euphyllia paradivisa is a species of large-polyped stony coral belonging to the euphylliidae family .

it shares the common name of frogspawn coral with euphyllia divisa , but is differentiated as the " branching " frogspawn whereas euphyllia divisa has a " wall " structure .

it is a commonly kept species in the marine aquarium hobby .

euphyllia paradivisa is considered a vulnerable species by the iucn red list .

it is threatened by many of the environmental issues with coral reefs such as increased sea surface temperature , ocean acidification , and overfishing for the marine aquarium trade .

the national oceanic and atmospheric administration has stated there is " a risk of extinction within the foreseeable future for euphyllia paradivisa . "

euphyllia paradivisa

information on euphyllia paradivisa is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly .
euphyllia paradivisa . philippines . colonies with tentacles at increasingly retracted states . charlie veron .
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turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008d . euphyllia paradivisa . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
australian institute of marine science , 2011a . corals of the world : euphyllia paraglabrescens . url : urltoken
australian institute of marine science , 2011b . corals of the world : euphyllia cristata . url : urltoken
australian institute of marine science , 2011c . corals of the world : euphyllia yaeyamaensis . url : urltoken
euphyllia divisa . philippines . a large colony . the tentacles obscure the underlying growth - form . charlie veron .
euphyllia divisa . houtman abrolhos islands , south - western australia . a side view of tentacle structure . charlie veron .
skeletons are very similar to those of euphyllia glabrescens . polyps have branching tentacles almost identical to those of e . divisa .
citation :
branching frogspawn corals , euphyllia paradivisa ~ marinebio . org .
marinebio conservation society . web . accessed monday , july 9 , 2018 . < urltoken > . last update : 1 / 14 / 2010 2 : 22 : 00 pm ~ contributor ( s ) : marinebio
adams , j . 2012 . euphyllia baliensis is a new large polyp stony coral with extremely thin branches . reef builders . url : urltoken
specimens of e . ancora , e . paraancora , e . divisa , and e . paradivisa can be kept close together , as they do not sting each other .
euphyllia divisa . vietnam . white radiating bands commonly occur under the tentacles . these are soft and not part of the skeleton . charlie veron .
euphyllia divisa . houtman abrolhos islands , south - western australia . a small dome - shaped colony exhibiting the branching structure of tentacles . charlie veron .
we incubated echinophyllia sp . and e . paradivisa under reduced light intensity to examine whether the constitutive expression of fluorescent pigments was a common phenomenon in corals from low - light environments .
james describes the many species of one our hobby ' s most iconic and popular coral genus , euphyllia , and discusses their merits , pitfalls , and husbandry requirements .
all species showed detectable chlorophyll fluorescence with an emission maximum around ~ 680 nm . representative chlorophyll emission spectra in the corals g . somaliensis and e . paradivisa are shown in figs 4 and 5 , respectively .
( of fimbriaphyllia paradivisa ( veron , 1990 ) ) luzon ks , lin mf , lagman mcaa , licuanan wry , chen ca . ( 2017 ) . resurrecting a subgenus to genus : molecular phylogeny of euphyllia and fimbriaphyllia ( order scleractinia ; family euphyllidae ; clade v ) . peerj . 5 : e4074 . , available online at urltoken [ details ] available for editors [ request ]
it is risky , but some hobbyists have succesfully kept e . glabrescens close enough to e . ancora , e . paraancora , e . divisa , and / or e . paradivisa for them to touch without damaging each other .
this species occurs in mid - slope reef environments protected from wave action . this species is found from 5 - 20 m . all members of the genus euphyllia have commensal shrimp species associated with them .
turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008a . euphyllia anchora . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008b . euphyllia paraanchora . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008c . euphyllia divisa . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008e . euphyllia glabrescens . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008f . euphyllia paraglabrescens . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008g . euphyllia cristata . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
turak , e . , sheppard , c . & wood , e . 2008h . euphyllia yayamaensis . in : iucn 2012 . iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 . url : urltoken
research euphyllia paradivisa » barcode of life ~ bioone ~ biodiversity heritage library ~ cites ~ cornell macaulay library [ audio / video ] ~ encyclopedia of life ( eol ) ~ esa online journals ~ fishbase ~ florida museum of natural history ichthyology department ~ gbif ~ google scholar ~ itis ~ iucn redlist ( threatened status ) ~ marine species identification portal ~ ncbi ( pubmed , genbank , etc . ) ~ ocean biogeographic information system ~ plos ~ siris ~ tree of life web project ~ unep - wcmc species database ~ worms
variable responses were observed after prolonged incubation of the different colour morphs of e . paradivisa in darkness . all the morphs completely lost the chlorophyll fluorescence of the zooxanthellae . accordingly , the prevailing red emission of the red morph was lost . in contrast , in all the morphs , the green fluorescence with an emission maximum at ~ 515 nm persisted essentially unaltered in corals cultured in the dark . this indicates that the relevant genes are constitutively expressed .
