Newbie - Corals... Nephtheids to return     3/16/16 Hi - I came across your site while searching various forums. I am getting all sorts of different answers so I hope you can help? <Let's see> I bought these 2 corals yesterday - my lfs said they were easy <Ah no.... these Nephtheids are NOT easy to keep> as they know my tank has recently cycled and I am new to all this. When I posted the pics on a forum to ask their names all sorts of replies came back but mostly saying they are nps and very difficult to keep / need hand feeding regularly throughout the day. <Tis so> I contacted my lfs today and they said they are called and they said:- "These are Neptheid soft corals, sometimes known as cauliflower corals. They don't require brightly lit conditions but benefit from regular addition of filter foods such as phytoplankton and small animal plankton”. <This is factual as well...> Is this correct information - as I have had so many mixed comments, please can you advise me how to care for them and where to place them in my tank (95L Kent bored). <Better to have you read; but I would return these animals ASAP; they won't be alive here for long. READ: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nephselfaqs.htm and the linked files above; and elsewhere on WWM re "easy" corals. Bob Fenner> Thank you very much Debbie

Colors of Euphyllia 11/5/10
Hi all - just a quick question today. Aside from the more common green types of Euphyllia, I have seen a beautiful red (pink) hammer coral and an orange torch and orange/gold hammer. What are some other colors that Euphyllia comes in - what are the rarest colors?
<Gosh... most all color possibilities occur... Purple, blues, reds... not multicolor as far as I've encountered though>
Is it true that there are blue forms of this coral?
<Yes; though rare>
How does one go about getting their hands on some rarer forms - is it based mostly on being at the right place at the right time?
<Mmm, contact the larger online etailers... Dr.s Foster & Smith for instance, and ask them to put you on request for such>
Thanks,
Chris K
<Bob Fenner, out diving, collecting corals et al. in Fiji>

Dyed Torch Coral? - 11/08/07 Hi, <<Howdy>> Is there such a thing as a torch with light purple tentacles with green tips? My LFS has one and said they see them from time to time. Just wondering if they were dyed in your opinion? Thanks, James <<I have seen this color morph (some are quite spectacular) and I do believe it to be real. Their appearance in the trade does seem to be spotty as eluded by your LFS; at least this is so here on the East Coast...and they generally command a premium price, in my experience. Regards, EricR>> <Interesting... RMF has never encountered such a colored Euphyllia underwater... in thousands of dives>

Plerogyra sel.    4/14/06 Ah-you talk about bubble corals. I looked into those just a bit back, but I was set on a BTA when I was doing so. Would one of those be   suitable for my tank? <I believe so.> My LFS has one of them, I'm not sure if it's a sinuosa or a simplex. I couldn't get a measure of how big these   bubble corals get on WWM. <Depends...> And with that, I get my first question- would it be best to get the sting-y Plerogyra in early or let it   wait? <Wait until your tank is established a bit.> And while I'm unmercifully barraging you with my questions   (sorry!) <No problem!> I must ask-I read on WWM that dwarf angels will bug corals. <Sometimes, but normally polyp type.> The question I read said the angel would pick on a bubble coral, but wouldn't the bubble coral sting the angel <If it sticks close long enough.> before it could nip it? Thanks once again for your time-you guys are a great help.  <No problem, have a great one!  Jen S.>

Pink Frog Spawn... ah, no 11/7/04 There is a guy that has corals for sale on eBay and he claims to have a very rare pink frog spawn. Have you ever heard of such a thing or does it probably not exist? <very likely one of those ignorant or insidious vendors selling bleached corals (pastel colors) as "rare" to the unsuspecting> I have searched all over the web and have found no other on pink frog spawn. Thanks, Andy <correct... does not exist in a healthy state. Anthony>

Nano selections 4/28/04 Hi Anthony! Thanks for the expert advice. <always welcome :) > I was planning to buy a small hammer coral to place in the tank to be the only coral inhabitant, but I'll follow your advice not to buy them. <Hmmm... if it will be the only coral, and you get the phaceloid/branching form and not the wall form, then you may be able to keep it after all. It would kill other corals attempted in such a small tank... but yet could be trimmed easily if branching> Those were the only corals I saw available from different LFS here in the Philippines, and I haven't seen button polyps, which was my 1st choice. A lot of anemones here, but as they are very hard to take care, and I have a nano, I didn't consider. <very wise my friend> I spoke too soon about the skimmer. It did perform its job, was collecting foam with yellow-brown gunk. <good to hear... do try to adjust it to produce dark coffee colored skimmate. If its too light like tea colored, then the air or water flow is up a little bit too high> I'll wait for the clowns to get well. I've completed their malachite green treatment, but I think I may have stressed out the 2 false Percs, as they are not eating. They have no visible specs or mucous. The saddleback is eating a lot. I'm offering them TetraMin flake food, very small pieces of shrimp and squid. Thanks again for all your help! Romel <wishing you the best. Anthony>

LFS concerns Hello, I am concerned for my town and probably a lot of other towns in this country. I strolled into my local LFS today with the sole purpose in mind to get some crickets for our lizard. I noticed an anchor coral (Euphyllia), that had been in the shop for quite a while, that was not doing so well. I told the person that was waiting on me, that I would buy that coral because it didn't look like it was in real good shape. I was gonna try and make a better situation for the coral to exist in. I was told that they probably wouldn't sell anything out of that tank, but she'd check with the owner anyways. When she came back, she told me that " no it's not for sale and we all die sometime referring to the coral." Needless to say, I left a little ticked off. I still haven't figured out if I even want to buy crickets in there anymore!!! Any help or advice? thanks, ce <My head aches... and heart breaks when I encounter such anecdotes... perhaps this is indicative of why the folks in Western Europe have had this genus banned from import... Please do engage this person, store... in dialogue... what is important to people? It's a beautiful world... to appreciate, use positively... the loss of a moment, a gesture, a chance for acknowledging what is... I can only imagine such a slight as being a part of a tired, disassociated person's response. Bob F>