Blue Fireworks Scolymia Starts Blooming in Japan

Between the bleeding apples and warpaint scolies, the UFOs and the masters, there’s a lot of room for variability in the coloration and appearance of Australian scolies, Homophyllia australis. Whether they are solid green, solid red, shades of orange with irregular spotting…

Top 10 Corals to Spot in the Gardens of the Queen, Cuba

Coral Spotting in Cuba Gardens of the Queen, a protected archipelago off the southern coast of Cuba, is renowned for their healthy population of sharks and mature fish. But coral diversity in the park can be just as spectacular, especially…

5 Seas Dive Site Cuba – The Perfect Balance of Corals and Fish

5 Seas was one of the most memorable dive sites in the Gardens of the Queen Cuba. The curious groupers stole my heart, and I found quite a few exceptional coral colonies, making this a perfectly balanced dive between corals…

Reef Walls, Sharks, Tarpons, and More! Los Mogotes Dive Site, Cuba

Los Mogotes Dive Site If I had to pick a favorite dive site in Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen, Los Mogotes would definitely make it into the top three. As I edit my way through my Cuban photo collection, Los…

Scolymia Coral Spotting in the Gardens of the Queen, Cuba

Scolymia Coral Spotting Scolymia is a large polyp coral species that lives a solitary life. There are two species of Caribbean Scolymia, the larger Scolymia lacera, and smaller Scolymia cubensis and you can learn to identify both by clicking the links above. While…

Quick Guide To Large Polyp Caribbean Corals

Large Polyps When most people imagine corals, they think of hundreds of tiny polyps creating a larger colony of coral. And while this is true for most corals there is a second category of corals which have large polyps, and even single…

This is the BEST Parascolymia vitiensis we’ve ever seen!

Reef aquarium conferences like ReefStock and Reefapalooza are usually a great place to look for coral frags, but sometimes we get to see some truly stupendous coral colonies too. This past weekend’s event was a great new success for the…

Some Corals Can Be Downright Vicious!

It’s well known that coral compete for space both on the reef and in aquariums, but some species fight with no holds barred. I just returned from Reefapalooza to find all my tanks in great shape, but with one massive,…

Caribbean Coral Diaries: Scolymia lacera

Surprise! I’m a coral addict!! I hope I’m not overdoing it with my enthusiasm for corals, but it’s about to get a whole ‘nother level of fangirl for Scolymia lacera. If you’re like me, every time you get it the…

Caribbean Coral Diaries: Scolymia cubensis

Scolymia cubensis The time has come to write about my favorite Caribbean coral, the Scolymia. There are two species of Scolymia the smaller solitary disk coral, (Scolymia cubensis), and the large fleshy disk coral (Scolymia lacera). This article is about the smaller…