Check out these Florida Hard Corals!

[Brandon McHenry]

A few pictures and a video from today. Enjoy!

Two color variants of Montastrea cavernosa frags

Oculina diffusa

Porites asteroides

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

I really like the Oculina Diffusa. It reminds me of a branching Cyphestrea. Great Pics Brandon!!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I really like the Oculina Diffusa. It reminds me of a branching Cyphestrea. Great Pics Brandon!!

I definitely see the resemblance! It’s a slow grower but very unique. Thanks for the compliment!

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Absolutely love the pics!

I also see that you have vermetid snails as well

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Absolutely love the pics!

I also see that you have vermetid snails as well

Thank you! I’m glad to see people enjoying the beauty of Caribbean ecosystems! As for the vermetids, they are unsightly but I’ve not seen any indication that they are impacting the wellbeing of the corals, which is great!

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I really like the Oculina Diffusa. It reminds me of a branching Cyphestrea. Great Pics Brandon!!

I love that piece too, defiantly my favorite out of all of them. Is this considered an lps? Reminds me more of a branching small polyped sun coral.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I love that piece too, defiantly my favorite out of all of them. Is this considered an lps? Reminds me more of a branching small polyped sun coral.

Glad you like it! I honestly don’t know if it fits more into the SPS or LPS category. If I had to assign it to a category I would say SPS because the polyps are fairly small considering the amount of skeleton. I could be totally off but I don’t know of any hard defining characteristics that say something is an SPS vs an LPS. If there is such a thing I’d be interested to know!

 

[SeaDweller]

A few pictures and a video from today. Enjoy!

Two color variants of Montastrea cavernosa frags

Oculina diffusa

Porites asteroides

Geez turn off the blue LEDs! All those pieces look so saturated!!!! Let me get my orange glasses, brb


Looks great!

 

[SebastianReefer]

Hello fellow reefers! I am a member of the Outreach and Engagement team at FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Ft. Pierce, FL. I recently got my Masters Degree at FAU HBOI and I now work to convey the research being done by the scientists and engineers at the Institute. One way that I am able to do this is by creating and maintaining live displays at our visitors center. As a long time hobbyist this was very exciting for me! I was particularly excited to be able to care for a variety of protected Caribbean hard corals in our Florida coral reef aquarium. As a fellow stick head I wanted to share with you all some of the SPS that are in this tank. Let me know what you think!

Acropora cervicornis (Florida Staghorn coral)

Oculina diffusa - a nearshore species found from Ft. Pierce to North Carolina

Porites asteroides (Mustard Hill Coral) both day and night

Acropora palmata (Florida Elkhorn coral) nighttime

Montastrea cavernosa (Great Star Coral) - I know its more of an LPS but its still really cool

For more details check out my build thread!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/1...t-the-ocean-discovery-visitors-center.413700/

AWSOME love what you guys are doing over there I’m in vero beach I will have to come by sometime soon

 

[SebastianReefer]

Yes the oculina is one of the most interesting pieces we have and it’s probably one of my favorites despite its small size lol. I’m very lucky to have both done my masters and now work at HBOI. The research being done here is really pretty amazing. And I will definitely plan to keep everybody posted with the progress!

I’m a native to Florida so what I would love to see more than anything is these corals to make a comeback would be a great thing and I know that’s what you guys are doing over there great job!!

 

[Sarah24!]

I think that you are only seeing what you want to see or seeing what you have been exposed to if you think that there is no proof. The corals that you are keeping have made it through a selection and die-off process from being handled and kept under LED. Not all wild corals will do well and many die that cannot make the transition. There is no argument to be made that LED is better for all corals, but it can be "just fine" for some of them that have been weeded out in captivity. These corals are protected and even some near threatened/endangered, so you don't jack around with these and just give them the best, or just leave them in the ocean. The only aquariums that I have seen that keep A. Palmata and the Caribbean version of A. Cervi (not to be confused with the pacific version) all have them under 1000w Halides and/or light tubes - I certainly have not been to all aquariums.

If you ever imported wild acro colonies (not mari which are chosen to do better), the die off rate is nearly nil when landed and raised under MH but can be more than 50% when under LED. They do best under 6500k Halides. Just because you have seen some posts about the stuff that "made it through" does not mean that it will translate to these specimens that have not been exposed to this stuff before.

If you could find one public aquarium biologist or curator that would agree with the assessment that there is not proof that these would do better under T5 or MH (I did not say anything about T5, BTW), then you could probably not find a second one. Thousands of people having success with a limited subsection of corals is not what everybody is after... and the assumption that what is good for the goose is good for the gander is irresponsible, as anybody's wife will tell them.

In any case, I want these to do well and make a comeback because I would like to be able to legally keep and grow A. Palmata one day... I am not too old, so I can always hope. Killing the ones that are able to be kept in captivity for any reason sets this back, so don't take any risks and get them under the best lighting.

Hello,

Want to make sure all know but I’m not here to change any opinion on lights. However I think it’s just poor taste when the op who is doing a scientific study on creating and maintaining their environment. Corals are animals and adjust to their settings. These corals are absolutely happy and look amazing. This team is doing a fantastic job in this research project. Do to the fact it’s probably a closed experiment they will be very closely monitored.
Saying mh or t5 will make them better is just utterly ridiculous, if anything switching the lights would probably kill them, and some complain they need everything else. As a medical professional its
Been highly advised that if a patients current medical plan is working and things are going well, then don’t mess with it. (Some exceptions but definitely not in the same scope as this). The op is specially trained and educated for this sole purpose. Maybe instead of some criticism, maybe we should learn and ask more questions about the experiment.

