Price per polyp
Candy Cane coral or Caulastrea, is a popular, beginner-friendly large polyp stony (LPS) coral, characterized by its bright green, trumpet-shaped polyps. These polyps grow in clusters from a branching skeleton, creating a visually appealing structure. They are known for their hardiness and ability to add a vibrant pop of color to reef aquariums.
Key characteristics:
Appearance: The coral has a branching skeleton with trumpet-shaped polyps that are typically a vibrant neon green.
Polyp Structure: Each polyp has a central mouth surrounded by tentacles, and they can expand significantly, sometimes resembling a closed brain coral.
Hardiness: Green trumpet corals are considered hardy and relatively easy to care for, making them a good choice for beginners.
Lighting and Flow: They generally thrive under moderate lighting and moderate water flow.
Aggression: They have short sweeper tentacles, but are generally considered peaceful and can be placed near other corals, provided there's enough space to prevent them from touching.
Growth: They tend to grow at a moderate pace, forming dense colonies over time.
Water Conditions: Stable water conditions with appropriate levels of calcium, strontium, and other trace elements are important for their health.
In summary, the green trumpet coral is a visually appealing and relatively easy-to-care-for coral, making it a popular choice for reef aquarists of all experience levels.
price per polyp
Duncanopsammia is a genus of stony coral consisting of a single species, Duncanopsammia axifuga, also known as whisker coral or duncan coral. These corals form colonies of individual polyps with round skeletal bases (corallites) that can be quite large. They are commonly found in the deeper waters of Western and Northern Australia, as well as the South China Sea.
Key characteristics of Duncanopsammia axifuga:
Appearance: The polyps are large and have brightly colored oral discs.
Habitat: They prefer solid objects in sandy areas.
Lighting: They thrive under low to moderate lighting.
Water Quality: They need high pH, alkalinity, and calcium levels, along with low phosphate and nitrate levels.
Feeding: They can rely on symbiotic zooxanthellae algae for photosynthesis and may also benefit from supplemental feeding of meaty marine foods like mysis and brine shrimp.
Temperament: Duncanopsammia corals are generally peaceful and can be housed with other non-aggressive corals and invertebrates, provided they have ample space to grow.
Growth: They are considered a large polyp stony (LPS) coral and can be a good choice for beginners, known for their relatively slow growth rate.
Coloration: They can come in various colors, including vibrant greens.
Tentacles: The polyps have tentacles that can retract and extend, resembling an anemone.
Commensal organisms: They can sometimes host commensal organisms like barnacles.
Defensive Mechanism: Duncan corals can release sweeper/feeder tentacles that can sting and damage other corals.
Flow: They do best with a moderate flow of water.
Blastomussa merletti is a large polyp stony (LPS) coral known as a pineapple coral, characterized by its round, flower-like polyps and vibrant colors such as red, green, purple, and orange. It is a relatively easy to keep coral, suitable for beginners, that grows in clusters and is found in the Indo-Pacific region. This species thrives in low to moderate light with gentle water flow and can be supplemented with food.
Physical characteristics
Polyps:
Develop into small, round, flower-like structures that can resemble mushroom corals.
Color:
Often displays a mix of bright colors, commonly red with green oral discs or a combination of red, purple, and green. Other colors can include pink, orange, brown, or dark grey with white margins.
Mantle:
The mantle and tentacles are often visible and extended during the day.
Surface:
The surface can be continuous, sometimes obscuring the underlying growth form.
Blastomussa merleti
Corals of the World
Habitat and care
Habitat:
Native to the west and central Indo-Pacific region. It is also popular in reef aquariums.
Lighting:
Prefers low to moderate lighting, and can be overexposed in very bright conditions. High-end LED or T5 lighting is recommended.
Water Flow:
Needs a low to moderate flow. Excessive flow can be detrimental, so gentle, indirect water movement is best.
Tank placement:
Should be mounted on stable rock or sand, with some space around it, and kept away from aggressive neighbors.
Water chemistry:
Requires stable water parameters, including Calcium 400-450 ppm
Alkalinity 8-12dKH),
Magnesium 1250 -1350ppm),
and low levels of Nitrates 5-15 ppm
and Phosphates< 0.10ppm
Temperature:
Optimal temperature is between $76–80^\circ$F.
