing throughout marine protected areas, in what may be the first use of drones for conservation. … by AquaNerd | Jul 25, 2014 | Corals, Science
The popularity of mushroom corals is on the rise, and thanks to corals like this, we can certainly see why. There has been an influx of rather brightly colored, fluffy looking mushrooms into the hobby over the last couple of years or so, and hobbyists are falling all over themselves to get them, often paying a premium for the best and brightest of the bunch (no real surprise there). At MACNA last year in Miami, we happened across some of these very shrooms, which had retail prices soaring well over $1000 a pop. Always on the cutting edge of the coral trends, Jason Fox shared these images of his Bounce Mushroom Coral over on Reef2Reef, which was sourced from World Wide Corals…hence the WWC portion of the coral’s name. WWC was the group who had these on display at MACNA 2013, but this particular coral is a standout from those that we came across at the show and even the ones we continue to see online. According to Jason’s post, this frag is the biggest he’s ever sold, tipping the scales at 2″x2″ with huge, orange “plumage”. The price is set at $1450 shipped. by AquaNerd | Jul 18, 2014 | Corals, Science
Who would have thought that mushroom corals would ascend up the ladder of corals in high demand? After all, they’ve been around forever, are virtually indestructible, reproduce like crazy, and are usually quite boring. Despite that, the hobby still surprises us with individuals like the one pictured above, a “Jawbreaker” variant of the the Discosoma mushroom. While the typical Jawbreaker is orange with hints of red, green and yellow, this super sexy mushroom from Sexy Corals takes it up a few notches with its kaleidoscope of colors. Called the SC Super Schroom, this coral sports orange, green, red, purple, and hints of blue. Besides what we can derive from the image, there is literally zero information on this particular mushroom. We don’t have a price tag (we probably don’t want to know), but we do know that it sold to someone in Texas. Perhaps it’s a fellow reef keeper in my area.
