There were so many awesome Scolymia at MACNA this year, as a frequent participant in small and large aquarium shows all over the country we can say with confidence that this one of the best spreads of Scolies that we have ever seen. The sheer abundance and quality of Scolymia australis that were seen in Des Moines two weekends ago is due in no small part in so much participation from quality coral vendors and the rising quality of Australian scolies overall.

We tried our best to photograph the very best specimens all over the show but there were so many nice scolies, the ones we photographed were those which were in well lit and accessible coral vending displays. We can’t wait to see what kind of ridiculous corals and Scolymia we’ll see at Reefapalooza but in the meantime, continue reading to see a whole lotta coral eye candy, including the stunning best-in-show pieces of Scolymia australis.

The sexy pair of Scolies above were from A Reef Creation and they looked impeccable under AI Sol LEDs. The next four corals were from Midwest Saltwater, where Bill specializes in bringing out a ton of Scolymia to every show.

This awesome scolymia actually had orange stripes, but the picture came out more on the red side. Midwest Saltwater

This Acanthophyllia had exceptional color and perfect striping, the quintessential red and green Meat Coral.

This is a great Spirograph-style Scolymia but the color around the mouth was not very balanced and the green was not quite neon, more army and forrest green

You gotta love a bleeding apple Scolie that is more blood than apple.

The blue-grey Scolies are not for everyone, but the succinct bold stripes and active patterning of the mouth made this one really stand out. Uber Frags

This is one of the weirdo mini-scolies from West Australia that Route 66 Marine brought out. The unique pistacchio-green color with orange-green stripes and subtle pink perimeter is unlike any Scolie we've ever seen.

1st Place – The Happy Coral

The stunning little Scolymia australis below has the most unique pattern of red, green, black and mottled blue, an absolutely brilliant Scolie. THC’s Scolymia would have taken best in show but it was a little withdrawn and somewhat on the small side, maybe in a year it’ll be the ultimate Scolie.

Best in Show UberFrags

This awesome Scolie is about as nice as any single coral polyp can look. The balanced and abundant striping of red all over the mantle and mouth is perfectly contrasted with a neat pattern of concentric green and black rings of color. UberFrags’ Scolie is a 99% clone of the Spirograph Scolymia, except with more red striping and lacking some of the white mottling of that first mind-blowing Scolie.