View Full Version : Tubastraea sp everything...3
It’s that time again…. draft 3.:o
If you’ve been waiting for the ‘completed article’, you’re in for a disappointment.
Due to a million and one factors I’ve not had the time to complete the ‘article’.
This is the last version in this format, as its getting increasingly difficult to shoe horn the info in without a full re-write, because of this, ‘draft 3’ has a little more info, spelling corrected, grammar corrected, the odd bit removed, and a few pics of some recent coccinea babies.
What I intend to do next is completed re-write the whole thing, go into much greater depth, and use more / better pics… also not ‘release’ it until its 100% finished.
If you think I’ve missed something that should be covered or expanded, please leave a comment. (good or bad).
If you are the owner of any image used, and wish for it to be removed;
Please except my most humble of apologies, and private message me for immediate removal.
Cheers,
Gog
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Everything you want to know… Almost
Introduction
Family: Dendrophylliidae
Genus: Tubastraea (Latin: Tubus (Tube) Astron (Star))
Species: Tubastraea aurea (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833)
Tubastraea coccinea (Lesson, 1829)
Tubastraea diaphana (Dana, 1846)
Tubastraea faulkneri (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea floreana (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea micrantha (Ehrenberg, 1834)
Tubastraea tagusensis (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea tenuilamellosa (Edwards and Haime, 1848)
Common Names: Orange / Black (T. micrantha, T. diaphana) / Yellow / Green (T. micrantha, T. diaphana) / Red /Sun coral, Cup coral, Tube Star, Black Turret Coral (T. micrantha, T. diaphana), Tree Coral(T. micrantha), Sunflower coral, Sun polyps, Tube coral, Daisy coral, Octopus coral (T. micrantha, T. diaphana), Cave Coral.
Distribution: Australia, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Fiji, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Israel , Japan, Kenya, Korea, Madagascar , Malaysia, Sabah, Maldives, Mauritius : Rodrigues, Mozambique, Palau, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sudan, Taiwan, Province of China, Tonga, Brazil, Hawaii, Galápagos Islands.
Profile
Tubastraea is a non-Zooxanthellae coral of the family Dendrophylliidae which inhabits overhangs, vertical surfaces, cave entrances, and in some instances the open reef. The reported depth range for Tubastraea spp. is 3–7 m (Wells, 1982), but it has also been observed at a depths of 15m (Esther G.L. Koh, Hugh Sweatman), and 25m (Arthur G. Humes).
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Tubastraea sp. are thought to be ahermatypic (non-reef building), but this classification is under going reappraisal, largely due to the growth rate and size of T. micrantha.Despite the low calcification rate of T. micrantha, the linear skeletal extension, in the form of arboreal type branches, is nothing short of rapid for a Azooxanthellae (does not contain Zooxanthellae) species. This rate of growth is directly comparable to the rates shown by many symbiotic, hermatypic (reef building) corals.
To further call into question the ahermatypic classification; Tubastraea micrantha possesses one of the densest calcium carbonate skeletons amongst the order Scleractinia, and as testament to the skeletal strength and tenacity of these animals, the "Black Sun Coral" was one of the few species of coral remaining on the Atoll reefs after the nuclear weapons testing, performed in the Pacific by the Americans in the 1960's.
Although the typical colours for Tubastraea polyps are yellow through to orange; the range of polyp colours seen within nature and the aquaria (to a lesser agree) can be staggering such as green, brown, or white in the case of T. micrantha. The spectacular diversity of colours is evident with-in the images below.
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Tubastraea is a non photosynthetic coral, and as such, does not contain unicellular photosynthetic Zooxanthellae symbiants. Species from this genus do not require exposure to sunlight or specific lighting (within the aquaria) for the purposes of photosynthesis. That said, Tubastraea spp. can and will tolerate varying light intensities. This is evident in nature by the coexistence and persistence of the non-symbiotic, Tubastraea Micrantha, on the open reefs amongst the Western Caroline Islands (Republic of Belau).
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Tubastraea Anatomy
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Images: Authors own
Corallite: The skeletal material produced by a single polyp
Calice (pl. calices): A concave depression the “end” of the corallite that houses the polyp
Septum (pl. speta): These are skeletal plates that radiate into the calice from the theca (the corallite wall). The Septum is also sometimes referred to as; scleroseptum
Coenosteum (pl. coenostea): The skeletal material between walls of adjacent corallites.
Coenosarc: The fleshy / skin type tissue covering coenostea and corallites.
Tentacle: A nematocyst-laden appendage used to capture prey, and also for defence / offence.
Oral disc: The broad area of tissue between the mouth and polyp tentacles.
Mouth: The mouth is a sphincter (ring of muscle) that open and closes to allow passage of food / waste to and from the Gastro Vascular cavity.
Gastro vascular cavity: The gut of the polyp.
Mesenterial filaments: The Gastro vascular cavity is divided into sections by these muscular “curtains” of tissue, which are used for digestion and polyp retraction / extension.
Feeding Methods and Handling
Due to the lack of Zooxanthellae, Tubastraea spp. MUST be fed by the aquarist between 2-7 times a week to maintain health and growth, for Tubastraea micrantha daily feeding is required. **This is not a coral for the lazy**. It is believed that each polyp must be individually fed on meaty offerings such as vitamin enriched brine / Mysis shrimp and krill along with other foods along the lines of, chopped mussel, squid, Cyclop-eze™, etc. It is believed that using live Brine shrimp as a part of the corals diet will increase the intensity of the coral colour, especially in the case of orange / yellow specimens.
When choosing a "sun coral" at a local fish shop, it is desirable to look for a specimen that is already feeding and shows little sign of starvation. A feeding specimen can be recognised as it will look puffed up or plump, especially after food is placed in the tank. Consider asking your local stockist to add some food to the corals holding tank, or ask what time they normally feed the coral, and if you can be present.
The tell-tale signs of an under-fed or malnourished animal are relatively easy to spot; such as clearly showing calices (cups), the coenosarc (flesh / skin) covering the cups will also appear to be extremely thin and taut. The presence of excessive algae growth may sometimes indicate a possible weakness. If your specimen already has algae present then every effort should be made to carefully remove the intrusion without causing damage.
After transportation and acclimatisation, a newly acquired sun coral may-be reluctant to expand its tentacles in preparation for feeding. These tentacles are used to capture and incapacitate prey which range in size from planktonic forms to small fish. One way of coaxing the polyps to expand and open, is to very gently waft / blow a small amount of brine shrimp juice, Phyto-plankton, Cyclop-eze™, or, Coral Vibrance™ over the cups of the coral.
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Images courtesy of: Steve Margetts
If, after several days and nights (sometimes a couple of weeks) of "wafting"the polyps still fail to show any sign of opening, its possible that the coral may no longer have sufficient energy remaining to expand, as a result the slow process of starvation will begin, along with tissue thinning and recession, eventually leading to death.
What is meant by, “sufficient energy remaining”? What the author is referring to is stored Nitrogen and Phosphorous within the coral skeletal body. In the absence of food the coral can use the ‘store’ to sustain life for a number of weeks if the coral was in good health prior to harvesting, etc. Unfortunately with some corals the process of actually getting to a reefers system is a drawn out stressful affair, and often goes without any food from harvest to purchase.
Interestingly, although it is commonly thought that each polyp of the colony is a separate animal, and as such do not share ingested nutrients, the ‘back-up energy’ supply is a common store held with in the porous skeleton for the good of the entire colony.