I don’t care if they use lights from wal mart, or the corals are happy and they are definitely happy than they are happy. There are too many chiefs in this hobby, and I don’t want to be one. But less chiefs would make this hobby much better.

 

[Wreef]

So awesome to see local species up close and thriving in an aquarium! I always pay attention to local corals when diving, but cool to see some of them identified as well

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Geez turn off the blue LEDs! All those pieces look so saturated!!!! Let me get my orange glasses, brb


Looks great!

Sorry! I’ll turn the whites up too! Get rid of that windex look, lol. Thanks for the compliment!

AWSOME love what you guys are doing over there I’m in vero beach I will have to come by sometime soon

You definitely should! We have lots of outreach programs and ways to learn about the research at FAU Harbor Branch!

Here’s the link if you are interested!

Mission Ocean Discovery : Florida Atlantic University - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

I’m a native to Florida so what I would love to see more than anything is these corals to make a comeback would be a great thing and I know that’s what you guys are doing over there great job!!

Thanks, me too! I’m in the same boat which is why I enjoy taking my background and passion and using it to help teach people about the work that we do at FAU Harbor Branch!

Hello,

Want to make sure all know but I’m not here to change any opinion on lights. However I think it’s just poor taste when the op who is doing a scientific study on creating and maintaining their environment. Corals are animals and adjust to their settings. These corals are absolutely happy and look amazing. This team is doing a fantastic job in this research project. Do to the fact it’s probably a closed experiment they will be very closely monitored.
Saying mh or t5 will make them better is just utterly ridiculous, if anything switching the lights would probably kill them, and some complain they need everything else. As a medical professional its
Been highly advised that if a patients current medical plan is working and things are going well, then don’t mess with it. (Some exceptions but definitely not in the same scope as this). The op is specially trained and educated for this sole purpose. Maybe instead of some criticism, maybe we should learn and ask more questions about the experiment.

I don’t care if they use lights from wal mart, or the corals are happy and they are definitely happy than they are happy. There are too many chiefs in this hobby, and I don’t want to be one. But less chiefs would make this hobby much better.

Thank you for your kind words and I appreciate your passion on the topic. While we do lots of research at FAU Harbor Branch, including work on corals, this particular tank is for display only. We use it to teach people about the work that our researchers do as well as about the importance of these ecosystems and why we should all work to conserve them. I am happy to see how well this tank has done and I have learned quite a lot while keeping several non-hobby species. I hope everyone stays tuned as we approach the 2 year birthday for this reef!

So awesome to see local species up close and thriving in an aquarium! I always pay attention to local corals when diving, but cool to see some of them identified as well

I agree! It’s definitely neat to be able to get up close and personal with corals in an aquarium in a way you can’t really do in the ocean. Glad you enjoy what I have to share!

 

[SebastianReefer]

Sorry! I’ll turn the whites up too! Get rid of that windex look, lol. Thanks for the compliment!



You definitely should! We have lots of outreach programs and ways to learn about the research at FAU Harbor Branch!

Here’s the link if you are interested!

Mission Ocean Discovery : Florida Atlantic University - Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

Thanks, me too! I’m in the same boat which is why I enjoy taking my background and passion and using it to help teach people about the work that we do at FAU Harbor Branch!



Thank you for your kind words and I appreciate your passion on the topic. While we do lots of research at FAU Harbor Branch, including work on corals, this particular tank is for display only. We use it to teach people about the work that our researchers do as well as about the importance of these ecosystems and why we should all work to conserve them. I am happy to see how well this tank has done and I have learned quite a lot while keeping several non-hobby species. I hope everyone stays tuned as we approach the 2 year birthday for this reef!



I agree! It’s definitely neat to be able to get up close and personal with corals in an aquarium in a way you can’t really do in the ocean. Glad you enjoy what I have to share!

I most definitely will when all this craziness has ended me and my wife want to take a tour and check out some of the lectures

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I most definitely will when all this craziness has ended me and my wife want to take a tour and check out some of the lectures

If you are looking for things to do while stuck inside, we have past lectures archived and available to watch on our website. Great way to pass some time and learn a few things in the process!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

A few pictures to update everyone on how things are growing. Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[drawman]

Love to see the cleaner goby stations!

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Love to see the cleaner goby stations!

They are fantastic! No matter how hard I try I have yet to get a photo of one riding alongside the surgeonfish. It’s so cool to watch!

 

[drawman]

They are fantastic! No matter how hard I try I have yet to get a photo of one riding alongside the surgeonfish. It’s so cool to watch!

I've done quite a bit of snorkeling in the Virgin Islands and it's really cool to see them posted up on these stations. Once you know what to look for you realize the stations are everywhere and fish are getting cleaned constantly. Makes you realize how important these stations are to fish health.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I've done quite a bit of snorkeling in the Virgin Islands and it's really cool to see them posted up on these stations. Once you know what to look for you realize the stations are everywhere and fish are getting cleaned constantly. Makes you realize how important these stations are to fish health.

That’s so cool! I’d love to snorkel throughout the Caribbean at one point in my life. And it’s so true these fish definitely have an important job!