Photo Gallery

Acropora is the species most hobbyists wish to attain to, and with enough experience, time and money, they will eventually have them in their reef.  A decade ago you could purchase a small colony and put it in your tank. Of course frags existed back then as well, and we grew ours out from frags because it was fun to observe and usually cheaper. They grow in different ways, some like a bush, others like a table, and others extending branches. Here are three that grew in my reef.

This LPS has big giant polyps, each one with a mouth at the center. The Lobophyllia coral clearly belongs in the Large Polyped Stony family.

These zoanthids are but a few of the hundreds of types we see these days. I like them, but don't collect them like others.

Did you know Favias have feeder tentacles to capture prey?  Here's a shot of some of them opening up during the daylight period. Usually you'll see this more at night, or around feeding time if you are doing so on schedule every day to where the coral anticipates the meal by internal clockwork.

The Coco Worm is one fancy featherduster. It's tube is a calcified shell that the worm retreats within when spooked, and that colorful crown is what it uses to trap foods. I saw this during a tank tour in Dallas.

When the flow was off in my 280g, the BTA tentacles stretched out in every direction. I still have these bubble tips in my 60g Anemone Cube, all these years later. And those are my original clowns. The bigger one lived for 12.5 years, dying suddenly under mysterious circumstances. I still miss that A. percula.

Before the days of "Walt Disney" acros, there was a species called Acropora tenuis.  I still think the WD coral is another A. tenuis, just with vivid coloration like Disney would demand.  

This is an Orange Ball Anemone, supersized with a macro lens. Usually they are about 3/8" in diameter from tip to tip.  This was a bigger one, maybe 3/4" in diameter. I have them throughout all my tanks, and they are opportunistic filter feeders. I think they are quite pretty, and study the rockwork after lights out with a flashlight to find these little guys wide open. During the daytime I hardly see any.

Bubble Tip Anemones are so pretty, especially when it's on display like this one. I spotted this Rose BTA in a hobbyist's reef in Austin during one of my trips.

These fat corals are Dendros, or Dendrophyllia to be exact. And they look incredible with a macro lens.  Open during the day time, they are hungry looking for food while absorbing some photosynthetic magic as well. Look at the texture of each tentacle.