TSA Merlot Merletti Blastomussa Coral - Top Shelf Aquatics
Water Chemistry * Calcium: 400–450 ppm. * Alkalinity: 8–12 dKH. * Magnesium: 1250–1350 ppm. * Nitrates: 5–15 ppm. * Phosphates: <
Error! Filename not specified.
Top Shelf Aquatics
Feeding and growth
Supplementation: Can be supplemented with LPS pellets or other small particle foods to promote growth and color, though it is not strictly necessary as it is photosynthetic.
Growth: Grows in tight clusters and can spread over rockwork to create colorful spots in a reef tank.
Temperament: Considered a peaceful coral.
Price per Polyp
Fimbriaphyllia ancora, commonly known as anchor coral or hammer coral, is a reef-building coral characterized by its dome or cushion-shaped colonies and distinctive anchor-shaped (or hammer-shaped) tips on its tentacles. It exhibits a wide range of colors, including green, purple, and orange, making it popular in the aquarium trade. This species is known for its flabello-meandroid skeleton and is found in Indo-Pacific tropical and subtropical waters.
Here's a more detailed description:
Colony Shape:
Fimbriaphyllia ancora forms dome or cushion-shaped colonies, which can be quite large, sometimes several meters across.
Skeleton:
The skeleton is flabello-meandroid, meaning it has a branching pattern with valleys between the ridges.
Polyps:
The polyps have large, tubular tentacles with distinct anchor-like tips. These tips can also resemble hammers or the letter T.
Coloration:
The coral displays a variety of colors, including blue-gray, orange, and green, often with pale cream or green outer borders on the tentacles.
Habitat:
It is found in Indo-Pacific tropical and subtropical waters, forming large colonies in reef environments.
Common Names:
It is known as anchor coral or hammer coral due to the shape of its tentacles.
Price per polyp
Euphyllia ancora, commonly known as anchor coral or hammer coral, is a reef-building coral characterized by its dome or cushion-shaped colonies and distinctive anchor-shaped (or hammer-shaped) tips on its tentacles. It exhibits a wide range of colors, including green, purple, and orange, making it popular in the aquarium trade. This species is known for its flabello-meandroid skeleton and is found in Indo-Pacific tropical and subtropical waters.
Here's a more detailed description:
Colony Shape:
Fimbriaphyllia ancora forms dome or cushion-shaped colonies, which can be quite large, sometimes several meters across.
Skeleton:
The skeleton is flabello-meandroid, meaning it has a branching pattern with valleys between the ridges.
Polyps:
The polyps have large, tubular tentacles with distinct anchor-like tips. These tips can also resemble hammers or the letter T.
Coloration:
The coral displays a variety of colors, including blue-gray, orange, and green, often with pale cream or green outer borders on the tentacles.
Habitat:
It is found in Indo-Pacific tropical and subtropical waters, forming large colonies in reef environments.
Common Names:
It is known as anchor coral or hammer coral due to the shape of its tentacles.
Price per one Head
Euphyllia divisa, commonly called Frogspawn Coral, is a large-polyped stony coral known for its distinctive appearance with tentacles resembling a hammer or torch. It's native to the Indo-Pacific region and is a popular choice for marine aquariums due to its vibrant colors and unique beauty. Frogspawn corals are known for being easy to keep and can thrive under moderate to high light levels.
Key Characteristics:
Appearance: Large polyps with tentacles resembling a hammer or torch.
Color: Exhibits a range of colors including brown, green, pink, and yellow.
Habitat: Found in shallow, turbid environments and often attached to vertical surfaces.
Feeding: Feeds on light, solid foods like Mysis shrimp, and frozen foods like brine shrimp.
Care: Requires moderate to high light, medium water flow, and supplemental feeding.
Aggression: Can be aggressive towards neighboring corals, so adequate spacing is needed in the aquarium.
Conservation Status: Listed as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN.
Pavona corals are a genus of colonial, stony corals known for their various growth forms and common names like "Cactus Coral," "Potato Chip Coral," or "Lettuce Coral". They are part of the Agariciidae family and are distinguished by having clearly defined septocostae connecting corallites, resulting in a flower-like pattern on their surface. Pavona species exhibit a range of colors and growth forms, including columnar, club-shaped, or plate-like colonies.
Here's a more detailed look at Pavona corals:
Key Features:
Colonial:
They grow in colonies, forming various shapes like plates, branches, or columns.
