Going diving on a regular basis with the master collector Nic Dos Santos from Ultra Coral Australia, I’ve had the chance to see a nice cross section of the Great Barrier Reef. And if there is one thing I can…
Acropora spathulata is the iconic Australian Staghorn Coral
Last week, we reported about probably the most popular staghorn coral from Australia, Acropora microclados, a.k.a the Strawberry Shortcake. This time, we will tell you about another iconic Australian staghorn coral, Acropora spathulata. A problematic species? First of all, having…
You Won’t Believe Where Strawberry Shortcake Acros Live
Recently in Australia, together with Nic from Ultra Coral Australia we had the luck to go and observe Acropora microclados, aka the Strawberry Shortcake (SCC), in its natural environment. And because we’re sure most aquarist don’t realize where Strawberry Shortcake…
Is this the ‘True’ Montipora capricornis?
For so many years, we thought we saw Montipora capricornis everywhere. So many people were use that name for just any about any cup-shaped or plating Monti including M. foliosa, M. florida or M. aequituberculata was labelled a ‘Monti Cap’.…
Welcome to Gold Chalice central!
Chalice corals hit the scene in a huge way and now have been popular for quite a while, but since the Indonesian Coral ban, some corals we took for granted have nearly disappeared. Australian Chalice corals are pretty nice, but…
Ripple Flow Pump has a Beefed up Controller
The Ripple FLOW is an interesting pump developed out of Australia which caught our attention for a number of reasons. While the pump body and volute is highly reminiscent of the AquaMedic EcoRunner pumps, the controller has some very useful…
Proper Collection on a ‘Perfect’ Stony Coral Reef
As soon as we landed in Mackay, Nic from Ultra Coral Australia took us on a dive through the last bit of a good weather window. He took us on a reef that he regularly visits to Harvest Acropora and similar…
Understanding the Ideal Australian Coral Habitat
Having learnt my Acros while living in Indonesia, I’ve grown up as an inshore reef stony coral freak because offshore reefs conditions are almost impossible to find in Indonesia. Even though we can find some of the species there, they…
What Happened to the Symphyllia?
Recently in Australia, a good friend asked us to check some of his very nice rainbow Symphyllia he’s got. We didn’t recall seeing any in Australia yet, so we were very intrigued. We love rainbow Symphyllia, the ones we get…
Tosanoides bennetti, Another Great New Species of Deepwater Anthias
Tosanoides bennetti is the latest inductee into one of the most colorful and dare we say it, bombastic groups of tropical marine fish. Bennett’s deepwater anthias is part of a recent ‘spree’ of new species of Tosanoides from the Western…
