Acanthophyllia

Davesgt · Feb 7, 2014

I figured id share a little info on my absolute favorite coral the ACANTHOPHYLLIA. For years many people have called it a Scolymia, Cynarina, and even a large Acan. Well it may resemble those corals but it is actually a coral of its own genus (Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana).

This is an Acanthophyllia, one distinct trait that I notice that helps identify it is the ruffled body compared to the smooth texture of a scolymia.

As you can seen in this pic this is a scolymia and the fleshy outside part is smoother in texture than the Acanthophyllia.

This is the Cynarina coral, it has a complete different appearance with an almost transparent fleshy outside.
These corals are starting to get a little more common with online stores and Lfs due to them becoming more available, but don't expect to get these guys for cheap. I have seen a few lately with price tags ranging in the $1000 area. The good thing about these corals is they are an lps and they are fairly easy to care for. If you provide this coral with a moderate lighting and a low-moderate flow it will do wonderful. These corals are photosynthetic, so it does not require supplemental feeding, but by doing so these corals will flourish nicely. Take a look at these guys and im sure you will fall for them the same as I have.

shrimplet · Feb 8, 2014

Great great read bro! They are also one of my favs. Can we post pics here of ours?

Davesgt · Feb 9, 2014

shrimplet said:
Great great read bro! They are also one of my favs. Can we post pics here of ours?

absolutely, I will post pics also. Id love to see what everyone else has plus any care tips that you've picked up.

JReefaddict · Feb 9, 2014

Here's a couple of mine

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1391969186.384905.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1391969231.371100.jpg

TJ's Reef · Feb 9, 2014

Great Article indeed. Such beautiful Corals, all three. Yet being 'Old School' cannot will not get over their pricing as in the late 70's and early 80's I routinely bought them 2-3 dozen at a time for $6-8 each to feed my Angels and Butterfly's. They were typically listed as generically as 'Meat Corals' or 'Rose Corals' with a few Trachy's also in the mix. I'd place 2-3 alive directly into my tanks and bag up and freeze the rest for later. I know... OUTRAGEOUS! What was I Thinking....right ? I did often wonder about the viability of keeping them alive long term as there were some 'Stunners' even under the 'Old School' 4-6K lighting (could not even imagine what I would have thought if I could have seen them under Actinic or Blue LED's) but all the information available to me at that time said 'No Can Do'. Around 1984 I did place a couple of really nice looking Trachy's from an order in my 2nd but really first well thought out Reeftank and they did well for a year or so before a Singapore Angel I had decided he liked them even better. Up until a few years ago one of my LFS's an old family ran full Pet Shop sold most of these species for $45-75 which was very reasonable IMHO, now they to have realized missed $ potential and have basically doubled their pricing. If I just had a 'Time Machine' and $5,000 cash to go back to 1979.....ooh la la

Cheers, Todd

NC2WA · Feb 9, 2014

They are great looking corals, and love them, but so do my butterflies, so I will have to view others. <sigh>.

PaulKreider · Feb 9, 2014

I myself am not a partaker in the large LPS department like these, maybe its because I don't have the room. But I can see why people love them, definitely gorgeous!

Maybe they'll grow on me like SPS did.

jt17 · Feb 9, 2014

When you consider how much color it adds to your tank, the price per square inch isn't too bad compared to the cost of many frags. They do take up a bit of space. Especially if it's a double.