COTM-April '08 Galaxea

Galaxea (galaxea sp.)

LPS CORAL
Common names: Galaxea, Star Crystal, Starburst, Brittle or, Tooth Coral.
Temperment: Agressive
Origin: Islands of the Indo Pacific including Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef.
Lighting: Galaxea requires high lighting. Under MH lighting, it should be placed on bottom to mid-level in aquarium. Can be placed on top closer to lighting, but, should be acclimated to the intense lighting slowly. Can live under T5-6, PC lighting, but, can potentially loose resilient coloration.
Water Quality: Galaxea can tolerate a variety of water conditions. Although, I have never experienced having this coral in an un-desired or, slighty off parameter situation. Referenced recommended parameters include: Temp. 72-78(I run 80), sg. 1.023-1.025(I'm at 1.026), PH 8.1-8.4, dkh 8-12. Along with the other variousrecommended reef params.
Current: Galaxea requires mod./high flow. This is not only important to the coral itself, but, surrounding corals also.Sweeper extension is influenced by the amount of flow the coral gets. The higher the flow the longer the sweepers extend. Sweepers may extend up to 5 inches. I've only seen mine reach about 1-1/2 inches. In my experience a moderate flow with a random blast of higher current is optimal. This also keeps your coral clean and healthy.
Feeding: Zooxanthellae and benefit from feedin phytoplankton. Sweeper extension may occur during feeding.
Frag difficulty: This coral is very easy to frag. Also very interesting to see why it's called the tooth coral. Using a hammer and small chisel-like device the coral can be split into numerous frags depending on the size of the main piece. I have fragged a tennis ball sized piece into 3 frags. Be careful when handling galaxea because it's very fragile. If you look at wrong it could break. To frag simply pull main piece from tank. Determine how many pieces you'd like to frag it into. If you look at the closed coral closely when closed you can see fault lines. You want to stay within these lines to prevent further damage. Do not slam coral with hammer/chisel because it does break easily. When transporting frags be sure to attach to a piece of styrofoam so, they float in the bag.
Personal observations:I have commented on my personal observations throughout. I will be observing a futuristic battle between shroom that is starting to get close to the galaxea. I will keep 3REEFERS updated on this battle. I hope I was informative enough on this COTM. Please feel free to comment. And if I forgot something please let me know.

 

Thanx Luna, Swing on by tonight for some. I'll hammer a piece off for ya. Floridas not that far from Oregon.

 

Your LFS is twice as un-local as mine.