Echinomorpha nishihiraiis a distinctive looking chalice coral which can be quite a showstopper. Often eclipsed by the much more readily availableEchinophyllia,OxyporaandMycediumchalice corals,Echinomorphais distinguished by a prominent, large central corallite and very few, widely spaced peripheral corallites – if any.
Every time we see anEchinomorphacoral, we have to do a double take and cross check it with other species of chalice corals which also can have a large central corallite, such asOxypora glabraandEchinophyllia echinata。虽然Echinomorphais a rarely seen coral which only sporadically appears in shipments of chalice corals, it seems that lately a sampling of stupendous colonies have appeared in the aquarium trade.
LiveAquaria, Cherry Corals and some European vendors recently too k advantage of imports of someEchinomorphacolonies. LiveAquaria listed an amazing two-polyp colony ofEchinomorphain the Diver’s Den for $379 – this specimen is blue grey, about 3.5 inches across and dominated by two, large corallites with red oral discs. Cherry Corals’Echinomorphaindividual is a single blue grey corallite surrounded by a wide perimeter of skeleton covered with a beautiful veneer of blue and green-splashed tissue.
可能的原因之一hy the aquarium hobby hasn’t fully embraced and popularized the single species ofEchinomorphais that since it has very few corallites, the path to captive propagation is not as clear cut as with other chalice corals. With only a few single corallites per colony and a whole lotta tissue between them, it makes no sense to put anEchinomorpha nishihiraiunder the bandsaw since you can only realistically turn a single beautiful colony into three or four fresh-cut mini colonies. Because of its reduced propagation potential,Echinomorpha nishihiraiis a unique coral colony which is truly for the chalice coral collector. [AIMS]
