Today pictures of this rare yellow euphyllia surfaced from high end coral wholesaler Oculus Aquatics. Hammer coral may not be the rarest or hottest thing on the market right now, but this color sure did catch my eye. This is the perfect addition to any euphyllia collectors tank with a color that no other piece will likely match.

Although they are basically illegal to collect (it’s not illegal to own them), Rhizotrochus typus are extremely gorgeous corals. Due to them being rarely collected, they come with a hefty price tag. But, we can dream right? Here is a close-up hi-def video of a stunning Rhizo for your enjoyment.

Check out video below

See bookmarks for youtube video. 

As if you needed another reason to hate damselfish, NPR (yes, National Public Radio) has reported that damselfish in the Caribbean are destroying corals to create and maintain their own little “algae farms”. Here’s the link to the original article: Tiny Damselfish May Destroy A Caribbean Reef, by Richard Harris

Algae Farmers, Coral Killers

Damselfish Protecting Algae Garden

Both the corals and the algae have natural allies. Corals get help from parrot fish, which eat the intruding algae from the reef. And algae get help from certain species of damselfish.

“Damselfish are these little fish and what they do is they make little yards on the bottom of the reef,” says marine biologist Mark Vermeij. These yards — or pastures, you could call them — are patches of algae that the fish actually farm right on the coral.

“And in order to make a place for one of these yards, they basically kill the coral,” Vermeij says. “So they go to the coral, they start sucking on little polyps until they die. And then when that happens, little algae establish on that died-off patch.”

Once the algae start growing, the damselfish becomes not just a farmer but a warrior.

“They’re little feisty guys,” Vermeij says. “There are rainbow parrot fish, almost a meter long, and this damselfish that’s not much bigger than a goldfish just comes out. This parrotfish is aiming at feeding in that guy’s little meadow. And the little damselfish just comes out and scares that thing away. They’re aggressive as hell.”

Damselfish Protecting Algae Garden

And the more successful they are, the more the coral is killed off and replaced by their algae gardens.

It’s a drama that has been going on since time immemorial. But lately, the story includes hooks, lines and sinkers.

People don’t eat these little damselfish, but Vermeij says people do eat bigger fish on the reef. And that’s where the story takes a twist.

“Twenty years ago, life on these reefs for little fish was basically annoying. Because there were all these big fish around that would eat you if you weren’t paying attention. And then because a lot of people took the big fish out, it’s a much safer environment for these little fish,” Vermeij says.

So how are these “Damsels from Hell” making such an impact? The answer is lack of predators. The article goes on to explain that a local grouper, called a Graysby, is being over fished due to its popularity with the locals. The predator is removed from the food web, which thereby affects the ecosystem in a negative fashion.

Red Sea’s Brand New Complete Reef Care Program

Over the past few weeks, Red Sea has released an entire new lineup of test kits and additives called the Red Sea Reef Care Program. The system is based on testing all of the essentials for your reef, then dosing those elements that your system lacks, as well as controlling excess nitrates and phosphates. The kit is quite extensive, and each portion of the system can be purchased separately as your tank requires. The program focuses on building a solid foundation of coral growth, reducing nutrients like nitrate and phosphate, and enhancing coral colors to give you a more stable reef aquarium.

Reef Foundation

This portion of Red Sea’s complete system covers calcium, alkalinity and magnesium, which serve as the foundation of coral building. Reef Foundation consists of test kits designed to accurately measure each of the previously mentioned elements so that the hobbyist can determine the calcium uptake rate of the system. Once the calcium uptake rate has been determined, the hobbyist can dose Reef Foundation A, B, or C. Reef Foundation A is composed of calcium and strontium, while Reef Foundation B covers alkalinity, and Reef Foundation C focuses on magnesium, potassium, and bromine. Each of these dosing methods contain trace elements as well.

The rest of the Red Sea Reef Care Program is described below.

Reef Energy

From what I’ve been told, the Reef Energy additives are similar to the Korallen-Zucht products. They come bottled as Energy A, which is concentrated lipids and carbohydrates, and Energy B, which are amino acids and vitamins. Each of these save metabolic energy because they are pre-digested and will provide more energy for your corals to focus on growth and reproduction.

Algae-Control

The Red Sea Algae-Control comes in two phases. The first of which is a series of test kits designed to measure concentrations of nitrate and phosphate down to 0.02 ppm concentrations. Each test kits comes with enough reagent to run 100 tests.

The second half of the Algae-Control program is nutrient control. Red Sea has a new product called NoPox (derived from NO3PO4-X) which acts much like biopellet media. The NoPox enhances bacteria to essentially eat any available nutrients in the tank.

Color Pro

Once all of the coral growth and color inhibiting nutrients are removed from the aquarium, the hobbyists can now focus on coral color. Four products fill the Color Pro program, with each having been designed to enhance certain pigments in the coral’s tissues. Red Sea Colors A consists of iodine, bromine, and flourine to enhance pink colors, Colors B contains potassium and trace elements to enhance red, Colors C has iron and more trace elements to bring out the greens, and Colors D has bioactive mineral supplements to enhance blues.

Fish Only Additives

If you’re a FOWLR aquarium owner, Red Sea hasn’t forgotten about you. Coralline Gro is a live rock vitalizer that boosts the growth rates of the pink and purple calcareous algae, keeping your fish-only tank beautiful without too much fuss.

Ask us about The Red Sea Complete Reef Care Program for y0ur reef tank!

 Acropora speciosa photographed below off the coast of Indonesia, currently not available for sale in the United States.

The interesting thing about this new set of Bali Acros pictures is not how distinct all the bottle brush and smooth skin acros look but how each maricultured coral has such a great shape, all perfect little colonies.

These exotic Acros are making their way to the United States and Germany real soon. Check out the gallery below to see more examples of the rarely seen species!