( a ) green fluorescence of euphyllia paradivisia and ( b ) orange - red fluorescence of dipsastraea favus photographed under excitation by the blue - dominated natural light at depths of ~ 60 m . ( c ) fluorescence imaging system photography showing the orange - red fluorescence emission of echinophyllia aspera and the green fluorescence of alveopora ocellata at ~ 53 m prior to collection for laboratory analyses .
branching frogspawn corals are one of the prettiest of the large polyp stony corals . it is relatively hardy , grows easily and requires very little attention . color of frogspawn varies due to lighting and feedings . with the proper lighting and diet you can enhance the coloration of your frogspawn coral over a period of time . euphyllia corals prefer moderate light . ( a good example of moderate light is a 65 watt light over a 25 gallon aquarium )
we incubated replicate nubbins of the different colour morphs of e . paradivisa for 12 months under low - intensity full spectrum daylight and in complete darkness . the photosynthetic pigments of the zooxanthellae were lost completely from the specimens in the dark treatment as evident from the bleached appearance of the corals and lack of the chlorophyll emission peak at ~ 680 nm ( fig 5 ) . the yellow fluorescence too ( emission maximum at ~ 545 nm ) vanished completely . however , under these conditions , the intensity of the green tentacle fluorescence remained essentially unaltered .
five to ten fragments from each colony of the studied e . paradivisa colonies were kept in “light” and “dark” conditions in the flow - through aquarium system at the iui for one year . light levels experienced by the “light” - treated fragments were determined with a li - cor li - 193sa 4 pi probe attached to a li - 1400 data logger ( li - cor ) at noon on several days over the different seasons . the upper parts of the corals were exposed to maximum fluxes of 10–20 μmol photons m - 2 s - 1 . the “dark” - treated fragments were kept in complete darkness . at the end of the experiment , the fluorescence of the corals from the different treatments was documented by spectroscopic measurements and photography ( see below ) .
it is not uncommon for various specimens of euphyllia to become substitute homes for clownfishes , especially if there ' s no suitable anemone present for them to live in . specimens may not extend their tissues / tentacles as much as usual when a clownfish first decides to
move in
, but they typically become accustomed to the activities of such fishes and return to their normal behavior , often in a matter of days . small commensal shrimps may be found amongst their tentacles as well , and i ' ve even found barnacles living in / on a few specimens , too . none of these seem to harm the coral in any way , though .
in addition to all of these , there ' s a new species of euphyllia , which is being called a bubble coral . according to adams ( 2012 ) this coral is found only off a single island near bali and its branches are thinner than a pencil . the tentacles are rather short , and end with knobs that look like those of e . ancora / paraancora , being anchor or hammer - like . it ' s also grayish brown in color , with some green in the center of each polyp , and has a phaceloid skeleton . you can take a look at adams ( 2012 ) online for some pictures and a little more information .
we collected corals from mesophotic depths with representative and visually significant fluorescence in order to gain an overview of the range of the fluorescent pigments present at these depths . after transfer to the laboratory , the fluorescence emission of the living corals was immediately recorded ( figs 3 – 5 , table 1 ) . green fluorescence with maxima in the range of 512–522 nm could be found in essentially all examined species . yellow fluorescence with emission maxima between 522 and 558 nm was detected in more than a third of the species . emission maxima in the orange - red range from 578 to 584 were recorded in six species . most of the fluorescence spectra were dominated by a single , narrow peak characteristic of gfp - like proteins [ 18 ] . the spectroscopic data of some individuals of e . paradivisa and g . somaliensis showed variable contributions of green and yellow fluorescent pigments with overlapping emission spectra .