On a brighter note, it’s not all doom and gloom. Once Tubastraea is accepting your meaty offerings and the feeding regime is maintained, it’s a hardy inhabitant that will reward you with a daily stunning display of large, usually intensely coloured polyps, and in time daughter colonies within the aquarium (see, reproduction).
Once the coral is opening enough for you to feed, there are various methods of delivering food stuffs to the polyps that can be employed.
If the coral is to be fed within the aquarium, the simplest means is to use a syringe or turkey baster to deliver foods such as Mysis, and Artemia to the oral disc and tentacles of the polyp. Care must be taken during this process, if the food is released with to much pressure or the polyp is “poked”, it will contract and you’ll be unable to fed, until it re-expands.
When feeding within the aquarium, the food offered to the coral may be “stolen” by shrimps, who will actually remove the food from the gut of the coral. One method of combating this is to cover the coral will half a fizzy drinks bottle or similar, this is sometimes known as the “top hat” method. Another method of fending off unwanted visitors is to “guard” the coral with an acrylic rod; this method is preferred where the colonies are too large when expanded to be contained within the “top hat”.
An alternative method to feed this wonderful animal is to remove the coral from the aquaria in a suitably sized container. To carry out this procedure it is necessary to submerge the container, pick the coral up by its underside (scoop it up with an open hand) and place within the container, ensuring complete water coverage of the coral during removal always allowing for polyp expansion. Once the polyps have expanded, feeding can commence with your chosen foods. Once the coral has moved the food down to its gut, it may be returned to the aquarium by reversal of the above procedure. In the author’s opinion, this method should not be your first choice. Constant handling may cause stress and damage to the coral.
When handling the coral, great care must be taken as, although the main skeletal body is strong, the coenosarc, corallites and calices are fragile and easily damaged. Under no circumstances should the coral be removed from the water and exposed to the air if the polyps are extended. The result of such action can be torn tissue around the calice edge which, in some instances may be irreparable.
When feeding Tubastraea, it is important to remember that it is very easy to increase the NO3 (Nitrates), PO4 (Phosphates) and dissolved organics within the system due to the regurgitation of food (if it had eyes, they'd definitely be bigger than its belly), and food that "escapes" the polyps un-checked whilst feeding within the aquarium. There are many ways around this problem; ample detritus eaters or scavengers amongst the clean-up crew, heavy skimming and high flow, “algae scrubber” sumps, removing uneaten food, removing the coral for feeding (note: doesn’t help with regurgitation), regular water changes, and of course, only feeding little and often.
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The Captive Environment
As with all Stony corals, algae cover, NO3 and PO4 are detrimental to the health of Tubastraea colonies. Water parameters in the range of 24-28°C, Specific Gravity 1.024-1.026, pH 8.1-8.4, dKH 8-10 would ideally be adhered to for continued health. Excessively high dKH, PO4 and / or NO3 can lead to rapid recession of the coenosarc.
Poor water quality, namely high nitrates and poor levels of dissolved oxygen, can lead to the coral failing to expand and may lead to a possible event called ‘polyp bail-out’. This is where a polyp exits its calcium carbonate cup and becomes free swimming. In nature, when a polyp bails out, it will seek a “better” location and settle upon a rock or similar, to begin laying down a new corallite and in time a form new colony.
If the bail-out occurs in the home aquaria the polyp will unfortunately fail to survive, due to being unable to find “cleaner”, more oxygen rich areas.
As mentioned previously, Tubastraea spp. are a part of the family Dendrophylliidae and do not contain Zooxanthellae and do not require light for the purpose of photosynthesis. That said, it doesn’t mean that the aquarist has to place his / her prize Tubastraea in a cave or under a ledge. The prevalent “myths” which state that Tubastraea sp. are found in caves and overhangs, because their in-tolerant to light, is a complete fabrication. The reason these corals are found in such areas is because of nutrient levels. Caves and overhangs etc are naturally rich gathering areas for zooplankton and other small food sources, and is possibly the sole reason for the presence of Tubastraea.
If acclimatised to avoid possible UV “burning”, Sun Corals will tolerate moderate to strong light. As an example, Tubastraea micrantha, as mentioned previously, are commonly found on open reefs amongst light demanding stony coral species such as Acropora sp.
**Warning** If you are going to place the coral in moderate to strong light, remember that you increase the risk of algae growth upon the coral, especially if the coenosarc has receded between the corallites exposing the coenosteum. Another important point to remember when picking a location for the coral in the aquarium is; Above all, make sure that you can get to the coral for easy feeding.
Tubastraea sp. prefers an alternating, moderate (to strong, for T. micrantha and T. diaphana ) water movement, which will also serve to keep the coral free from detritus build up. Heavy protein skimming will aid water quality and help keep the levels of dissolved organics low within the reef aquaria, which are easily elevated when feeding a coral regularly. If detritus does build up between the corallites and is not removed, the coral may become smothered by cyanobacterial algae (Oscillatoria spp.), which, if left unchecked, will destroy the coenosarc lying underneath.
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Reproduction
Tubastraea sp. are know to reproduce by the means of Gametes (sperm and eggs), egg – sperm packets / bundles, brooded planulae larvae (free swimming larvae), budding and polyp division. If well-fed and kept in good health, colonies will readily reproduce in their captive environments.
Both T. faulkneri and T. coccinea are reported to be hermaphroditic (each mature colony contains both male and female reproductive structures) and can reproduce by the means of planulae larvae, budding and division.
Planulae larvae is produced when a male polyp is triggered into releasing sperm, by chemical ‘messages’ given out by a female polyp. This sperm then swims into the female where it meets ‘her’ egg and the process of internal fertilisation begins.
The resulting larva is formed with-in the female (known as brooding) and when developed its released from the polyp and becomes free swimming. When the larvae, which is approximately 1.6mm long, settles upon a rock, etc, it will quickly turn into a tiny polyp (or two) and begin laying down a new skeleton. From this point the polyp is able to bud and divide, thus creating an entirely new colony.
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Image: Daniela Stettler
The above image shows a mature T. coccinea polyp releasing planulae larvae.
It is possible to identify whether the settled larva was spawned by T. faulkneri or T. coccinea, by the amount of polyps the larva develops into. A newly settled larva from faulkneri normally develops two polyps, where coccinea will develop a single polyp.
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Images: Authors own
The above image shows some T. coccinea ‘offspring’, and a size comparison against a Copepod.
It is also possible for a new colony to establish though budding alone. A newly formed bud can brake away from the ‘mother’ tissue and either float or crawl across rock / substrate to a new settlement point.
Tubastraea aurea is believed to be a gonochoric coral (male and female reproductive structures are in separate male and female colonies) and as such, it breeds via the release of gametes. As with other gonochoric corals, IE Acropora sp, the release of sperm from the males and eggs from the females is synchronised using the phases of the moon and the resulting temperature variations. Once the egg has been externally fertilised, a larvae is developed…
Tubastraea micrantha and Tubastraea diaphana are reported to be a ‘brooders’, and reproduce in the same manner as T. faulkneri and T. coccinea.
In fact Tubastraea aurea appears to break the generalisation that all members of the family Dendrophylliidae are ‘brooding’ corals.
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Diseases, Parasites and Predators
Phestilla melanobrachia (Bergh, 1874)
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This is a large Nudibranch (40mm) and is distributed throughout the Western Pacific. The colour of this “sea slug” matches that of the Tubastraea species upon which it feeds.
