coral of the week { Seriatopora hystrix } birds nest

[shred5]

I am doing this a day early because I hae a reef club meeting tomorrow and I figured better a day early than a day late.
week #17 coral of the week Seriatopora hystrix common name Birds nest coral. This coral is pictured on page 20 of the book the Corals a quick reference guide by Julian Sprung.

Every week I will post a new coral and I want you to post everything you know about this particular coral. Everything from common names, how hardy they are, water temp, water flow, lighting, water parameters, fraging, spawning, related corals, scientific names, feeding, best ways to ship, etc. Post your pictures for identification. Please tell us about your system so others can duplicate your success. Also email me for request on which corals you would like to see in this section.

Dave

 

[MitchellB]

come on guys and gals. Give your input as I want this coral but I want to learn about it first. And thanks shred5 for spotlighting this speices.

 

[KenH]

Here is a link to some info about birdnest coral on my website that may be useful. Growth sequence link shows basic tank conditions of the particular specimen.

http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheets/birdnest.htm

--- Ken
Website: http://www.ReefCorner.com

 

[MitchellB]

Thanks Ken
What a site you have
That one is for the favorites list!!

 

[Niven]

The piece I have is very easy to frag. Very bright pink. I have heard it doesn't like really bright light. After reading your site ken, I could be wrong Mine is more compact then the pics on the above site. All has to do with current I think. I've only had mine for about 2 months. Susceptable to hair algae.
Gareth

[Edited by Niven on 03-29-2001 at 01:16 PM]

 

[shred5]

Here is a picture of a frag I got. It was in real bad shape when I got it with a alot of bare branches and the middle of the frag being bare. It has been recovering nicely but I might frag it again to getting rid of the hole middle section because it does not look like the tissue will over grow this area. I find that they like moderate to slow current and hate real intense lighting. When I moved it under my iwasaki's it started to loose all it color. Its is a very delicate coral. It is real easy to brake making it excellent to frag. It does not seem to grow extreemly fast. Its polyps are real small and branches are thin and sometime real sharp. The colors can be pink, brown and pale yellow. It likes the same water quality as most of the sps's do.

KenH By the way your site is excellent. Got to be one of the best personal web sites around.

Dave

 

[Skipper]

Well, here is a couple of growth sequence pics of my Pink Birdsnest showing 4 months growth. Needless to say, it is a pretty fast grower!

August 2000

December 2000

As previously mentioned, this coral is well adapted to fragging. I also have a tan variety. In my experience the pinks are much hardier than the tan.

 

[David Grigor]

I have two versions : One is very thin and delicate branches. The other has thicker branches and grows alot slower than the thin one.

Both are about 2" from the water level under 400W 10K Ushios.

I have placed frags of birdsnest at varying heights and currents. My observations higher up the brighter the pink. More current the more closer together (fuller) the branches become. Less current and branches tend grow longer with less branching.

 

[KenH]

My main colony is under 400W 10Ks and it seems to like it. Shaded branches tend to brown out somewhat. I also have frags under 175W 10K and they seem to hold their color well, although they are a slightly lighter pink and growth seems slower. The tips of the branches have gotten less sharp as the colony has gotten bigger. I haven't really noticed mine really caring too much about current flow.

Skipper, that seems to be excellent growth on your specimen. What kind of conditions is it growing under?

Thanks to everyone about the comments on the website. It's a work in progress, but I think it is coming along. Hopefully the specimen database will continue to grow into something more and more useful as a spot to collect and share specimen identification and care information.


-- Ken
Website: http://www.ReefCorner.com

 

[Skipper]

KenH.......for lighting conditions, it is under a 175wt 10k bulb as well as 3 140wt VHO and a couple of Actinic 03 NO bulbs. It is about 6" below the water surface and receives a fair amount of current, being in the path of a 1/2" Sea Swirl oscillation. Last CA measurement of the tank showed 390 and Alk is at 3.15.

 

[simonh]

Here's a macro shot of the polyps on mine:

I actually aquired this as a hitchiker on a wild Acropora I bought. Upon checking the Acropora I bought for any nasties before putting it in the tank I noticed a couple of polyps on the base rock the Acropora was attached to. After a couple of months it had developed into a couple of tiny fingers. At this stage I recognized it as a Seriatopora and cut off the piece of the rock and placed it in an upright position in the aquarium. Since then it is growing into a nice colony.

I did have another colony which totally bleached when I had my flatworm disaster. Unfortunatley it never recovered That colony was an intense pink like those shown above by others. This colony will not go pink even directly under my lights and stay an orangey colour with pinkish tips.

 

[Goby1Knoby]

Hi All

Great topic Shred, keep it going !!!

OK I have two specimens of S.Hystrix, both differing in appearance/colouration/growth rate and form, but as identified from Vernons trilogy, both S.Hystrix.

Pic below of one ( pic. not great, does not show true golden colour ), since taking pic. colour has changed to show a pinkish tinge.

Under 3 250w 10000k & 2 140w Actinics.

3" from surface in low flow.

Growth of this one pictured is vigourous, the other one not pictured is a much slower grower. ( Hey im a Poet )

Easily fragged. Great Coral.

Cheers


Brian.