this species , which is also called frogspawn coral , is found in waters of the central indo - pacific , southeast asia , japan and east china sea , and the west pacific ( turak , et . al . 2008h ) . it has shorter , fatter tentacles than e . divisa though , which are covered with very short ( practically non - existent ) branches tipped with small knobs . the tentacles are typically purple - gray , or sometimes greenish - gray or translucent , while the knobs are usually the same color or lighter . it also has a phaceloid form , and is very rarely seen in the hobby . again , there are many aquarium - related photographs online of corals identified as e . yaeyamaensis , but as best as i can tell most all of them are e . divisa / paradivisa . again , you can take a look at aims ( 2011c ) online for some good examples of the species .
still , as i mentioned at the beginning , many euphyllid species can touch each other without issue . oddly enough , specimens of e . ancora , e . paraancora , e . divisa , and e . paradivisa can be arranged so that they not only touch at times , but have their tentacles intermeshed with each other ' s . so , it ' s possible to create a very beautiful and unique setting in an aquarium if different species with different looks are placed together . trying to do so with the other species is very risky , though . while a few hobbyists have successfully mixed specimens of e . glabrescens in with these others , this almost always ends badly . i don ' t know of any cases of the remaining species being placed with those above either , and found nothing online suggesting it has been accomplished successfully . so , i wouldn ' t try it unless you ' re willing to take big chance and keep a very close watch for any troubles .
many species collected from depths > 50 m were characterised by a uniform distribution of fluorescence over the upper colony surface : e . g . o . egyptensis , a . ocellata , g . minor , p . granulosa and e . aspera ( fig 3 ) , while g . somaliensis was represented by three distinct colour morphs which could be easily distinguished by their green , yellow and orange - red fluorescence ( fig 4 ) . the colour morphs also showed differences in the tissue - specific accumulation of the pigments . whereas in the green and yellow morphs the fluorescence was concentrated in the polyps , the fluorescent pigments in the red morph were distributed over the whole colony . in e . paradivisa too , three colour morphs ( green , yellow and red ) could be distinguished based on the spectral signature and the localisation of tissue fluorescence ( fig 5 ) . in the green and yellow morphs , fluorescence was concentrated in the tips of the tentacles . in the red morph , in contrast , green light emission was evenly distributed over the length of the tentacles and absent from the tentacle tips , which showed instead a dark red fluorescence emitted by the chlorophyll of the zooxanthellae .
classified as vulnerable ( vu ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) and listed on appendix ii of cites ( 2 ) .
this information is awaiting authentication by a species expert , and will be updated as soon as possible . if you are able to help please contact : arkive @ urltoken
tim wijgerde coral publications livingstonelaan 1120 utrecht 3526js netherlands tel : + 31 ( 0 ) 617 692 027 wijgerde @ urltoken http : / / www . urltoken
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thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
justification : this species is widespread and uncommon throughout its range . however , it is heavily harvested for the aquarium trade and extensive reduction of coral reef habitat due to a combination of threats . specific population trends are unknown but population reduction can be inferred from declines in habitat quality based on the combined estimates of both destroyed reefs and reefs at the critical stage of degradation within its range ( wilkinson 2004 ) . its threat susceptibility increases the likelihood of being lost within one generation in the future from reefs at a critical stage . therefore , the estimated habitat degradation and loss of 38 % over three generation lengths ( 30 years ) is the best inference of population reduction and meets the threshold for vulnerable under criterion a4cd . it will be important to reassess this species in 10 years time because of predicted threats from climate change and ocean acidification .
this species is found in the central indo - pacific and american samoa ( fenner pers . comm . ) .
there is no species specific population information available for this species . however , there is evidence that overall coral reef habitat has declined , and this is used as a proxy for population decline for this species . this species is particularly susceptible to bleaching , disease , and other threats and therefore population decline is based on both the percentage of destroyed reefs and critical reefs that are likely to be destroyed within 20 years ( wilkinson 2004 ) . we assume that most , if not all , mature individuals will be removed from a destroyed reef and that on average , the number of individuals on reefs are equal across its range and proportional to the percentage destroyed reefs . reef losses throughout the species ' range have been estimated over three generations , two in the past and one projected into the future .
the age of first maturity of most reef building corals is typically three to eight years ( wallace 1999 ) and therefore we assume that average age of mature individuals is greater than eight years . furthermore , based on average sizes and growth rates , we assume that average generation length is 10 years , unless otherwise stated . total longevity is not known , but likely to be more than ten years . therefore any population decline rates for the red list assessment are measured over at least 30 years .
to make use of this information , please check the < terms of use > .
taxonomic note : source reference : veron ( 2000 ) . taxonomic reference : veron ( 1990a ) . additional identification guide : nishihira and veron ( 1995 ) .
