Beautiful yet deadly

Mandarin fish blog entry #7

Welcome to the coral reef!  Since my tiny 14 gallon biocube is currently full of fish and there have been no recent losses, the only thing I could add was more corals.  The new arrivals include a hammer coral, a galaxea coral, a candy cane coral, a brain coral, and a blue mushroom.

I have learned that there are three keys to growing corals:  the right amount of light and water movement for the species -- neither too much nor too little; small amounts of supplemental nutrients including calcium, magnesium, and iodine; and often overlooked, an activated carbon filter.  In order to survive in a reef environment where every coral is trying to outgrow their neighbors in a bid for more space and more sun, each coral is armed to the teeth with venomous stingers and releases toxins into the surrounding water to ward off competitors.  Without an activated carbon filter, toxins quickly build up to unbelievable concentrations in a closed system such as an aquarium.

 Euphyllia paranchora, the beautiful yet deadly hammer coral .  The tips fluoresce blue-green under UV light.  Extremely venomous -- keep away from other corals!

 

 Galaxea fascicularis, the Galaxy Coral -- a swirling mass of innumerable of starry-eyed tentacles, each topped with a venomous fluorescent tip.  The tentacles are able to extend to up to 10x their normal length when this coral feels crowded by its neighbors.

  

 Clavularia viridis, the star polyp coral.  A non-stinging coral, its strategy is to extend an armored encrusting cuticle in all directions, smothering its competitors.   Well-known for taking over entire aquariums given the right conditions.

 Protopalythoa psammophila, the green button polyp coral.  A mostly photosynthetic species, this coral competes by extending its mushroom-like canopy up towards the sunlight, shading and starving out its low-set competitors. 

 Nemo the clownfish and the cleaner shrimp enjoying the sights and sounds of the reef.  From this angle you can clearly see the armored purple cuticle of the star polyp coral extending over the reef.

 A close-up of the very-impressive looking cleaner shrimp, as it forages next to a small scribble brain coral.