Marine Tank-- Coral Fragging (Bubble Coral)

Found a small baby bubble coral bud a safe distance from its main colony so took a pair of sheares and separated a part of the skeleton with this baby (no more than 20cent coin size) growing on it... Has since been more than 1-mth in the breeder box and doing well...

Bubble corals reproduce mostly by having such baby buds at one corner of the colony which will drift off to find a new location when mature enough...didn't want to wait to risk having it float to a hidden crevice or worse still blended by the HYDOR wave-makers....

Marine Tank -- LPS Corals (Moon Coral), Favites spp.

Bought this moon coral to add a splash of green to contrast in my "overly-red" tank...Supposedly one of the beginner corals too... Secluded it in a corner to reduce possible chances of its stinging sweeper tentacles of affecting my other corals...

The Favites Corals are large polyp stony (LPS) corals often referred to as Moon, Pineapple, Brain, Closed Brain, Star, Worm, or Honeycomb Coral. They are the most common and prolific coral in the world, and are very similar to the genus Favia, sharing many of the same common names, and sometimes being very difficult to differentiate. Favites Corals are found in various color forms and polyp shapes.The Favite Corals are aggressive, expanding their sweeper tentacles at night well beyond the base. It is important to leave space between them and neighbors in the reef aquarium. Maintenance for the Favite Corals is relatively easy, making them excellent choices for the beginner to expert hobbyist. They require moderate lighting combined with moderate water movement within the aquarium. For continued good health, calcium, strontium, and other trace elements should be added to the water. It will also benefit from the addition of supplemental food in the form of micro-plankton or brine shrimp, fed twice per week in the evening while its tentacles are visible.

Marine Tank-- Soft Corals ( more Mushrooms & Yumas!! )

Crazy mushroom purchases-- 2 yumas/ rock of purple spotted mushrooms... SGD 225 in total !! I'm officially coral crazy !! Just hope they don't die on me...

Orange-rimmed / Starburst Yuma

Purple-spotted mushrooms

Marine Tank -- LPS Corals (Blastomussa)

Bought this baby fragment of a blastomussa to try out in my marine tank as it was just going for a few bucks and it looked well enough and healthy with no signs of tissue recession. Baby buds from a main mother maybe ?? Seems to be doing ok after a month or so... Hope it does well to grow to a reasonable size and multiply...

Initially was slightly worried about the polyp appearing next to it but read that it shouldn't do any harm to the blasto...It's a non-stinging palythoa, only toxic when squashed/cut so I decided to just leave it alone...

Blasto corals are relatively rare within the trade and certainly aren’t found in the same numbers as some of the other popular corals. They are well suited to keeping at home however and once settled into a stable tank they can be very hardy and potentially fast growing. The most common colours available in this species are green and red, some animals exhibit both colours and some just a single colour or variation of.
When introduced to the home aquarium try and find them a spot with medium water flow and medium light. If you keep Power Compacts or T5 lighting then they should be happy in most places on the rockwork or sandbed but it is advisable for reefkeepers with metal halide lamps, to find them a spot slightly in the shade or towards the bottom of the tank.
Blastomussa does not require as much light as some other corals. It can be kept under normal output fluorescents without much difficulty. In some cases, it may extend more readily under subdued lighting, however it may display more attractive colors when placed under stronger lighting.

These corals can live quite happily feeding via photosynthetic algae but occasional feeding of small foods such as baby brine shrimp, rotifer and cyclopeze will keep this coral in its best condition and encourage growth.
There are two species of Blastomussa, the Merletti and Wellsi and it has been reported that the easier and more forgiving of the two is the Wellsi. So a better choice for less experienced reefkeepers or those with smaller volume tanks.

Marine Tank -- SPS Corals ( SPS, small-polyped stony corals)

Itchy hands or I.B.S. (itchy B@cksid#) they call it... Two sps coral frags. Previous sps didn't do well due to temperature fluctuation, occasionally over 30deg celcius in the previous 2-feet tank. Hope these 2 can survive in the new 3-ft tank with a more stable temperature...




Got them from a very nice fellow reefer staying nearby... Seems like not a good thing; hard to avoid the temptation/convenience when he's letting off nice stuff...

Marine Tank -- LPS Corals (Green Bubble Coral)

One more hard coral added -- GREEN BUBBLE CORAL (Plerogyra sinuosa)

One of the beginner LPS corals -- got it as a baby, hope to be able to sustain it and make it grow..

The Green Bubble Coral is a beautiful LPS coral that originates from the reefs of Fiji. It has a white-ridged hard skeleton that can be seen when the polyps are deflated. When inflated, the large fleshy polyps will cover the entire skeleton, and are neon green in color. Like many other LPS corals, they do posses sweeper tentacles that can harm other corals within reach.
The Green Bubble Coral requires a moderate level of lighting combined with low to moderate water movement in the aquarium. Too much water flow may impede the coral from fully expanding. The fleshy polyps of Bubble Corals are very fragile and will puncture easily. Be careful when handling these corals, to only handle them by the hard skeleton. Because they can form long sweeper tentacles, be sure to provide plenty of room to prevent damage being done to its neighbors. For continued good health, it will also need the addition of calcium, strontium, and other trace elements to the water.

