A Splash of Color

[biggles]

You guys know i have access to some pretty cool fish as well right..........

I nearly bought the monti just so i could football kick it out Dave's shop front door :blown:

Didn't buy any of these so don't abuse me lol but the SSC was a very uncommon intact colony. Every other piece i've ever seen was a broken off branch. The pink acro is del fuego that finally shipped well according to Dave. It's one of the prettiest colored acros i've ever see in person when it's still looking like it did on the reef 24 hours ealier.

 

[reefmutt]

....you're killing me...
The feelings I have for your little yellow princess could get me arrested in most countries....
Except for maybe Australia!

 

[nemodan]

Biggles are you playing with us some psico game. Torturing our brain with those fresh 24 hours collected colonies with unreal extraterrestrial colors ?

Nevertheless you call them "broken branches" they will be called here "COLONIES" . Because a broken branch for us is a 1-2 inch finger type branch.

Definitively you are playing with us..... or I will say with ME at least.

I still want to see the REAL Biggles Acro EXPERT !!! That is able to growth a colony from just a small piece of those you have .........JA .. period . Grrrrrrr


Daniel






MEN Y AM SOOOOO JELOUS. .....LOL.

All the best !!! And those are amazing corals, thanks for sharing! !!

 

[bibarassa]

You guys know i have access to some pretty cool fish as well right..........

I nearly bought the monti just so i could football kick it out Dave's shop front door :blown:

Didn't buy any of these so don't abuse me lol but the SSC was a very uncommon intact colony. Every other piece i've ever seen was a broken off branch. The pink acro is del fuego that finally shipped well according to Dave. It's one of the prettiest colored acros i've ever see in person when it's still looking like it did on the reef 24 hours ealier.

Andrew, looking at these acros I feel like crying"¦"¦"¦.:headwalls:

 

[Volcano1]

Awesome stuff Andrew.:inlove:

I like to see what the acros should look like freshly collected.Even though it kills me not to be able to get any.

Acro porn for sure.

 

[slavetonet]

Andrew,
Good to see your tank is coming back with vigor and vitality.

 

[biggles]

....you're killing me...
The feelings I have for your little yellow princess could get me arrested in most countries....
Except for maybe Australia!

How dare you have such thoughts about my girl Matt !
Had good PE the first night so i hope i don't green her out.....:hmm5:

Btw, i finally figured out that real deep collected acros are most touchy about flow rather than light levels. Placing deep water delicate branched acros like echis etc in a place with gentle but constantly moving water for the first few days really helps them settle in quickly if PE is anything to go by.
Acros like the beautiful creamy white with blue tips piece in that pic tell you by their delicate tabling growth structure that they can't and won't handle the flow most of us normally associate with acros. It also allows me to place them almost on the sand because that's where the flow is slowest in order to keep the sand pretty much in place (sort of) - short ramble.........:spin3:

Btw, that acro is also collected in water as shallow as 10 meters - in protected lagoon conditions - 'deep waters' is a terrible term imo as most of my pieces like lots of light as long as the flow stays calm at the same time. Don't give these delicate ones anything at all like you'd give a milli etc. The flow a hammer coral (shudder) likes is exactly what a 'deepwater' acro loves - no more.

That's just my opinion of course (now fact).

Biggles are you playing with us some psico game. Torturing our brain with those fresh 24 hours collected colonies with unreal extraterrestrial colors ?

Nevertheless you call them "broken branches" they will be called here "COLONIES" . Because a broken branch for us is a 1-2 inch finger type branch.

Definitively you are playing with us..... or I will say with ME at least.

I still want to see the REAL Biggles Acro EXPERT !!! That is able to growth a colony from just a small piece of those you have .........JA .. period . Grrrrrrr

Daniel

MEN Y AM SOOOOO JELOUS. .....LOL.

All the best !!! And those are amazing corals, thanks for sharing! !!

If i ever actually go and get that tiny little firetruck frag off Dom i'll be able to show you what you want Daniel lol.

Andrew, looking at these acros I feel like crying"¦"¦"¦.:headwalls:

I know it must be annoying to many of you but i don't do it to rub it in your face. It's no secret that i have very fast reef to store access to very beautiful acros since discovering Deer Park aquarium is run by an SPS fiend - Dave :love2:
I want you guys to see what the colors really are on GBR acros rather than the often over cooked for sale pics on the big US coral sale sites. Dave had the LED's on which is why the weird harsh look to some of the colors is there.
Next time i'm going to ask him to turn them off and take closeup top downs with my top down box of a heap of acros we all commonly keep if they are less than 48hrs off the reef.

Pssst..... these deep waters came in almost as if just plucked from the reef and they were all shipped with a handfull of large grain activated carbon floating in each bag to absorb acro tears.......... do they do that in the US and Europe guys ?

Awesome stuff Andrew.:inlove:

I like to see what the acros should look like freshly collected.Even though it kills me not to be able to get any.

Acro porn for sure.

Thanks buddy

Andrew,
Good to see your tank is coming back with vigor and vitality.

Thanks very much mate, things are going well now although i've been having a problem lately with some of the flubber annoying the acros. Fungia as we all know can be real pests..........

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Andrew,

Why didn't you buy the pink acropora? Is it because it would not remain pink for long? (that's my guess)

 

[biggles]

Andrew,

Why didn't you buy the pink acropora? Is it because it would not remain pink for long? (that's my guess)

Do you mean the one that was broken away from this piece mate........

