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I'm amazed to report that after just 29 days the new Dendrophyllia is already growing a new head, I guess that means it's happy with its location and receiving enough food. A stunning looking coral! Update: I just realised after posting the above that there is another head developing on the right-hand side of the same polyp. It's hidden when the coral is extended.  29th August 2018.
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I first noticed that Acropora #4 was suffering from slow tissue necrosis (STN) in July '17. It was receding at the underside of the base but, as the top half looked good and was growing, I chose to ignore it in the hopes that it would eventually stop. Sadly it did not and in fact continued to the point where I had no other option other than fragging the coral. Since the branches were still short and stubby this proved somewhat tricky tricky to do. In the end I was left with just three tiny branch tips. The lesson learned here is that it's never a good idea to stick your head in the sand and ignore a coral issue (especially for 6 long months *cough*). I do not really know what caused the STN in the first place but the base was fixed into a recess in the rock so perhaps it was down to poor flow?  The coral before fragging, bare skeleton clearly visible on the underside, 23rd December 2017.  The 'tips' 2 weeks after fragging, already starting to encrust over the glue, 7th January 2018.  The remaining encrusted base is showing signs of growth too, 7th January 2018. Talking of encrusted bases, remember Acropora (#2), the one that I tried to remove in June '17 after discovering that red bugs were still present on it? Well, the base is still ticking along nicely, growth upwards is slow but there is at least some growth oh and and it's started fighting with the Montipora sp. to the left of it.  Acro #2, onwards and upwards! 7th January 2018. On a happier note I'm discovering more and more sun coral larvae dotted about the tank. I expect most will not survive as they have settled quite close to other corals (there's not much real estate left these days) and will probably be quickly overgrown. This is probably a good thing else in the future I will have to spend all my free time feeding them.  This one has settled underneath the Acropora hyacinthus, 7th January 2018. Here's another shot of the Heliofungia from the other side taken during a water change, the only time the top lifts up enough to view the baby buds growing underneath.  Finally I'll sign off with a few other random shots, including a (now) rare view of Skip the Nudus goby.     It's been almost 5 months since I first discovered the sun coral had released planula larvae and I am happy to report that they are all still all alive and kicking, if still quite small. One is actually doing much better than the rest, mainly because it settled in a better location enabling it to catch more food. It's actually big enough to feed directly now so I've started offering it tiny bits of mysis and krill. Unfortunately the zoanthids growing below have begun to obscure the view of it from the front so it's becoming quite difficult to photograph. I poke them with a pipette but they are opening right back up again before I've even managed to grab and point the camera. Eventually I expect they will grow right up the rock and maybe smother the sun coral completely which would be a pity, perhaps by then it'll be large enough to fight back?  Additionally I discovered today that the original Sun coral has been at it again! There are at least five more new babies dotted about the tank now and I'm sure there are probably more hidden away in there too. It must have happened fairly recently because these larvae haven't even developed any tentacles yet. The one below runs the risk of being overgrown by the Montipora above in a very short space of time.  New baby, 4th January 2018. As for the baby Heliofungia buds, they continue to do well and in fact the entire underside of the coral is ringed by them now. I am not exactly sure how many there are at this point but probably at least six. They show no sign of detaching yet.  Sorry for the lack of updates, there's a bumper one with video footage coming over the weekend (hopefully). For now I just wanted to post a quick progress update on the baby Heliofungia actiniformis bud that I discovered last month. Now it has siblings! There are three in total (that I can see), the original one plus two more have developed either side of it. Nice!  The Heliofungia was looking a bit sorry for itself last week, it was that time of the month again, waste excretion, yum! The Yellow wrasse really enjoys this extra treat, lol! Is there anything that this fish won't eat? Anyway that's beside the point, under normal circumstances I only get to view the top of the coral but because it was a little deflated I could see part of the underside too. It has developed a baby with it's own mouth and ring of tentacles! Now I still consider this coral to be a baby itself although it has grown a lot since introduction, I am still waiting for it to detach from the rock and become free living. A quick bit of research showed me that Heliofungia do indeed asexually reproduce by budding on the underside of the skeleton. So cool, I love discovering new stuff!  Baby bud, 25th October 2017. |
AuthorHi, my name is Lisa and I live in Derby, UK. I am a self-confessed reefaholic! Archives
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