Cochlodinium catenatum: Adinoflagellate(a species of microscopic algae) that causes coral mortality, and / or tissue sloughing
Ostreobium Quekettii: A ubiquitous boring algae that lives in the skeleton of stony corals. Once a coral is stressed, this algae may become problematic by increasing its growth, exacerbating recession, and allowing for other disease and necrosis to occur. (Le Campion-Alsumard et al. 1995).
Oscillatoria spp.: A blue-green cyanobacteria that grows upon the coral, using its mucus as a nutrient source. It is believed that products of this algae’s metabolism are toxic to the “host” coral, and, if left unchecked, this encroachment will end in the death of the coral.
Oscillatoria submembranacea: As previously mentioned this is a reddish / brown cyanobacterium that will feed and develop upon any detritus on the body of the coral. As this filamentous algae spreads, smothering the coral, the coenosarcwill be destroyed, and eventually this will lead to the death of the coral.
Wentletraps:
EpitoniumBilleeanum:
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Images: Marc Shargel
This snail preys on coenosarc and polyps of TubastraeaTenuilamellosa and T. Faulkneri. Note that the colour of this predator, matches the livery of most, commonly found, T. Faulkneri. E. Billeeanum (i)also lays its perfectly camouflaged bright yellow eggs (ii) amongst the Tubastraea colony, to offer protection from predators.
Amaea spp:
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Amaea species, prey upon the coenosarc and polyps of Tubastraea Aurea
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Defence
Competition among Scleractinia (stony corals) for space on coral reefs can be intense. Competitive interactions are frequently manifested as overgrowth of adjacent individuals. Apart from the fundamental requirement for space in which to grow, Tubastraea depend on unobstructed water flow to obtain food.
Many Tubastraea species, such as T. Faulkneri and T. Aurea, are capable of "protecting their patch" by means of a larvotoxin, similar to that of the Goniopora Spp. and Favia Spp. Along with other secondary toxic metabolites (tubastrindoles A-C) similar to that of the soft coral species Sinularia and Sarcophyton.
The larvotoxin will cause the planula larvae of other stony corals to cease swimming and die, which prevents potential competitors from establishing in the vicinity of Tubastraea colonies and help to pre-empt interactions with competitively dominant species. The tubastrindoles A-C act as allelochemicals (also know as, allelotoxin) which are released into the water, inhibiting over-growth by competing species.
The species of corals from the order Scleractinia that are affected by these metabolites / larvotoxins are Montipora digitata, Acropora formosa, Acropora millepora, Acropora pulchra, Acropora tenuis, Favia pallida, Goniastrea aspera, Platygyra daedalea, Platygyra sinensis, Fungia fungites and Oxypora lacera. The toxins secreted by Tubastraea do not kill conspecific (belonging to the same species) larvae.
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Conservation
Tubastraea colony numbers vary greatly from, very abundant - T. Faulkneri and T. Coccinea, to very rare - T. Tagusensis and T. Tenuilamellosa
T. Tagusensis was previously only known from the Galápagos archipelago (Isabela Island), but now things are on the up and Tagusensis has now been discovered off the rocky shores of Ilha Grande Bay (south of Rio De Janeiro City), Brazil. Along with India, Kuwait and Palau.
The sheer abundance of the species T. Faulkneri and T. Coccinea is partly due to the increase of commercial shipping traffic, Oil platforms and gas platforms, coupled with the "pinioner" characteristics of the afore mentioned species. When ever a new "Rig" is placed ready for drilling, T. Faulkneri and T. Coccinea are amongst the first animals to inhabit the structural legs of the platform. As a side note, the abundance of Dendrophylliidae coral families upon their "artificial" reefs, is calling into question the decision to remove these platforms once there working life has ceased.
Although, to contradict the previous, it seems the older the platform, the fewer Tubastraea spp. are evident.
Appendices
Appendix one: Complete Taxonomy Hierarchy
Domain: Eukaryota (Fungi, Protists, Plants, and Animals)
Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Sub kingdom: Radiata (sponges, coelenterates and placozoans)
Infra kingdom: Coelenterata
Phylum: Cnidaria (anemones, corals, and jellyfishes)
Class: Anthozoa (sea anemones, corals, sea pens, and sea fans)
Sub class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia (stony corals, hard corals)
Suborder: Dendrophylliina
Family: Dendrophylliidae
Genus: Tubastraea (Latin: Tubus (Tube) Astron (Star))
Species: Tubastraea Aurea (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833)
Tubastraea Coccinea (Lesson, 1829)
Tubastraea Diaphana (Dana, 1846)
Tubastraea Faulkneri (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea Floreana (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea Micrantha (Ehrenberg, 1834)
Tubastraea Tagusensis (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea Tenuilamellosa (Edwards and Haime, 1848)
Appendix Two: Species Distribution
Tubastraea Coccinea(Lesson, 1829); American Samoa, Anguilla, Aruba (int), Australia: [New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia], Bahamas, Belize (int), Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands (int), Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica : Cocos Island, Cuba (int), Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador: [Galapagos], Egypt, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Honduras: [Honduran] Caribbean Is, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Jamaica (int), Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea,
Republic of , Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia : Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius: [Rodrigues], Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands Antilles (int): Bonaire, Curaçao, Netherlands Leeward Is, New Caledonia, New Zealand : Kermadec Is, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico (int), Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Province of China, Thailand, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, United States Virgin Islands,
Venezuela (int).
Tubastraea Diaphana (Dana, 1846); American Samoa, Australia : [Queensland, Western Australia], Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Egypt, Fiji, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Israel, Kiribati,
Madagascar, Maldives, New Zealand: [Kermadec Is], Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania.
Tubastraea Faulkneri (Wells, 1982); Australia: [New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia], Ecuador: [Galapagos], Indonesia, Palau, Philippines.
Tubastraea Floreana (Wells, 1982); Ecuador: [Galapagos]. Further information is unavailable.
Tubastraea Micrantha (Ehrenberg, 1834); Australia: [Queensland, Western Australia], British Indian Ocean Territory, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Fiji, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Republic of, Madagascar, Malaysia: [Peninsular
Malaysia], Sabah, Maldives, Mauritius : Rodrigues, Mozambique, Palau, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sudan, Taiwan, Province of China, Tonga.
Tubastraea Tagusensis (Wells, 1982); Ecuador: [Galapagos], Brazil, India, Kuwait, Palau,
Appendix Three: Glossary
A:
Acclimatisation: The process of gradually introducing a “new” fish or invertebrate the aquarium.
Ahermatypic: A non-photosynthetic and non-reef building species.
Aposymbiotic: Lacks symbionts as in; non-photosynthetic corals.
Arboreal: Tree like growth. IE Branching
Asexual: Reproduction that does not require separate sexes / No dedicated gender.
Azooxanthellate: Lacking symbiotic algae.
B:
Budding: A form of asexual reproduction.
C:
Calcification: The process by which corals and calcareous algae extract calcium from seawater and produce it as calcium carbonate.
CITES: Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species
D:
Detritus: Settled organic particles of debris.
Dinoflagellate: Protozoans.
E:
Endosymbiotic: Contain symbionts. IE, Zooxanthellae within photosynthetic coral.
F:
Family: A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking below an order and above a genus
G:
Genus: A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species and generally consisting of a group of species exhibiting similar characteristics. In taxonomic nomenclature the genus name is used, either alone or followed by a Latin adjective or epithet, to form the name of a species.
