Scolymia australis

[edit] Overview

This is a hardy, single-polyp stony coral that is seen in many unpredictable color combinations of green, red, orange, gold, blue, black, and shades of white, sometimes outrageously beautiful and commanding high prices from reef aquarists.

Scolymia can be kept under moderate reef lighting (T5 or Power Compacts). With metal halide lighting, this coral should be placed in the bottom third of the aquarium, most appropriately on the sand bed or a flat piece of live rock. It does not respond well to aggressive currents, and the tissue will expand to its fullest extent only in areas protected from direct flows.

[edit] Feeding

Feeding tentacles that ring the mouth normally are extended at night, but they often appear any time there is food in the water.

Target feed meaty foods such as Mysis shrimp, pieces of table shrimp, squid, marine fish several times per week. Live phytoplankton and meaty planktonic foods offered to fishes and other corals will also be taken by Scolymia corals.

[edit] Aquarium Compatibility

Not aggressive, but it may be stung by other cnidarians. Be sure to place it out of reach of more aggressive corals that can extend sweeper tentacles.

Angelfishes and butterflyfishes, especially larger specimens, are likely to pick at this coral.

[edit] Special Care

Not difficult to keep, but this coral must have proper levels of calcium and alkalinity for good skeletal growth and health. Add kalkwasser, two-part calcium/alkalinity solutions, or use a calcium reactor.

Do not let nuisance algae overgrow the coral, or it will lose bulk and gradually degenerate.

[edit] Breeding/Propagation

Once considered "unfraggable," this coral has been successfully divided to create cloned colonies using a wet diamond band saw (eg Inland Reefkeeper [1]), according to an article by Craig Shimokusu in Reef Hobbyist Magazine.

This type of saw with a very thin blade cuts quickly without generating much heat, and survival rates of 99% have been achieved, compared to 50% using a Dremel tool. The procedure is to cut directly through the center of the mouth and dip the just-divided frags in povidone/iodine solution. Healing is reported to be rapid, especially if the fragments are fed regularly. Download article in PDF format here: [2]

[edit] Notes

This is one of the largest single-polyp stony corals known. Occasionally a colony with two to four heads will be seen, perhaps the product of fission of the mother colony.

Category: Species