One of the most exciting research projects we are conducting this semester allows me the collect many types of predatory corals. This article will show you two of the corals that are growing very rapidly. The bright red Scleronephthya has been cut several times and we have found it very easy to propagate. The wonderful yellow Neospogodes is growing faster than any of the predatory corals in our research.
RED SCLERONEPHTHYA
| During the last month we are able to purchase two new Scleronephthya. These two Scleronephthya are both yellow, but they are very different from each other. The yellow Scleronephthya pictured in this article has a clear white stalk with beautiful fluffy peach colored yellow polyps. The other yellow Scleronephthya defies description, and so far it has been impossible to capture with a camera. This coral has a yellow stalk that is the color of a child's yellow rubber duck with beautiful red polyps. Sally Jo will keep working on capturing some good pictures of this coral, but the color is so florescent it is very hard to capture any detail. |  YELLOW AND WHITE SCLERONEPHTHYA |
This tank now has three Maxi Jet 1200 power heads. One pump is on a lamp timer that turns it on and off every 30 minutes. One of the Maxi Jet 1200 power heads is on the lamp timer so it is off all night. The third Maxi Jet 1200 power head is directed under the center of the arch so it flows through air that is released from an air line with no airstone. The airline is eight inches from the pump. The pump catches these bubbles at random and it disturbs the flow in a natural pattern.
In the large flat horse-watering tank we have added an Eco-Sand Plenum that was made for a 55 gal. aquarium. This Plenum is 4 ft. long and 12 in. wide. We covered the black plastic nylon mesh with CaribSea Sea Floor Special Grade Aragonite Gravel. We have placed the Maxi Jet 1200 power head in the uplift tube so we can draw clean water from under the aragonite gravel. The two-foot square Plexiglas tank has a one and a quarter inch drain pipe that returns the water to the 4-ft. long tank. The 4-ft. long tank has a one and a quarter inch drain with the standpipe.
YELLOW NEOSPONGODES | The water from this 4-ft. long tank returns to the sump of the original display unit. Water from the bottom chamber of the display unit is pumped into the two-foot square tank with a Maxi Jet 1200 power head. Water from this chamber is also pumped into the original display tank. This set up allows me to feed both display tanks by putting the food in the bottom chamber. The two-foot square tank is set up in a south facing window on the top shelf on the south end of our lab. We have used Aragocrete Arches to form a bridge like structure that we can glue the predatory corals to. |
One of the problems people have had in the past with predatory corals such as Dendronephthya is that they try to display them sticking straight up like many other corals. Large predatory corals are often found growing under ledges or on the walls of the reef. By setting the aquarium up with Arches we are able to use the GARF super glue to attach the corals in a more natural manner.
| The GARF super glue is used to glue the rocks that the corals are attached to the Aragocrete Arches. This can be done under water by first putting a large drop of glue on your finger so that you can put it on the rock where you want to attach the coral. A large drop of glue is then placed on the part of the rock that will be attached to the arch. The rock is then placed against the arch and moved in a small circular motion until the glue adheres. You can feel this tug as the Glue starts to set.
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 | The glue can also be used to hold the corals after they have started to become loose from the rocks. This has been a problem because the base of the coral can be damaged during collection. When you first notice that the coral is starting to separate from the base you can brace it by using the glue on your finger method. The base of the corals often have enough sclerites exposed so the glue can be rubbed on the base. While the glue is still flexible you can pull a strand that will stretch to the Arch. This strand of glue will stick to the larger rock. Several of the strands can be used to hold the coral in place while it heals. Coralline algae will quickly cover the glue. |