Gonochoric: Having separate sexes. Individuals within the species contain only one or the other of male and female reproductive systems
H:
Hermaphrodite: An animal or plant which is equipped with both male and female reproductive organs
Hermatypic: A reef building coral
I:
J:
K:
L:
LPS: Large Polyp Stony
M:
Metabolite: A substance that takes part in the process of metabolism, which involves the breakdown of complex organic constituents of the organism's body with the liberation of energy for use in bodily functioning. The various compounds that take part in, or are formed by, these reactions are called metabolites.
Metabolites: A substance necessary for or taking part in a particular metabolic process
N:
Necrosis: Death of cells or tissues through injury or disease.
Nematocyst: A stinging cell found on the tentacles of cnidarians.
O:
Order: A taxonomic category of organisms ranking above a family and below a class.
P:
Photosynthetic: Process by which autotrophic chlorophyll-containing organisms manufacture their own energy sources (simple sugars) from the intracellular chemical reaction of carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. Oxygen is a photochemical by-product of photosynthesis
Phylum: A major division of a biological kingdom, consisting of closely- related classes; represents a basic fundamental pattern of organization and, presumably, a common descent
Planulae: A planktonic larval form produced by some anthozoans
Polyp: An individual of a solitary cnidarian or one member of a cnidarian colony
R:
S:
Septa: The skeletal plate that projects into the calyx from the theca. Septa may be subdivided into primary, secondary, and tertiary structures
Slough: The recession / casting off of the coral tissue.
Species: A fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms.
SPS: Small Polyp Stony
Subclass: A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking between a class and an order.
Symbiotic: A close, prolonged association between two or more organisms of different species that may (although not necessarily) benefit each member.
T:
U:
Unicellular: Having or consisting of one cell
V:
Z:
Zooxanthellae: A group of dinoflagellates living endosymbiotically in association with one of a variety of invertebrate groups (e.g., corals). In corals, they provide carbohydrates through photosynthesis, which are used as one source of energy for the coral polyps. They also provide coloration for some corals.
References
Title: Three novel bis(indole) alkaloids from a stony coral, Tubastraea spp.
Authors(s): Tetsuo Iwagawa, Miho Miyazaki, Hiroaki Okamura,, Munehiro Nakatani, Matsumi Doeb and Kaoru Takemurac
Source: Tetrahedron Letters 44 (2003) 2533–2535
Title: The coastal scleractinian coral fauna of the Kermadec Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean
Authors(s): F. J. Brook
Source: Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand Volume 29 Number 4 December 1999 pp 435-460
Title: Orange Cup Coral Tubastraea coccinea invades Florida and the Flower Garden Banks, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
Authors(s): Douglas Fenner and Kenneth Banks
Source: Coral Reefs (2004) 23: 505–507
Title: Identification of Scleractinian Coral Recruits from Indo-Pacific Reefs
Authors(s): Russ C. Babcock, Andrew H. Baird, Srisakul Piromvaragorn, Damian P. Thomson and Bette L. Willis
Source: Zoological Studies 42(1): 211-226 (2003)
Title: The Global Trade in Corals
Authors(s): Edmund Green and Francis Shirley
Source: WCMC Biodiversity Series No. 10
Title: DO SCLERACTINIAN CORALS ENGAGE IN CHEMICAL WARFARE AGAINST MICROBES?
Authors(s):Esther G. L. KOH
Source: Journal of Chemical Ecology, Vol. 23, No. 2, 1997
Title: Checklist of valid names and synonyms of stony corals (Anthozoa:
Scleractinia) from the eastern Pacific
Authors(s):Hetor Reyes-Bonilla
Source: Journal of Natural History, 2002, 36, 1–13
Title: The Newsletter of Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society, Inc.
Authors(s): Adam Cesnales
Source: Pi-Seas, The Newsletter of Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society, Inc. Volume 1, Issue 7, July 2001
Title: A phylogentic study of the Anthozoa (phylum Cnidaria) based on morphological and molecular characters
Authors(s): J.H. Won, B.J. Rho and J.I. Song
Source: CORAL REEFS (2001) 20: 39-50
Title: Expansion of coral communities within the Northern Gulf of Mexico via offshore oil and gas platforms
Author(s): Sammarco PW, Atchison AD, Boland GS
Source: MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES 280: 129-143 2004
Title: Two species of the coral Tubastraea (cnidaria, Scleractinia) in Brazil: A case of accidental introduction
Author(s): de Paula AF, Creed JC
Source: BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE 74 (1): 175-183 JAN 2004
Title: Chemical warfare among scleractinians: bioactive natural products from Tubastraea Faulkneri Wells kill larvae of potential competitors (vol 251, pg 141, 2000)
Author(s): Koh EGL, Sweatman H
Source: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 256 (1): 137-138 JAN 1 2001
Title: Persistence and Coexistence of a Nonsymbiotic Coral in Open Reef Environments
Author(s): G. M. Wellington and Robert K. Trench
Source: PNAS 82 (8): 2432-2436, April 1985
Title: Aquarium Corals - Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History. (2001)
Author(s): Eric H. Borneman
Source: Microcosm Ltd and T.F.H. Publications, Inc. ISBN# 1-890087-48-3
Title: The state of the coral reef ecosystems of the U.S. Pacific remote Island areas.
Author(s): Rusty Brainard, Jim Margus, Robert Schroeder, Jeen Keyon, Peter Vroom, Scott Godwin, Ronald Hoeke, Greta Aeby, Russell Moffit, Marc Lammers, Jamison Grove, Molly Timmers, Stephani Holzwarth, Steve Kolinski.
Title: Phestilla melanobrachia Bergh, 1874
Author(s): Rudman, W.B
Source: Australian Museum, Sydney
Title: Marine Atlas vol.2 (1997)
Author(s): Harry Erhardt, Horst Moosleitner
Source: Microcosm Ltd. ISBN# 3-88244-054-6
Title: Reef Secrets. (2002)
Author(s): Alf Jacob Nilsen, Svein A. Fossa
Source: Microcosm Ltd and T.F.H. Publications, Inc. ISBN# 1-890087-67-X
Title: The Coral Whisperer
Author(s): Eric H. Borneman
Source: Advanced Aquarist, November 2002
Title: Reproduction in Aquarium Corals (pts I & II)
Author(s): Eric H. Borneman
Source: Reefkeeping.com
Title: Ultimate Reef forums
Author(s): Various
Source: Ultimatereef.net
Tropical Marine Biology II
Classification of Scleractinian (Stony) Corals
Headed by: dr. K. Kleemann
Handed in by: Pierre Madl
Vienna, March through June 2001 (revised in Nov. 2002)
Tree of life - web project, http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html
Almost forgot:
Polite notice
If directly cutting and pasting ANY section of the previous "article" into any forum, website, etc, etc. (english language based or not.... you know who you are;)), Please reference the material to myself (Roger Hughes) AND Ultimate Reef.
Thank you.
Rob Martin
18-12-06, 15:46
Superb article,my Tubeastrea is definatley my favourite coral.I have a question,my coral spawned a while ago & i've noticed 2 individual polyps forming (have been targetting with Cyclop-eze,hope they're getting enough) but i've had to remove the parent colony to a QT because of a nipping Tang! The new polyps have formed on quite sizeable chunks of rock occupied by other corals.To avoid the nipping Tang once they're big enough,is there anyway to remove/encourage them from the rocks they're on? Thanks
Rob.
