Purple monster Acropora information?

[Fangs]

I have been fascinated with all the old sps that were apart of the hobby for a very long time. I was wondering, has similar coral from the Solomon Islands been imported after the OG came in? I know when Jake Adam’s and Unique Corals went they got a colony, but have any known come in besides that time? I’ve seen Solomon coral being imported recently so was just curious. Any other information about the purple monster will be welcomed as well. Thanks everyone.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

I have been fascinated with all the old sps that were apart of the hobby for a very long time. I was wondering, has similar coral from the Solomon Islands been imported after the OG came in? I know when Jake Adam’s and Unique Corals went they got a colony, but have any known come in besides that time? I’ve seen Solomon coral being imported recently so was just curious. Any other information about the purple monster will be welcomed as well. Thanks everyone.

Here is the info on the OG Purple Monster:

Reeffarmers Articles

Origin of the Purple Monster; Tyree L.E. and Coral Names.

Today Steve Tyree shared with the Facebook world the origin of the Purple Monster, Tyree L.E. and coral names as we know it. I especially like hearing Steve's t

reefs.com

 

[Fangs]

Here is the info on the OG Purple Monster:

Reeffarmers Articles

Origin of the Purple Monster; Tyree L.E. and Coral Names.

Today Steve Tyree shared with the Facebook world the origin of the Purple Monster, Tyree L.E. and coral names as we know it. I especially like hearing Steve's t

reefs.com

Thanks for the read! The history is fascinating. I was also wondering if anyone has seen similar coral imported from Solomon imports since then.

 

[biecacka]

@ReefBum had/has some frags for sale.


Corey

 

[feelingfishy]

I think @Thirstysreef has some frags as well.

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

Under ideal conditions, it might grow 1" per year. Growing a tiny pencil eraser frag into a real colony is a 10-20 year project for a super dedicated hobbyist. Hence why it's still the SPS holy grail even all these years later.

I remember @ReefBum saying he had it going pretty good in one of his past systems, but it has stagnated in his new system without any identifiable cause. Also he said not to ask for frags and there is no waiting list lol.


I remember when Jake Adams went hunting for the original purple monster.

We tracked down the Purple Monster Acro to its original source | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Purple Monster Acropora is arguably one of the most infamous stony coral strains in the marine aquarium hobby, of all time. This particular strain of deep purple acro is the coral that kickstarted…

reefbuilders.com

 

[Fangs]

Thanks everyone, I started this topic because I’ve been hearing that some “purple monster” colonies have been exported from the recent Solomon exports. I think I was able to source one and I am waiting for it to arrive next week. I know they are most likely not the OG ones, but based on what I saw they seem to be deep purple in coloration and have white polyps. Very interesting to see and once I get the coral I will post it here. I’m not fully sure if this one of those newer imports since I don’t know the full origin besides it was not a captive grown colony. However it definitely has those same characteristics of deep purple, smooth, white polyps.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

This was my OG Purple Monster colony back in the early 2000's It ended up being a little larger than a softball before I sold it when I moved from MN to FL. I acquired it directly from Steve Tyree. I actually sold a good number of frags of it back then, definitely a slow grower though.

 

[Fangs]

This was my OG Purple Monster colony back in the early 2000's It ended up being a little larger than a softball before I sold it when I moved from MN to FL. I acquired it directly from Steve Tyree. I actually sold a good number of frags of it back then, definitely a slow grower though.

That’s an amazing colony. At some point I have to get an OG frag, but for now I’ll try whatever newer imports have come in and see how they grow and differ from the Tyree OG. Get some new strains out there for people to have as well.

 

[biecacka]

I think @ReefBum said he was no longer selling them after his last sale (a few months ago). I’m not sure. But I bought I heard that. It’s a very slow grower, hence why people don’t have it very often.


Corey

 

[Fangs]

I think @ReefBum said he was no longer selling them after his last sale (a few months ago). I’m not sure. But I bought I heard that. It’s a very slow grower, hence why people don’t have it very often.


Corey

Yeah I’ve heard it’s an extremely slow grower. I wonder if it picks up the pace a little once it’s a decent size.

 

[biecacka]

Not to my knowledge. In fact @aquavista99 has been telling me to get JF purple blade instead. Says it really nice, similar purple color and easier to grow.

Corey

 

[Troylee]

I’m working on a frag of this OG one! It’s about 10 years old… I’ll get one some day! I loved that piece haha!

 

[Fangs]

Not to my knowledge. In fact @aquavista99 has been telling me to get JF purple blade instead. Says it really nice, similar purple color and easier to grow.

Corey

I have never seen that one, its a very nice coral. The Reef Nation Purple Turaki is also nice. I am getting to what I think is the new colony of PM that is being exported out of Solomon tomorrow so I will update with pictures when I can. Its a very nice purple acro as well either way even if its growth pattern is different. Most other things are pretty spot on so ill take it haha.

 

[Fangs]

I’m working on a frag of this OG one! It’s about 10 years old… I’ll get one some day! I loved that piece haha!

That's awesome! I love the deep purple so much and its a good size.

 

[jackson6745]

I’ve had a PM in all of my tanks. I lost most of my pics before 2010, but here is a couple after. Like most sps the color and even polyps colors can change based on lighting and nutrient. You can even see that I turned base polyps green at some point with my nitrates creeping up high which did go back to white when I cleaned things up.I always gave it a ton of light, but it seemed to do better with higher nutrients with deeper color and way way faster growth. I got a 3/4” from Copps and grew it to a baseball size in 18 months in my last tank. Then I got to watch it die overnight lol. Sps suck sometimes lol

I’m gaining confidence in my new system so it’s almost time to place one in and start the process all over again

 

[Fangs]

I’ve had a PM in all of my tanks. I lost most of my pics before 2010, but here is a couple after. Like most sps the color and even polyps colors can change based on lighting and nutrient. You can even see that I turned base polyps green at some point with my nitrates creeping up high which did go back to white when I cleaned things up.I always gave it a ton of light, but it seemed to do better with higher nutrients with deeper color and way way faster growth. I got a 3/4” from Copps and grew it to a baseball size in 18 months in my last tank. Then I got to watch it die overnight lol. Sps suck sometimes lol

I’m gaining confidence in my new system so it’s almost time to place one in and start the process all over again

Wow what an amazing piece! Keep us posted on that one for sure!

 

[jackson6745]

Wow what an amazing piece! Keep us posted on that one for sure!

Nothing to update. Those are dead 8 and 14 years ago lol. I’ll get a new one going.

@mshur do you have any old pics of those huge PM colonies back in 05-06?

 

[mattdg]

Ah.. PURPLE MONSTER.. Just the name triggers memories of the good old days of reefkeeping. It's a coral that maintains it's cult status, mainly due to the fact that SPS keepers are crazy gluttons for punishment, who relish an epic challenge. Myself included. I had seen a frag or two in MR tanks, years back. Remember the deep purple diminutive blobs, taking up a chunk of valuable real estate in those metal halide lit system of yore. I'd love to see a full grown colony, in person, some day.

 

[Fangs]

Nothing to update. Those are dead 8 and 14 years ago lol. I’ll get a new one going.

@mshur do you have any old pics of those huge PM colonies back in 05-06?

Oh my fault lol. I misread. What would you say based on the colonies you had was a defining feature of the OG?