The cabbage leather coral, Sinularia dura, is one of those inimitable corals that all reefers should keep at some point in their aquarium career. This coral has the potential to be incredibly beautiful but it is rarely ever displayed in a flattering…
soft corals
Invasive soft coral threatens India’s reefs
入侵雪花珊瑚(Carijoa riisei) taking hold in the waters off the Indian coast and could be a significant threat to the marine ecology of the region. Teams from a Friends of Marine Life (FML), a local NGO,have recorded…
The Unique Corals ’experience’
It has been a great reefing year for me, in that I have set up two new tanks for myself, been to MACNA and all three Reefaploozas and the topper, I have been to the facilities of the four enterprises that…
Stereonephthya, portrait of an uncommon soft coral
Stereonephthya is an uncommon soft coral which is seriously underrated, both as an aquarium coral, and as a unique member of the coral reef community. The simplest way to describe Stereonephthya is that it’s the lovechild of photosynthetic Nephthea and…
True pink Nephthea is Japan’s best kept secret
There’s a gorgeous pink Nephthea soft coral that seems really common in Japanese reef tanks, but yet seems virtually unknown in American or European reef aquariums. We’ve been drooling over the pink Nephthea that can be seen in many photos of…
Get to know the leather corals: Sarcophyton, Lobophytum and Sinularia
Leather corals are a group of soft coral which includes the genus Sarcophyton, Lobophytum and Sinularia. Leather corals are easy to care for and a great addition to any tank, and within these groups, there are several species of leather corals…
Top 5 invasive corals that border on being aquarium pests
We’re so used to thinking of corals as precious and delicate, it’s hard to imagine some of them are invasive species in our aquariums. Invasive corals in the wild are a real problem, with sun coral Tubastrea having two established species…
Nanipora kamurai, a skeleton-building Octocoral that could already be in your tank
Nanipora kamurai is a new species of Octocoral which may be small and nondescript, but it falls in a very special place on the soft coral tree of life. We are all taught that soft corals are by definition soft, and we…
Reef Building soft coral has the thickest stony “branches”
Soft corals are called “soft corals” because they are kind of like corals, and they are primarily soft. We know that there are always exceptions to every rule in the animal kingdom, and the most notable of these in the Octocorallia soft…
Sarcophyton Leather Corals: Attractive, Toxic, and Tough as Nails
When it comes to hardiness, ease of care, and general adaptability, few corals can compare to those of the genus Sarcophyton—the so-called toadstool, or mushroom, leather corals. Despite their lack of chromatic brilliance, they’re also pretty neat looking to boot.…