by AquaNerd | Feb 9, 2016 | Corals, Fish, Invertebrates, Opinion, Photography, Reef, Science
[embedded content] Atoll is a new app available for reef aquarium and diving enthusiasts to download on the iPhone. Atoll is an interactive mobile app which includes a comprehensive database of coral. Atoll provides vibrant photos and detailed information allowing users to more easily identify coral which they encounter on a dive or purchase as an addition to their aquarium. This can be critical information especially when dealing with corals which exhibit aggressive behavior and could potentially wreak havoc in your aquarium if placed in close proximity to other species. Atoll also provides useful information to hobbyists relating to appropriate water temperatures and pH levels for your own aquarium. Atoll also allows users to submit photos of unknown coral for the community to identify. This is by ReefBum | Feb 3, 2016 | Corals, Equipment, Fish, Reef, Science
Top 10 Tips For Keeping a SPS Reef Tank Let’s face it. Keeping a reef tank is not a simple chore but there are some basic tenants one can follow to optimize the chances for success. With over 20 years in the hobby I have learned a lot from both my successes and failures. Below are My Top 10 Tips For Keeping a Successful Reef Tank dominated by SPS. I will dive deeper into each item on the list in future blog posts so stay tuned. The List Stability – It is critical to have stability for parameters such as salinity, nitrate, magnesium, and calcium. And perhaps most important in my book for SPS is keeping alkalinity at a consistent level. Strong Lighting – I have had a lot of by AquaNerd | Jan 30, 2016 | Corals, Invertebrates, Reef, Science
Cynarina is a genus of stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. It is a monotypic species which means that the only species in the genus is Cynarina lacrymalis. Sometimes reaching up to 6” for a single polyp, these corals are very fleshy in appearance and often referred to as the Cat’s Eye, Tooth Coral, Doughnut Coral or Meat Coral. The coral is found in the Western Indo-Pacific Ocean and ranges in many different color forms from pastel to vivid and translucent. The coloration in the Cynarina coral pictured above is both beautiful and very unusual and therefore classified as an “Ultra” coral. This coral was just featured in a newsletter from livestock wholesaler, Eye Catching Corals. Aquarium Care Cynarina corals are not considered to by AquaNerd | Jan 20, 2016 | Corals, Invertebrates, Reef, Science
Jason Fox Lemon Lime Pocillopora Pocillopora corals have been in the US aquarium trade for about as long as SPS corals have been coming into to the US. They are generally one of the more easy corals to keep and they are typically pale yellow, pink to reddish in color. Pocillopora have also been know to sexually reproduce in the aquarium. The most common species in the trade is Pocillopora damicornis. The growth form is cauliflower-like and the branches are often densely packed together. Common names include; Cauliflower Coral, Brush Coral, or Cluster Coral. These corals are some of the most sought after with longer hairy polyps that are green in color and differ from the coloration of the coral which is primarily yellow. Pocillopora by AquaNerd | Jan 13, 2016 | Corals, Reef, Science
Acropora loisettae I have a special fondness for this week’s coral having originally collected a small colony from Bali about 12 or 13 years ago which ultimately grew to become a stunning specimen. At the time, the Acropora loisettae or Blue Tip Green Stag was rather hard to obtain which justified my pride in having collected this one. Fragging it for many people over the years was a pleasure and I typically sold it for about $60.00 for a 1 – 2″ frag. Despite harvesting frags from the colony, it still became the size of a basketball in just two years time. As Acropora loiettae has become more readily available it is more easily obtained and a 1.5″ frag can be purchased from Unique Corals for a mere $24.00.
