Recently in Australia, together with Nic from Ultra Coral Australia we had the luck to go and observe Acropora microclados, aka the Strawberry Shortcake (SCC), in its natural environment. And because we’re sure most aquarist don’t realize where Strawberry Shortcake…
SPS Corals
Is this the ‘True’ Montipora capricornis?
For so many years, we thought we saw Montipora capricornis everywhere. So many people were use that name for just any about any cup-shaped or plating Monti including M. foliosa, M. florida or M. aequituberculata was labelled a ‘Monti Cap’.…
Flaming Sunrise from Candy Corals is one of a Helluva Acropora speciosa
Candy Corals from Canada, recently acquired an amazing Acropora speciosa from Malaysia that they are calling the Flaming Sunrise. We’ve long been fans of these particular deepwater and elegant shaped species of Acropora that we used to get from Indonesia,…
Montipora Identification 1.1: A Guide to the Plating and Laminar Species
Montipora is a beautiful diverse and popular group of aquarium corals with a wide range of colors and forms. With so many species described, it can be quite hard to know where to start when trying to identify a Montipora.…
The Beach Bum Montipora is from a different planet!
Diving along the Great Barrier Reef, under the guidance from master coral collector, Nic Dos Santos from Ultra Coral Australia, we had the opportunity to see a lot of very nice corals. On one of these dive, at an offshore…
Proper Collection on a ‘Perfect’ Stony Coral Reef
As soon as we landed in Mackay, Nic from Ultra Coral Australia took us on a dive through the last bit of a good weather window. He took us on a reef that he regularly visits to Harvest Acropora and similar…
Understanding the Ideal Australian Coral Habitat
Having learnt my Acros while living in Indonesia, I’ve grown up as an inshore reef stony coral freak because offshore reefs conditions are almost impossible to find in Indonesia. Even though we can find some of the species there, they…
Pavonavarians: The Underrated King of Plasticity
I’m often asked, what is my favorite coral, and I have to admit, most of the time, an Acro crosses my mind. But yesterday, I came across one more time, of a coral, Pavona varians that I’ve seen quite many…
Stylocoeniella Is A Great Reef Aquarium Coral!
Stylocoeniella is an underrated family of amazing aquarium corals, which, often end up in the aquarium world as a hitchhiker along other corals or live rock. This genus is part of an even more discreet, unheard of family: Astrocoeniidae that…
Montipora: A Practical Guide to the Variety of Forms Part 1
If there is a group of coral, where we find ourselves struggling to properly identify to the species level, that’s Montipora! Montipora are probably the most popular coral right after Acropora, it’s a fast growing, very colorful group of SPS…