当我们看到珊瑚中发现t的多样性he aquarium hobby, it’s easy to think that somehow what we’re getting is a reflection of what is available in nature. By that guideline you’d think thatMycediumwas somewhat rare, or at least the colorful ones are. But on the recent Fluval Sea Flores Expedition,Mycediumspecies chalice corals were extremely abundant and observed in a dizzying range of colors and patterns.
Being in the Coral Triangle, the diversity of Pectiniid corals encountered in the Flores Sea spanned all members of thePectinia, OxyporaandEchinophylliagenera but the real showstoppers were all aboutMycedium. Whether we were diving during the day or diving at night with fluorescent viewing gear, theMycediumchalice coral colonies were extremely beautiful and striking.
Of thethree species ofMycediumencountered in the hobbyM. robokakiis the most popular in aquariums for its smaller size, and numerous and usually colorful oral discs, but the more abundantMycedium elephantotushas plenty of potential left to be discovered. We got a small taste of whatMycedium elephantotuscan look like with thegreen-streakedMycediumthat we noticed earlier this year, and we found some color-streakedMycediumin the Flores Sea as well.
TheMycediumpictured above was one of our favorites during our time in Flores. ThisMycediumcolony appeared a lustrous red-orange with green eyes that glowed to an impressive degree under sunlight; can you imagine what this coral would look like under aquarium lighting? Absolutely stunning.
Of course, the full fluorescent potential ofMycediumis front and center during fluorescent night dives, with all the fluorescent colors of the corals taking center stage. On one such dive we encountered this mind-numbing greenMycediumwith huge oral discs that were completely orange. This dome-colony was topped with a single central corallite from which all the other corallites faced away, giving this chalice coral a borderline monster-like quality.
As we’ve seen with many other stony coral genera in the marine aquarium hobby, many groups of corals occur in colors and shapes that we could only dream of. Its very likely that in the coming years we’ll begin to see much more stupendously colorful colonies ofMycediumand in time this stony coral genus will begin to enjoy a lot more propagation and presence in the reef aquarium hobby.