So what prompted this blog entry was a sudden discovery of a grafted coral. Well, not by shape, rather than by color. You see there is enough documentation to suggest that corals can allow their zooxanthellae to ‘jump ship’ and board another coral. It is rarely seen, but plausible.

This is what happened to a A. tenuis and a A. suharsonoi. The yellow suharsono was touching the tips of the tenuis. I assume over time, the pignments were trasfered from the tenuis into the suharsonoi. The suharsonoi developed random blue spots which are clearly visible.

The problem when trying this out with your own corals is that often than not it does not work. Corals will sting each other and will leave a dead parts behind. I know this, as I have tried it with A. milleporas and without any success.

Yes, pics are forthcoming, so patience will be your new virtue!

So lets get back to business. First up, some great LPS for your liking. We have all seen the common Indonesian Euphyllia species (such as the Hammer and Octobubble), and its multiple color combinations. But have you had a chance to see its brilliant cousins from down under? Here is one of their bloodlines, the orange/gold E. glabrascens pictured by stoneyj33on ReefCentral:

photo by stoneyj33 on Reef Central

 The best part about these corals is that they are super easy to take care of. Just give them enough flow and medium amount of light, and they will flourish.

When you fuse two corals together properly, you can obtain a slew of new coral combinations. Sometimes you end up with two toned polyps. Other times, the coral ends up with a dual colored coenosteum. It is still unknown how the coral will adapt to the fusion, but it is always quite interesting.

This is why the coral in picture is really interesting to look at. It has a two toned coenosteum that resembles a painter’s brush stroke. The magic of nature at hand.

photo by werdlone on Reef Central

Over the years, we have seen amazing patterns and color combinations on these corals. Some too good to be true. That brings us to this pink beauty. brandleyj on Reef Central displayed his gem in full force: 

photo by bradleyj on Reef Central

 These corals tend to double in size during the daylight hours. So give them plenty of space, unless you want them to sting and kill your neighbouring corals. And sick fish, please be mindful of their mouths at night. They are prone to midnight snacking. 

Until next time reefnecks!

I like to unwind on Friday by staring at some Euphyllia. Hope it relaxes you too!

Coral goes on sale Saturday.  See something you like?  Drop us a line.

Do those questions seem too familiar? I think most of you will find them to be frequently asked on reef forums. Sometimes at ad nauseum. So then what are the answers to those familiar questions?

While blog hunting not too long ago, I found a site that not only covers these types of topics, but is detailed in presenting its point across. The site? Joe Jaworski’s Weblog. Fortunately for our topic today, he doesn’t hold any detail to himself.

Here is one excerpt:

When it comes to organics, the world’s oceans maintain a perfect balance of metabolic waste removal through a series of natural recycling systems. Both the volume of water and the immense surface area provides a home for tens of thousands of species of macro and micro organisms that process these wastes. In the home aquarium, just a small fraction of these organisms can survive. Coupled with an extremely high specimen to water ratio, organics tend to accumulate in closed systems, and can reach concentrations orders of magnitude beyond natural ocean levels. Even with aggressive water changes, these organics can never be diluted enough to mimic the natural levels where our livestock has lived for thousands of years.

Joe’s post continued to explain how, why, and for how long we need to use carbon.  You seriously need to give his highly enlightening and informative blog post on carbon a read. It will definitely want to make you change your carbon canister today.

As well, we thank our loyal readers for bringing up cool and informative stories to our attention. (Such as this one, thank you Dennis).

A National Geographic article suggests that a study has been completed on how sunscreen can trigger a virus that can ultimately kill a coral. Apparently, the chemicals in your sunscreen can cause a virus to replicate at a rapid level, and thus quickly killing the coral. Please check your sunscreen bottles, and be mindful of these ingredients:

Several brands of popular sunscreens were tested and all had four ingredients in common: paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone, and a camphor derivative.

As well, this article explained that in terms of the amount of sunscreen being diluted into the oceans:

The researchers estimate that 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of sunscreen wash off swimmers annually in oceans worldwide, and that up to 10 percent of coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen-induced bleaching.

For the rest of the article, please click on here.

What can you do? Look for biodegradable sunscreenat your local health food store. Don’t cheap out on the health of our oceans and corals. You can make a simple change, and help not spead this virus.

So what have you been looking to find? What is your elusive, hard to find coral? Please do share!