If you can see a couple then sure there are quite a few more as I've found on my live-rock. As they are a hard coral and build a calcareous skeleton I think there's no way to move them other than breaking them off together with a bit of the live-rock.
John
Rob Martin
18-12-06, 16:25
Thanks for the reply John,i'll wait til they're a bit bigger then try to chip them off on a lump of rock.
Rob.
If you can see a couple then sure there are quite a few more as I've found on my live-rock. As they are a hard coral and build a calcareous skeleton I think there's no way to move them other than breaking them off together with a bit of the live-rock
What he said:D
(have been targetting with Cyclop-eze,hope they're getting enough)
would'nt worry too much, the young 'uns, (if there anything like mine), will be catching the odd brine shrimp, piece of mysis, and copepods etc that pass by when feed your fish... you'll be suprised at the size of food they'll eat even when their still only 3mm(ish) across.
HTH
Gog
Rob Martin
18-12-06, 19:05
Thank you Gog,
I enjoyed the article,very informative & easy to understand.Do you know if the white variation come up for sale very often? Would love to have one!
Rob.
I enjoyed the article,very informative & easy to understand
Cheers.:)
Do you know if the white variation come up for sale very often?
The terms; Rocking horse poo and hens teeth, spring to mind.
Would love to have one!
Same here! A T. micrantha with white polyps is, for me, the holly grail.
Rob Martin
20-12-06, 09:33
Lol,guess i'll stick to the rather bland common all garden yellow variety then!
(tongue in cheek of course!)
Rob.
shouldn't thisb a sticky mods?
Hi! will a plankton-reaktor like the grotec phyto-breeder be suficient food for a suncoral or will it need additional feeding?
im planning a new tank at the moment, running uv and ozon and hig flow system. and if a plankton reaktor will provide a tubeastrea suficient food i`d love to keep one in the tank thats mostly gonna be sps....
cheers!
alf-magne
You'll need more than just that mate
They need meaty foods regularly
Hi Alf,
As Kizkiz touched upon above; Phytoplankton will not be a suitable nutrient source for Tubastraea sp.
If we compare Phytoplankton to the natural diet of Tubastraea sp, zooplankton we see some huge differences;
Phytoplankton
The majority phytoplankton cultures for aquarium use consist of unicellular algae ranging in size from 2microns (0.002mm) to 50microns (0.05mm).
Zooplankton
Zooplankton consists of animal life such as larval - fish, jellyfish, molluscs, crustaceans etc, along with copepods, krill, eggs etc. The size range for zooplankton is (iirc) 160micron (0.16mm) to 5mm.
Sun corals need to be fed with ‘meaty’ food in the upper ranges of the above zooplankton sizes, which is easily done by the use of foods such as cyclopeeze, white fish, krill, squid, muscles, mysis, etc (large meat foods like fish and squid need chopping before feeding)
If phytoplankton is exclusively offered, the polyps will be triggered into expanding, but the coral will get no nutrients in return and will unfortunately starve.
HTH
Roger
Roger,
Wonder if you can help,
Picked up a black sun coral from a friend as he said he could not meet its feeding regime.
I have only had it a couple of days and i am trying me best to get it to expand but as yet no luck, he had it a couple of weeks and when he got it, it used to expand but when i had been the last couple of time it had not.
Any advice you can give apart from doing what i have been doing reference feeding from your article, thought about sitting the coral in a plastic container inside the tank with small holes in the side and feeding whilst inside this, would this help.
Any advice would be really useful, i have wanted one of these but as he gave me it i will do all i can to bring it back to full health.
:thanks:
John where is it?
In that brightly lit sump of yours?
If the answer is yes then I think you have the answer to your question.
John where is it?
In that brightly lit sump of yours?
If the answer is yes then I think you have the answer to your question.
No its in a dark area that is hidden out the way with my other sun corals, i have three, the other two are fine just this one is not maybe it might take some time but i am trying to make sure i do all i can to at least try to get it back to full health.
Any ideas mate?
mate you rock! thanks for this
Hi Lost,
I don’t know what you’ve been using to coax the coral or what flow it’s in, so I’ll make some generalisations.
T. micrantha in many cases will fail to expand if the flow of water across the coral is to ‘slack’, they prefer a moderate to strong flow of water. Try moving it to a different location within the tank, don’t worry about light levels (unless bare skeleton is exposed) the majority of micranthas available from LFS are maricultured or collected from the reef crest / open reef, in both cases they are under the gaze of the sun.
To contradict the previous, IF the coral was collected from a deep reef, temperature will play its part in maintaining regular expansion. For ‘freshly’ collected specimens from a deep reef, try to maintain the tank temp at round the 25-26c mark. Once feeding regularly and health is improving, up can slowly increase the tank temp if you wish (if expansion ceases, obviously, stop increasing the temp).
The catch… there is generally no-way of knowing from what depth the coral was collected at, so it really a case of ‘suck it and see’ when dealing with the captive environmental condition for micrantha.
If the problem isn’t environmental, then we need to look at the most effective ways of coaxing the coral.
I don’t know what you’ve been using to trigger a feeding response, but I find that either (or a mixture) of the following work best; Cycopleeze / Coral Vibrance / ‘blitzed’ white fish mixed with tank water. Amino acids can also be a very effective ‘weapon’ to have in your arsenal, especially; Cystine, Glycine and Glutamic acid, All three of these amino acids increase / trigger polyp expansion in LPS corals. If it helps, I personally use Seachem Reefplus which contains Glutamate, which I’m led to believe is a product of Glycine + Glutamic acid
If you’ve been using any of the above (and environmental conditions are favourable) and the coral still has energy within it to expand (sad thought, but you may have to entertain the notion that it doesn’t), you need to intensify the trigger to expand. This can be done by increasing the quantities of the coaxing ‘offerings’ or confining the ‘scent’ in a smaller space.
Obviously increasing the amounts offered is seemingly the easiest option, but this may result in knocking the water parameters way off the ideal unless a very strong skimmer is used and / or very regular partial water changes are performed.
As you touch upon when posting the question; you could put the coral in an upturned tub (or a ‘top hat’ made out of a drinks / water bottle), and ‘inject’ your normal amount of the coaxing mixture into the smaller space, thus intensifying the trigger to expand.
Sorry for waffling on a bit, I’m trying to cover as many bases as possible because my broadband keeps dropping out, and getting online has been a really PITA for the past few days.
HTH
Roger
Diseases, Parasites and Predators
Phestilla melanobrachia (Bergh, 1874)
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f46/evilervin/Image7.jpg
This is a large Nudibranch (40mm) and is distributed throughout the Western Pacific. The colour of this “sea slug” matches that of the Tubastraea species upon which it feeds.I found another pic of this nudi, but unlike the one above munching on T.micrantha, this chap has been dining on T. coccinea:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/gog_yell_slug.jpg
(not much use in helping 'Lost boys'... but i thought id add it anyway)
Roger,
Just to let you know i moved the sun coral into a stronger flow and looked this morning and its all fully out, i would like to thank you for this as fingers crossed it looks like it may well survive. :thanks:
Hi Lost
Just to let you know i moved the sun coral into a stronger flow and looked this morning and its all fully out
Excellent news.
i would like to thank you for this
No worries, glad I could help.
