New additions...

[Kurt_Nelson]

Just needed to show off the new residents...

I've been drooling over all the Acanthastrea Lordhowensis I've been seeing on LiveAquaria, but just couldn't find any at my local shops that looked as good. I finally bit the bullet and bought one from LiveAquaria on their Diver's Den and was happy that it actually looked just as good in real life as it did in the picture they advertised!



Very small coral, but the detail in them is so beautiful.

And since I was buying from LiveAquaria anyway, I might as well buy another piece since I won't pay extra for shipping... right? It's cheaper that way... right? Yeah... that's it. So anyway, I've been on the fence as to whether or not I have enough light for a pink Stylophora, or if I should even dabble in the SPS realm for fear of getting hooked. Well... I went and bought a frag (captive raised) so we'll see how it does.



Kind of a fuzzy picture, but so far it seems pretty happy. I've got about 200W of CF lighting on my 46g, and I've got this guy about 6" from the surface in a great flow area. We'll see how it goes. Crossing my fingers.

[An t-iasg]

Those are both great-looking corals! The pattern of the polyps/tentacles in the first one is amazing. If I had that coral, I'd sit and look at it for hours!

The SPS is very pretty too! I like the shapes of SPS corals but I know they are harder to care for than LPS.

[MsBeanCtr]

Wow, both of those look amazing! I'm happy to hear that you had such good luck with LiveAquaria, since I've been thinking of trying that too.

Hopefully you'll need to do some fragging soon!

[h8z2luze]

Both of those look awesome! Great choices. I hope I can get corals someday Good Luck!

[Zagz]

They look great. The Acanthastrea Lordhowensisis amazing in it's detail.

[Kurt_Nelson]

Originally Posted by MsBeanCtr

Wow, both of those look amazing! I'm happy to hear that you had such good luck with LiveAquaria, since I've been thinking of trying that too.

Hopefully you'll need to do some fragging soon!

Hmm... perhaps a trade for some blue clauvaria may be in the works, eh? How is that doing, by the way?

I think it'll be a while before these things get to the size that I start thinking about fragging them!

Originally Posted by Zagz

They look great. The Acanthastrea Lordhowensisis amazing in it's detail.

The detail is amazing, and even more so since each polyp can't be more than 1/4" across! That entire piece isn't more than 1.25" across the longest way!

[ccCapt]

Very nice stylophora. Good luck with it. Your lighting in very minimal for SPS, especially if your fixture is only 1 10K bulb and 1 actinic.

[MsBeanCtr]

perhaps a trade for some blue clauvaria may be in the works, eh? How is that doing, by the way?

Doin' just great. Again, those both look fantastic!

[chase33]

Nice pickups. Good luck with them.

[Kurt_Nelson]

Originally Posted by cccapt

Very nice stylophora. Good luck with it. Your lighting in very minimal for SPS, especially if your fixture is only 1 10K bulb and 1 actinic.

Yeah... I've been really debating over the last few months whether or not to do it. I know I have inadequate lighting for SPS (200W on a 46g, 36" wide) but I've read several articles on how stylophoras are "tolerant" of lower lighting that other SPS, and other articles that say compact flourescents under the right conditions can keep these things. And where it is in my tank has been screaming "PINK STYLOPHORA" for many months now!

Soooo.... I figured if I just go for a little frag, it's no big $$ loss if I can't keep it going. Nothing lost, nothing gained... eh? I honestly don't expect it to thrive, but if it stays pink I'll be happy.