KUEYTOC TANGS KINGDOM 4ftx2.5ftx2.5ft

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Are U ready for exotic shipments in 2010 ???

[yikai]

bro very beautiful wrasses! love the lineatus, flame and laboutei! cheers to a happy 2010 and may it be filled with rhomboids and roseafascia

blastos from CF? so u got that piece good buy!

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Pre-VALENTINE ritual...LOVE is in the 'REEF' !!!

[yikai]

Pre-VALENTINE ritual...LOVE is in the 'REEF' !!!

CLAP CLAP BEAUTIFUL!!! nuptual flame wrasses are one of the nicest.

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Any Wrassey wanna 'dance' with MOI ???

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Let's Rock n' Roll baby...!!!

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Discosoma sanctithomae - Bubble Mushroom aka Warty Mushroom, Atlantic Bubble Mushroom, Warty Corallimorph, St. Thomas Bubble Mushroom

The Bubble Mushroom stands out in the mushroom crowd, with lower water temperature requirements and high, yet indirect lighting !

The Discosoma sanctithomae, most commonly known as the Bubble Mushroom or Warty Mushroom, is named for the shape of its tentacles. It is also known as the Atlantic Bubble Mushroom, Warty Corallimorph, and St. Thomas Bubble Mushroom. It is a well known and favorite mushroom coral, offering a distinctive look to the reef aquarium.

This is a larger mushroom, and can grow to 4" (10 cm). One of its unusual characteristics is that it will sometimes close part way, into a "purse-string" style, and quickly capture an unwary fish seeking to hide in the "enclosure". Their tissue is very thin however, and can tear easy.

The Bubble Mushroom usually comes in translucent green, blue, yellowish green, purple-mauve, green, brown and orange with tentacles that may contrast in color and be iridescent. Instead of having long feeder tentacles, their tentacles will form rounded vesicles or they may elongate to take on a fuzzy appearance. Like other mushrooms, the tentacles do have toxins in them.

This mushroom is very decorative and moderate to easy to care for, but it is a more expensive mushroom coral. The Bubble Mushroom is a good choice for Metal Halide lit tanks, since it likes indirect intense lighting. You may have to experiment on locations for maximum size, color and reproduction. They are a bit more difficult than the Actinodiscus genus because they are not as tolerant of poor water conditions. They also cannot handle a high water flow since it will prevent them from getting nourishment.

The D. sanctithomae propagates easily in captivity, which can contribute to preserving the wild populations. After splitting however, the clone mushroom doesn't necessarily always resemble the "mother" mushroom, thus giving the aquarist a variety of shades and colors. They have very few predators if any.

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Bam Bam Orange Zoanthids

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Garden of ACANS Delights !!!

[teebs]

Nice corals...

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Common Name: Circus goby, Gecko goby, White Tiger goby, Half Moon goby

Scientific Name: Priolepis nocturna

Size: Less than 2â€, though their fan-like pectoral and caudal fins may make them appear larger.

Origin: Indo-Pacific. Fishbase.com lists the following: Aldabra and Assumption Island, Cosmoledo Group, Seychelles; Marquesas, Maldives.

Natural Habitat: This cryptic little goby is found in tropical rocky/reef areas, hiding upside down in caves.

Feeding Requirements: Typical of most popular gobies in the aquarium trade, the gecko goby quickly accepts all aquarium foods, both frozen and dry.

Difficulty Rating:

(1 = easy - 5 = hard)

1 = Easy. In the proper reef environment (see below), this fish is hardy and eats with gusto.

Aggressiveness Rating:

(1 = shy - 5 = nasty)

2 = Not aggressive. In my experience, this fish adopts an “ignore them and they will leave†attitude, whether faced with small inquisitive fish or very large passers by.

Captive Requirements: As mentioned earlier, these fish thrive in a standard reef environment. Their hearty appetites lend them to be excellent choices for any marine tank, assuming certain requirements are met. Caves and overhangs are a must. Beyond that, the fewer large, boisterous tank mates, the better. Obviously, tankmates large enough to eat or otherwise thrash this little gem are a no-no. Prior to adding tangs and Genicanthus angels to my aquarium, my little gecko goby would slowly patrol the entire aquarium, with quick stop/start movements. As soon as larger fish were added to the system, the goby would remain hidden under ledges and such. Brief appearances are a treat as he darts out for food.