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available to hobbyists , which are a popular bunch for good reasons . these corals can be very attractive , can grow to large sizes , and can thrive in aquariums with acceptable water quality , lighting , and flow . many can even touch each other without doing any damage , meaning several specimens can be arranged together to make a unique display . however , there are some downsides to euphyllid ownership . so , i ' ll give you some information about the species in the genus , how to care for them in aquaria , and some of the problems they can have , or pose .
this species , known to hobbyists as the hammer coral , is found in the waters of the northern indian ocean , the central indo - pacific , australia , southeast asia , southern japan and east china sea , and east as far as papua new guinea and the solomon islands ( turak et . al . 2008a ) . it has especially long tentacles when extended , like many other large - polyp stony corals , but they ' re tipped with sausage , anchor , or hammerhead - like knobs , which is where its common name comes from . it typically comes in various shades of brown and fluorescent green with the tentacle tips often being lighter or different colored , but occasional specimens may be pinkish , orangish , or bluish . it also has a curving , wall - like ( flabello - meandroid ) skeleton . note that this species is also called the anchor coral at times , but i ' ll address this second name below .
a small e . ancora , the hammer coral , with its tentacles retracted .
this species , known to hobbyists as the branching hammer coral , is found in the waters of the central indo - pacific , west pacific and central indian ocean ( turak et . al . 2008b ) . it also has especially long tentacles that are with tipped anchor or hammerhead - like knobs , and also typically comes in various shades of brown and fluorescent green , with the tentacle tips often being lighter or different colored . specimens bearing tentacles of other colors can be found at times , too . however , this species has a branching ( phaceloid ) skeleton rather than a flabello - meandroid skeleton .
the branching hammer coral , e . paraancora , with its tentacles retracted , revealing that it has a branching skeleton .
this species , known to hobbyists as the frogspawn coral , is found in the waters of the central indo - pacific , australia , southeast asia , southern japan islands and east china sea , the solomon islands , fiji , and palau ( turak et . al . 2008c , randall 1995 ) . it also has very long tentacles when fully extended , but rather than end with little hammers , they ' re covered with short branches that are tipped with small rounded knobs . the tentacles are sometimes almost clear , but are typically various shades of fluorescent green and brown like those of e . ancora , with the knobs on the tentacles being lighter / different colored too , often being cream colored . it also has a flabello - meandroid skeleton .
this species , known to hobbyists as the branching frogspawn coral , is found in the waters of the central indo - pacific and american samoa ( turak et . al . 2008d ) . like e . divisa , it also has very long tentacles ending with numerous knob - tipped branches and comes in the same colors . but , it has a phaceloid skeleton .
this species , known to hobbyists as the torch coral , is found in the waters of the gulf of aden , north and west indian ocean , arabian / iranian gulf , central indo - pacific , australia , southeast asia , southern japan and east china sea , southwest pacific , micronesia , american samoa , and rarely in the red sea ( turak et . al . 2008e ) . like the others , this species has long tentacles when extended , which are typically brown or fluorescent green . however , the tentacles aren ' t as fancy as those of the above species , as they end with a simple , small , rounded tip . the tips are typically lighter / different in color though , usually being cream . its skeleton is also phaceloid in form .
this species , which would likely be called a torch coral , has a scattered distribution in the waters of the indo - west pacific , being found in the philippines , papua new guinea , japan and the east china sea . it is
extremely rare
in all locations except in ôjioya port , tanegashima , which is the only place where it has been found in japan . ( turak et . al . 2008f ) . according to ( veron 2000 ) , its skeleton is nearly identical to that of e . glabrescens , but the tentacles are green or gray and relatively short . despite finding several pictures of specimens identified as e . paraglabrescens online , considering its rarity , and after looking at the pictures presented in veron ( 2000 ) , i ' m quite sure i ' ve never seen this species offered in the hobby . in fact , every picture of an aquarium specimen i found online was clearly not e . paraglabrescens , but you can see some specimens that are by looking at the corals of the world website ( aims 2011a ) .
regardless , this species has been very rarely offered in the hobby , but that may change soon . i just found that aquacultured specimens have become available from at least one vendor ( liveaquaria . com ) , and they look very nice .
and lastly , while doing some homework for this article i came across the name e . fimbriata , which i hadn ' t heard in years . while this species is not listed in any of the aquarium literature i have or on the aims corals of the world website , it is listed on the integrated taxonomic information system , the world register of marine species , and the encyclopedia of life websites as a valid species called the bean coral . i thought it was an outdated name that had been replaced with e . ancora , but the encyclopedia of life site says it is synonymous with madrepora fimbriata . so , quite frankly i ' m not sure what the deal is with this one . oh , what fun taxonomy can be . . .
