Hi everyone,
As you know, we spend a great amount of time propagating new varieties of coral to keep our inventory fresh and interesting. Most important, making "stock" frags ensures that we'll have a continuous supply, and lower costs per frag.
Here are some of our new releases that are going to be on the site in the next day or so...We're pretty pleased with this group, as they are representative of some of the new efforts and techniques that we've been employing to create a more consistent supply of high quality stuff. We're doing everything possible to live up to our "Conscientious.Sustainable.Responsible." mission statement, and we think we're making more progress than ever before.
First up is the "Rainbow Dragon", the latest in our series of the much-loved "Dragon-type" Acropora species that we've been working with here at UC. Obviously, we didn't coin the name, but it seems to be a hobby/industry point of reference for a number of species, such as A. carduus, A. fenneri, A. awi, A. navini, and a few others. This particular morph really caught our eyes when we first saw really little maricultured colonies coming in from Bali, and we knew we'd have to start working with it. We believe this one may be Acropora awi, but we are not 100% certain.
Given some time, we were able to get some decent frags, and get them to encrust (well, as much as this type of Acro is capable of encrusting) and start growing. They're slow growers, but the color just comes on once they settle in; there was very little post-fragging color loss, and our "Gen 2" group appears to be even more colorful and hardy than the previous group! They are growing out nicely about 14"-16" under 400 watt Radium metal halide bulbs, just a bit off to the side in our raceways. A bit of experimenting reveals that they seem to look just as nice under blue-shifted T5 as well. Like most Acros, they benefit from stable water chemistry, particularly alkalinity and consistent NSW trace element levels.
We are releasing limited quantities of small frags of this delicate-looking beauty for hobbyists to enjoy. A beautiful contrast to the more "salmon-colored" , pink, and greenish "Dragon" morphs we offer. They look way better in person than they do in pics, trust us!
![\"Azureus\" Acro-Blue Aussie A. aculeus-1-78-98.jpg](https://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/azureus-acro-blue-aussie-a-aculeus-1-78-98-jpg.239075/ "\\"Azureus\\" Acro-Blue Aussie A. aculeus-1-78-98.jpg")
We love the Acropora species from Australia, and one of our all-time faves is Acropora aculeus. Hardy, attractive, and easily propagated, this is one of the more oft-encountered Aussie species. However it "suffers" from the "affliction" of being...green...Well, most of them, anyways. For some reason, many reefers are just kind of turned off by green Acros, for reasons we're not quite understanding (maybe we just have to many green morphs in the hobby?) Anyhow, we first encountered this morph as part of an Aussie shipment, and our eager eyes immediately knew we had something a bit different: Here was a beautiful Aculeus with an amazing teal blue and yellowish-green color!
Finally, a different color of this beloved coral! And the best part about it? It's super hardy, extends polyps throughout the day, encrusts quickly, and adapts to all sorts of common reef lighting formats. We have grown them under halide, T5 (they really glow under blue-flavored T5!), and even played around with keeping them under LEDs. So...we'd have to rate this morph as a "must have" for just about any Acro keeper, from neophyte to hardcore "stick" lover! It's a wonderful contrast coral that will grow into beautiful colonies in a relatively short amount of time. Literally, you can get your future "centerpiece" coral with this one cool frag! And it's not crazy expensive or uber-trendy- just a nice, hardy coral for all reefers. We'll offer it in 1" and 1.5" sizes.
Oh, the name...Well. we spend a considerable amount of time researching exactly what we have when we work with a coral, and this was no different...Credit Jake (Adams) for this one...Like the rest of us, Jake was entranced by its beauty and felt that we couldn't just call it an "Azure Aculeus" (I mean we could, but where's the fun in that?). So he coined the expression "Azureus", and it kinda just stuck...Yes, we abhor absurd coral names, but it became a point of reference for us in our facility, and we figured it might for you, too. Whatever it is called..It's a keeper!
What is it with blue and green lately? Yours truly loves an Acro with these colors, particularly if it's "hairy" and extends polyps throughout the day! Well, weren't we in luck when this lovely species came into the fray! We go back and for the with the ID on this one, and right now, we're thinking that it might be another Aculeus. Interestingly, our mother colonies came from Bali, so here we have yet another example of a super-nice Acro from a source that was literally right under our noses! This one came in with a hint of color, and since it was a long-shot, we let the colonies "bake" for a couple of months before evaluating them again for broodstock. Sure enough, one day we were walking the raceways, and this one literally screamed. "Look at me..I'm WORTHY!" (Well, it said something like that..). We knew it was one to get into intensive propagation.
Fast forward a month and we're proud to offer this amazing frag to you as part of our latest release! It's proving to be as hardy as the "Azureus", but with a very slightly thinner appearance and even more polyp extension throughout the day...Very cool. It seems to do well under direct halide, as well as T5. We keep it in an area of pretty decent flow, so this might be something to keep in mind. Interestingly, this coral kept its color immediately after being fragged, and they just became more intense as they grow. We've got a del inventory of this species now, but we are releasing them in stages, so that you'll only receive well-healed, nicely-colored specimens.
Of course, it gained an "operational name" in our facility which stuck with it for its release...We called it the "Aquaman" Acro, just because...Well, I think it kind of is self-explanatory...Anyways, you can call it "Acropora sp." if you want...Again, an easy-to-keep, super-attractive species that we think can become a fave of yours!
One of the species on the "watch list" of Acros (IUCN "Red List") that may some day be banned from the hobby is Acropora lokani. The coral is already sort of beloved among stick lovers, and not really all that common, apart from the goofy-named "LE" types that have been floating around for a while. Imagine our delight when one of our nondescript maricultured Lokani colonies just sort of "woke up" one day and started to gain incredibly nice color! We always liked it; now we LOVE it! Of course, it made sense to work with this coral because of its apparently "scarce" and potentially "endangered" status...This is the exact type of coral that keeps us mission-focused here at UC.
It's a durable coral, with a tough growth form and an adaptable, easy-going (can a brainless animal be "easy-going? Yeah..) species. It's not super-fast growing, but it's not like an A. tortuosa, where growth progress is measured on "geological" or "stellar evolutionary" time scales! It seems to do well under a variety of lighting formats, although we grow it out under halides...With it's purple-green color and distinctive growth form, it's the kind of coral that really deserves a space in every "SPS" reef, if only to keep it in the hobby should the powers that be make it illegal to import at some future point. Like many corals, it likes stability, and will let you know if it's not happy by simply looking ugly...so keep it happy and keep its environment stable, and you'll be rewarded with this great little coral!
Okay, we have a lot more than Acros going on lately...Here's another one of those corals that you just never see much of, but you will in the future. If you’re a lover of the unusual, and a lover of the captive propagated unusual, then you’ll almost certainly find a place in your heart for the lovely "Vivid Sunset" Stylocoeniella, which we have become fans of ourselves.
Stylocoeniella is easily mistaken for a Porites, or even an encrusting Monti at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it is noticeably different from any of the aforementioned species, characterized by widely spaced corallites with fleshy polyps. Recent genetic analysis has identified that Stylocoeniella species are closely related to species in the family Pocilloporidae! In the wild, it encrusts over rocky substrates in rocky overhangs or within crevices in shallow reef waters.
At UC, we grow this baby out under T5, and we've also played with it under LED's, and it looks great under both! We weren’t the first to play with this species- Jason Fox offered a version of this beautiful coral some time back. We were fortunate to obtain several mother colonies, and started to put this unusual gem into intensive propagation. It benefits from moderate to bright light, regular feeding, stable alkalinity, and the continuous trace element supplementation from Triton "Elementz."
Sure, we have a lot more "stock" frags going up in the next couple of days, but these are just a few of the ones with some cool stories behind them..Well, every one of our stock corals has a pretty cool story, and part of our "V2.0" enhancement is more background information on the lore and history of our corals. It makes it that much more fun when you know a bit about them!
Anyways, lots of cool stuff coming on the site this week; lots of cool things happening. Holiday weekend is almost here...and a sale must be, too...right?
Stay tuned, stay engaged...
And stay wet!
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
As you know, we spend a great amount of time propagating new varieties of coral to keep our inventory fresh and interesting. Most important, making "stock" frags ensures that we'll have a continuous supply, and lower costs per frag.
Here are some of our new releases that are going to be on the site in the next day or so...We're pretty pleased with this group, as they are representative of some of the new efforts and techniques that we've been employing to create a more consistent supply of high quality stuff. We're doing everything possible to live up to our "Conscientious.Sustainable.Responsible." mission statement, and we think we're making more progress than ever before.
First up is the "Rainbow Dragon", the latest in our series of the much-loved "Dragon-type" Acropora species that we've been working with here at UC. Obviously, we didn't coin the name, but it seems to be a hobby/industry point of reference for a number of species, such as A. carduus, A. fenneri, A. awi, A. navini, and a few others. This particular morph really caught our eyes when we first saw really little maricultured colonies coming in from Bali, and we knew we'd have to start working with it. We believe this one may be Acropora awi, but we are not 100% certain.
Given some time, we were able to get some decent frags, and get them to encrust (well, as much as this type of Acro is capable of encrusting) and start growing. They're slow growers, but the color just comes on once they settle in; there was very little post-fragging color loss, and our "Gen 2" group appears to be even more colorful and hardy than the previous group! They are growing out nicely about 14"-16" under 400 watt Radium metal halide bulbs, just a bit off to the side in our raceways. A bit of experimenting reveals that they seem to look just as nice under blue-shifted T5 as well. Like most Acros, they benefit from stable water chemistry, particularly alkalinity and consistent NSW trace element levels.
We are releasing limited quantities of small frags of this delicate-looking beauty for hobbyists to enjoy. A beautiful contrast to the more "salmon-colored" , pink, and greenish "Dragon" morphs we offer. They look way better in person than they do in pics, trust us!
We love the Acropora species from Australia, and one of our all-time faves is Acropora aculeus. Hardy, attractive, and easily propagated, this is one of the more oft-encountered Aussie species. However it "suffers" from the "affliction" of being...green...Well, most of them, anyways. For some reason, many reefers are just kind of turned off by green Acros, for reasons we're not quite understanding (maybe we just have to many green morphs in the hobby?) Anyhow, we first encountered this morph as part of an Aussie shipment, and our eager eyes immediately knew we had something a bit different: Here was a beautiful Aculeus with an amazing teal blue and yellowish-green color!
Finally, a different color of this beloved coral! And the best part about it? It's super hardy, extends polyps throughout the day, encrusts quickly, and adapts to all sorts of common reef lighting formats. We have grown them under halide, T5 (they really glow under blue-flavored T5!), and even played around with keeping them under LEDs. So...we'd have to rate this morph as a "must have" for just about any Acro keeper, from neophyte to hardcore "stick" lover! It's a wonderful contrast coral that will grow into beautiful colonies in a relatively short amount of time. Literally, you can get your future "centerpiece" coral with this one cool frag! And it's not crazy expensive or uber-trendy- just a nice, hardy coral for all reefers. We'll offer it in 1" and 1.5" sizes.
Oh, the name...Well. we spend a considerable amount of time researching exactly what we have when we work with a coral, and this was no different...Credit Jake (Adams) for this one...Like the rest of us, Jake was entranced by its beauty and felt that we couldn't just call it an "Azure Aculeus" (I mean we could, but where's the fun in that?). So he coined the expression "Azureus", and it kinda just stuck...Yes, we abhor absurd coral names, but it became a point of reference for us in our facility, and we figured it might for you, too. Whatever it is called..It's a keeper!
What is it with blue and green lately? Yours truly loves an Acro with these colors, particularly if it's "hairy" and extends polyps throughout the day! Well, weren't we in luck when this lovely species came into the fray! We go back and for the with the ID on this one, and right now, we're thinking that it might be another Aculeus. Interestingly, our mother colonies came from Bali, so here we have yet another example of a super-nice Acro from a source that was literally right under our noses! This one came in with a hint of color, and since it was a long-shot, we let the colonies "bake" for a couple of months before evaluating them again for broodstock. Sure enough, one day we were walking the raceways, and this one literally screamed. "Look at me..I'm WORTHY!" (Well, it said something like that..). We knew it was one to get into intensive propagation.
Fast forward a month and we're proud to offer this amazing frag to you as part of our latest release! It's proving to be as hardy as the "Azureus", but with a very slightly thinner appearance and even more polyp extension throughout the day...Very cool. It seems to do well under direct halide, as well as T5. We keep it in an area of pretty decent flow, so this might be something to keep in mind. Interestingly, this coral kept its color immediately after being fragged, and they just became more intense as they grow. We've got a del inventory of this species now, but we are releasing them in stages, so that you'll only receive well-healed, nicely-colored specimens.
Of course, it gained an "operational name" in our facility which stuck with it for its release...We called it the "Aquaman" Acro, just because...Well, I think it kind of is self-explanatory...Anyways, you can call it "Acropora sp." if you want...Again, an easy-to-keep, super-attractive species that we think can become a fave of yours!
One of the species on the "watch list" of Acros (IUCN "Red List") that may some day be banned from the hobby is Acropora lokani. The coral is already sort of beloved among stick lovers, and not really all that common, apart from the goofy-named "LE" types that have been floating around for a while. Imagine our delight when one of our nondescript maricultured Lokani colonies just sort of "woke up" one day and started to gain incredibly nice color! We always liked it; now we LOVE it! Of course, it made sense to work with this coral because of its apparently "scarce" and potentially "endangered" status...This is the exact type of coral that keeps us mission-focused here at UC.
It's a durable coral, with a tough growth form and an adaptable, easy-going (can a brainless animal be "easy-going? Yeah..) species. It's not super-fast growing, but it's not like an A. tortuosa, where growth progress is measured on "geological" or "stellar evolutionary" time scales! It seems to do well under a variety of lighting formats, although we grow it out under halides...With it's purple-green color and distinctive growth form, it's the kind of coral that really deserves a space in every "SPS" reef, if only to keep it in the hobby should the powers that be make it illegal to import at some future point. Like many corals, it likes stability, and will let you know if it's not happy by simply looking ugly...so keep it happy and keep its environment stable, and you'll be rewarded with this great little coral!
Okay, we have a lot more than Acros going on lately...Here's another one of those corals that you just never see much of, but you will in the future. If you’re a lover of the unusual, and a lover of the captive propagated unusual, then you’ll almost certainly find a place in your heart for the lovely "Vivid Sunset" Stylocoeniella, which we have become fans of ourselves.
Stylocoeniella is easily mistaken for a Porites, or even an encrusting Monti at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it is noticeably different from any of the aforementioned species, characterized by widely spaced corallites with fleshy polyps. Recent genetic analysis has identified that Stylocoeniella species are closely related to species in the family Pocilloporidae! In the wild, it encrusts over rocky substrates in rocky overhangs or within crevices in shallow reef waters.
At UC, we grow this baby out under T5, and we've also played with it under LED's, and it looks great under both! We weren’t the first to play with this species- Jason Fox offered a version of this beautiful coral some time back. We were fortunate to obtain several mother colonies, and started to put this unusual gem into intensive propagation. It benefits from moderate to bright light, regular feeding, stable alkalinity, and the continuous trace element supplementation from Triton "Elementz."
Sure, we have a lot more "stock" frags going up in the next couple of days, but these are just a few of the ones with some cool stories behind them..Well, every one of our stock corals has a pretty cool story, and part of our "V2.0" enhancement is more background information on the lore and history of our corals. It makes it that much more fun when you know a bit about them!
Anyways, lots of cool stuff coming on the site this week; lots of cool things happening. Holiday weekend is almost here...and a sale must be, too...right?
Stay tuned, stay engaged...
And stay wet!
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Last edited:
