Watchguy's SPS Addiction (photo intense)

[tinctorus]

thank you. short answer about maricultured corals is they always look beautiful but... They are grown in the ocean and our tanks usually can't replicate the flow, lighting and food supply. So bottom-line, they croak or turn brown or both. They rarely color back up to what they looked like initially. So after buying lots of mariculture pieces, I think it is wiser to buy exactly what looks great from a tank raised or a mariculture frag (not colony) that has been grown in a tank for a long time and fragged successfully repeatedly. It is just too risky and dissappointing and expensive to take a stab at maricultured colonies. Atleast this is true for me. Others may have different and more positive experiences. I know everyone wants to find that gem, that future limited edition but i find it more cost effective to just pay for the limited edition if that is what I want rather than trying to find a maricultured colony with potential. We all take different approaches to this hobby but i am definitely not for buying new mariculture colonies or wild colonies, just not the kind of expense or success (or lack of success) I want. Hopefully no editorials against my position. I simply prefer tank raised frags as a more predictable course and eco friendly.

Ok cool, thats a good train of thought to have, I was just curious as to the reason for not wanting maricultured pieces was more for natural reef sustainability or personal preference

 

[LVE]

You have some amazing corals. Looks like a very nice tank.

 

[watchguy123]

Ok cool, thats a good train of thought to have, I was just curious as to the reason for not wanting maricultured pieces was more for natural reef sustainability or personal preference

I need to add the following regarding mariculture coral. They are beautiful and they do not destroy our reefs. My experience with maricultured colonies very well may be different than others.

Obviously, all our tank coral came from the ocean initially, so corals may become acclimated to tank conditions. All vendors, brick and mortar as well as online, retain spectacular maricultured colonies as mother colonies to sell frags from. I think once these colonies have stood the test of time and have been fragged repeatedly successfully, then they are viable and stable. And if you want to find the next limited edition, you probably will then want to purchase maricultured colonies.

 

[watchguy123]

Ok just a few more that I just took in a rush:

So I never get mariculture, this is a maricultured colony I have had for six months or more. Not the color i had hoped for but the picture did not really capture its true colors. i will get a top down.

this is my red robin stag

Lousy picture but great coral, none other than Nick's pink dahlia. I will try a top down where it is easier to capture the color.

Maybe because I was rushing, this is joe the coral and its colors are better than this ( atleast I think they are)

A very cool granulosa on the left:

Lower right is the 30 k lokani. this frag is almost a year old. Just coloring up and encrusting.

Poor close-up of the bloody mary palawanesi (spelling??). The polyps are cool but you really only see them on macro shots. I will try for a better focus down the road

 

[watchguy123]

A couple of misc. shots:

Vanuata wrasse:

Pink ******* chalice
http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg481/watchguy123/10-24-12%20corals/pink-******.jpg

Cool leopard wrasse with a blurry friend, mystery wrasse.

grey headed wrasse

pacific blue tang

 

[Aquaph8]

Beautiful, I love this thread. Dont make us beg for a full tank shot. Amazing collection and beautiful tank.

 

[rjbesch]

Those corals are amazing and it really looks like you have some nice gems tucked away in there, lets see a full tank shot!!

 

[watchguy123]

So I came home from work, and decided to finally take some top down photos this afternoon. Got a 100 plus shots and will try to get a few posted tonite. But I thought I would share what it is like to take top downs. Gotta get on top of the ladder, remove the canopy and then lean on these very hot metal halide lights. Fortunately no burns but the pics are cool. they will follow shortly

 

[cato]

Funny...as I go through this thread page for page I feel like I'm reliving my past year and a half. I too had a crash. And my RBTA's survived. I was down to one from 12 now I have 5. WoW! Deja vu. I have a lot of the same/simiar corals as you. Mine aren't as far along yet but all are looking better every day.

Awesome work. Gorgeous corals. :thumb:

 

[revhtree]

Sweet can't wait.

 

[cymaster007]

Always great photos! keep up the photo journal!!!

 

[watchguy123]

Sweet can't wait.

Working on it now, leaving for the east coast in the morning. I know heading into the storm

Always great photos! keep up the photo journal!!!

Thank you, you are always encouraging

Funny...as I go through this thread page for page I feel like I'm reliving my past year and a half. I too had a crash. And my RBTA's survived. I was down to one from 12 now I have 5. WoW! Deja vu. I have a lot of the same/simiar corals as you. Mine aren't as far along yet but all are looking better every day.

Awesome work. Gorgeous corals. :thumb:

It is great to have a kindred spirit follow along

 

[watchguy123]

I now have a bunch of fresh shot "top down" pics. The advantage of the top down is the frag or colony is well lit so these are colorful and bright pictures.

Here we go with a few:

these first three are maricultured pieces that I never buy.

this came from vivid but also may be mariculture:

vivids tri color prostrata

This is a strawberry shortcake, it may be the uc version but I am not sure. I have a second colony from another source as well.

Lately there has been a lot of interest apparently in the tyree rouge millie. I got this frag from the local southern california reefer that is so well connected (I got the red dragon, mr. packman, jason fox lepto etc. from him)

tyree orange setosa

 

[watchguy123]

the pics keep going:

tyree ice and fire

small frag/colony of tyree garf bonsai, note the reef tek starbursti and the bonsai have come to an agreement and seem to not be stinging each other any more

tyree blue matrix

toxic green tort or its a frogskin

superman digitata--very cool blue body.

Sunset monti and mystic sunset monti--they do not play well together though. The mystic sunset is much more aggressive and it tends to grow over the sunset

Very pretty and unusual color on this stylo:

 

[watchguy123]

A couple of fish pics"

a wrasse get together

feeding time, a bunch of flakes.

Back to sps

my biggest garf bonzai colony

Supposed to be an efflo but looks more like a monti

In the tank this looks much more baby blue, a pretty echinata

Here is my other strawberry shortcake and the color is pretty darn accurate. The colors should be a little lighter, pastel like than this.

Steve elias stag

not the best pic, but one of my two season's greetings colonies.

 

[watchguy123]

the saga continues:

SCC planet earth

I can't tell if this is the sapphire millie or the metallic blue millie. They look the same to me. Anybody with good id capabilities out there.

This is definitely not an spa, but you gotta love the space invader pectinia.

This is one acro with a "lot of serious potential"

this is from reef raft, green with hopefully to develop blue tips

Rommel's watermelon millie

Here is one you do not see very often and yes it is an LPS, reef hot spot : RHS del sol chalice

and here is another view of it, it is on the left and a mummy eye chalice is on the right

back to spa again, reef tek starburst

 

[myzislow]

wow your other Strawberry Shortcake is absolutely amazing! Awesome stuff man!

 

[watchguy123]

My very awesome red stag. It is much brighter red top down that from the front.

I believe this is ff red robin stag

Picked this up cheap at vivid (occasionally that does happen). It was bright pink as a frag. Now it kind of looks similar to red planet. It is low in the tank

Here is my red planet which is really high up in the tank and loaded with light and flow.

Red dragon (i never thought it was this dark purple but i did not check the top down view without the camera so hopefully the color is accurate and true)

A very cool red acro, looks like a hand reaching out.

Rainbow acro, it really is a wow piece

purple polyped nasuta (the pic came out striking, but I think it is really not as flamboyant. Don't get me wrong, it is cool just not this cool) sometimes photos just do not exactly replicate color even with the best of efforts.

Always fun to check out a chalice, its either the pink or red. Remember, I can not differentiate between them. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[watchguy123]

pink tip sarmentosa but I have it low down so color not great yet, neither is growth.

pink smoothie digitata

pink or red watermelon chalice and cornbread mummy eye (I think)

pink lemonade

I thought this was pink lemonade initially but it is not and I really do not know what it is. I got confused on my record keeping with this one because I think I moved it and never made a note. Appreciate any id help on this one also.

another pic of the real pink lemonade colony

the brightest flourescent pink millie

Another lousy pic. It is the pink dahlia but somehow there is blue in this pic and it is really pink.

ORA pearlberry, wow.

"not yet famous" prostrata. yes it has all those colors. It is spending most of its time encrusting

Mystic sunset montipora. You can see the original plug well overgrown.

 

[watchguy123]

Hope no one is getting tired, I have more to show yet.

Mr pacman, not quite colored up yet but starting to color slightly.

Bright green acro with very cool mottled base.

MOP acro

another gem from vivid, no namer. Gorgeous mint green body

Oops, another mariculture acro. It looks so cool. Had it for months and just starting to take off. Color is getting better (maybe staying the same, but I like to be an optimist.

Another lps, pink/purple lobo

Is this the lightning horrida ( it may have been represented as lightning something--I know I should be more organized)

Joe the coral (all the photos I see of it look much more wow than mine though)

Hidden down there is jayda's watermelon chalice

Two pics of jason fox lepto. One in focus and one blown up blurry pic. Hey I tried. Remember, I do not have a macro lens so I could use some slack.