THESE PICTURES ALL SHOW THE 135 GALLON REEF AQUARIUM THAT IS IN THE RED ROOM. This aquarium has four six foot VHO bulbs. It was set up in 1994. Just today we took most of the rocks out of the right end this aquarium so we could cut Zoanthids and Palythoa. These pictures show the middle section of this reef. The large Leather Coral is very good looking because it has bright green polyps. The polyps were not extended very well when we took this picture. You can see some of the Zoanthids that covered almost every rock in the reef. When we harvested these fast growing Zoanthids there were six different colors. Stuart cut up all of the rocks and then he glued several colored Zoanthids to each Reef PlugTM.
These green corals have been coming in our trades for the past month. We now have about a dozen types .We have found that they grow better in low light such as you may have in the lower middle section of your reef aquarium. Many of these corals look very much like the ones from Palau that we are looking for. We have a strong desire to trade for ANY types of green tree shaped corals. We will be able to research the proper captive propagation so we can teach others the best way to reproduce them. THIS PICTURE SHOWS TWO OF THE BEST GROWING XENIAS THAT WE HAVE. The creeper Xenia is covering the rock below the head of Sally Jo's famous 100 percent pulser. This coral came from Fiji in 1995. Every time we cut a new clone from this strain it seems to be more hardy. This Xenia is now the best Xenia we have for it's ablility to survive shipping. The Creeper Xenia grows faster than any type we have.
Most of the Xenia that have in the unconnected genetic bank have large polyps with pinnated tentacles that move in a rhythmic motion. These polyps are connected at the base. The colors we have are cream, biege, and light brown. The Xenia pictured below is from Fiji. This Xenia is one of the best pulsing corals in our genetic bank. During the next year we will collecting several strains of the species.
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These Xenia cuttings are only 2 months old. They were made from single polyps that we took from Sally Jo's reef. You can cut these corals down the middle with a sharp pair of scissors and then both sides will heal. We often do this several times to create colonies with many tops. When the coral is healthy it will heal from this cut in 2 days. We wait several weeks before we cut the two new heads down the middle. After the Xenia heals it will now have 4 heads. When we have a Xenia that has 8 tops we can remove one each week to supply us with many polyps.
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This Xenia is the most popular one we grow. It is very hardy, but it can not survive for long if the reef aquarium is allowed to get above 80 degrees.
This picture shows how large a cutting of this coral can grow in 5 months. The cutting was made from a single polyp that was attached to a reef plug with bridal veil netting. This coral was grown in our 135 gallon reef with 4 - 6 foot long VHO bulbs. These are the Xenias that we will be cutting at the hands on work shops we are teaching during our 1999 Coral Farming Seminar. |
This is one of the Xenias that we grew using this method. You can see the bridal veil between the cutting and the rock. This tag was glued in place underwater using Reef Glue. The netting is VERY east to glue to any type of live rock. We just put a small ball of glue on the extra netting. When the tag is where we want it we rub the glue onto the live rock. The glue holds the netting because it pushes through the netting.
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Many of these types of corals are available for sale when you call our toll free phone number 800-600-6163.
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FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO PURCHASE, TRADE, AND SAVE AS MANY TYPES OF CORALS AS WE CAN.
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!. If you have any questions please use this form to ask them. WE WILL PHONE YOU AND HELP YOU PICK THE BEST CORALS FOR YOUR REEF AQUARIUM. We will continue to provide the most current data on reef farming for both education and profit. |