Stony Corals:
They are a type of hard coral, meaning their skeletons are made of calcium carbonate.
Corallites:
They have shallow depressions called corallites, which are the individual polyp chambers within the colony.
Septocostae:
These are radial structures connecting the corallites, creating a distinct pattern on the coral's surface.
Zooxanthellae:
They contain symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, which provide them with nutrients through photosynthesis.
Growth Forms:
Pavona corals can exhibit different growth forms, including columnar (Pavona clavus), plate-like (Pavona cactus), and branched (Pavona frondifera).
Examples of Pavona Species:
Pavona cactus:
Often called "Cactus Coral" or "Potato Chip Coral," they form thin, plate-like colonies with a distinctive cactus or lettuce-like appearance.
Pavona clavus:
Known for its columnar or club-shaped colonies, sometimes forming extensive single-species stands.
Pavona duerdeni:
This species forms clusters of cream-colored lobes or discs, with a smooth appearance due to the small corallites on their surface.
Pavona frondifera:
This species has a more delicate, frond-like growth form, often found in lagoons and on upper reef slopes.
Care Considerations:
Lighting:
Pavona corals typically thrive in medium to strong lighting.
Water Movement:
They generally benefit from medium to strong water movement to help with feeding and prevent the accumulation of detritus.
Feeding:
While they are primarily photosynthetic, they may also feed on rotifers and other microfauna.
Aggression:
Some Pavona species, like encrusting forms, can be aggressive and may sting other corals.
The elegance coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei) is a large-polyp stony (LPS) coral known for its flowing, anemone-like appearance and bright, contrasting coloration.
Scientific & Common Names
Scientific Name: Catalaphyllia jardinei (originally described as Pectinia jardinei by William Saville-Kent in 1893)
Family: Euphylliidae
Common Names: Elegance coral, wonder coral, ridge coral, or elegant coral
Physical Description & Morphology
Type of Coral: It is classified as a "hard coral" (LPS) because it builds a calcium carbonate skeleton, even though it has a massive, fleshy appearance.
Skeleton Types:
Cone Bottom: A singular coral sitting in an ice cream cone-like skeleton that narrows to a point.
Flat Bottom / Wall-like: A rectangular or flat-walled skeleton broken off from a larger colony, which tends to grow larger and feature multiple mouths.
Polyps and Tentacles: It features long, sweeping, anemone-like tentacles with sticky cells (nematocysts). The oral discs or mouths often display a distinctive "zebra" stripe pattern.
Size: Colonies can grow up to 12 inches (approx. 30 cm) or more in length and width, with tentacles extending several inches further out.
Colors:
Body / Center: Shades of neon green, blue, purple, lime green, or gold.
Tentacle Tips: Bright contrasting tips in pink, purple, blue, yellow, or orange.
Natural Habitat & Biology
Region: Found in the western Pacific Ocean.
Substrate Preference: It is typically a free-living coral that rests on muddy or sandy bottom substrates rather than attaching hard to live rock.
Nutrition: It relies heavily on photosynthetic symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) housed in its tissues, and it also captures small prey or accepts direct feeding (such as mysis shrimp or small pellets)
Bubble coral (primarily Plerogyra sinuosa) is a large polyp stony (LPS) coral recognized by its cluster of shiny, grape-sized water-filled vesicles (bubbles) that expand during the day and retract at night.
Key Physical Features
Appearance: Features a hard, calcium carbonate skeleton covered by fleshy, translucent to green, white, gray, or yellowish bubbles during the day.
Day vs. Night Cycle:
Daytime: The bubble-like vesicles inflate to maximize surface area for light exposure.
Nighttime: The bubbles deflate and retract, and long, venomous feeding/sweeper tentacles emerge to catch plankton.
Size: Individual vesicles are roughly grape-sized (up to 2.5 cm), while total colonies can grow anywhere from 12 inches up to 2 meters (or more) across.
Alternative Names: Also known as bladder coral, grape coral, or pearl coral.
Biology & Habitat
Energy Source: Relies heavily on symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) inside its vesicles that provide nutrients via photosynthesis (covering 70% to 90% of its energy), supplemented by nighttime plankton capture.
Habitat: Found in sheltered reef slopes, lagoons, overhangs, and turbid waters at depths ranging from 3 to 40 meters.
Geographic Range: Widespread across the Indo-Pacific, stretching from the Red Sea and Madagascar to Japan, Australia, and the central Pacific.