Optional Requirements: I enjoy keeping fish in pairs. I simply added another gecko goby to my established one. They paired without incident. I have even seen one individual with a distended belly containing orange/pink eggs on more than one occasion. There are two other reefers that I know of that have had the same relatively simple experience with pairing their gobies. However, they have not witnessed breeding. It is unclear to me as to whether or not these fish will fight if paired with the same sex.

Reef Tank Compatible: Again, because of their laid back nature, the gecko goby is an excellent choice for a reef aquarium. They do have large mouths, so be cautious with VERY small ornamental shrimp such as sexy shrimp (Thor ambeonesis), and the like.

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Waiting to see ya exotic COLLECTION mate.

Nice corals...

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Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana

Meat Coral is one of many common names used in describing Acanthophyllia deshayesiana, but this is an apt title, as this species has a thick and fleshy polyp. Their fleshy skin is rather delicate and care must be taken when placing them in the aquarium so the thick, toothy skeleton doesn't cause too much damage to the soft tissue.

When the soft tissue expands, it drapes dramatically over the edges of the skeleton. Color may vary from red-brown to bright green or red, and, in some cases, specimens may be striped or mottled with another color.

Place these corals either low in the tank or firmly anchored midway up in the tank, with low water movement. They do produce food through photosynthesis, but will also except an occasional meaty foods placed near the mouth opening. Meat Coral is similar to, and often confused with, Scolymia corals.

Note: This species was formerly identified as Cynarina deshayesiana but has recently been reclassified by the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service.

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Ricordea florida ...The Corallimorpharian for Every Aquarist

Genus Ricordea

There are two species of Ricordea that show up with frequency in the hobby—they are R. yuma and R. florida. The former is an Indo-Pacific species, while the latter—the subject of this article—is indigenous to the tropical Western Atlantic. While both are beautiful animals that adapt well to aquarium life, many aquarists are drawn to the vibrant colors of R. florida and the price, which is frequently less than R. yuma.

Taxonomy

The genus Ricordea is one of three commonly accepted genera in the Family Corallimorphidae (ITIS), which belongs to the Order Corallimorpharia and the Subclass Hexacorallia. It’s worth drawing attention to this taxonomic structure to point out that Ricordea species are indeed hexacorals, just like anemones (Order Actiniaria), stony corals (Order Scleractinia) and zoanthids (Order Zoanthidea). The internal structure of Ricordea species is remarkably similar to the internal structure of their cousins, the stony corals, while their outward appearance closely resembles their other cousins, the anemones. This is why you may sometimes here Ricordea referred to as both “false corals†and “disc anemones.â€

The taxonomic classification of Ricordea is also important to the marine aquarist in terms of understanding collection impacts. The collection of Scleractinia is restricted (CITES II) in U.S. waters (including U.S. territorial waters), and while Ricordea is not a member of the Order Scleractinia as explained above, the rocks on which Ricordea grow are indeed classified as Scleractinia. As a result, the hobbyists should never see a wild collected R. florida sold on a rock larger than 2.5 cm in diameter.

Natural Habitat

In the wild, R. florida is frequently found growing in colonies that blanket rock rubble in shallow, turbid waters. They may also be found in deeper waters and as solitary animals. Growing in both horizontal (perpendicular to the seafloor) and vertical orientations, R. florida attaches itself by way of a pedal disc to just about any hard substrate.

The color of an individual specimen may be related to its natural habitat and, specifically, to the depth at which it was collected and the turbidity of the water. Individuals living in shallower water with full exposure (horizontal orientation) are frequently paler in color with shades of yellow and brown being common. Orange (and sometimes even pink) specimens may also be found in shallow water.

In the wild, R. florida is known to change colors seasonally or in response to specific events such as hurricanes.

Husbandry

As with most marine animals kept in the aquarium, a great deal can be inferred about their husbandry based on the natural habitat and understanding the animal’s innate behavior. In the following sections, this article looks specifically at placement, feeding, tankmates, and disease.

Placement

One of the reasons that Ricordea are appropriate for the beginning aquarist is that they are fairly tolerant of a wide range of lighting and flow conditions. As noted above, these animals are found in varied conditions in their natural habitat, and, so long as they are properly acclimated to the hobbyist’s aquarium, they will do well in a much wider range of aquarium conditions than many anemones and corals.

Just as in the wild, aquarium specimens will be attached to hard substrate. This is usually a small piece of rock or coral skeleton on which the animal is shipped. This rock may be placed on the bottom of the aquarium or may be glued or epoxied to the rockwork in either a horizontal or vertical position.

