We stopped by AquaSD in San Diego yesterday and we were really taken by these beautiul large zoanthids with the most awful hobby name. The large zoanthids pictured above have the most beautiful combination of green mouths, green center oral…
Coral
Australomussa rowleyensis colonies from Timor Indonesia put this coral on the map
Australomussa rowleyensis is not quite a chalice coral, not quite an LPS and although it once was just an unusual curiosity that was sometime spotted in shipments from Indo and Australia, this amazing crop of Australomussa from Timor Indonesia is…
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…
When common corals are Amazing corals
I was at a local coral “chop shopâ€Â a while back (yeah, they exist here in SoCal), perusing the raceways chock full of ½†frags of “LE†corals , when I saw it: A brilliant, neon- green, orange-tinged flash- a…
Petition targets 83 coral species for U.S. endangered species list protection
The Center for Biological Diversity recently prepared and filed a scientific petition to have 83 coral species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The petition, filed on October 20, 2009, looks to use the powers of…
Indo-Pacific Scolymia is now officially recognized as Acanthophyllia deshayesiana
You know that coral we’ve been calling Scolymia for all these years? Well it turns out it’s not a Scolymia at all but a member of it’s own genus, Acanthophyllia. There has been confusion surrounding the true taxonomic identity of…
Julian Sprung’s aquarium showcases modern and elegant reefing design
Trimless and braceless tank, check. Discreet and unobtrusive equipment, check. Stylish red metal stand and concealed filter system, double check. Reef aquarium legend Julian Sprung has nothing to hide with his main reef display aquarium splayed out across the pages…
Acropora rongelapensis, a recently described species from Marshall Islands
While skimming some literature we came across the coral name Acropora rongelapensis, which we had never heard before. A few minutes of sleuthing and the original description provided us with all the details of this new Acropora species described in…
Rare Solitary Balanophyllia video
Ok so solitary corals may not be the most exciting marine life to videotape but if youve never seen them these Australian Balanophyllia are very cool. This is a non-photosynthetic stony coral which can grow corallites up to 1.5″ long…