Cheers for the update:thumbsup:
Roger
Nice thread. I'll try and get you some Jap dendros to play with :-)
I've found all tubas very easy to keep in a tank which has: high flow; little skimming; low fish load to make up for low skimming; low-moderate light and lots of feeding.
I've found whilst dendrophyllias can get used to light, they definitely have some kind of light-detection and the polyp extension is always superior during the dark hours, regardless of how well you do in daylight hours. Lower light tanks could maybe duplicate this all day, but then the tank might just look dull.
I've two Tubas in a shaded area at the moment and the extension surprised me. I'll take some readings of the light level and try to experiment with others.
Great family of corals eh?
Andy
Hi Andy,
Cheers for the comments.
I totally agree that Tubastraea sp are easy to keep… its all down to commitment and perseverance:).
With reference to lighting and polyp extension;
My personal ‘theory’ on why some captive colonies fail to expand to their full potential during illuminated periods is to do with the surface temp of the coral itself (absorption of light) and / or the rise in the water column temp, as opposed to the coral / polyps being able to ‘detect’ the actual light itself.
I going to have to cut this reply short (got to be elsewhere, sorry), but if I get the chance tomorrow I’ll explain the basis of my theory, and PM you about the ‘Jap’ Dendrophylliidae.;)
Roger
To continue;
Just in case you are not aware of my setup, I’ll give you a quick run down.
It’s a 50gal tank, bare bottom, LR, no fish, no shrimps, nothing other than Tubastraea sp and Dendrophyllia sp. There is no lighting, the temp is normally run at is 26 degrees and all corals are directly fed a minimum of twice a day.
The basis of my theory;
As mentioned above, my ‘Family: Dendrophylliidae’ tank is not lit be any direct means, only by ambient light (light bulb which lights the room, not daylight, the blind is always closed). There is a 152watt T5 illuminare (14k whites only) which are used when closely observing the corals and for photography purposes. The lights are never on for more then 10-15mins… except for following very crude ‘experiment’.
I have no way of measuring the actual (assumed) rise in surface temperature of the corals tissues due to light absorption (or know if it possible), so for now the following are only visual observations and approximations in the relationship between polyp extension and water temperature, with and without direct lighting.
I’m struggling to put what I’m trying to say into words, so please bear with me:confused:...
When I turn the T5’s on whilst the polyps are fully expanded there is no reaction from the polyps, no contraction, or tentacle shortening… only change, the ‘pods scatter, and bristle worm retreat into the rock… temp still 26 degrees
When the lights were on for sufficient time to raise the tank temp to 27 degrees the oral discs remained approximately fully expanded, but the tentacles were on average, approximately 25% ‘shorter’, but still fully capable of prey capture.
With the lights off (different day), using a heater to raise the tank temperature to 27 degrees, an approximate 20% shortening of the tentacles was observed. Again, prey capture was not significantly hindered.
With the lights on and the temp now raised to 27.5c, the whole polyp is visibly smaller, and the tentacles are, for want of a better term, slightly listless.
With the Lights off, and using the heater to raise the temp to 27.5, the polyps are again visibly smaller, but the tentacles remain ‘inflated’ and in ratio with the oral disc.
With the lights off, the water column temperature was raised to approx 28c (a point or two less), the same listless tentacles as 27.5c + light was observed.
Finally with the lights on for (iirc)3hrs +, and a fan used to keep the temp at 26c, no significant change in polyp expansion was observed when compared to 26c with no light.
I believe that ambient water temperature (or change in temp), and the assumed rise in the corals surface temperature has more influence on polyp expansion than the actual presence of light itself. In my mind, if light influenced expansion I would expect the polyps to exhibit some reaction when the lighting levels changed, without a rise in temp.
To (kind of) further support the above, with the T5’s on (temp still 26c), I opened the blinds and exposed the corals to direct sunlight. Whilst the temp remained at 26c, no reaction was observed from the polyps.
If you got this far in to the post, thank you for bearing with the above babble:o.
For the re-write of the article I hope to include a number a ‘studies’, and I would be very grateful if you could PM me your light readings and findings.
Obviously my own lighting / temp theory ‘experiment’ will be re-run with ‘proper’ readings being taken using calibrated thermometers etc, and will alleviate the ‘approximations’ with measurements taken off photographs taken from a fixed point.
Re-reading all of the above, I think I’ve not explained myself or what I did very well:annoyed::o, so I’ll leave this post here (before I seem like a complete twit) and resort to good old graphs once a proper dataset has been collected in the re-run.
Sorry for the long post,
Roger
Superb work! I will try and replicate this at some point.
Hi,
I've read the article, bought a Sun Coral, not a good specimen, pretty much just hanging in there, and followed the guidance on this thread. By using Cyclopeeze at 2130 hrs, and either red plankton or another meaty food at 2200 hrs, the coral is starting to show. Only about a third is out at the mo, and is successfully catching and feeding. So its starting to look promising and I'll maintain my current regime.
Thanks evilervin otherwise I definately would've failed with this coral.
Regards,
Simon.
Simon, if you're still struggling with polyp extension in a few days, try upping the flow around the coral. experiment with that I reckon.
Cheers
Andy
Thanks evilervin otherwise I definately would've failed with this coral
:oCheers Simon. It’s appreciated.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on those pesky shrimps;)
Roger
AMENDMENT (to be confirmed)
Due to the reclassification of Tubastraea tenuilamellosa and Tubastraea aurea as synonyms of Tubastraea coccinea, the Taxonomy Hierarchy should read as:
Family: Dendrophylliidae
Genus: Tubastraea
Species: Tubastraea coccinea (Lesson, 1829)
Tubastraea diaphana (Dana, 1846)
Tubastraea faulkneri (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea floreana (Wells, 1982)
Tubastraea micrantha (Ehrenberg, 1834)
Tubastraea tagusensis (Wells, 1982)
Also, some of the corals pictured in books, labelled T. aurea, have been reclassified as a Dendrophyllia sp… which explains the oval calices in some of those pictures.
Roger:)
Hi,
Totally agree about the shrimps!!! Gonna cut the top off a drinks bottle and cover em, to stop the shrimps from raiding them.
Thanks,
Simon.
Hiya,
Here's a pic of the Sun Coral that I've taken on, any further advice or comments welcome.
Regards,
Simon.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/Nano 016a.jpg
Oops I almost forgot:o.
The amendment to the species list (shown on pg.4) is confirmed by both the, UNEP-WCMC's Species Database, and the UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms… But Tubastraea micrantha should read Tubastraea micranthus (latest taxonomic scrutiny was by; Cairns S.D., Hoeksema B.W. & van der Land J., 2006).
Tubastraea micrantha is now classed as a synonym of T. micranthus
Roger:)
Hi Simon
I’m really sorry for not replying sooner. I don’t know how I missed your post:o.
Due to the time that has past since your post, it is properly better for me to ask;
How is it get on now? Are you seeing fully expansion yet?
Roger
Great lil tread here! I'm trying to convert my tank into a dendrophyllidae tank and currently have a few suncorals and 3 different types of dendro. I had a small sucoral colony that died off a few months back and moved it to another tank of mine and after a month there developed some babies between the skin of the dead polyps. The Tubastrea was orange but the babies are white. Its been a few months now and they are growing and still white. any ideas? heres a recent pic.
http://saltbucket.com/d/10592-1/P1010891.JPG
http://saltbucket.com/d/9723-1/P1010210.JPG
Hi Qckwzrd
Welcome to Ultimate Reef!:welcome:
That very interesting coral, and gorgeous as well:wub:.
