The Christmas Favia Coral is a large polyp stony (LPS) corals often referred to as Moon, Pineapple, Brain, Closed Brain, Star, Worm, or Honeycomb Coral. They are the most common and prolific coral in the world, and are very similar to the genus Favia, sharing many of the same common names, and sometimes being very difficult to differentiate. Favites Corals are found in various color forms and polyp shapes. “Pineapple Coral” is the name commonly given to those that have smaller circular patterns.

The Favite Corals are aggressive, expanding their sweeper tentacles at night well beyond the base. It is important to leave space between them and neighbors in the reef aquarium. Maintenance for the Favite Corals is relatively easy, making them excellent choices for the beginner to expert hobbyist. They require moderate lighting combined with moderate water movement within the aquarium. For continued good health, calcium, strontium, and other trace elements should be added to the water. It will also benefit from the addition of supplemental food in the form of micro-plankton or brine shrimp, fed twice per week in the evening while its tentacles are visible.

The Yellow Sea Cucumber which originates from the Indian Ocean is very striking in appearance. They are bright yellow in coloration and have an elongated body with spikey projections. When feeding, the Yellow Sea Cucumber extends their branchy feeding arms into the current. These are beautiful filter feeders for an established reef aquarium.

The Yellow Sea Cucumber requires live rock to provide the nutrients it needs to sustain its health. It will usually find a location with moderate to strong current. It is a filter-feeding cucumber and similar in nature to the Sea Apple. If attacked or injured, it may release mild toxins, but due to its small size, will not pose a threat in the average sized aquarium. The Yellow Sea Cucumber is very sensitive to copper-based medications and it will not tolerate high nitrate levels.

If a small group is kept, spawning in the home aquarium is possible. They may also reproduce by dividing into 2 individuals. This may come about due to stress, or may be a sign of good health.

The diet of a Yellow Sea Cucumber should include liquid or dried phyto and zoo plankton. They will also benefit from the substrate being stirred regularly releasing bacteria and detritus into the water. When malnourished, they will shrink in size, and may lose feeding arms. If these signs are noticed, increase the number of feedings, and target the cucumber with the appropriate food.

Euphylla Ancora, also known as Hammer Coral, Ridge Coral, Hammerhead or Anchor Coral, is a large polyp stony (LPS) coral. Its common names are derived from the appearance of its hammerhead or anchor-shaped tentacles. Its polyps are visible throughout both day and night and hide its skeletal base. They breed via fission, which is a form of asexual reproduction and each resulting fragment produced is capable of growing into an individual.

Hammer corals may be green, tan or brown in color, with lime green or yellow tips on the ends of its tentacles, which glow under actinic lighting. Some varieties of hammer coral may be branched, which makes them look similar to Torch Coral. They can appear semi-transparent when well expanded. Hammer coral colonies may form continuous cover over the substrate many meters across, although individual colonies are seldom over one meter across. Large colonies are usually found in shallow environments exposed to moderate wave action. Hammer coral does well within a range of at least 75 to 84 degrees and prefer moderate light. (A good example of moderate light is a 65 watt light over a 25 gallon aquarium).

Keeping Hammer coral in a saltwater aquarium is not recommended for those new to the hobby. This is mostly because their delicate nature makes them rough shippers. Hammer corals have sharp skeletons that are covered in extremely thin tissue, which is inevitably easily scuffed by shipping. All Euphyllia should be given plenty of room to expand in an aquarium setting. Sweeper tentacles extend several inches at night and can sting other corals.

Hammer Coral Aggressiveness and Feeding
Hammer coral can expand considerably from its skeleton and has sweeper tentacles that are up to 2″ longer than normal tentacles that can sting its neighbors. Hammer corals grow fairly quickly and to a large size. It is photosynthetic and does not need to be directly fed, but will take small meaty foods if offered. Hammer coral is aggressive toward the other marine aquarium invertebrates.

Zoanthids are unique in that they incorporate sand and other small pieces of material into their tissue to help create their structure. In the wild, Zoanthids often occupy fringe environments (intertidal, back reef, other shallow areas, over dead corals), making them quite a hardy choice for the reef aquarist. Found most commonly on sandy reef flats and hard bottoms in shallow or deep water, Protopalythoa feature the largest polyps of all the Zoanthids. Surrounding each polyp are tapering tentacles resembling eyelashes or “venus flytrap” structures, which similarly help close in on captured prey.