Care & Safety Notes
Sting: Possesses strong, stinging sweeper tentacles capable of harming neighboring corals or delivering a painful sting to touch.
Fragility: The fleshy tissue and bubbles puncture very easily against the sharp underlying stony skeleton.
Aquarium Requirements: Prefers low-to-moderate lighting and gentle, low water movement
Fox coral (Nemenzophyllia turbida, also known as Jasmine Coral or Ridge Coral) is a popular large polyp stony (LPS) marine coral known for its soft, flowing, wave-like appearance.
Physical Description
Scientific Name: Nemenzophyllia turbida (formerly classified as Nemenzophyllia turbida / Plerogyra turbida)
Skeleton: Features a fragile, ridged, and folded calcium carbonate base with prominent, thin valley walls.
Polyps & Tissue: Covered in semi-translucent, fleshy, ruffled tissue that expands significantly during the day (often reaching 2 to 3 times the width of the hard skeleton).
Color: Varies from pale green, white, cream, and pink to tan or brown, frequently featuring lighter contrasting tips.
Size: Grows up to roughly 20 cm to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) in diameter at maturity.
Behavior & Temperament
Peaceful: It lacks aggressive, stinging sweeper tentacles, making it safe to keep near other coral species as long as adequate physical spacing is maintained.
Symbiotic: It derives much of its energy from photosynthesis via zooxanthellae, though it also accepts occasional micro-plankton or brine shrimp.
Care & Habitat Requirements
Lighting: Low-to-moderate, indirect lighting. Excessive light can cause the tissue to turn brown.
Water Flow: Gentle, low water movement to prevent tearing its delicate, fleshy polyps.
Water Parameters:
Temperature: 24°C – 26°C (75°F – 78°F)
Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.022 – 1.026
pH: 8.0 – 8.4
Alkalinity: 7 – 12 dKH
Calcium & Trace Elements: Requires regular supplementation of calcium, strontium, and magnesium for skeletal health
price per frag
Favites is a genus of large polyp stony (LPS) corals belonging to the family Merulinidae (formerly classified under Faviidae). They are commonly known as honeycomb corals, brain corals, star corals, or pineapple corals.
Key Characteristics
Colony Shape: Typically massive, dome-shaped, hemispherical, encrusting, or submassive colonies that can exceed one meter across.
Corallites: Mostly cerioid (sharing walls) or subplocoid. Their skeletal walls are often angular, giving them a distinct honeycomb appearance.
Coloration: Found in various shades of brown, green, grey, and red, frequently featuring contrasting colors between the walls and the oral discs (centres).
Biology: They are photosymbiotic, deriving essential nutrients from zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae) living inside their tissue, and also function as suspension feeders. They can be aggressive at night, extending sweeper tentacles beyond their base.
Habitat & Distribution
Native Range: Widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, stretching from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean across to Japan, the Line Islands, and the Tuamotu Islands.
Environment: Found in a wide variety of shallow reef environments and rocky foreshores.
Aquarium Care
Difficulty: Relatively easy to maintain, making them popular in reef aquariums.
Lighting: Low to moderate lighting (around 50–100 PAR).
Water Flow: Moderate water movement.
Placement: Require adequate spacing from neighboring corals due to their nocturnal sweeper tentacles
price per frag
Micromussa is a genus of large-polyp stony (LPS) corals belonging to the family Lobophylliidae.
Physical Structure: Colonies are generally submassive, encrusting, or flat with cerioid (shared-wall) or subplocoid corallites. The polyps are thick and fleshy.
Common Species:
Micromussa lordhowensis (frequently called "acan lord"): Features larger, plump fleshy polyps and bright multi-colored patterns.
Micromussa amakusensis: Features smaller angular corallites (up to 8 mm) with fine papillae on a fleshy mantle.
Micromussa minuta: A rare species with smaller gray, non-fleshy-looking polyps.
Reef Keeping: Popular in marine aquariums for their vibrant colors, they typically thrive in low-to-moderate lighting and gentle water flow, feeding on zooplankton, mysis shrimp, or targeted coral foods.
Taxonomy Note: Many species in this genus were previously classified under the genus Acanthastrea before taxonomic revisions.
(Note: There is also a tiny land plant species named Microchirita micromusa from Southeast Asia, though "Micromussa" most commonly refers to the stony coral genus.
