encrustingacro
2500 Club Member
After much deliberation on what I want my tank to be, I've decided on doing a biotope theme. However, I don't really know which locality or part of the reef it should be based on. I have thought of a few ideas; here are my thoughts.
Caribbean drop-off:
For this one, I would have to rescape my tank. I would probably just stack a bunch of rocks on each other to create a wall-like structure. Corals found on the inner-reef and reef crest (Orbicella, Acropora, Pseudodiploria) would go at the top of the structure, while corals found on the outer-reef (Mycetophyllia, Eusmilia, Scolymia) would go towards the middle and bottom of the structure. Since Caribbean stony corals are illegal to keep, I would have to improvise using lookalike corals.
Caribbean stony corals and Indo-Pacific lookalikes:
Scolymia cubensis - Homophyllia australis
Mycetophyllia - Lobophyllia (Symphyllia)
Orbicella - Cyphastrea
Montastraea - Astrea curta
Acropora cervicornis - any brown arborescent acro
Eusmilia - Caulastraea or Astraeosmilia
Siderastrea - Favites pentagona
Mussa - Lobophyllia
Dendrogyra - Hydnophora pilosa or Merulina cylindrica
Porites astreoides - any yellow encrusting Porites
Porites porites/furcata/divaricata - Porites cylindrica or maybe branching Goniopora
Pseudosiderastrea - Paragoniastrea australensis or Platygyra
Manicina - Trachyphyllia; alternatively, I could try to find a Manicina hitchhiking on a live rock
Madracis - Stylophora
Favia fragum - Goniastrea stelligera
Agaricia - Pavona or Leptoseris
Helioseris - Leptoseris explanulata
Dichocoenia - Dipsastraea
Isophyllia sinuosa - Lobophyllia (Symphyllia)
Isophyllia rigida - Micromussa or Homophyllia bowerbanki
Sadly, some Atlantic corals just don't have any close lookalikes (Meandrina, Colpophyllia, Diploria). I could probably find sea fans and gorgonians relatively easily, although I might have a hard time caring for the deeper water azooxanthellate ones, as those require constant feeding. Black corals would be harder to find, although caring for them would also be difficult for the same reason as the NPS gorgonians. Cool sponges might be harder to find; I haven't seen anyone selling Caribbean barrel sponges or anything like that.
Subtropical Australian reef:
Another cool idea would be to do some sort of marginal reef habitat, possibly a subtropical Australian reef, similar to the ones of the Solitary, Norfolk, or Lord Howe Islands. Many of the corals endemic to this region are available to the hobby, although some are infrequently exported (Astrea curta, Plesiastrea, Hydnophora pilosa).
Subtropical Australian corals:
Micromussa lordhowensis
Homophyllia australis and bowerbanki
Plesiastrea peroni and versipora
Pocillopora damicornis
Acropora solitaryensis
Paragoniastrea australensis
Astrea curta
Coelastrea palauensis
Cyphastrea
Duncanopsammia peltata
(possibly) endemic species of Montipora
(possibly undescribed) Lobophyllia species
Turbinaria heronensis (plus others)
Australophyllia
Hydnophora pilosa
Dipsastraea
Goniopora
Moseleya
Fimbriaphyllia ancora
Isopora elizabethensis
Porites heronensis
Micromussa pacifica
Hawaiian reef:
Another cool idea would be a Hawaiian reef. Almost all Hawaiian coral genera are available to the hobby, although not all species are and none are exported from Hawaii. Because the Hawaiian islands were formed relatively recently (0.7-30 mya), its reefs have lower coral biodiversity when compared with the rest of the Indo-Pacific, with around the same number of stony coral species as the Caribbean (80 & 65 respectively).
Hawaiian Corals:
Leptastrea (bewikiensis is endemic)
Porites lobata & evermanni
Porites compressa (can be substituted for with P. cylindrica)
Cyphastrea
Pocillopora (meandrina, verrucosa, & grandis are harder to obtain than damicornis)
Pavona varians & duerdeni
Cycloseris
Lobactis scutaria (rare in the hobby)
Psammocora
Montipora (capitata, paluta, & flabellata are endemic; would have to find lookalikes)
Pleuractis granulosa (probably not exported due to dull coloration)
Porites rus
Gardineroseris planulata (rare in the coral trade)
Leptoseris
Inter-reef habitat/sandy bottom:
My last idea is an inter-reef habitat or a sandy bottom. This area can be dominated with seagrass or mangroves in shallower areas, and the majority of corals in this habitat are free living, although there may be small outcrops containing more fleshy, lower-flow corals.
Corals that prefer sandy substrates:
Cycloseris
Heliofungia (both fralinae and actiniformis)
Lobactis scutaria
Heterocyathus & Heteropsammia (latter is easier to obtain)
Cynarina & Acanthophyllia
Trachyphyllia
Most of the corals on this list are on the higher end of corals, so I don't know if I'll do this one due to cost, although it is a cool idea.
