Pipe organ/Tubipora musica

[Delphinus]

It is in fact an octocoral (a softey). Here is what Delbeek and Sprung have to say about it in "The Reef Aquarium, Vol. II" (page 180):

<font size = "1">(Shameless reprinted without permission, please don't sue me, Julian and Charles!!)</font>

Colour: red to maroon skeleton with white, gray, brown or green polyps.

Distinguishing features: Skeleton is distinctive, being composed of long tubes with connecting terraces. The polyps of the different forms may easily be confused with the different Clavularia spp. and Pachyclavularia (Briarium) spp. [...]

[...]

Aquarium care: Different forms have greater or less demanding requirements. The easiest form to keep has large polyps that are indistinguishable from the larger polyped Clavularia.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">So, there you go. I'm now 100% convinced what I've given you is pipe organ, and not clove polyps (although one could easily forgive the person who told me otherwise, and understand why they thought so).

In "A Practical Guide To Corals For The Reef Aquarium" (page 38), Puterbaugh and Borneman describe this coral as taking a wide range of lighting (from moderately low all the way to full intensity, a "3 to 10" on their scale); water flow "low to high"; aggressiveness "low"; difficulty of care "moderate" (a 4 on their 1 to 10 scale).

I've had this coral in my tank for ... oh, I don't remember exactly anymore but it has been at least 2 or 3 years. Like other corals it hasn't appreciated being touched by mushrooms, but has basically grown in directions away from mushrooms, so it has been very hardy. In my tank it was on the side that would get direct sunlight in the winter; in the summer when no sunlight hits the tank the only light it would get is from the tank lighting and it was in fact the farthest away from the light sources that it could be in my tank. It is also in an area of medium flow in my tank.

I hope this information you may find useful. Have fun with the stuff and please take good care of it.

[AJ_77]

HTH is always a no-brainer with you, Tony. Thanks again, for the animals I hope to raise well, and for the information and motivation to do so.

If I may add something to the discussion, from the liveaquaria.com website:

The Pipe Organ Coral is a soft coral, but is often referred to as a hard coral because of its calcareous skeleton. Its common names may also include Organ Pipe Coral, or Daisy Coral. Its genus name, Tubipora, is derived from the Latin words tubus (tube) and porus (pore), describing its tubular skeleton. When its polyps are open, it is often confused with the star polyps or clove polyps because of their similar appearance.

Its behavior is peaceful because it lacks sweeper tentacles, and is safe to place near other peaceful corals. It will require a high light level combined with a medium to strong water movement within the aquarium. It is fragile, however, so it should not be positioned in currents which could displace or damage it. For continued good health, it will also require the addition of calcium, iodine, strontium, and other trace elements to the water.

The symbiotic algae zooxanthellae hosted within its body provides the majority of its nutritional requirements through photosynthesis. It should also be fed additional food such as micro-plankton or brine shrimp at least twice per week.

Cheers,

Alan :D :D ;) :D :D

[ 09 May 2002, 09:39: Message edited by: AJ_77 ]

[Bob I]

I have moved my new piece of Tubipora to my larger tank, and with the new light, or whatever, it looks really good. :D

[AJ_77]

I'm thrilled with the way this is taking to its new surroundings. I must assume it has a lot to do with the health of the parent colony.

And what a show under the actinics! :D [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 13 May 2002, 10:30: Message edited by: AJ_77 ]

[Bob I]

Alan, its(as a possessive) does not ever take an apostrophe. :D :D :D :D

[AJ_77]

Hey Tony,

What type of lighting were these under while in your care?

I should ask Jonny the same question for the Colt and Toadstool leather.

Reason Is: if I mount the 250w MH on one side, I could - conceivably - put in 2x24" NO on the other side and overdrive them 2X. Not that this would compensate, but it might not look too ridiculous.

Just thinkin' through this lighting thing... ;)

Alan

[Delphinus]

They were in my 50g, which is lit by 2x175W on a 12-hour photoperiod.

But, I don't think these really REQUIRE an awful lot of light. Don't think of that as any kind of minimum, or anything like that. I beleive they will do fine in just about any kind of lighting arrangement.

But ... OTOH ... hurry up and put that 250W on up there already! ;)

[ 22 May 2002, 12:21: Message edited by: delphinus ]