coral of the week { pocillopora damicornis }

[shred5]

This will be a new weekly section on reef central and will be tagged for the archives. 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. The first coral is pocillopora damicornis common name pink pocillopora. This coral was requested by Niven.

Thanks
Dave

[Edited by shred5 on 11-30-2000 at 10:28 PM]

[Salt Creep]

P. damicornis is probably my favorite coral! It isn't always pink; I've seen it in green, brown and yellow. I think what I like most about it is the way the tips of the polyps' tentacles look like little sparks of light when they're fully extended. The fact that I'm able to grow them in my tank with just normal output lighting is a big plus too. I suppose that if I had better lighting it would grow faster and have better colors though.

Mine seems to like pretty turbulent water flow. I think the stronger the flow, the thicker and more compact the branches will be. I kind of prefer the lacy open look myself.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kenuy/0300pocillop.JPG

[smpolyp]

It's the weed of sps! Be careful! The one I have had in my tank for a year has popped out over 60 from polyp bail out.

[slojmn]

Salt Creep,What a beautiful coral. I have a list of must have corals that I keep next to my computer and I had the Pink Pocillopora on the list and now it has a HUGE star next to it. Sorry I don't have any information I just plan to learn about them from this thread and then when my tank is mature enough, 3-4 more months I will be looking for an awesome specimen like yours. Thanks :D

[Outerbank]

I agree. Beautiful coral mostly due to beautiful polyps and some nice colors. I have a pink tipped specimen close to the light and a brown one on the bottom of the tank. They do grow very fast and seem to be very hardy. I highly recommend them and plan to collect many color morphs.
Scott

[Clyde]

I got a brown frag from Capman at his university when he hosted a great meeting, I got a small frag - now its nicely sized, can frag it three pieces to equal the peice I got before.

it was brown, now its fleshy color.

they like moderate flow - in my exeperience and lighitng can be at the high end.

I have a 58 gallon - dual 400w 6500K MH's
calcium reactor (geo version - VERY nice..)
only 2 NO actnics - think I might add mores see if Icould get more coloration in my SPS's


p.s. next week, we should do Milleporas :) (my favorite)
or a common one like Porties Cylindria and encrusting..

here is a list I woul dlike to see - I dont have these yet, but they're on my wish list.

Acropora gemmifera
Acropora loripes
Acropora tortuosa - looking for deep blue - would like a frag - anyone have one let me know.
Montipora patula
Pocillopora woodjonesi
Turbinaria reniformis
Acropora cytherea
Acropora divaricata

but again, this is just 'coral of the week' grin - we should get LPS, Softies, SPS coral of week.

[Mikey]

Here is a green morph. It's being shaded a bit by a big green slimer. The lighting is VHO and NO. I have two other types I will try to post pics of tomorrow.
http://homepage.mac.com/zooanthid/

[Frisco]

My sig is a pocillopora... and I think it's a damicornis...

Here's two related corals that are not...

http://friscoreef.homestead.com/files/images/pocillopora1.jpg

http://friscoreef.homestead.com/files/images/pocillopora2.jpg

[Mikey]

Nice Frisco!

[Titi_Reef]

These corals are very beautiful but I don't know where I can buy ... I go to a lot LFS and never see them...Any ideas where I can get them...

Thanks,

Tam

[Niven]

Thanks Shred:)

I did get a nice piece of Pink Porcillopora about 3 weeks ago. It's about 10" under 250w 65K MH. I haven't noticed any definate growth, but it's only been a few weeks;) I'll try to get a good picture soon.

Salt Creep,
Is that with all lights on, or just actinics? That's an awesome piece.


Titi_Reef,
See if your LFS can order them. Unfortunately, as with most corals, they come in many different colors. I've ordered from the LFS were I work and have gotten many different colors when I've expected to get a specific color. Don't be too PO'd if they don't get the right color.

Niven

[simonh]

Here's a couple of pictures of mine:

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1312857&a=9748094&p=34396314&Sequence=0&res=high

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1312857&a=9748094&p=34396322&Sequence=0&res=high

I keep them quite low in the tank out of direct hit of the 250W halides. Directly under the halides they colour up very soft pink. However I have moved it down to allow some acroporas to be placed nearer the light. This colony was grown from a 1/2" frag off a colony that was loosing tissue, now after 18 months it is about 5" circumfrance. I also took another frag which I traded with my LFS. The colony is getting a little more branched, whereas when it was in higer flow it was fairly solid with not much branching.

[Edited by simonh on 11-30-2000 at 02:34 PM]

[ofthee]

Hello All, I couldn't help but notice the great pics and info on this posting. The only thing I have to add to this is beware, pepermint shrimp eat this poccilapora. Not a minute after placing it in my tank, did the 3 peppermints I have, start eating the beautiful tips off of it, now my poccilapora has only a few growing tips. They keep snacking on only one section fortunately. But THe pocilapora is such a great grower that some of the flesh comesback every day on he tips. Al in all....feed your shrimp, before it feeds itself

[JohnL]

Hi Tam, Here are some coral farmers (http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?forumid=29). I think most of them have Pocillopora sp.

