Have you wondered why some corals look the way they do when you buy them at your aquarium store? Some with a flat base cut, some with grinding marks on them, and other man-made alterations. You might have seen this…
Coral
Snake Polyps are the Oddballs of the Coral World
A fascinating soft coral rarely seen nowadays is the “snake polyp.” several species belong to this family, including Isaurus tuberculatus, I. cliftoni, and I. maculatus. These species are closely related to zoanthids. They have a long stalk with a central…
World’s Largest Deep-sea Coral Reef Discovered off the Southeast United States
A deep-sea coral reef covering 6.4 million acres has been discovered off the southeast United States. Researchers working for NOAA and its partners mapped an underwater seascape of coldwater coral mounds the size of Vermont, deeming it the largest deep-sea…
Cryopreservation Breakthrough Sees Coral Larvae Survive and Settle After Freezing
You won’t be surprised to read that coral reefs are going through a tough time. It may surprise you to read, however, that scientists have been trying and failing to freeze coral larvae for the past twenty years in an…
Easy Corals: The Hollywood Stunner
In the UK we have a yeast-based food spread called Marmite (Vegemite,) and people’s vehement love or hate for it has become a British institution. Our featured coral, The Hollywood Stunner chalice coral is similarly polarizing amongst the reefing community,…
Raja in Pajamas is the Hottest Coral in the World Right Now
With the dark-rimmed yellow mouths and green base of a Raja Rampage, and the blue streaks of a Jelly Bean Chalice, the second we saw this coral we knew we had to find out more. Blaine Shivley from Top Shelf…
Off timing coral spawning spotted in South Sulawesi
How much do we really know about corals? The answer is: Not so much, actually. While the general rule for coral spawning is a few days after the full moon, 2 hours after sunset, just before the water temperature high…
Pavona clavus: A Nerdic Experience!
There are some corals, that can only be appreciated by certain people. They are not colorful, nor grafted, nor multicolor, nor with long tentacles, nor unique… They are just plain brown, and still, they’re amazing. It often takes the power…
Richard Ross’s Home Coral Breeding Video is a Recipe for All Reefers
Captive coral spawning is a big deal right now and represents the cutting edge of decades of trial and error when we learned first how to keep them alive, then how to frag them, and now, most importantly, how to…
Flashback Friday: Jake’s Green ‘Grafted’ Turbinaria heronensis
The current Reef Builders team are big fans of Turbinaria heronensis, and that’s due in no small part to the love, affection, and numerous column inches dedicated to them by Jake Adams. A green heronensis is one thing, but a…