Nate's Reef Tank Update

[iamn8]

Yes, I know. This isn't a forum for coral, but I just got some of the craziest little pieces. The colors are ones you just don't see in nature all that often. Coral Farmer's have really honed their craft. Under certain conditions a coral will morph. Once they find a color they like, they let it grow and then cut it up into fragments which will grow with the same colors as the parent colony. It's a real showcase for the wonder of genetics and nature.

 

[benpipesmoking]

Wow

 

[clickklick]

My brother is pretty big into this stuff!

 

[davet]

Very beautiful Nate, I enjoy your updates :clap:

 

[Chasing Embers]

Is the color morphing a defense mechanism, or a response to environmental changes. Very lovely stuff Nate.

 

[mso489]

Uh-oh, here comes Savannah in her scuba gear.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Those are about the strangest fish I've ever seen. ::

 

[iamn8]

They morph to best utilize the lighting they're receiving. The Zooxanthellae inside the coral are photosynthetic and change colors when exposed to certain wavelengths and they pass that code when reproducing. Keep altering their light source and they'll continue to change to keep up. I find this stuff really cool. It's evolution on timescales I can wrap my head around.
After Lego's reef experience, I'm pretty sure scuba diving is out of the question. She's not a fan.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

How do you get each of the fish to say "cornbred corals"? Or, is that natural?

 

[iamn8]

Aren't you at least impressed they can spell?! Most coral is sold as WYSIWYG, what you see is what you get. They photo the coral piece by piece vs general photos. I ordered those this morning and they arrive tomorrow morning thanks to the modern marvel that is FedEx priority overnight Cornbred is the coral farm.

The pieces I bought are among the least expensive they sell. Look what they get for this one, about the size of quarter...
HERE

 

[agnosticpipe]

Gorgeous stuff Nate! I guess we should try to get Ser Jacopo to go back to the coral dots on their stems... :rofl:

 

[ukbob]

Beautiful

 

[disinformatique]

Oh wow !! I might stop getting pipes and start raising coral !!

 

[iamn8]

Thanks! It's a rewarding hobby. It's your very own beautiful microecosystem.

I took this photo this morning. Ain't that amazing?! Coral has colors you just don't find anywhere else in the world.

 

[mcitinner1]

Those are really beautiful photos Nate. What's Lego doing??? Besides sleeping.

 

[iamn8]

Sleeping? Lego is really seriously busy at being a kitten. She "kittens" mostly while I attempt to sleep. It's normal for cats to scratch at the litterbox after using it, but Lego does it with a passion and furosity ive never seen. This is when she stops being adorable

 

[twosheds1]

Very cool! Is coral growth a decades-long (or centuries-long) process, or is it something that happens in an aquarium time frame? Also, how is coral different from "live rock?" I guess I could Google it, but it's more fun to ask.
Fellow aquarist here, but mine is a Lake Erie estuary biotope. I thought about salt water, but it was too expensive for me to justify to the Minister of Finance (AKA my wife). Then I got the crazy idea that I would have local species, and the Lake Erie biotope was born.

 

[iamn8]

I love those type of local ecosystem tanks. Photos?
Saltwater, or coral to be more specific grows quite rapidly, not all that different from ones yard. When you buy really nice pieces from reputable coral farmers, you can actually trim back your coral once/twice a year and sell off those "fragments/frags" for good money to recoup costs. Relatively speaking it's a lot of work to grow coral well, although these days it can be entirely automated, but that gets to serious money, 10k+++++

 

[toobfreak]

All I can say Nate is those are damn fantastic looking creatures! If I had that, I would sit all evening and gaze at them never leaving the building! Were those photos taken under UV light or regular?

 

[iamn8]

Thanks! I love watching the ecosystem do its thing. At night the system changes to blue light which causes the coral to fluoresc. Def better at night! Also once lights go blue and simulate night, the coral polyps extend and this is when coral feeds. I feed the system at night only, just like nature does it.