Schizoculina fissiparaandS. africanaare two West African coral species that are brand new to the aquarium trade. Like so many other new coral and fish speciesLiveAquariawas first to the scene when they offered the uniqueS. fissiparafor sale for the first time this weekend; the 2.5″ colony quickly sold at $99.
Schizoculinais in the family Oculinidae which also includesOculinaandGalaxeabut we don’t expect the West African species to have sweepers anywhere near the length ofGalaxea. AlthoughSchizoculinais a photosynthetic species, like several of the mound forming stonies in the Caribbean this species will likely need a generous helping of meaty particulate food to grow at an appreciable rate. But wait, there’s more as the offering of these West African stony corals will likely be followed y the importation of other stony coral species from the region such asAstrangia, Dendrophyllia, MadracisandMontastreaspecies which also come from that area.
We wish thatCoral Geographicwas already up and running as that would make it easier to see what other coral species occur in the West African region. The blueish corallites of thisSchizoculinaspecimen greatly resembles the closely relatedArcoheliafrom Australia but we hope to see this West African species more frequently available.