Which one should I do? Any suggestions or other biotopes I could possibly try?
Caribbean drop-off:
For this one, I would have to rescape my tank. I would probably just stack a bunch of rocks on each other to create a wall-like structure. Corals found on the inner-reef and reef crest (Orbicella, Acropora, Pseudodiploria) would go at the top of the structure, while corals found on the outer-reef (Mycetophyllia, Eusmilia, Scolymia) would go towards the middle and bottom of the structure. Since Caribbean stony corals are illegal to keep, I would have to improvise using lookalike corals.
Caribbean stony corals and Indo-Pacific lookalikes:
Scolymia cubensis - Homophyllia australis
Mycetophyllia - Lobophyllia (Symphyllia)
Orbicella - Cyphastrea
Montastraea - Astrea curta
Acropora cervicornis - any brown arborescent acro
Eusmilia - Caulastraea or Astraeosmilia
Siderastrea - Favites pentagona
Mussa - Lobophyllia
Dendrogyra - Hydnophora pilosa or Merulina cylindrica
Porites astreoides - any yellow encrusting Porites
Porites porites/furcata/divaricata - Porites cylindrica or maybe branching Goniopora
Pseudosiderastrea - Paragoniastrea australensis or Platygyra
Manicina - Trachyphyllia; alternatively, I could try to find a Manicina hitchhiking on a live rock
Madracis - Stylophora
Favia fragum - Goniastrea stelligera
Agaricia - Pavona or Leptoseris
Helioseris - Leptoseris explanulata
Dichocoenia - Dipsastraea
Isophyllia sinuosa - Lobophyllia (Symphyllia)
Isophyllia rigida - Micromussa or Homophyllia bowerbanki
Sadly, some Atlantic corals just don't have any close lookalikes (Meandrina, Colpophyllia, Diploria). I could probably find sea fans and gorgonians relatively easily, although I might have a hard time caring for the deeper water azooxanthellate ones, as those require constant feeding. Black corals would be harder to find, although caring for them would also be difficult for the same reason as the NPS gorgonians. Cool sponges might be harder to find; I haven't seen anyone selling Caribbean barrel sponges or anything like that.
Subtropical Australian reef:
Another cool idea would be to do some sort of marginal reef habitat, possibly a subtropical Australian reef, similar to the ones of the Solitary, Norfolk, or Lord Howe Islands. Many of the corals endemic to this region are available to the hobby, although some are infrequently exported (Astrea curta, Plesiastrea, Hydnophora pilosa).
Subtropical Australian corals:
Micromussa lordhowensis
Homophyllia australis and bowerbanki
Plesiastrea peroni and versipora
Pocillopora damicornis
Acropora solitaryensis
Paragoniastrea australensis
Astrea curta
Coelastrea palauensis
Cyphastrea
Duncanopsammia peltata
(possibly) endemic species of Montipora
(possibly undescribed) Lobophyllia species
Turbinaria heronensis (plus others)
Australophyllia
Hydnophora pilosa
Dipsastraea
Goniopora
Moseleya
Fimbriaphyllia ancora
Isopora elizabethensis
Porites heronensis
Micromussa pacifica
Hawaiian reef:
Another cool idea would be a Hawaiian reef. Almost all Hawaiian coral genera are available to the hobby, although not all species are and none are exported from Hawaii. Because the Hawaiian islands were formed relatively recently (0.7-30 mya), its reefs have lower coral biodiversity when compared with the rest of the Indo-Pacific, with around the same number of stony coral species as the Caribbean (80 & 65 respectively).
Hawaiian Corals:
Leptastrea (bewikiensis is endemic)
Porites lobata & evermanni
Porites compressa (can be substituted for with P. cylindrica)
Cyphastrea
Pocillopora (meandrina, verrucosa, & grandis are harder to obtain than damicornis)
Pavona varians & duerdeni
Cycloseris
Lobactis scutaria (rare in the hobby)
Psammocora
Montipora (capitata, paluta, & flabellata are endemic; would have to find lookalikes)
Pleuractis granulosa (probably not exported due to dull coloration)
Porites rus
Gardineroseris planulata (rare in the coral trade)
Leptoseris
Inter-reef habitat/sandy bottom:
My last idea is an inter-reef habitat or a sandy bottom. This area can be dominated with seagrass or mangroves in shallower areas, and the majority of corals in this habitat are free living, although there may be small outcrops containing more fleshy, lower-flow corals.
Corals that prefer sandy substrates:
Cycloseris
Heliofungia (both fralinae and actiniformis)
Lobactis scutaria
Heterocyathus & Heteropsammia (latter is easier to obtain)
Cynarina & Acanthophyllia
Trachyphyllia
Most of the corals on this list are on the higher end of corals, so I don't know if I'll do this one due to cost, although it is a cool idea.
Which one should I do? Any suggestions or other biotopes I could possibly try?
