Watermelon Chalice is a stunning coral

While diving in North Sulawesi, we came across a fantastic small colony of Oxypora lacera, the Watermelon Chalice. While this color morph is quite common in Australia, it’s quite rare in Indonesia. The perfect red colony color, with a green…

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…

Do blue LEDs narrow our reefkeeping choice?

I’m lucky enough to be able to dive some of the best reefs the ocean gods have given us, but there is not a single dive that I pass a coral or a fish, and wonder why they are not…

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…

Grafted Millepora are not as rare as we thought

Grafted corals are the reef aquarium’s holy grail. They demand a high price tag and are highly sort after by many of us. Acropora millepora is the second most popular Acropora after Acropora tenuis, and a good, grafted millepora is…

The BEST Photos and Articles of Vincent Chalias

Over the last twenty years, and even more so the last decade, the contributions of Vincent Chalias to the global reef aquarium hobby, industry and community have been incalculable. As one of the first pioneers of coral farming in Indonesia,…

ReefStock 2019 Presentation: Corals of Australia by Vincent Chalias

After years of running ReefStock in America, our second ever ReefStock in Australia was totally over the top in terms of a quality reefing experience. This is especially true of our speakers who presented on various topics and kicking off…

Vincent Chalias to give Important Keynote at MACNA 2019 Banquet

Vincent Chalias is one of the most important people in the reef aquarium hobby today and he’s gearing up to give one of the most timely and informative keynote presentations that MACNA has ever had. More than anyone we know,…

Stylocoeniella Is A Great Reef Aquarium Coral!

Stylocoeniella is an underrated family of amazing aquarium corals, which, often end up in the aquarium world as a hitchhiker along other corals or live rock. This genus is part of an even more discreet, unheard of family: Astrocoeniidae that…