Wow...Found My Favorite Coral Today...What Luck!

[livinlifeinBKK]

Call me crazy but one of my favorite corals in the world has always been a black sun coral...not many people have probably heard that before! They're really hard to come by (here at least...and not too common elsewhere) but at the market today I spotted what I'd consider a fairy large colony seemingly by chance! I just added it to my nano and it's surprisingly already showing signs it's willing to take food. Not only that, but it came attached to a good sized chunk of rock with a few sponges, carnation corals (yeah, they won't likely last long), and even a small part with some typical orange Tubastrea sun coral polyps on it! I couldn't pass on it but it was great deal as well so I really feel like I scored a sweet piece today! Here a a couple pics which do it no justice at all but wanted to show a few people. @Reefkeepers Archive thought you might like to see...

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Also can't help but feed my addiction for that fresh Indonesian live rock since a new shipment came in today. No arguing that's a score and incredible deal either!
Gonna grab 3 or 4 pieces...these looked good for my nano...

 

[CasperOe]

Congratulations! What a find! Never seen one of these before, that's interesting!

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Call me crazy but one of my favorite corals in the world has always been a black sun coral...not many people have probably heard that before! They're really hard to come by (here at least...and not too common elsewhere) but at the market today I spotted what I'd consider a fairy large colony seemingly by chance! I just added it to my nano and it's surprisingly already showing signs it's willing to take food. Not only that, but it came attached to a good sized chunk of rock with a few sponges, carnation corals (yeah, they won't likely last long), and even a small part with some typical orange Tubastrea sun coral polyps on it! I couldn't pass on it but it was great deal as well so I really feel like I scored a sweet piece today! Here a a couple pics which do it no justice at all but wanted to show a few people. @Reefkeepers Archive thought you might like to see...

Thats a great find! Actually never seen one avaliable over here, did it come on that whole rock!?!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Thats a great find! Actually never seen one avaliable over here, did it come on that whole rock!?!

Yes! And everything I mentioned was on it as well! I can't believe what I paid even for here! It came on that big rock, small carnation corals, and a small colony of an orange sun coral (several polyps or so)...some sponge coverage on the rock even!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Wow...and a vendor just messaged me these pics of mini Scolys from a shipment that just came in! I'm asking about prices now but she said out of the 10 she sent, the most expensive is about $22... probably all the ones I'm interested in that I have pics of here honestly haha...that's not particularly cheap for here but not overpriced. I'll probably get 2 or 3 of these I'm most interested in.... pretty sweet color variations!

 

[jda]

Black Sun were more common 25 years ago. Don't see many imported now since they are almost impossible to keep alive long term. I hope that it does well since they are really cool. The rock that it came on looks worth it alone with the diverse stuff.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Black Sun were more common 25 years ago. Don't see many imported now since they are almost impossible to keep alive long term. I hope that it does well since they are really cool. The rock that it came on looks worth it alone with the diverse stuff.

Yeah, they're not a species I'd recommend to most people...I've kept them previously and enjoy the manual feeding. Believe it or not, I've actually seen growth in a piece I used to have a long time ago. They have a BIG appetite!

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Wow...and a vendor just messaged me these pics of mini Scolys from a shipment that just came in! I'm asking about prices now but she said out of the 10 she sent, the most expensive is about $22... probably all the ones I'm interested in that I have pics of here honestly haha...that's not particularly cheap for here but not overpriced. I'll probably get 2 or 3 of these I'm most interested in.... pretty sweet color variations!

$22! Wow thats a good deal, over here they usually go for $80

 

[mtraylor]

Very nice. As other said. They used to be really common in the states years ago with carnations, but I haven't seen on one in a super long time. Probably 15+ years in a LFS. Good luck and great find.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Thanks guys!

 

[Pickle_soup]

Black Sun were more common 25 years ago. Don't see many imported now since they are almost impossible to keep alive long term. I hope that it does well since they are really cool. The rock that it came on looks worth it alone with the diverse stuff.

I red an interesting article on sun corals, the conclusion: you pretty much have to feed them 2-3 times a day to keep the alive long term.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

It's really healthy so it must have been collected recently! The mouths on the polyps are already showing without food offered! I need to buy some music for it ASAP.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I red an interesting article on sun corals, the conclusion: you pretty much have to feed them 2-3 times a day to keep the alive long term.

I'd say it's dependent upon what your feeding for one thing...I've kept many and as long as each polyp is fed 1 or 2 mysis shrimp per day haven't had trouble

 

[Pickle_soup]

I'd say it's dependent upon what your feeding for one thing...I've kept many and as long as each polyp is fed 1 or 2 mysis shrimp per day haven't had trouble

I'll keep that in mind because I do love that coral and would like to have one, but I don't want to kill it.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I'll keep that in mind because I do love that coral and would like to have one, but I don't want to kill it.

The last one I had sadly suffered from the coral being basically suffocated by aiptasia. I didn't know how to eradicate it so close to the polyps safely and of course the aiptasia made it exceedingly difficult to feed.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I had one when I lived in America but I was far too young and inexperienced at the time to understand just how essential daily feeding was and their true requirements. I've never had a piece this size before though!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

@Pickle_soup btw, they don't die suddenly... actually very slowly so you have plenty of warning signs and time to correct the feeding regimen if you notice tissue recession or ill health

 

[mww00ds]

Also can't help but feed my addiction for that fresh Indonesian live rock since a new shipment came in today. No arguing that's a score and incredible deal either!
Gonna grab 3 or 4 pieces...these looked good for my nano...

who's the vendor for theses? would love to get some

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

who's the vendor for theses? would love to get some

You'd have to come to Bangkok...it's ironic that I was actually posting on here asking if anyone had connections with a legal importer because my friend in Indonesia works with a company down there that I'm sure could supply as much as desired. The ironic part is all the HATE comments I received for some reason for that post. I wouldn't have even been making a penny, only trying to help connect that side of the world with something I thought would be greatly appreciated. The comments were crazy...if you want to read the thread I'll post the link for you to see how people responded.