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Pipe organ coral (Tubipora musica) is a pretty unique coral for many reasons. First, the calcareous skeleton of this coral is reddish, one of the few corals with this color. Second, it is composed of tubes which are connected together by bands growing over the surface of the coral at intervals...

Week fact – New Jersey Reefs. Did you know that New Jersey has many artificial reefs? By artificial, I mean manmade objects have been sunk, many on purpose, to form solid object on the ocean floor so that corals can attach and fish can find protection from predators. Corals need hard object to...

When corals are first discussed, there relationship with zooxanthellae is often mentioned. Zooxanthellae provide the coral sugar, and the coral provided protection and fertilizers. However, many corals far outside the tropic areas or in deep water do not contain zooxanthellae. They basically get...

The touch tank near the entrance is nearing completion.

Did you know there are coral in the arctic? It is true. In the Aleutian Islands, corals were known to exist from trawling nets. But they were first observed on the ocean floor in 2001. Corals can grow in cold waters, but there is less diversity. They also grow much slower as the forms that grow...

Bubble algae is one of those aquarium pests that can actually be quite attractive in small quantities. Control of bubble algae usually starts with preventing it from being introduced in the first place. Once introduced, many people remove what they can by hand, using a baster to try and suck up...

Old reefs can indicate where warmer areas were in the past. Manitoulin Island in Ontario was a reef 400,000,000 years ago. The equator passed through Canada at that time. The corals that formed the island are now extinct. One of the oldest animal-formed reefs (549,000,000 years old) was found...

Does anyone have any 5 gallon natural water jugs they aren't using? Or 2-1/2 gallon? I live in Jackson and could use a few more, but haven't seen any for sale in a while.

Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) are a medium sized spiral fan worm. Each worm has 2 brightly colored crowns of radioles, feather like projections off the central spine. These are polychraete worms. Unlike the fan worm in my tank, these worms can plug their holes when they retreat...

Candy cane sponge, or more often called Spider Sponge (Trikentrion flabelliforme) is a red sponge with white zoanthid polyps in bands around it. There is not much information readily available on this sponge. From what I read, the white color indicates that it is a non-photosynthetic coral. You...

Blue Ridge Coral Blue coral, usually called blue ridge coral, is called blue because of the color of its skeleton. It is an octacoral that produces a solid structure made from aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate. Octacorals are usually soft corals. The blue color comes from iron infused in...

Black Coral is a form of Hexacoral. These usually have 6 tentacles and are a branching hard coral. There are about 280 species of them. Colonies of some are known to be over 4,265 years old. They often live in deep water. The flexible coral skeleton is black or dark brown. That is why they are...

Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius) is often one of the must-have invertebrates. You only have to look at the bright red color so see why. It is a cleaner shrimp and has the appropriate long white antennae. They like dark caves or overhangs from which to set up shop. But they can get food by...

Discosoma mushrooms (Actinodiscus) mushroom corals are considered as a beginning coral. They are like anemones in the sense that they attach to rock and can move around. But unlike most corals, they don’t have tentacles or grow a hard skeleton. They come in many colors and prefer low to moderate...

The Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto) is a small bicolor basslet from the Caribbean and Pacific. The front is a bright purple and a bright yellow back. It gets a maximum of about 3 inches, so it is a good fish for smaller saltwater aquariums. It likes caves in the rock work. At night, it may be found...

A barrier reef is like a mature fringing reef. It differs in that it is usually farther offshore with a deep body of water between it and the shore. The length and water depth make it a barrier to ocean waves which break offshore. Ships could sail behind it and become protected. A barrier reef...

About 2 years ago, a new coral reef was announced in the murky Atlantic Ocean water off of the Amazon River. It is larger than Delaware, thought to be around 160 miles long. It was discovered in 2012. But the existence of the reef was suggested in a 1977 research paper. The reef is a surprise...

Believe it or not, coral warfare may be the reason you lose corals. When corals are in distress, you might quickly check chemicals levels only to find you have normal parameters. The distress may be due to chemicals. Toadstool mushrooms release terpenoids. Cyanobacteria release chemicals toxic...

The emerald crab (mithraculus sculptus) is a small scavenger. For aquariums, it is desired for its ability to eat bubble algae, although there is doubt that this eliminates it from an aquarium). On the other hand, it is known for dislodging frags and small coral colonies. It comes from the...

The green chromis (Chromis Viridis – sometimes called the bule green chromis) is a low cost salt water fish suited for beginning and small aquariums. It may get up to 4’ long. While it belongs in the damsel family, a family known for aggressive behavior in aquariums, the chromis is a peaceful...