Coral

Anemone Lookalike: The Long-Tentacled Plate Coral

Easily mistaken for an anemone at first glance, Heliofungia actiniformis is a large-polyp stony (LPS) coral that can be an excellent option for reefkeepers with modest-sized systems. Even relative newcomers to the reefkeeping hobby can succeed with this species, provided…

Fields of Caribbean staghorn corals discovered off Florida coast

In another bit of good news to start off the new year, it was recently announced that a huge field of Caribbean staghorn coral was discovered right off of the coast of South Florida. The Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, is…

The Phoenix Effect gives us reason to be hopeful about wild corals

On any given day it is easy to come across news of how the ocean is in danger, coral reefs are dying, and the sky is generally falling in regards to the outlook for corals on this planet. That is…

Carolina Aquatics scores an extreme growth form of Turbinaria heronensis

It’s no secret that we hold the uniquely special Hero coral, Turbinaria heronensis, in a special place of our reef aquarium heart. That’s why it warms us to learn that our good friends at Carolina Aquatics, purveyor of our beloved Turbinaria…

Really get to know Scleractinia with the free Coral Finder Toolkit movies

Corals can be quite difficult to identify for the uninitiated, and even certain groups can be quite challenging to differentiate from each other. We are always super motivated to find the latest and greatest new corals, either in the wild,…

Top 10 new coral and giant clam species of 2014

The discoveries of new fish species were really impressive this year and the coral and giant clam taxonomists also had their hands full in 2014. Across the board we are still seeing a nice steady flow of new soft and…

Kiss Australomussa goodbye, say hello to Parascolymia rowleyensis

Australomussa’s place on the LPS branch of the coral tree of life has always been a little bit murky – today we learn a little bit more about where it belongs, and who its friends are. Parascolymia rowleyensis is the new…

Gorgonians don’t care about stupid ocean acidification

It seems like coral scientists and researchers are constantly finding new ways that corals are dying and how coral reefs are an endangered ecosystem, but for once, it seems like at least one group of corals will be able to…

Mind Blowing Corals’ Leptoseris frags shows the power of intensive culture

Once upon a time there were so few of us reefers that there was an unspoken code that corals were to be given away, shared, traded, but never sold. Well that is ancient history now, mostly, and the American reef…

Turbinaria bifrons is the rarest stony coral you’ve never heard of

Turbinaria bifrons is quite simply unlike any coral anyone has ever seen, and it is perhaps one of the rarest stony coral species in the aquarium hobby. When we say T. bifrons is rare we don’t mean rare as in a strain…