In short, R. florida tolerate bright reef lighting much better than most other corallimorpharians, but they also do fine in less well-lit situations such as shaded areas of the aquarium or in tanks without metal halides. Under metal halides, consider a lower, somewhat shaded or vertical placement in the aquarium. Note that such a placement may encourage the extension of the specimen’s column, which can make for a very attractive display. With less intense reef lighting, think about a shallower, horizontal placement.

As always, the aquarist should carefully observe a newly placed Ricordea specimen. If the specimen grows paler and shrinks, the lighting may be too intense. If an originally brightly colored specimen retains its size but loses some of its intensity, the lighting could probably be stronger.

In terms of aggression, Ricordea florida is a motile semi-aggressive animal. While it should be given room to grow (and should certainly NOT be placed in such a way that it will come into direct contact with other stinging-celled organisms), there is little danger to other motile invertebrates posed by Ricordea.

Ricordea florida does best with low to moderate, indirect and intermittent flow.

Feeding

Ricordea, like all corallimorpharians, are symbiotic insofar as they rely on symbiotic zooxanthellae for food production. Having said this, it’s important to note that Ricordea are often found in shaded locations or growing in vertical orientations in their natural habitat. In fact, it is known from experience that many Ricordea specimens actually do better when not exposed directly to bright reef lighting (e.g. metal halide lights) in the aquarium. The reasons for this are not totally understood, but probably have something to do with the animal being able to rely on a combination of photosynthetic and chemosynthetic food production.

In addition to photosynthetic and chemosynthetic food production, Ricordea do rely on filter feeding to a lesser or greater degree depending on the individual specimen and, more specifically, the length of the individual specimen’s tentacles. These animals are not generally well-adapted to prey capture, as can be readily gleaned by looking at the mouth disc. While it is not unusual for Ricordea species to possess multiple mouths (polystomatous), the tentacles around those mouths often more resemble “bumps†than the tentacles of other filter feeding corals. Target feeding phytoplankton and zooplankton (or commercially available foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates) a couple times a week is appropriate, although, as many will state, not absolutely necessary.

Tankmates

While R. florida may well be damaged or destroyed by non-reef compatible animals, it is one of the few corals that is worth trying with some animals that are considered “reef compatible with caution.â€

Disease

There are few known diseases which plague Ricordea specimens in the aquarium. Most problems are the result of inappropriate lighting or poor water conditions, although a specimen with a damaged pedal disc resulting from poor collection practices is very susceptible to bacterial infection which can cause the animal to virtually disintegrate overnight. Likewise, fragmented specimens that have not fully healed before shipping are especially vulnerable.

Supplementing trace elements can help R. florida to adapt to various lighting situations and maintain excellent health.

Propagation

Captive propagation of Ricordea florida is easily achieved by carefully cutting the individual animal in half straight through the mouth disc, column and pedal disc. Care must be taken to insure that the tools used are clean so as to avoid any bacterial contamination. Propagating Ricordea in this manner is easy for the experienced hobbyists and has a very high success rate with the animals healing fully within several weeks under ideal aquarium conditions.

Conclusion

For many reasons, R. florida is an ideal aquarium animal for any reef aquarist. Hardy, beautiful and interesting, these “false corals†or “mushroom anemones†add color, variety and beauty to almost any saltwater aquarium.

[teebs]

Nice rics u have mate...

Very clear and detailed writeups on all the corals...

[kueytoc]

Scolymia Australis...Ultra Australian Scolymia !

Australian Scolymias come in a variety of mixed colors.

It is important that adequate calcium and alkalinity levels are maintained to ensure proper skeletal growth. Use of Kalkwasser Mix or a calcium reactor will be of great benefit.

Place the Australian Scoylmia in the sand bed or on an exposed rock along the bottom two-thirds of the aquarium where currents will be able to supply it with necessary nutrients and trace elements. It can expand to twice its normal size during the day, so leave 2"-3" between it and other corals.

Supplementing its diet with the addition of trace elements, marine snow, phytoplankton, and food for filter feeders will help to insure its continued good health. Try feeding it small pieces of squid or shrimp once a week by placing the food on the mouth located in the center of the polyp. Do this during the evening once the tentacles are extended.

Do not keep with large angelfish or butterflyfish as they cannot seem to resist picking at its fleshy polyp.

Stats

Care Level: Easy

Lighting Requirements: Moderate

Water Flow: Low

Aggressiveness: Peaceful

Range: Indo-Pacific, Red Sea

Family: Mussidae

Water Conditions: 74-80 F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12

[yikai]

2 naoko fairy wrasses at CF reserved and gone liao. i didnt get