Crown of Thorns

Here's a couple pics I took a week or so back from the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago - Enjoy!





Yankee

 

Cool! I wonder what they're feeding that bad boy!

 

Yankee, where in the Shedd was it? I was there about 2mo ago and didn't see that baby. Although the sexy shrimp tank with the mandarins made me get 6 of my own

 

Looks to me like tubastrea (sun coral).

 

I think the sun coral was a fake and just there for decoration.

mdeth - The crown of thorns was in a small standalone display downstairs in the new reef section.

I have been to the Shedd a couple times now, but this last trip was the best - Our local reef club made arrangements with the Shedd to get is in AND get a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium. All for only $10! I just saw an advert for the Shedd, Gen Admission is normally $27

I'll post some pics tonight -

 

I thought that the sun coral was a fake but I wasn't sure. They look really good for being made out of plastic.

 

LOL....boy I'm an idiot. I'm agreeing with the plastic diagnosis as well. ;D There should be little to no connective tissue and it shouldn't be orange.

 

;D

Well....ya win some and ya lose some.

 

Crown of thorns stars are carnivores and opportunistic eaters, that will consume almost anything!!! Coral, snails, sponge, fish, and clams are among their favorite food items! Their spines are toxic as well, that carry a hemolytic(blood-cell splitting) toxin, YIKES!
They are pretty however, and sometimes you can find oddities like them and Millipora(fire coral) at some pet shops or online!