You mention that the babies have grown between the skin of the dead polyps. Just so I’ve got this clear in my head, have the babies grown directly from the existing tissue or have they grown on the bare skeleton left behind?
Could I be pain and ask to see a pic of the coral before it receded if possible?
My initial thoughts when I saw the pic where that you have a Tubastraea coccinea skeleton and a possible hitch-hiking Dendrophyllia sp (possibly Dendrophyllia ramea) ‘baby’ that has taken hold and spread.
Sorry for asking more questions, but, where the tentacles of the original polyps completely orange or was the oral disc orange with yellow tentacles?
Also what is the approximate diameter of the calyx (the cup) the tissue of the new polyps is spreading into?
Nutrients can influence the colouring Tubastraea sp, but to be completely honest this is only relevant with the coenosarc (skin / tissue) not the polyps themselves. For example; over time some Tubastraea coccinea specimens will change from having an orange coenosarc to yellow if the poor nutritional value foods are offered. Interestingly introducing LIVE brine shrimp into the diet occasional has been found to help the coral retain its natural colour… but this doesn’t help or answer you.
It is possible, although very very rare to have a ‘colour morph’ and I would be very surprised if these stunning polyps have budded from a different coloured coral, because as far as I’m aware this happens via a larvae as opposed to a bud which is essentially a clone.
Sorry the above is not much help,
Roger:)
PS do you have any pics of your other ‘Dendros’:)?
PPS is it possible to have a pic of the white polyps closed?
Thank you for the warm welcome..happy to be here. :)
The babies have grown from the left over tissue from the parents. I don't have any pics of the parents when they were alive. If I'm not mistaken they were orange with orange tentacles.
I didn't have any Dendrophyllia before the suncorals or when I started to see the white babies. They came months later, here is another pic I have of the coral
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/9450-1/baby+suncorals.JPG
I did have other suncorals in the tank, yellow and black. I lost the parents because of my nitrates. I was feeding a lot and didn't have a skimmer or fuge to help. And I wasn't doing my water changes the way I was suppose to. Now I do weekly 30% water changes and have a CPR fuge that keeps my nitrates/phosphates very low now.
I'll post pics of my Dendrophyllia later today I would love to see your tank with all the Dendrophyllidae.
O the dia of the skeleton polyp is about the size of an eraser. I feed the tank rised mysis shrimp (sometimes soaked in selcon) frozen cyclops as well as flaked. Squid and formula one flakes. I feed about 5 times a week.
Just a quick reply to fix your pic... there is no '/' in the opening img tag;)
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/9450-1/baby+suncorals.JPG
Hi Qckwzrd:wave:
Thanks for the extra information.
It seems that there is two types of colour morphing - Polymorphism and polyphenism.
Polymorphism – Colour variation that is genetically pre-set
Polyphenism – Colour variation that is not genetically pre-set, and is influenced by environmental cues.
If the white polyps are offspring of the original coral and have developed via budding. It is possible you are one extremely lucky chap and have a colour morph via polyphenism.
To be honest I’m starting to question whether the original coral was indeed a sun coral (Tubastraea sp). The septa formation of the excising calices is very similar to that of Tubastraea sp, but, at the same time they are also reminiscent of Dendrophyllia ramea (its an absolute nightmare to distinguish Tubastraea from some Dendrophyllia sp).
The hue of the orange coenosarc, the orange mouth, the white polyps and the septa formation are strikingly similar to that of Dendrophyllia ramea (iirc it also occasionally has yellow / orange polyps similar to D. cribrosa), but, the coral is exhibiting placoid growth as opposed to arboreal growth. I suppose it could be possible that IF its Dendrophyllia ramea, coral may be laying down a base before ‘branching out’ (this is an assumption not proven fact)… either way Tubastraea or Dendrophyllia, I love it and I’m deeply jealous.
Sorry to ramble on a bit,
Roger :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (1).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (2).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (3).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (4).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (5).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (7).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (8).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (9).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (10).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (11).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK (12).jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2007Q2/TETYWTK.jpg
Thanx for the great info and great pictures. I'm in NY and don't get to talk to too many people about Tubastrea and Dendrophyllia. I look forward to reading/seeing more!
Here are the pics of my Dendrophyllia and Tubastrea
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10493-1/P1010852.JPG
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10760-1/P1020006.JPG
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10770-1/P1010997.JPG
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10768-1/P1010998.JPG
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10773-1/P1010995.JPG
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10781-1/P1010941.JPG
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10784-1/P1010977.JPG
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10780-2/P1010992.JPG (http://www.saltbucket.com/d/10778-1/P1010992.JPG)
Great Article.
My SC has however lost its Coenosarc, and is showing the underneath, the Coenosteum, due to it being right at the top being "Burnt" by the lights. Unfortunately, this is now covered in Detrius Algae. :(
Do you know how I would remove this. I'm going to have a long try with some tweezers tonight. If I touch the Coenosteum, with the tweezers, will it hurt or damage the SC??
Thanks
Where my white suncorals started to grow I had a hair algae problem. In the areas where there was missing tissue. I took the coral out and put it in a container with some tank water and brushed it vert carefuly with a tooth brush. I had a pump in the container also to help blow the algae off. Once added to the tank I the coral under a ledge to help prevent the algae from coming back. I still brush it now and then but I've up'ed my water changes without any problems with algae.
Right, did the white stuff go away, and the tissue/orange bit grow back??
Right, did the white stuff go away, and the tissue/orange bit grow back??
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/11761-1/P1020410.JPG
They are doing really good, they have grown a bit since I posted pics
In this picture you can see the orange suncoral that was on it before the white ones came
http://www.saltbucket.com/d/11758-1/P1020411.JPG
dendro982RC
30-01-08, 11:05
Roger, can you post some information on:
- how visually distinguish who is who between Tubastreas, especially the orange-yellow ones - coccinea, faulkneri, aurea,
- pictures of skeleton (front view with septae pattern visible) with name of Tubastrea species, may be including the Dendrophyllia and Tubastrea side by side,
- sun corals with low profile skeleton (usual orange ones) and high, 2.5 cm skeleton (pure yellow Tubastrea, not Dendrophyllia) - what the difference in species? Is it T. aurea, if so - does it always has a high skeleton?
- pictures, before and after, of improved coloration with different feeding, if possible,
- how frequently do you have to frag your sun corals, when polyps are reaching to the bottom of the rock, they are growing on?
- did you tried to collect larvae and provide it settlement surface (the same LR, as it settles on normally), any details?
- where your sun's larvae settles: on LR, artificial surfaces or else, is it species specific preference or not?
- when do you remove the new colonies, that settled in inconvenient to you places, or just too close to each other, process of attaching/gluing and recovery? It seems highly inconvenient to destroy the aquascaping (removing all the large stones) each year to remove new settlements?
It's nice to have the sun coral jungle, as Daniela has, but 2x oversized (rated for twice big tank) not recirculating skimmer just can't handle such amount of feeding (8 cubes twice a week) and keep the water quality tolerable. Looks like it will be reasonable to keep new colonies, while small, in a separate small tank and feed daily - the growth is much faster, than of small colonies, that are not target fed, or have abundant feed by Cyclop-eeze.
Thanks.
excellent thread,
trying to train my sun coral to stay open after around 6pm till i go to bed.
am i best feeding around 6:30pm but add cyclopeeze around coral at 6pm?
i use large bottle top, and a small airline to feed him with.
