In our previous installment of this series, we met with a diverse array of Soft Corals and Gorgonians, including most of the species familiar to aquarists. Amongst these were a hodgepodge of ex-Scleraxonia, ex-Stolonifera, and ex-Alcyonacea genera, now all lumped…
Coral
The New Octocorallia: Malacalcyonacea Part 1
In our previous review of octocoral classification, we saw that anywhere from 3–8 orders have traditionally been used to organize this group’s bewildering biodiversity, based on morphological assumptions of increasing complexity within the evolutionary history of these corals. It was…
The New Octocorallia: A Brief Review of Taxonomic Chaos
Soft Corals, Gorgonians, and Sea Pens comprise the Octocorallia, a major branch in the coral tree of life whose 3000+ species come in nearly every shape imaginable. Not surprisingly, this biodiversity has confounded taxonomists for centuries, resulting in no shortage…
CDU’s Gucci Chalice features every color of the rainbow
Think of a Rainbow chalice and you’ll probably picture an Asian Bugatti or Jelly Bean, but the Australian Rainbow Chalices coming out of Queensland display color and patternation on a whole other level. This “Gucci” Chalice collected by Corals Down…
Study finds Table Corals are fast to grow but first to go
Scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have found that some fast-growing coral species on the Great Barrier Reef slow down their growth rates when they are exposed to warmer water. The study, published in the Proceedings of…
Dendrophyllia ijimai might just need too much food
I have seen these amazing Non Photosynthetic Scleractinian (NPS) on a few occasions, mainly in exporting facilities around Indonesia. Dendrophyllia ijimai is a stunning bright orange, thick branching azooxanthellate coral. But with quite a lot of diving under my belt,…
Acropora derawanensis is a true gem!
It’s been a long time since we talked about this very fine coral and recently, during a dive trip, I got lucky and came across one. It’s one of our all-time favorite Acropora and this particular specimen was a lot…
Millies and Spaths found hand in hand in Indonesia!
These two iconic Acropora are so closely related that for many years A. spathulata were thought to be thick versions of Acropora millepora on the top and exposed reef. Acropora spathulata was even called A. millepora by the most eminent…
Hoshitsutsu’s Grafted Montipora setosa is red as the Rising Sun
Up until now, we admit to losing interest in Montipora setosa, such is its abundance in the hobby, ease of keeping, and frequency in frag form. We used to get offered so much of it in our retail days that…
Acropora horrida has so much aquarium potential
Some species of Acropora can go under the radar for many years until, during a dive, we pass by a large field of them, and wonder why this particular Acro is not in all reef tanks. Acropora horrida is quite…