Originally posted by Titi_Reef
I don't know where I can buy ... Any ideas where I can get them

[Gary]

smpolyp,

If that's a reef weed, I just became a big fan of growing weeds.

Gary

[bigtank]

Once I have the proper lighting and water conditions, I have to have one of those pocillopora. WOW. I will get 2 175w 10k MH and 2 VHO actinics for my 70 once I have enough bucks. My tank will be mostly LPS and some soft, but I do want a couple SPS in there. That's what real coral reefs are built by, right? I see lots of SPS in pictures of coral reefs.

[SueT]

I have a green pocillopora damicornis. Nice frag, does like it lower in the tank, and has great polyp extension. I don't have a pic of it on my website, need one though. Everyone's pocillopora pics are great on here!! Maybe with the next coral of the week, I'll have a pic.

Check out my website:
http://suetruett.homestead.com/home.html

[Joe Kelley]

Pocillopora is one on my favorites too. I have pink and green.
joe

[Salt Creep]

Hi Niven,
That pic was taken with all the lights on. I have two actinics, and one actinic white. All of them are 40 watts each, on an Ice Cap ballast.
I got it as a tiny branch that was growing out of the cement disc that another coral had been growing on (I think it was a farmed Solomon Island frag.) In the past I've managed to get pocilloporas as hitchhikers on the bases of other corals or on clam shells.
Ken

[shred5]

Joe Kelley
Please tells us about your Pocillopora corals. What they like and dont like. What kind are they (damicornis)?

Dave

[shred5]

here are some links:

http://imiloa.wcc.hawaii.edu/krupp/BIOL200/hawcoral/lacecorl.htm

http://www.actwin.com/fish/species/index.php?t=9&i=323

http://www.aquarium.net/0397/0397_6.shtml

http://sps.reefkeepers.org/P-damicornis.html

Dave

[Frick-n-Frags]

.....On Dasher, On Dancer, On Donder and Poci????????.......

http://www.rusynyk.com/graphics/pocideer.jpg

[grizz]

ok frickin frags.. what they heck is rudolph doing in the aquarium??? I love the coral... what can one expect to pay for a frag of it???

[Frick-n-Frags]

The beaststroke Grizz :) what's the deer worth to ya?

The serious side:
My P. damicornis grows at an extreme rate. Every tip is usually a growing tip. I have given many frags away, covered a plastic plate with about 40 frags, dropped a good 10 frags, got 3 nice sellable frags, and I still have 2 jumbo pieces. All these pieces are from 2 original frags obtained last spring.
We made the deer maybe 3 months ago and it has been sitting in my leather tank (one of 2 ten gallons sharing a pair of VHO's.) It has easily doubled in size and in fact I may have to frag off the lopside and cut Rudolph there back to only a 20-25 point buck. I think fragging makes this stuff grow even faster, and for sure bushier. The one original frag is getting to be a solid block because of so many fraggings.
It is fairly non-aggressive although it gets tired of Xenia eventually and forces it back somehow, and of course, like everything else, it will burn Montipora. It also burns birdsnest (Seriatopora) but not violently like Hydnophora. It can't tolerate being hung out to dry for an hour like Acropora can (whooops, but that is a different story for a different thread). It puts out almost no slime, as opposed to stuff like Turbinara and Acropora. It regrows over dead sketeton well. Light requirements vary from unbelievably low to bright. It doesn't like the superbright light and I would guess it isn't found in the tidal zones too much, although it loves a breeze.
I don't know why Puterbaugh(sp?) gave it an "8" difficulty rating in his book, maybe he needs to do a water change. I would say, along with Aiptasia anemones, Xenia (all flavors) and Capnella, Pocillapora holds it's place as the SPS representative of the "Grows like weeds" club. ( Montipora digitata is in strong contention)


I don't think you should have to pay more than $15, $20 tops for a frag of the standard flavor, because it isn't scarce. There are some wicked green and bluish variations that someone could rightfully ask maybe $30 for a frag because those are some choice corals. (IMVHO)

[Greg Hiller]

Mine takes on a greenish color between the branches under 250 W Iwasakis, nearly yellow under 400 Watters. Grows very fast and I occasionally have to kill the babies that form from polyp bailout when they start to grow too close to a sensitive coral.

http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/ghcorals/

[Niven]

polyp bailout?

How does this work? Does this happen with most SPS or just pocillopora? What size piece 'bails' out, is it a little single polyp or a full branch? Sorry lots o questions. It sounds pretty cool.

Thanks,
Niven

[shred5]

Niven

Usually its a single polyp. It just drops off and starts a new colony. This is actually common in some species sps's.

Dave

p.s. I just replied to your email sorry it took a while.

[shred5]

Last chance to add something we will be starting a new coral of the week tonight.

Dave