Check out these Florida Hard Corals!

[Brandon McHenry]

Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. All Staghorn was 40-60ft. and Elkhorn was 20ft. or less. The last couple of pics I was snorkeling in 2-3 ft. of water.

Holy cow! Thank you so much for sharing! That is truly amazing and something I hope to see one day. Its great to know that there are still areas in the Caribbean that are going strong and healthy throughout all of the issues of the last few decades. So cool! I hope our tank can look half as amazing as that one day!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Here is a Porites? in very shallow water, around 2ft. deep. It was the only coral that I saw that was actually purple besides gorgonians and sea fans. It's a little bigger than a basketball.

Very nice!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

For those of you who may not know, summer is when many corals undergo a mass spawning event. Tonight was the spawning for a major reef building species Montastrea cavernosa. It was also the first time ever that a mass spawning event was documented on a mesophotic reef. This dive took place in the Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico and the entire dive was live streamed and also recorded. I’ve attached the link so that anybody interested can tune in and watch. They should also be streaming another spawning happening tomorrow so this could be really exciting! Hope you all enjoy!

Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration

www.engineeringfordiscovery.org

 

[Brandon McHenry]

So it seems as though we had some spawning in our aquarium this summer. Our porites looks as though it has sent out some new recruits around the tank. We have found around a dozen baby colonies so far and I am always on the lookout for more! I will post as they get bigger but they are still just a few polyps wide.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Look at those polyps! ;Woot

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

Next time I'm down in Ft. Pierce at the Blue Heron Bridge I'm going to look you guys up so I can see this tank in person.

The photos look great, I hope to see some more!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Next time I'm down in Ft. Pierce at the Blue Heron Bridge I'm going to look you guys up so I can see this tank in person.

The photos look great, I hope to see some more!

Please do! There is a lot to learn here at HBOI and all of it is related to the marine environment. Thanks for the compliments!

 

[Jon Fishman]

Very noce work you’re doing!


Now to fight-to-the-death on what salt mix you use......

 

[Mical]

Nice display!

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Look at those polyps! ;Woot

Beautiful shot! Is that acro brown or does it have some red in it too? Are you allowed to trade fragments of these acropora from Florida or no?

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Very noce work you’re doing!


Now to fight-to-the-death on what salt mix you use......

Thank you! Glad you like it! And LOL ill keep that quiet for fear of Reef War II

Nice display!

Thanks!

Beautiful shot! Is that acro brown or does it have some red in it too? Are you allowed to trade fragments of these acropora from Florida or no?

A. cervicornis is a brown acro but I think the LED is giving it a red hue and I haven't quite learned how to get perfectly true-to-life shots with our new camera. This particular coral is heavily protected and not allowed to be traded in its current status (which is in decline unfortunately). Its truly a privilege to be able to house it and care for it!

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Yea I figured it was the blue LEDs throwing me off. That really stinks that people like you can not help the hobby collect and keep these corals. Sucks given it’s already in captivity, I don’t see the harm in making sure more is in captivity

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Yea I figured it was the blue LEDs throwing me off. That really stinks that people like you can not help the hobby collect and keep these corals. Sucks given it’s already in captivity, I don’t see the harm in making sure more is in captivity

I see both sides of the story as both a scientist and a hobbyist. Its definitely easier to keep track of who is allowed to keep these corals through the proper permitting. Luckily, there are many captive grow-out, captive breeding and mariculture growout efforts for these and many other corals throughout the Caribbean to hopefully replenish the reefs throughout the Atlantic one day. In the meantime, being able to share these incredible corals with the public and teach them about our research is very exciting for me and Im glad that other hobbyists like me enjoy and appreciate what we are doing!

 

[C. Eymann]

Brandon, please post more pics , love Caribbean biotope tanks! I definitely want to make a road trip out there to check it out!

Has the A. palmata shown any new growth yet? looks stagnant, Have you thought about making a little nick ( 1-2 mm tiny chip) on one of the corallites? it can help stagnant Acros start new growth again, just a thought.

A. Cervicornis is in the Pacific as well, mostly around the GBR. It is quite common in the hobby.

A. cervicornis, A. palmata and the thought to be hybrid between the two A. prolifera only occur in the Atlantic.


If you want to keep something similar look into
A. grandis, A. yongei, A. muricata and A. formosa.

