There’s something so comforting and familiar about seeing a nice patch of colorful mushroom anemones, especially red & purple Discosomas and green Rhodactis. It reminds of us of the early days of reef keeping and many of the first successful reef displays we had, and visited.
This is precisely the feeling that is conveyed by an awesome all-in-on shroom reef at Reef, River & Reptile Aquariums in Hornsby, north of Sydney. Better known as a ‘Morph Tank’ in Australia, this AIO aquarium features an environment that has been razor focused to keep Discosomas, Rhodactis and Ricordeas in the peak of health and color.
The main scape of this morph tank consists of a moderate amount of live rock with substantial coverage by classic purple Discosomas and red Rhodactis. At either ends are the ‘specials’ which on the right is a colorful bouquet of Aussie Ricordea yuma and on the left side, a couple of stunning carpet anemones, including one unbelievably bright red S. haddoni. The final fun touch on this display is a pair of small mangrove shoots placed in their own floating gravel patch.
The 80 gallon, 250 liter aquarium has a built in rear filter compartment with a Reef Octopus hang-on protein skimmer and two Kessil A360’s turned to low intensity provide the lighting. It really doesn’t get much simpler, and effective, than providing the basic requirements with a few reliable reef aquarium products.
It’s refreshing to see a morph tank like this which is so dedicated to one group of reef animals that it is both nostalgic and avant-garde. Reef, River, & Reptile Aquariums is a surprisingly well-stocked aquarium with several other up and coming reef aquarium displays – not to mention a wicked nice planted tank – and we can’t wait to see how they come along the next time we’re in town.
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