Coral strains have become such an integral part of aquarium coral collecting, it has motivated many coral slingers to slap names on virtually every coral they sell. Most of these ‘named corals’ are simply corals that are globally very common, many coming from coral farms in huge numbers, while some of these corals are truly worthy of being recognized with a unique identifying name.
The Mardi Gras Lord coral is probably one of the most deserving of any Micromussa lordhowensis strains we’ve ever seen. This strain has been locally well-known in the Louisiana area for several years now, but it wasn’t until MACNA 2017 that we finally got a good look at it for ourselves.
Of all the Lord coral strains, the rainbows and the yellow-ringed Micro Lords are among the most striking, and highly sought after. The Mardi Gras Lord falls in this latter category with a brilliant ring which is more orange than yellow, bordered by green on the outside and with a deep dark purplish brown center.
This stunning Micromussa lordhowensis coral strain was first discovered and cultured by Epic Aquaria of Shreveport Louisiana. The strain was just a small cluster of colorful polyps on the side of a ‘compound’ colony which included some other color morphs. Epic Aquaria has been growing and promoting this well-named strain for several years and it seems to do very well and color up best under a PAR of just a touch over 100 umols under Radion Gen 3 LEDs.
The overall appearance of the Mardi Gras Lord is a perfect storm for coral collectors and bright coral lovers all around. Whether it’s a small frag in a nano tank or a large grown out colony in a bigger display, the Mardi Gras Lord checks the box at both the macro scale and when viewed from across the room.