A. micropathalma (Scripps) isnt as similar up close but probably the fastest growing staghorn Acropora I have kept.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Brandon, please post more pics , love Caribbean biotope tanks! I definitely want to make a road trip out there to check it out!

Has the A. palmata shown any new growth yet? looks stagnant, Have you thought about making a little nick ( 1-2 mm tiny chip) on one of the corallites? it can help stagnant Acros start new growth again, just a thought.






A. cervicornis, A. palmata and the thought to be hybrid between the two A. prolifera only occur in the Atlantic.


If you want to keep something similar look into
A. grandis, A. yongei, A. muricata and A. formosa.

A. micropathalma (Scripps) isnt as similar up close but probably the fastest growing staghorn Acropora I have kept.

Glad to hear that people enjoy the Caribbean corals as well! I’ve been super busy at work these last few weeks so haven’t had time to take too many pictures but this is what I have off-hand.

New Montastrea cavernosa frags donated from our Coral lab. They are settling in nicely and will post pics of them soon.

As for the palmata it has not grown much and what it has grown has just been encrusting. I have heard about snipping the tip and I may try that to see if that does anything. The staghorn on the other hand has started to show the beginnings of several new branches across all the colonies and I will need to snap a few pictures when they grow a little more. I will try to be better about updating all of my threads!

 

[C. Eymann]

The cervicornis looks like its growing really well,

I'd do either of these cuts and maybe glue the tiny nub cutting in a another location. It has worked for me 9/10x to "wake up" dormant Acropora colonies, I esp see wild collected and maricultured acros go into this period of dormancy probably due to the stresses/acclimation of making the jump from being in the wild ---> captivity.

You are the biologist though, not me, so I'm sure your judgment > mine.

 

[fishybizzness]

Glad to hear that people enjoy the Caribbean corals as well! I’ve been super busy at work these last few weeks so haven’t had time to take too many pictures but this is what I have off-hand.

New Montastrea cavernosa frags donated from our Coral lab. They are settling in nicely and will post pics of them soon.

As for the palmata it has not grown much and what it has grown has just been encrusting. I have heard about snipping the tip and I may try that to see if that does anything. The staghorn on the other hand has started to show the beginnings of several new branches across all the colonies and I will need to snap a few pictures when they grow a little more. I will try to be better about updating all of my threads!

It's what I see when I go snorkeling so to me there's nothing more beautiful! This is the view from my deck and the island to the right is one of our favorite snorkeling spots!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

The cervicornis looks like its growing really well,

I'd do either of these cuts and maybe glue the tiny nub cutting in a another location. It has worked for me 9/10x to "wake up" dormant Acropora colonies, I esp see wild collected and maricultured acros go into this period of dormancy probably due to the stresses/acclimation of making the jump from being in the wild ---> captivity.

You are the biologist though, not me, so I'm sure your judgment > mine.

It’s always worth a shot! I’ve only ever done it by accidentally knocking off a nub. And I’m a microbiologist and just a hobbyist in terms of coral so I would never turn down a learning opportunity from another reefer!

It's what I see when I go snorkeling so to me there's nothing more beautiful! This is the view from my deck and the island to the right is one of our favorite snorkeling spots!

Well that’s amazing lol. Where do you live?

 

[fishybizzness]

It’s always worth a shot! I’ve only ever done it by accidentally knocking off a nub. And I’m a microbiologist and just a hobbyist in terms of coral so I would never turn down a learning opportunity from another reefer!



Well that’s amazing lol. Where do you live?

Virgin islands. St Thomas to be exact. And it's the islands on the left, not the right that me and my wife go snorkeling at. Some friends of ours family owns a big part of the inner island and we go camping there every summer! I love my home and I love Caribbean corals!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Virgin islands. St Thomas to be exact. And it's the islands on the left, not the right that me and my wife go snorkeling at. Some friends of ours family owns a big part of the inner island and we go camping there every summer! I love my home and I love Caribbean corals!

Wow sounds amazing! That must be a really cool place to live and snorkel. Thanks for your support and Im glad you are enjoying this tank! If you are interested you should look into our Coral Reef Health and Ecology lab. They work exclusively on Caribbean corals and we have info and past lectures on our website:

Robertson Coral Reef Research & Conservation Program : Florida Atlantic University - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute