How do you tell where a coral came from?

[Carpentersreef]

My Trachyphyllia, for example. (green open brain) Where could it have possibly come from?

I would like to determine the location(s) that all of my corals could have originated, so that I can understand the conditions that suit them best. Out of all the books and internet sites that I have read, the answer is vague, at best. I can appreciate that certain corals may come from a few different places, but I'm having a hard time finding out which ones could be from where. How many different sites do corals come from? Australia, Caribbean, Africa, Fiji, Indian Ocean...anywhere else?
Any good websites? Books?

Thanks,
Mitch

 

[monkeyboy]

Most corals are pretty spread out or can come from at least a few places. I'd contact whoever you bought them from, some dealers get certain things only from certain places so they might know.

 

[Carpentersreef]

Thankyou,
But you know what?
I just read on the calander of events section that Walt Smith will be talking on just this topic!
(So there IS more to this site than just discussion!!

)

Mitch

 

[monkeyboy]

Hey, who better than walt smith to ask? Very cool, i'll have to check out that calender.

 

[KenH]

If you are serious about ID'ing or finding out the natural habitat of stony corals, the best reference available is Veron's 3 volume book set that came out in 2000. It's not cheap, runs about $150, but it's an excellent reference work.

--- Ken
website: www.ReefCorner.Com

 

[jamesw]

Walt is not confirmed yet, but hang in there.

Cheers
James Wiseman

 

[RandyO]

Trachyphyllia are widely distributed across the Indian Ocean, from Australia to the Red Sea. In my experience, most of the them brought in for the aquarium industry are from the island of Jakarta or Bali. As far as Australia is concerned, I don't believe any corals are exported from there.

 

[davelin315]

I think that even if you determine what part of the world a coral is from, you still won't know enough about that specific individual piece to know how to properly care for it and duplicate it's native home. The same species of coral can be collected from, for example, a reef in Bali. On that reef, it could have been collected from 1 foot of water, or from 40 feet of water. Also, that 1 foot of water could be on the lee side of the reef, and get less current than one on the outside of the reef where the waves would create more of a current for it. On top of this, I would think that if it were next to the edge of the reef versus more in the middle would affect what kind of water supply it got, maybe colder water welling from below, or warmer water that has been exposed to the surface and shallower areas, maybe less nutrients because it's in the middle of a bunch of other corals, who knows. The only way to really know your coral is probably to buy aquacultured corals, since they have been raised in a climate which you can easily duplicate in your home.

 

[Carpentersreef]

Thanks everyone,

Dave, it's more for my own interest. I'd like to look at stuff like satellite imagery, rainfall, find out about the people who live in the area, tourist pictures, ect. The more I can know about these corals and critters, the better. Who knows, maybe I can even give myself a virtual diving tour of one of the areas!
As far as I know, there are no sources of aquacultured corals in Canada.

Mitch

 

[Bobzarry]

I just turn them over and look for the stamp or label underneath.

Bob

 

[tanzy]

Made in China.

 

[gazpep]

Randy O is correct, Australia prohibits the export of all marine inverts. Also prohibits the import of all marine inverts, and if Senator Hill ( Environment Minister in the Federal Government ) has his way there will be a total ban on the collection of corals and live rock from the GBR.

 

[Anonymous]

i've recently had my interest raised about the topic of this thread. wanting to find the optimal conditions for my existing anthelia and then having a clue as to which corals would feel most at home in this environment. davelin made a good point that i haven't considered yet. and it brings something to mind that i recall reading and will try to find the link to. it was about using the concept of adaptive radiation to find the optimal conditions for a certain animals. IMHO the bottom line was to find where most of the animals were located in nature and then the conditions of that location would be optimal.

that's probably too oversimplified and might even be useless or wrong. somebody please help me out with a more articulate insight.

anyway, where could i read about the optimal conditions of corals that i might add to my tank? are Vernons books good for this? anybody know of other books or internet links? http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1997/nov/features/1/default.asp
there's that link by Shimek i was thinkin' about.

thanks in advance,
po

"Successful conditions for maintenance, however, can be determined by finding the conditions at the center of the species’ distribution." --Dr. Ron Shimek

[ September 05, 2001: Message edited by: pojohnny ]

 

[Carpentersreef]

pojohhny,

Thanks for that link! That's along the lines of info I'm looking for!

Mitch