COTM Sept 2010: Chalice Coral

Alright, let's try and get this going again. Please post any pictures you guys have of your chalices.

Chalice Coral



Scientific Name: Echinophyllia
Origin: Red Sea, Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Indo-Pacific
Lighting: Low to Moderate, Mine is currently under T5’s at the bottom of my tank.
Flow: Moderate
Feeding: No supplemental feeding is required, since they are photosythetic and will capture any small particles floating by, but they will take foods such as cyclopeeze, small planktonic foods, or some will even take small pieces of mysis/brine at night when their feeders are out. I personally have not fed mine.
Growth: Usually a slow grower. I’ve noticed a little growth but when I first got mine it was a small frag and was still developing the growth ring around its entire perimeter.
Aggressiveness: Semi-Aggressive. Will sting other corals if placed to closely to them. Have heard reports of some having sweeper tentacles up to a foot long but have yet to see any on mine.
Water Params: As with any coral, good water params are required. I keep Ca at 480, Alk at around 9, Mg around 1300, Temp at 78, SG at 1.0245.
Personal Observations: Chalice corals come in every color combination imaginable, and every price range imaginable. Many companies place their own name on various color morphs so pinning down one name for a particular color can sometimes be difficult. Seems fairly easy to care for as long as basic necessities are provided, good lighting, flow, and params. Good bulbs make all the difference in how vibrant the colors are. Upgraded stock bulbs to some ATI and Fiji purple and that made the colors really pop. The one I have pictured is often called a Watermellon chalice. I've also noticed that they will easily grow around or over any obstacle. As you can see in the picture I have some macro algae that keeps trying to grow on the frag plug and the chalice is just going right around it. They are fairly simple to frag. Just start on the edge and cut about an inch in and then move over about an inch or so and cut in some more, basically cut out an inch square but make sure you get one of the "eyes" on it. It's best to place them horizontally but if you are running MH and want to place them a little higher then it's best to put them in an angled/more vertical position or under an overhang so they don't get direct light.

 

Fantastic write up. Thanks for contributing to the site. k+
Might have to get one of those someday.

matt

 

Wonderful write up. Thanks

 

To add to the pictures:

 

excellent write up angpgp

only seen 2 chalice corals for sale here ( mother colonies) over last couple of years
and they where plain in comparison to the ones I see on this site

Steve

 

Thanks guys and thank you raven for adding to the pics.

 

My purple with hot pink mouth chalice

 

I completely understand if I can't post in here and will not be offended at all if I shouldn't post on here.

With that being said, I think this is the best chalice I have gotten in a long time. I might be pulling this one off of the shelf to go into the display reef.

 

Once again he showing off. Nice chalices fellas. You guys are about to convert me.

 

I'm completely fine with you posting pictures on here, as long as it's not a picture of every single chalice in your store . That is one awesome chalice.