Marine Tank -- Soft Corals (Mushroom Corals)

Have successfully transferred all livestock from my previous 2-feet tank to a new (or rather second-hand) 3-feet tank. No full tank shot yet as I have yet to finalise the rock placements and coral placements. Lighting is also yet to be upgraded so all corals face the middle where the light is cast by my 2 feet T5 lights.

Current spotlight is on my mushroom corals that have been successfully transferred and opened up well...

The mushroom corner

...a favourite painted mushroom

..common yumas

...fluorescent green mushrooms

..blue spotted red mushrooms-- the fastest grower and reproducers

Mushroom Corals
Mushroom Corals are also referred to as Mushroom Anemones, Disc Anemones, False Corals, or corallimorphs. They are solitary anemones that are classified in the order Corallimorpharia. These corals share some of the same features of both true anemones and hard corals. These corals are found throughout the world, mainly on rocky reefs.
Mushroom Corals are hardy and make ideal corals for the beginner reef aquarist. Mushroom Corals that have long tentacles are aggressive toward other types of corals, so provide these corals with adequate space. Different genera and species of Mushroom Corals have different light and water flow requirements.

Using a highly-developed mucus capture and transport system, these corals derive nutrients by collecting and ingesting particulate matter suspended in the water around them, and from their zooxanthellae.

Marine Tank --Equipment and Additives (Brightwell Aquatics Activated Carbon)

Used in my red sea prizm media basket to further purify the water exiting the skimmer...about 50gms weekly can keep my marine tank looking pristine... (a 500gm package can last me about 8-10weeks this way....

http://www.marinedepot.com/Brightwell_Aquatics_Carbon%C3%AEt_P_Premium_Aquarium_Pelletized_Carbon_(Fresh_or_Salt)_500g_1.1_lbs._Carbon_Chemical_Filter_Media-Brightwell_Aquatics-BW01194-FIFMCHCM-vi.html

Marine Tank-- Soft Corals ( Green Ring Zoanthid )

Latest acquisition for-- Green Ring zoanthid ... from a very nice fellow hobbyist from Singapore Reef Club forum...

Took less than 2 days to open up to full glory...

Sweet green yeah ??

Marine Tank-- Invertebrates (Fromia Starfish)

New purchase : Red starfish (Fromia Milleporella)

Supposedly the best starfish, in my opinion, for a small reef tank-- harmless and beneficial (grazes on diatoms and algae). Doesn't seem to appear so frequently so took the chance to grab one ( and got one free !! attached to the side of a fox coral bought on the same day that the seller didn't realise !! ). So it was $6 for 2 nice starfish...

Common Name: Red Star
Species Name: Fromia milleporella
Range: Indo-Pacific Ocean
Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoons and outer reefs on all kinds of substrates
General Husbandry: 3 - 4 inches (7.5 - 10 cm) across and generally consume detritus. This species is red with black tips when young and becomes solid, bright red as an adult. Occasional feedings of shrimp pellets or fish/shrimp flesh is recommended.

Marine Tank--LPS Corals ( Fox Coral)

Latest addition to my marine tank-- a fox coral, (Nemenzophyllia turbida)

Supposedly one of the best and easiest coral for beginners. Bought this in a less than ideal state... It's beautiful colour prompted me to give it a chance to try and nuture it back to glory...

Hope to frag out the babies on the right hand side to culture and grow out on a separate rock after they've acclimated to the tank conditions and doing well...

Bought it with its tissue slightly receded..

5 days later...

QUICK STATS
Fox Coral-- Nemenzophyllia turbida
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Peaceful
Lighting: Low to Moderate
Waterflow: Low
Placement: Bottom
Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
Color Form: Green, Tan, White
Supplements: Calcium, Strontium, Trace Elements
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Family: Caryophylliidae
Polyp Size: LPS - Large Polyp Stony

Marine Tank-- The beginning

As previously mentioned...was tempted by the many colours and varieties of marine life that I set up a marine tank despite the many challenges ahead... Had to learn from many mistakes and sadly, from the plenty of losses of corals and fish. Never really had a major tank crash (or major die-off) from my lack of experience but experienced some losses due to lack of research or impulse purchases.

Some pictures of my initial setup (first 3 mths) and corals/ fishes when I first started in 2007.

Cycling the marine tank with fresh saltwater and first piece of 5kg live rock..

*notice the rock of green yuma and a pick cauliflower coral ( I just couldn't wait !! )

A full tank shot of the 1st week, small air-driven skimmer, T-5 lighting and hang-on back filter...

A month later...

...2 pink skunk clown fish added

skunk cleaner shrimp added.... 1-mth green-tan yuma

..pink bubble-tip anemone

....green bubble-tip anemone

...pink-striped feather duster worm added

Apart from the pink skunk clownfish and cleaner shrimp that survived, the feather duster worm, green-tan yuma and cauliflower coral didn't make it past 3 mths...

The cheap protein skimmer ($18) didn't perform and the light tubes were too "blue" (too high spectrum--20kelvin rating) for the yuma that was supposed to be easy to keep. There wasn't enough micro-fauna/ microscopic food to sustain the cauliflower and feather duster which needed to be fed rather than make their own food... An initial sense of guilt of not knowing the corals well enough and causing their demise led to implementing a rule of not purchasing any more livestock for the time being...maybe I should go fish-only ???