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Related FAQs: Dendrophylliids, Dendrophylliids 2, Dendrophylliid Identification, Dendrophylliid Behavior, Dendrophylliid Compatibility, Dendrophylliid Selection, Dendrophylliid Systems, Dendrophylliid Feeding, Dendrophylliid Disease, Dendrophylliid Reproduction, Stony/True Coral, Coral System Set-Up, Coral System Lighting, Stony Coral Identification, Stony Coral Selection, Coral Placement, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Disease/Health, Propagation, Growing Reef Corals, Stony Coral Behavior,
Related Articles: Large Polyp Stony
Corals, Stony or True Corals,
Order Scleractinia, Dyed
Corals,
/The Best Livestock For Your Reef Aquarium:
Pagoda, Sun, Cup Corals and More,
Family Dendrophylliidae Gray 1847
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By Bob Fenner
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Turbinaria
reniformis
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Dendrophylliidae: Characteristics of the Family: Most species
lack zooxanthellae. In fact this family contains the most common
azooxanthellate species found on reefs. They're either solitary or
colonial, with corallites are mad up of walls that are porous, mainly
filled with coenosteum in life, fused with distinct (Pourtales plan)
septa.
Of the genus with photosynthetic
endosymbiotic algae, Turbinaria often finds its members employed
in ornamental aquatics. As far as ahermatypic species of this family,
only Tubastrea is regularly imported.
Range:
Dendrophylliids are found in tropical and nontropical regions of the
worlds oceans, some of the ahermatypic, azooxanthellate ones to a depth
of a 1,500 meters. The genera Turbinaria and Tubastrea
are prominent shallow reef species in large parts of the tropical
Indo-Pacific. Some Dendrophylliids are inconspicuous, but found in the
tropical West Atlantic.
Dendrophylliid Genera You're Not Likely To See: (There
are others); Balanophyllia, Dendrophyllia, Not distinguishable
from very similar Tubastrea without examination of dead skeletal
(septal fusion) characteristics. Eguchipsammia: Mud
dwelling, azooxanthellate. Heteropsammia...
Genus Balanophyllia: Solitary polyps, calyces appear round in
cross section.
| Balanophyllia sp. Either B. hawaiiensis or
B. cf. affinis. Here off Hawai'i's Big Island at night,
though can be found in caves and crevices open during daylight
hours. About one inch in all dimensions. |
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Genus Dendrophyllia: Near impossible to distinguish from
Tubastrea w/o microscopic analysis of corallite skeletons.
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Dendrophyllia arbuscula
Photo by Andrew Kwon (See Dendrophylliid ID
FAQs re)
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Dendrophyllia californica Durham, 1947... a
coldwater species. Pic taken at SIO by BobF.
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| Dendrophyllia sp. Nuka Hiva, Marquesas,
Polynesia at about forty feet, under an overhand during the
day. |
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Bigger PIX:
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linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed"
images to go to the larger size. |
 
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Genus Duncanopsamia: One species.
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Duncanopsamia axifuga Wells, 1936: Long branching
corallites. Whisker Coral, Australia, PNG, Indonesia. Only rarely
encountered in the wild or the pet-fish interest. At right: in an
aquarium. Below, some Australian pix by PeggyN of
www.all-reef.com
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Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to
large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to
go to the larger size. |
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Genus Tubastrea Lesson 1829: Azooxanthellate branching,
tree-like corals found in many places in the tropical and Indo-Pacific.
Due to feeding nature they require little light (non-photosynthetic),
but the aquarist must take care to see that each polyp is individually
fed as they are separate. About their biggest downside is the
mess keeping Tubastrea can entail. With heavy feedings of meaty foods
comes concurrent high nutrient levels. Often found in the wild in
caves, but also in direct sunlight. Most species are palm-sized,
composed of tubular polyps, with T. micrantha being the large
exception. Easily encouraged to produce new polyps by regular feedings,
especially when these foodstuffs are pre-soaked in a vitamin
preparation (like Selcon, Microvit...).
| Tubastrea coccinea Lesson 1831, Orange
Cup Coral. Caribbean and Indo-Pacific. Right: Closed, open colony
pix in the Bahamas. Below, close up of a colony under an arch off
of Kailua Kona and exhibit images shot at the Waikiki
Aquarium. |
 
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Bigger PIX:
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large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to
go to the larger size. |
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| Tubastrea faulkneri Variously sold as
Sun, Orange Cup/Turret, Sunflower, Sun
Polyps... Circumtropical distribution. A can-be kept species
if you constantly feed it, and can keep up with concurrent water
quality maintenance from the feeding. Shown at right in an aquarium
and the Red Sea by day. Below in Australia's Great Barrier Reef
during the night, Bunaken/Indonesia by day and Mexico's mid Sea
of Cortez at night. Predated by Epitonium billeeanum
(see below) |
 
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| Epitonium billeeanum (DuShane & Bratcher
1965). Distinctive yellow body and shell color... matching their
prey, the ahermatypic Dendrophylliid genus Tubastrea. Tropical
Indo-Pacific. N. Sulawesi pix. Snail, eggs, acoel flatworms...
on Tubastrea. |
 
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| Tubastrea micracantha (Dana 1849), Black Sun
Coral. External flesh (coenesteum) green to brown to blackish in
color. Colonies are often tree-like, up to a meter in height. Also
exceptional for the genus, T. micrantha is a poor captive
survivor. Consummate with its feeding habits are good current,
filtration to remove foods, wastes. Generally found in areas of
good current. At right in an aquarium, in Cebu (P.I.). Below
in the Red Sea in ten feet of water and growing on the end of a
Whip Coral, and N. Sulawesi close-up. |
 