Roger hasnt been online in ages :( since last nov unfortunately. :(
FAO: Any Sun Coral experts :D
Okay, so I feed my SC loads, but it does not grow.
I did feed, defrosted Mysis, but realised that this was not enough, so upped it to defrosted Mysis, mixed with Cyclop-eeze.
Is this enough? As it seems like it doesn't grow at all. It feeds perfectly well, and has huge polyp expansion.
Any ideas what I should change?
Wouldn't claim to be an expert, but try krill, squid, also I find white fish (cod, whiting etc.) goes down very well. IMO not fast growing corals, but if it's healthy you should see new polyps developing between the existing ones.
HTH
Chris
I already see new polyps, I see loads in fact. And I make sure they get a serving of Mysis.
But what I mean is the Coenosarc, does never return. Once its gone, its gone. That spot just gets covered in hair algae.
I have my SC out in the open currently, but after reading numerous sites, here (http://www.melevsreef.com/suncoral.html), here (http://www.aquahobby.com/corals/e_tubastraea_sun.php), and here (http://www.flippersandfins.net/CoralOrangeSun.htm), I'm thinking about moving him into a cave of some kind, but what about feeding then? That'd get too hard....
Where is yours Chris?
Also, about the White Fish, I read on here recently, that WF pollutes the water column very quickly, and so I was advised not to use it.
Mine's out in the open on the rockwork. Personally I wouldn't put it in a cave, as you say it would make feeding too hard. TBH I think it's a bit of a misnomer they should be kept in caves in the shade. For sure they can be found in these conditions in the wild, but they are also very common in other situations. Caves will be areas where there's plenty of food, that's why they occur there. Also they don't have zooxanthellae, so don't need light (IMO that doesn't mean they need shade).
I've never had a problem with white fish causing pollution, but then I don't feed that much, and not that often, probably once or twice a week.
Chris
I've been feeding like nearly once a day, to help boost growth, but its resulted in nothing :/
I'm finishing off scaping my tank soon, see my tank thread, and so will put the SC right in the middle, and make it the centerpiece :D
Thanks Chris
The only I'd add is that this family of corals has a great habit of spitting out uneaten foods in the middle of the night, which can be a problem depending on what you have that might clean up the mess. To this end I tend to feed little and often and never use mussels, cockles and larger foods, it seems to me to be far too much for them to completely consume.
Mine's out in the open on the rockwork. Personally I wouldn't put it in a cave, as you say it would make feeding too hard. TBH I think it's a bit of a misnomer they should be kept in caves in the shade. For sure they can be found in these conditions in the wild, but they are also very common in other situations. Caves will be areas where there's plenty of food, that's why they occur there. Also they don't have zooxanthellae, so don't need light (IMO that doesn't mean they need shade).
I've never had a problem with white fish causing pollution, but then I don't feed that much, and not that often, probably once or twice a week.
Chris
You are spot on Chris. It is a myth that they must be kept in the 'shade' They are often found in these areas of the reef simply because they can! They don't need the light and so grow in places others can't where there is less competition for food. They can also found in brighter areas and are often found just off the 'edge' of reefs.
It is also incorrect to say they must be fed each individual polyp as although it is true each has it's own gut, research has now shown that nutrients ARE shared around the colony.
Suns can be kept in any light and prefer moderate but not fast flow IME. I read a good write up on how to acclimatise them to even direct (But not strong) MH lighting a while ago, I will try to dig it up.
captaintricks
31-07-09, 17:57
this thread has given me the confidence to have a go at keeping these amazing corals, one of the things that was putting me off was that i had read each polyp had to be fed....... which is as i can see not true
blast i just saw one for sale locally a few weeks ago and i didnt get it as i tohught i couldnt care for it!
this thread has given me the confidence to have a go at keeping these amazing corals, one of the things that was putting me off was that i had read each polyp had to be fed....... which is as i can see not true
blast i just saw one for sale locally a few weeks ago and i didnt get it as i tohught i couldnt care for it!
Yes, they do share some nutrients, but polyps that don't get fed regularly will gradually stop opening and wither away. Doesn't matter if you miss a few polyps each time you feed, as long as it's not the same polyps every time.
Belatedly :o Is this sticky somewhere?
I keep losing it and having to come back to it. I don't know what happened to the OP, Roger but what a shame to not have such a knowledgeable and helpful person around :(
Hi Lynda
Looks like you've found it, but it's a sticky at the top of the Azooxanthellae corals/Sponges section in Ultimate Geek.
Chris
Yep, found it thanks :laugh::o
if carlsburg did articles on sun corals it would be this one!!!
Cracking article
baileybum1234
30-06-10, 00:48
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2010Q2/yell blak sun.jpg
Great thread! My suns hope you like!
J
'like'.... sorry, just been on FB for ages :wave:
AoD A SHRIMP WITH A LIMP
18-08-10, 16:48
hi was thinking of buying a black tubastraea some time soon so this is great help for me
had one qweston about the spawning ... how can i encourage "them" to spawn and also how long will it take for the tubastraea to settle before they can start spawning
thanks
monty
Jaco Schoeman
13-12-10, 09:47
Excessively high dKH, PO4 and / or NO3 can lead to rapid recession of the coenosarc.
Can anone tell me whether this when the black "skin" from a T. Micrantha starts "tearing" off the skeleton?
My T. Micrantha is extending wonderfully, but I am seeing more of this white skeletong showing. At first it was a small patch, but now it becomes more and more... :(
I have other Michrantha specimens that are in fact growing back their tissue a bit. They suffered the same feat about a year ago and are recovering now...
Why are Micrantha so prone to this?
Can anone tell me whether this when the black "skin" from a T. Micrantha starts "tearing" off the skeleton?
My T. Micrantha is extending wonderfully, but I am seeing more of this white skeletong showing. At first it was a small patch, but now it becomes more and more... :(
I have other Michrantha specimens that are in fact growing back their tissue a bit. They suffered the same feat about a year ago and are recovering now...
Why are Micrantha so prone to this?
Yes, the coenosarc is the "skin". I understand that they require more feeding than other species although if you have other specimens that are recovering I guess you must be familiar with what and how much they can eat.
Good luck with the recovery.
John
ulttimatte77
01-05-11, 20:15
Hey evilervin
Could you show when and how to frag a Sun Coral please?
Thanks
Almost forgot:
Polite notice
If directly cutting and pasting ANY section of the previous "article" into any forum, website, etc, etc. (english language based or not.... you know who you are;)), Please reference the material to myself (Roger Hughes) AND Ultimate Reef.
Thank you.
A very well researched and written series of articles you are to be commended. Sun corals are one of my favourite corals and IME not at all difficult to keep and propagate. Just some simple rules to follow with feeding being top of the list. The usual water quality and moderate water flow along with regular feeds should ensure success. :thanks:
I recently wrote the following.
Suns corals are amazingly beautiful corals and so easy to keep providing you feed them regular. Kept well fed they will reproduce and spread. The only problem apart from feeding them (which is easy enough to do) can be getting them to open when first introduced to the aquarium then when you want them to open. These corals are night feeders so are mainly open during night time to feed but they can be trained to open during the day. Feed them at least every other day or so but if you can feed them each day they will reproduce even faster. This is my sun coral not long after I had fed it and it opened up looking for more food. I am not sure which species I have below but its doing very well indeed.
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg378/lesmelling/River%20and%20Reef%2094L/Suncoral.jpg
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