to add , i found information on the animal world website indicating that e . fimbriata is a distinct species , is called the hammer coral , and is not found around australia . it further explains that e . ancora is called the anchor coral , which lacks the hammerhead shaped tentacle tips and instead has semi - circular or sausage shaped tips . so , i had to dig some more , and then found that borneman ( 1997 ) says that e . fimbriata is
a now extinct designation
. so , i give up ! if anyone has any specific expertise on the subject , feel free to chime in .
when keeping any of these species in aquaria , water quality should be within the limits of what is considered appropriate for a reef aquarium . salinity should optimally be from 34 to 36 ppt ( specific gravity of 1 . 025 to 1 . 027 ) , temperature should be in the mid - seventies to low - eighties fahrenheit , ph should be around 8 . 2 to 8 . 4 , alkalinity should be kept between 7 to 12dkh , and calcium should optimally be 400 to 450ppm . phosphate should be kept as low as possible , too .
i don ' t know what this is , but it formed on an e . specimen in one of my own aquariums many years ago . it did get bigger or smaller at times , but persisted for over a year before disappearing if memory serves . i gave the coral to a friend about three years ago , but still see it in his aquarium regularly and the bubble has never come back . if anyone has any ideas , please let me know . no one that i ' ve showed this to has had an answer .
they can be found in a wide variety of conditions , and i ' ve seen various colonies in waters that were fairly dim and turbid to waters that were brightly lit and crystal clear . so , they aren ' t too picky when it comes to lighting , unlike some other corals . with this in mind , aquarium lighting can be anything from a couple of high - output fluorescent tubes over a small aquarium , like a 20 - gallon ( which will likely end up being too small before long ) , up to intense metal halide or led lighting . basically , as long as the lighting is suitable for keeping a variety of corals , it will be fine for a euphyllid , too . you really can ' t overdo it either , as long as a specimen is given plenty of time to acclimate to tank conditions .
currents should be low to moderate , and turbulent flow rather than a constant stream from one direction is best . it should be at least strong enough to get the tentacles moving around a bit and keep detritus from settling on them , but it also should never be so strong that it prevents their expansion . none of these corals will open up and extend their tentacles if the current is too strong , as doing so could lead to tissue damage caused by any of the sharp edges found on their own skeleton .
if you want to feed any of these corals , they ' ll be happy to receive essentially anything meaty that you offer . anything from brine shrimp to bits of fish , squid , or clam meat works great when provided by hand , and i used to feed a large hammer coral with live guppies , too . i did
disable
them a bit before giving them to the coral , but once the tentacles had a hold on the little fishes , they were swallowed down quickly . you do need to be mindful of overdoing it though , as they don ' t really require being fed anything if kept in a healthy and well - stocked aquarium , and too much added food can lead to increased nutrient levels in your tank which results in trouble from unwanted algal growth . feeding may help them stay healthier and increase growth rates , but then again , i ' ve seen many euphyllids absolutely thrive in aquariums without being fed anything at all .
do note that these corals can get big too , with large aquarium specimens easily covering a space over a foot in diameter . they can keep going from there too , and they can do it relatively quickly . when cared for properly the branching species will not only add size to any existing branches , but will add more branches , too . thus , they can also be propagated and used to make more specimens if you choose . it ' s a simple task to cut or even break away branches from a colony , then move them to a new spot and fix them in place . if conditions are suitable , they ' ll grow a whole new colony , which can be further broken up in the future , as well .
it could be a pro or a con depending on the surroundings , but these corals can grow to very large sizes and need lots of space .
they have also been known to reproduce via budding in aquaria , with small polyps emerging from the base of a colony . these can drop away from the mother colony to start new ones , so be on the lookout for them . these corals also have separate sexes and have been observed releasing sperm and eggs in aquaria , too ( delbeek & sprung 1994 ) . to add , veron ( 1986 ) says they may also brood larva , and fadlallah ( 1983 ) reported that they have released planula larva in the wild .
