Chalice Corals

Evil one-eyed chalice coral sighted at 110 feet in Kwajalein Atoll

While on a deep dive on the ocean side of Kwajalein Atoll, we came face to face with a pair of chalice corals with a striking look unlike any we have seen in aquariums, or in the wild. With a…

Corals touching in aquariums is not the end of the world

It’s easy to get caught up in aquarium dogma and the reefing world is no different with prescribed military food tray style separation of all corals. But in practice the interactions between corals that are similar, and between those that…

The coral tree of life is being rewritten one LPS at a time

Warning: the following is a nerdgasm of coral taxonomy, guest-written by Joe Rowlett, one of the many talented fish geeks working the fish tanks at Old Town Aquarium in Chicago.  Historically, corals have often been grouped at the genus and family level based…

Fiery-eyed Mycedium will practically melt your retinas

Sometimes all it takes is one perfect picture to relay the absolute beauty of a rare fish or an exotic coral, and this Mycedium embodies that notion all the way. Shared by SA Coralfarm, this fiery eyed is in a…

Age of Aquariums has grown the Mother of all Space Invader Pectinia

Even after all these years, the Space Invader Pectinia is such a recognizable coral in American reef aquariums that we love seeing it in diverse tanks, and especially when they are big. But no Space Invader Pectinia that we have…

Rainbow Pectinia alcicornis are totally hot this year

Rainbow Pectinia are a new breed of the once obscure group of corals which are making a big splash this year. Although corals in the wild haven’t changed, what we harvest for our reef tanks changes quite a lot and…

The Enduring Allure of “Chalices”: What’s the Deal?

I don’t know if it’s just one of those things that happens when you get older- you start questioning everything in the hobby: Conventions, norms, and trends are but a few of the things you ponder. I’m not grumpy, believe…