Easy to maintain,  Zoanthids Polyps require a medium light level combined with a medium water movement within the aquarium. For continued good health, they will also require the addition of iodine and other trace elements to the water. They will reproduce easily in the reef aquarium by budding (splitting off a portion of their base or mouth), which will increase the size of their colony. They contain the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae which provides some of their nutritional requirements. They will also benefit from additional feedings of microplankton or brine shrimp given to each individual of the colony.

Received December 20, 2007:
A case of human poisoning by palytoxin after contact with zoanthid corals (Parazoanthus sp.) in an aquarium through skin injuries on fingers is reported. The clinical symptoms include swelling, paraesthesia and numbness around the site of the injury spreading over the arm, but also signs of systemic poisoning such as dizziness, general weakness and myalgia, irregularities in the ECG and indications of rhabdomyolysis. Symptomatic treatment consisted of infusion of physiological fluids. The patient recovered within 3 days. Analysis of the zoanthid coral involved revealed extremely high concentrations of palytoxin (between 2 and 3 mg/g).

Acanthastrea Lordhowensis / Echinata are some of the most mis-identified corals in the reef and is a large polyp stony (LPS) coral. These corals have been misidentified by hobbyists and merchants alike for many years. Acanthastrea Lordhowensis / Echinata are a hermatypic / photosynthetic coral and come in a wide variety of brilliant colors. Because they are extremely easy to care for in a home or office aquarium, they are an excellent coral for beginners.

Acanthastrea Lordhowensis / Echinata are often referred to in the hobby vernacular as “the Lord” or “Acan” and generally have corallites between 8-15 cm in diameter. Because these corals have very fleshy polyps, identification to genus is difficult to impossible, as the characteristics that would confirm a positive identification are hidden. Acanthastrea Lordhowensis / Echinata are found in many locations on the reef up to about 20 meters in depth.

In marine saltwater aquariums, Acanthastrea Lordhowensis / Echinata are tolerant of diverse conditions and can thrive in strong or subdued lighting and water flow situations. In fact, their coloration variation can be controlled by lighting and water flow. They are very competitive in their ability to extrude mesenterial filaments. Great care should be taken when placing the Acanthastrea Lordhowensis and especially the Echinata, near other sessile organisms. Acanthastrea Lordhowensis / Echinata will readily accept feedings of minced meaty foods such as shrimp, mysis and squid. Though regular feeding of these corals is not required, it will definitely help its growth. They also seem to react better to higher levels of magnesium between  (1250-1350 ppm).

The Trachyphyllia Brain Coral is also referred to as a Folded Brain, or Crater Coral and is a large polyp stony (LPS) coral. It may have a flattened, folded, or figure-eight shape. Its genus name, Trachyphyllia, comes from the Greek trachys (rough) plus phyllon (leaf) because it resembles a rough leaf lying on the sandy bed. There are two common species of Trachphyllia: T. geoffroyi and T. radiata. The T. radiata, which is usually more convoluted in appearance and has fused walls, was formerly called Wellsophyllia radiata, but the genus Wellsophyllia has now been eliminated.

T. geoffroyi is easily collected from the reef because it prefers to attach itself to a piece of shell or dead coral, and may be found washed into the shallow waters lying on the sand bed. Trachyphyllia Brain Corals fluoresce brightly under actinic lighting. They do best in a well established reef aquarium that incorporates moderate to strong lighting with a moderate water current, along with the addition of calcium, strontium, and other trace elements to the water. Allow ample space between it and other corals, as it will sometimes sting its neighbors. It does not require additional food to maintain its health in the reef aquarium, but it will feed on micro-plankton or foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates.

The Scolymia Button Coral is a large polyp stony (LPS) coral and also referred to as the Artichoke, Doughnut, or Disk Coral. It is a round, solitary coral, usually having a single oral opening present in the center, however, multiple openings have been present in some species. The Scolymia Button Coral is found in many different mottled color forms of dark green, red, or brown with cup-, or saucer-, flat-, or dome-shaped variations. It is not an outwardly aggressive coral, but should be provided with plenty of space between itself and other corals because it can expand twice its size during the day.

The Scolymia Button Coral is easy to maintain in the reef aquarium and in the wild, and is often found in association with Tridacna Clams. It makes an excellent choice for both the beginner and advanced reef aquarist. It requires a medium light level combined with a medium water movement within the reef aquarium. For continued good health, it will also require the addition of calcium, strontium, and other trace elements to the water. Its feeding tentacles appear during the evening and while exposed, will feed on meaty foods such as micro-plankton or brine shrimp.