Reef Tank: More Frags

With the new metal halide lighting in place, I wanted to have someone take the compact fluorescent fixture off my hands. A one bedroom apartment is not the sort of place that you tend to keep unused equipment sitting around in. I posted listings on the aquarium forums I use, and on Craigslist. One interesting note came in from a Boston area reefer who offered up some coral frags in trade for the light, in lieu of the price I had been asking for.

Throughout the entire history of this project I have tried to plan and move slowly with each aspect. Impulse purchases and stock acquisitions can be a real problem with keeping aquariums. The prudent move would be to watch the corals I introduced on Friday carefully for two weeks, and then proceed with further stocking. Furthermore, the corals being offered in trade are some of the more difficult of the stony corals to keep. I decided to get them anyway.

Here are some photos, along with trade names and my best guesses at scientific names.

Acropora rosaria:



Acropora sp., "purple slimmer":



Acropora sp., supposedly a tabling formation:



Acropora millepora:



I acclimated these with the same slow drip procedure used for my previous coral acquisitions. So far everything seems at home, with decent polyp extension. I think I'm close to my limit on coral species and space in regards to the room they will need to expand into over the course of the year. Now the long wait while they slowly fill in.