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| Genus Turbinaria Oken : Form large colonies with mainly
laminar growth forms, common with several species. Round corallites
which are immersed to tubular in appearance. A commonly
offered and kept aquarium genus, whose members prove hardy amongst
a wide range of conditions. Being hermatypic and sponsors of
symbiotic algae, they do best in medium to bright (25k-50k lux)
light and brisk water movement. The thinner, more laminar species
and individuals (growth dependent on conditions...) are harder to
keep than the more fusiform members of the genus. |
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images to go to the larger size. |
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| Turbinaria frondens (Dana 1846), family
Dendrophylliidae is a newly popular, hardy stony coral for reef
tanks with good lighting and water quality. A spectacularly colored
specimen here (most are green to brown) in my friend Maurice
Bullock's main reef. |
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| Turbinaria mesenterina (Lamarck 1816).
Pagoda Coral to hobbyists, Bowl, Cup, Lettuce, Scroll Coral to the
trade. Indo-Pacific, Red Sea to Polynesia. Colonies laminar, more
convoluted in shallow waters to upright in deeper water (see
below). Corallites crowded, about 2.5 mm across, stick out further
than similar T. reniformis. First two images, Fiji, next two
Cebu, Philippines, bottommost N. Sulawesi. |
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(desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to
the larger size. |
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| Turbinaria patula Dana 1846. Colonies are
generally irregularly folded, upright, one-faced fronds. Corallites
of about 5mm diameter with elliptical, leaning-over openings.
Aquarium image. |
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| Turbinaria peltata (Esper 1794), Cup Coral
to aquarists (aka Octopus, Platter, Saucer, Turban, Vase in the
trade). Indo-Pacific; east Africa to Samoa. A hardy species
that often produces copious mucus that is perhaps a double
mechanism to clean itself of detritus and possibly feed. Aquarium
and N. Sulawesi images. |
 
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| Turbinaria reniformis Bernard 1896. Yellow
Scroll to aquarists (aka Yellow Turbinaria, Yellow Lettuce to the
trade). A hardy aquarium species. Typically yellow with distinct
colored margins. Pictured here in aquariums at right (one a
frag/production set-up), below in Cebu, Philippines, a circular
colony in captivity , and at night feeding in Fiji, north of
Latouka. Below, second row: N. Sulawesi and two large colonies in
the Red Sea. |
 
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Selection:
Do pay special attention during the initial
inspection and quarantine phases of acclimating new specimens for the
presence of predaceous pests. Small, cryptically colored Nudibranchs
(e.g. the Aeolid, Phistella melanobrachia) and Wendletrap Snails
are often accidentally imported with wild-collected
specimens.
| A very pink dyed Tubastrea IZOO 2010 |
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Acclimation:
For azooxanthellate species should include the
application of juice and bits of meaty foods sprayed with a turkey
baster in the colonies direction at night time (when their polyps are
typically open), even if their tentacles aren't evident.
Placement:
Both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic
species can/should be placed in areas of good lighting... the latter to
assure adequate water flow. Further, to prevent covering by detritus
Dendrophylliids should not be placed on the bottom but anchored up and
on rocky points to facilitate water flow around their
colonies.
Reproduction/Captive Propagation:
Tubastrea has been reproduced by
asexual budding, breaking as well as (sexual) planula release.
Turbinaria are easily propagated by the breaking off of pieces from a
well-adjusted, healthy colony. This genus has also been observed to
release planula larvae in captivity.
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition:
Tubastrea need daily
feedings to all polyps to stay healthy... a regular regimen of turning
off filter pumps during these times (on timers best... so you don't
forget to turn them back on) for fifteen minutes or so (with other,
recirculating pumps running) is optimal. Photosynthetic Turbinaria can
get by on foods manufactured by their endosymbiotic algae, but are
better fed (small zooplanktonic items or mashes of larger items) a few
times a month.
Disease
Without regular food offerings, azooxanthellate
species will not open... begin tissue recession, and eventually succumb
to algal overgrowth.
Cloze:
The lack of success with this family is
principally due to two factors, for the azooxanthellate Tubastrea et
al. genera, a lack of feeding (or provision for the consequences
thereof), and for the photosynthetic Turbinaria, a general lack of
"promotion"... they're easily kept, as long as maintained
off the bottom and swept/blown clean of detritus and
mucus.
Bibliography/Further Reading:
Coral
Search
Borneman, Eric H. 2001. Aquarium Corals, Selection, Husbandry and
Natural History. Microcosm/TFH Charlotte, VT. 464pp.
Fossa, Svein A. & Alf Jacob Nilsen. 1998 (1st ed.). The Modern
Coral Reef Aquarium, v.2 (Cnidarians). Bergit Schmettkamp Verlag,
Bornheim, Germany. 479pp.
Hoover, John. 1998. Hawai'i's Sea Creatures. A Guide to
Hawai'i's Marine Invertebrates. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu HI.
366pp.
Humann, Paul. 1993. Reef Coral Identification; Florida, Caribbean,
Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc. Jacksonville, FL.
239pp.
Veron, J.E.N. 1986. Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. U. of
HI press, Honolulu. 644 pp.
Veron, J.E.N. 2000. Corals of the World. Australian Institute of
Marine Science. Queensland, Australia. three volumes.
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