SEE ONE OF TWO LARGER THAN LIFE SIZE PICTURE FOR YOUR DESKTOP WALLPAPER :)

Hello, Here is the first link to one of two full size picture of Sally Jo's reefs that you can use as wallpaper on your computer. This week we have done something interesting. You can see two views of the same reef; a top view and a front view. This unique set of views will show you more details of the sps corals. The pictures show a portion of the upper left corner of Sally Jo's first reef. I have included a graytone picture that points out the sps coral in each view. Please e-mail us if you like these larger pictures so we can make our site more enjoyable and educational. LeRoy

This picture is a front view of the upper left-hand corner of Sally Jo's 55 gallon reef aquarium. This aquarium is about four and one-half years old and it is the home of over 200 different types of coral. This reef aquarium is the best example of Sally Jo's technique of Bonsai Reef Keeping. This aquarium has six - 4 ft. long VHO Bulbs, but like all of Sally Jo's aquariums the light was increase slowly as the system matured. This aquarium was one of the first ones that we set up using AragocreteTM instead of live rock. It is easy to see that you can keep SPS corals and soft corals in the same system, but this type of reef display takes constant trimming and care. Like all of our larger aquariums at the Research Foundation this aquarium is a brood stock reef.

SEE ONE OF TWO LARGER THAN LIFE SIZE PICTURE FOR YOUR DESKTOP WALLPAPER :)

This picture is a link to a top view that shows several sps corals and one of the best Zoanthids we have ever grown. This Zoanthid has a silver center with a blue ring inside of red tentacles. You can also see one of the Xenia that we received when we taught a coral farming seminar at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. two years ago. The Acropora in the lower right corner is a species from the Solomon Islands. This bright blue Acropora millipora is one of seven colors of this species we were able to purchase from the ocean based farm before it was forced to close because of violent political problems.

This Seriatapora or birds nest coral is one of the first SPS corals that we purchased in 1994. Clones of this coral are now in tanks in almost every state in the country. We have several other strains of Seriatapora, but this one has the most classic bird's nest form. One of the distinguishing characteristics of Seriatapora is that all of the polyps form uniform rows along the branches. The blue tip Acropora next to this Seriatapora has been at GARF for almost two years. When the first fragment of this coral was purchased from a farm it was a small, slow-growing brown Acropora.

It is amazing to watch how new generations of clones of these captive raised corals adapt to captivity. Sally Jo has taken well over thirty thousand pictures during the last eleven months. By carefully cataloging these pictures on over one hundred CDs we are able to find pictures of each coral as it grows and changes from week to week. During the coming semester we will share many more of Sally Jo's photos.

We have appreciated the e-mail from those of you who have written expressing your gratitude for the large desktop pictures. One of the projects that we hope to do during the next year is a series of photographs showing as many of the species as we can identify. There are a group of sps corals that we are growing that we have not been able to identify, and soon we will post pictures of these mystery corals. We hope that if we are able to post several pictures of each species that some of our readers may be able to help us with the identification.

We're getting very excited about our upcoming coral farming seminar 2000. One of our speakers is Mr. Steve Tyree and we are certain that he will be able to give us the proper species names for many of our Acropora. The coral farming seminar 2000 will be held in Boise Idaho on the weekend of October 21st and 22nd. At this time there are several spaces available if your interested in attending the seminar, but please contact our office soon because we will be sold out soon. We are very proud to announce that we will have guests returning to the United States from both Italy and Israel.

If you are planning on attending Coral Farming 2000 please call 800-600-6163 and tell my sister Sharon that you would like to reserve a space. Because so many of you have so kindly purchased our Reef Janitors^TM, Grunge^TM , and corals we have been able to keep the low-price for attending the entire weekend event. I am certain that you will find out, as many people have in the past, that $50 spent attending a GARF coral farming seminar is money very well spent.

There will probably be more coral farmers gathered in Boise Idaho in late October to share information with you than at any other event you may attend. We are very excited to find out that many of the hobbyists, who have always been a welcome at our seminars, are now engaged in some form of commercial coral farming.

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Thank you all for taking the time to read this web page and thank you again for all of the support that you have given all of us here at Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation.

REMEMBER - SAVE A REEF - GROW YOUR OWN

FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO PURCHASE, TRADE, AND SAVE AS MANY TYPES OF CORALS AS WE CAN.

IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE SOME OF SALLY JO'S GREAT NEW CUTTINGS PLEASE CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-600-6163

We are having a special on all of the coral cuttings. WHEN YOU PURCHASE 5 AT THE REGULAR PRICE OF $100 WE WILL GIVE YOU TWO FREE CORALS!.