Cynarina lacrymalis spawning project & setup.

Mr_Knightley

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Hello there! I' preparing this thread for a project I plan to start this spring, which will be a spawning attempt for the coral Cynarina* lacrymalis.
C. lacrymalis is a broadcast spawning species that begins oogenesis & spermatogenesis in August-September, after which they release eggs & sperm in April-May. They release upwards of 2000-3000 ~0.2mm eggs at once. and that is where my data ceases.
This aquarium is planned to be a Red Sea biotope tank, as that is where my spawning data comes from.
Due to the very little data on the species' spawning, this project will be mostly experimental for the first few months to the first year, to try and figure out rates of spawning and determine the sexes of my broodstock. After which, I will set up more egg collectors and follow a similar system setup, though far smaller, that CoralSpawningLab.org provides to biological institutes. The initial broodstock tank will be a 40g long tank that I will run at 74f during most of the year, spiking to 76-77 in the spring, and dropped back down to 74 in late august at the beginning of oogenesis. These corals are found at least 15 meters below the water's surface, so not only are temps much cooler but I hypothesize that moonlight may not reach consistently enough at that depth for the corals to base their spawning schedule off of it. I will of course still run moonlights at some point, but I wonder if they will be effective.
This project is 100% self-funded and not associated with any organizations, vendors or outside entities. This is a pure passion project and something that I am willing to put my own time & money into. If any vendors or organizations would be willing to partner to provide broodstock, I would be eternally grateful, as on my budget I've got to stick with low-end brown and green Cynarina, which would most likely produce the same color offspring.
If I find success with this project, I will soon after tackle either Cynarina (=Indophyllia) maccassarensis or Acanthophyllia deshayesiana, whichever proves to be more accessible. I run on limited space so I will only be able to tackle one at a time.
Again, this is a passion project of mine as is not associated with any outside entities. As of now, I have the 40g tank, rock, general equipment (lights, heaters, pumps, etc.). I need to make a stand for the aquarium & get a sump (or make one more likely) that can house a kriesel for eggs later on. I plan to get most of my broodstock from local fish stores and the upcoming MACNA Aquatic Expo in Atlanta, about 1 1/2 hours south of my home.

Thank you everyone for tuning in! This thread may run stagnant from time to time, but rest assured that something will always be in the works behind-the-scenes. Thanks again for following along and God bless!

*Pronounced Kin-uh-ree-na, after the Latin Kinara (artichoke) and ina (like).
 
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Mr_Knightley

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The stand is built & the plumbing is purchased! Will be getting a 20 long for a sump, and the tank should be here tonight. It's all coming along well!
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Mr_Knightley

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So are you an acro-pora person or an a-crop-or-a person? I love this thread. I would say document it like crazy, but for some reason I don't think you need to hear it from me.
Acro-Pora all the way. From what I've come to understand, the pora in Acropora is meant to be pronounced like pore, because that's what it is describing, the pores in the skeleton. It's funny when I hear people say it the other way lol I see how it could be mis-interpreted though.
I will be keeping this updated for sure! I hope to use this project to get into college down the road, so the more details I can document, the better. Thanks for following the project!
 

Chrisv.

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Acro-Pora all the way. From what I've come to understand, the pora in Acropora is meant to be pronounced like pore, because that's what it is describing, the pores in the skeleton. It's funny when I hear people say it the other way lol I see how it could be mis-interpreted though.
I will be keeping this updated for sure! I hope to use this project to get into college down the road, so the more details I can document, the better. Thanks for following the project!

I'm 100% on team acro-pora. It seems obvious. Acro and pore. What's left for interpretation?

I've been to scientific presentations where people say a-crop-or-a and it just drives me bananas.
 
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Mr_Knightley

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I'm 100% on team acro-pora. It seems obvious. Acro and pore. What's left for interpretation?

I've been to scientific presentations where people say a-crop-or-a and it just drives me bananas.
I feel you! However, I feel like academics (especially those from across the pond) say things in weird ways. I mean, the whole aluminum vs aluminium debate started when an American scientist named the element, but an English colleague thought it didn't sound 'scientific' enough. Aluminum is the correct spelling lol
 
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Mr_Knightley

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The whole system is together! The mixing process has begun, so hopefully by tomorrow I'll have it most of the way full, after which I'll buy the rest of the water. I've run out of salt though, so I'm kind of at a standstill. The tank will not be ready for coral by Sunday, so I will have to put my acquisitions from the show in my other tanks until it's ready.
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Mr_Knightley

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I'd love to see the breeding stock.
At the moment, I don't have any! MACNA Aquatic Expo is coming to my front doorstep tomorrow & the 3rd, and I plan to pick up some stuff then. There's always better, weirder stuff at expos, so I hope I can find some neat Cynarinas.
 
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Mr_Knightley

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I have officially obtained the first ever animal for the project, a giant 7" green polyp from my local fish store. I also bought a Sicce Voyager powerhead and 40g of saltwater, but as it would happen I forgot to get rock & sand :expressionless-face: So I'll be going back to the shop in just a minute.
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Mr_Knightley

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Finally finished acclimating everything from the MACNA Aquatics Expo, and I have to say I had one of the most incredible times of my life. I met so many people from so many places that I couldn't comprehend it :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing: But more importantly for the project, I found some really unique genetics to add to the pool for later. It's late and the lights are almost out, but here's a quick pic as they settle in.
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In total there are four, all of them could be classified as 'pink' but none of them are. One is red with orange streaks, one is solid orange, one is clear red with green insides, and one is a deep, purply fuchsia color. All are big, and all were easy on my wallet!
And lastly, here's a quick pic of the spawning setup now that it's all clear.
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Alright, now I'm gonna crash. 14 hours of wake time isn't my forte. See y'all tomorrow and God bless.
 
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Mr_Knightley

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Update, I moved the Cynarina to the spawning tank and they all seem to be doing well. If anything goes wrong they'll let me know, which is the benefit of such expressive corals. The colors really pop under the Noopsyche K7 light!
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I also bought some Halymenia from Frost Corals (who I got the second Cynarina from) that I plan to put in the tank's fuge section. However, I don't have a fuge light set up yet so in the display it goes.
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I'll put out a list of all the vendors I got the broodstock from soon. I have to go back over my receipts.
 

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