frankb Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I am planning to buy an acanthophyllia. Has anybody had any experience with this coral? Does it require a lot of space? As far as I know, it is not that difficult comparing with SPS. Please give me some inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefsickness Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The Doughnut Coral is a large polyp stony (LPS) coral and often referred to as the Cat's Eye, Tooth, Button, Teary Eye, or Meat Coral. The Doughnut Coral is a round solitary coral, one of the largest single-polyped corals found in nature today, and available in many different color forms from pastel to bright and translucent, to drab variations. While it is not an aggressive coral, it should be provided with adequate spacing between itself and other corals because it can expand to twice its size. It is easy to maintain in the reef aquarium and makes an excellent choice for both the beginner or advanced reef aquarist. It requires medium lighting combined with low water movement. For continued good health, it will also require the addition of calcium, strontium, and other trace elements to the water. It should be fed meaty foods such as micro-plankton or brine shrimp at night. http://www.liveaquaria.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Nothing compares to SPS as far as difficulty in keeping, other than corals that REQUIRE target feeding to live, maybe certain fans and gorgonians-(laugh) Make sure you dont have any mushrooms near it-they will will sting/kill it as will other certain LPS-very similar to the scoly-nice addition Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankb Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 Thanks for the inputs. My biggest concern is space. As you mentioned, it can expand to twice its size. What would happen if the space is limited? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantherguy30 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Pic was taken upon first bringing it home. I'll post another tomorrow once lights are back on. I've kept both my scoly and acanthophyllia together for quite some time. Haven't had an issue with fighting yet. They love target feeding, mysis, krill, silversides, or any large meaty chunks once the lights go out and the feeding tentacles come out. Provide plenty of space to grow as they can get rather large over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I believe soly and acanthophyllia are the same thing now: http://reefbuilders.com/2009/06/04/acanthophyllia-deshayesiana-indo-pacific-scolymia-officially-recognized/ Also. That is a nice scoly back there! I think they are called cynarina also. I really like these corals. I would be interested to know more about propagation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I believe soly and acanthophyllia are the same thing now: http://reefbuilders.com/2009/06/04/acanthophyllia-deshayesiana-indo-pacific-scolymia-officially-recognized/ Also. That is a nice scoly back there! I think they are called cynarina also. I really like these corals. I would be interested to know more about propagation Is this why they've gone through the roof in cost? I love my scolymia, but have always been confused by the different names. Frankb; these are great corals that don't take up that much space, and watching them open up to feed is a very cool sight to see. I've have good luck with them and would say care level is between mushrooms and acans (pretty easy) and up until 6 months ago under VHO lighting only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 The acanthophyllia is the same thing as an Indo Scoly but it isn't the same thing as a Cynarina(usually transluscent in shades of green, gold, and red most commonly) and also differs from Australian Scoly's. They are 3 seperate species. Propagating them can be done by using a diamond band saw or thin blade diamond table saw. I have seen them cut straight down the middle making sure to get a pretty even amount of the mouth in each half. The halfs then over a long period of time start to heal up and eventually grow round or near round again. I think the main reason there hasn't been a ton of propagation of these is simply do to the fact that they are spendy as heck. It's funny because even CITES still has the acanthophyllia permited as scolymia. I would imagine that over the next couple of years there will be seperate CITES permits issue for Scolymia australias and acanthophyllia. Cynarina are already permited as a distinct species. They are all so similar but you can definitely tell the difference between the 3. I have one at the now that looks like a unique species of it's own. It has the color of that funky orange Pavona maldivensis but is shaped and skeletally morphed like an acanthophylia and was CITES permited as a scolymia. I also have a definite Scolymia australias and acanthophlia but this one just looks so different from the other two. I know they even have a newly collected mini scolymia coming from West Australian waters that probably will be identified as a seperate species at some point. It's about 1-1.5" across and boasts some pretty unique color morphs along with the typical Australian Scoly color varieties. These single mouth brains are some of the more intersting specemins simply do to their taxonomy(or lack there of) and their great diversity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytshall Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 This is my favorite coral in my tank but it does take up a huge amount of space. It varies in size all the time. So my recommendation is to give it space. The good thing is that if something is stinging it, the coral will retract in that part so not to be damaged. It doesn't like my pink boobies chalice I have in front of it and will avoid that but sometimes it will go on top of my zoas. Right now Nick at Rose city has a couple really nice ones. Heres some pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankb Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Mytshall, that is a nice acanthophyllia you have. I hope mine will do well in my tank. I will clear some space so it can expand. Thanks for all the helpful info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I have had one for about two-three years. Very hardy and a dramatic coral. Thanks for the clarification, Garrett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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