while these corals are generally quite hardy once acclimated to aquarium life , there can be problems in the beginning . euphyllids oftentimes do not ship particularly well , especially e . glabrescens and any specimens that have been collected by cutting them away from larger colonies . for reasons unknown , specimens of e . glabrescens often arrive from collection areas in bad shape much more frequently than the other commonly - offered species . specimens of species having non - branching skeletons are sometimes collected by sawing or breaking off portions of relatively large colonies and may have problems , too . this is because there is no way to remove pieces of these colonies without cutting / tearing the coral ' s flesh along with the skeleton .
likewise , even when non - branching specimens are collected whole , the sharp septal ridges at the top of the skeleton can cut / tear tissue if it is mishandled . specimens of species with branching skeletons can suffer from the same thing during shipping , as well .
you can see that this e . ancora specimen has been cut / broken , which damages the coral ' s tissue . oftentimes such specimens will recover without issue , but sometimes they do not .
you can see that several of the sharp skeletal septa of this e . divisa specimen have been broken , which can easily injure any of these corals from the inside .
the most common result of such injuries is a brown - jelly infection , which is an attack on any injured flesh by an assortment of microorganisms . the coral ' s tissues basically turn into a light brown glob of slime , which can spread quickly and destroy an entire non - branching specimen of any size in the worst cases . conversely , if a brown - jelly infection strikes individual branches on a branching colony , those branches are doomed , but the others may be just fine . you can cut / break away any dead branches and typically spare the rest of them .
you can see that this e . glabrescens specimen has been devastated by a brown jelly infection , which has killed most of the polyps .
specimens may suffer from tissue recession at times too , even when everything else is doing well . this is seen as the peeling back of the tissues from the skeleton , which can eventually lead to other health issues ( such as overgrowth by algae ) , or even death . poor water quality is very likely the cause in most cases , but like i said , sometimes this seems to happen when everything is apparently okay . fortunately this is uncommon when specimens are cared for properly .
other than that , it ' s important to keep in mind that species bearing long tentacles can be quite dangerous to any other corals nearby . they have relatively strong stings , and are some of the only corals that can cause pain / injury when handled by some people . to add , many specimens will produce numerous sweeper tentacles that can greatly extend their reach . these specialized tentacles are much longer than the rest , and they carry a greater number of stinging cells , too . so , you should always try to avoid contact with their tentacles , handle them by the skeleton only if possible , and give them plenty of space in an aquarium so that they do not damage / kill other corals .
all euphyllids carry a strong punch when it comes to stinging , and they should be given plenty of room .
here you can see e . divisa sending out a mess of long sweeper tentacles , which can severely damage neighboring corals .
also note that sweeper tentacles are most often produced when specimens are exposed to strong currents . not when it ' s strong enough to hurt them , rather when flow is tolerable but fast . thus , you should try to reduce water flow over a specimen if any sweeper tentacles appear .
borneman ( 2001 ) also mentions that the tips of sweeper tentacles may stick to the substrate and break away at times , which can then give rise to new colonies . and , these tips may also pinch off at times and drift around an aquarium where they can stick to other surfaces . borneman suggests that this may be a novel means of asexual reproduction and / or a means of defense , as the tips are packed with stinging cells and can damage other corals they may come into contact with . while i was able to find a couple of forum posts indicating this has happened in a few hobbyists ' aquaria , i have to say that after being in the hobby for over 20 years i ' ve never seen this happen , and don ' t personally know of anyone that has , though .
to finish , if you decide to get one of these , choosing a good specimen is an important first step . any potential purchase should be looked over very carefully and avoided if there are any signs of trouble whatsoever . brown jelly infestations can spread very rapidly , so even the smallest bad spot on a coral can quickly lead to the loss of a specimen and you should be particularly wary of non - branching specimens that have been cut / broken away from larger colonies .
also note that these corals often periodically retract their tissue / tentacles , even when healthy , and that a specimen being offered at a store may get much larger than it would seem . in other words , if you see a healthy looking specimen , but the tentacles are pulled in close to the skeleton , don ' t forget that they may reach much further out once the coral is in you aquarium . so , you need to be sure you have the room to accommodate it , or don ' t buy it .
borneman , e . 1997 . sweeping beauty : a tale of anchors , hammers , and other things . url : urltoken
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we would like to thank the interuniversity institute for marine sciences for making their facilities available to us . we are grateful to n . paz for proofreading , y . shaked and o . ben - shaprut for diving assistance , and all of yl’s lab members for their support . ge was supported by the israel taxonomy initiative ( iti ) and sciences based management ( sbm ) doctoral fellowships . this research was partially funded by the israel science foundation ( isf ) grant no . 341 / 12 and usaid / merc grant no . m32 - 037 to yl .
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