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Yes, I do.

You bought it after all. Didn't you?????

or

You did not buy it because you had already had one in your tank. Right?

I am confused. You have got so many nice across that I can no longer keep track of them all, especially if I keep my eyes off your thread for a few days.

 

[biggles]

Lol sorry Bulent. I didn't buy the small pink piece because i grabbed the larger piece of the same acro that was also in the shop tank. The pic above was taken in my display.

Check this out for a cool piece, both acros are fully intact little colonies that have grown up side by side.
I know i can color up the left acro a whole lot more but the peach and green based thing on the right i don't know about tbh lol.......... time will tell.

 

[plyle02]

Wow, now that last pic is cool, I had a similar experience with my RR stag and Greel slimer, they grew together and did not create warfare, for this, I believe we may overthink acros growing together or encroaching upon one another. A testament to what truly happens in the ocean, great depiction Andrew, and nice score might I add. That purple, what looks to be a humilis, is going to be amazing, that orange and green, presumably tenius, is going to be a show stopper. I am probably dead wrong on both id's, but it's what my eyes tell me mate We have some sweet maricultured pieces at the shop that came from Australia, nothing like what you are showing though, you are a lucky man Biggles!!! Oh, and that yellow acro mate... Made me want to throw my camera in the trash can

 

[DiscusHeckel]

So, you did a boxer's trick on us then. Show us your right arm and landed a left hook on our chin. The last picture is also awesome. You are a very lucky reefer Andrew. I envy you mate.

While I am on your thread and got your attention, I would like to ask you two questions.

First, you mentioned in an earlier post that you keep your tank water's temperature between 25.5-26.5C. I keep mine 26.8-27.7C. Although every animal seems happy and grow well, would this temperature range affect the coloration of corals negatively?

Second, please have a look at the picture of one of my acroporas below. This frag came from a wild colony, which looked blue in my dealer's tank. In my tank, the frag has changed its colour. I am not complaining because I am pleasantly surprised. However, I feel that I made an error of judgement in that I did not expect this to happen. What am I supposed to look at before I purchase wild acroporas in order not to have this sort of surprise in the future? I know you told us that the yellow coloration is often a sign of bleaching. What about other colours, such as blue?

Thanks

Bulent

 

[M007]

Very informative Andrew, most helpful when picking pieces that have made their gruelling 24hr trip from Aus to Toronto. I totally agree with you that intact pieces are a rare find. I usually snap them up when we're lucky enough to get one :bigeyes:

 

[reefmutt]

Boy would I ever LOVE to come take pictures of your tank, Andrew..

And maybe do a little reef shopping as well..

.. And well.. Maybe move there as well..

 

[plyle02]

Boy would I ever LOVE to come take pictures of your tank, Andrew..

And maybe do a little reef shopping as well..

.. And well.. Maybe move there as well..

I am with you Matt, first stop Biggles, let's hijack that yellow first though Next stop over to Dom's, see if we can nab that firetruck, lol... Would love to live there, surfing, diving, reef tanks, beers, uhmmmmm take me away from here!!!

 

[reefmutt]

I am with you Matt, first stop Biggles, let's hijack that yellow first though Next stop over to Dom's, see if we can nab that firetruck, lol... Would love to live there, surfing, diving, reef tanks, beers, uhmmmmm take me away from here!!!

When I win the powerball jackpot, it's a partaaaay at Biggles' house.. For everybody!!
We'll get Dom plastered and when he's sleeping it off, the firetruck will be 'relocated'.
It'll be more difficult to 'relocate' Andrew's whole collection, though..

 

[mhucasey]

The pink one looks a lot like mine
this is the one you got:

This is what mine looked shortly after I got it:

and this is what it looks like now:

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Matt, which colour morph do you prefer of the two you posted? Awesome transformation. Did you anticipate it?

 

[C.Eymann]

Lol sorry Bulent. I didn't buy the small pink piece because i grabbed the larger piece of the same acro that was also in the shop tank. The pic above was taken in my display.

Check this out for a cool piece, both acros are fully intact little colonies that have grown up side by side.
I know i can color up the left acro a whole lot more but the peach and green based thing on the right i don't know about tbh lol.......... time will tell.

I think Im becoming dehydrated from excessive drooling every time I visit this thread. That tenuis on the right has some serious potential! The Blue humilis looking one is A. gemmifera I believe http://coral.aims.gov.au/factsheet.jsp?speciesCode=0030 and is pretty common to see it those exhibit that coloration, i would definately separate the two considering that tenuis looks like its going to be something wicked on its own, they might battle or they might not, but here in the US that tenuis could fetch a pretty penny, where as the blue gemmifera is very common and part of the bread and butter group of acros.

I can't describe the envy I feel, good SPS are really hard to come by in the US where I live, many retail shops around me refuse to order it in as they don't have the equipment, nor the time and effort it takes to maintain the environment that they need to be kept in. I have looked into ordering a box from livestock USA but transhipping seems like quite the gamble.

I had a quick question for you Andrew, I know you said you dose lugol's 1 drop every 75 gallons everyday, question is do you run carbon? if so consistently? or just a few days every couple of weeks?? I know carbon can soaks iodine up like a sponge.

Amazing pictures as always, thanks for letting us have a window into what SPS keeping is like over there in kangaroo land.

:beer: