Plerogyra sinuosa aka Bubble Coral

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Hi Guys

Here are some pics of the many different faces of my Bubble Coral. Its been doing fantastic from day one and doing even better in my new tank since moving him from my Nano.

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BubbleCoral-106.jpg


BubbleCoral-107.jpg


BubbleCoral-108.jpg


INFO FROM FRESHMARINE.COM

Bubble Coral is a sought out member of a marine aquarium. Good to look at and easy to keep, Bubble Coral is a valid choice for a reef aquarium. The article relates few interesting aspects of Bubble Coral that affect its maintenance in a marine aquarium.

Taxonomy: Bubble Coral belongs to the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, Order Scleractinia, Family Caryophylliidae and Genus Plerogyra.

Other names: The scientific name of Bubble Coral is Plerogyra species. Some specific scientific names of Bubble Coral are Plerogyra sinuosa, Plerogyra flexuosa, Plerogyra lichtensteini and Plerogyra simplex. The other common names of Bubble Coral are, Grape Bubble Coral, Bladder Coral, Octobubble Coral, Pearl Coral and Grape Coral.

Coral Type: Bubble Coral is a Large Polyp Stony (LPS) Coral.

Origin or natural range: The Plerogyra species is found in the Western Pacific region, the Indo-Pacific region, the Red Sea, Fiji and Australia.

Color: Bubble Coral occurs in brown, yellow, cream, white and green colors.

Morphology: The Plerogyra species is very hardy. The skeleton of Bubble Coral has bubble shaped polyps that are filled with water and are therefore quite delicate. These bubbles expand during the day for photosynthesis while, the tentacles of Bubble Coral expand at night. The polyps of Plerogyra species have small sweeper tentacles. The appearance of Bubble Coral may vary owing to the factors such as the intensity of light available to the coral, its surroundings, water movement in its habitat, etc.

Compatibility: Bubble Coral is aggressive against the other marine invertebrates.

Habit & Habitat: The Plerogyra species is found in vertical position in the shady regions of the marine water bodies such as lower reef slopes, cave walls and under overhangs, where the water movement is low.

Breeding: Bubble Coral breeds easily and rapidly if it gets favorable environment in your marine aquarium.

Growth environment in your marine aquarium:
Temperature: Seventy-five to seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit.
Specific gravity: 1.023 to 1.025.
pH: 8.10 to 8.40.

Illumination: Bubble Coral requires low to moderate lighting in the marine aquarium it inhabits. In case you use Metal Halide lighting for your reef tank, place Bubble Coral at the bottom of the tank or in some shady area.
Water flow in the aquarium: Maintain low water current in your marine aquarium hosting Bubble Coral.

Marine aquarium habit & habitat: The Plerogyra species requires a marine aquarium of the capacity of fifty Gallons and above. Keep the Bubble Coral away from the other corals in your reef tank as the Plerogyra species may sting them if the other corals come in its way.

Feeding & Nutrition: Bubble Coral derives its nutrition mainly through Photosynthesis which is being performed by zooxanthellae, a photosynthetic alga living symbiotically within the bubbles of Bubble Coral. The Plerogyra species is also Carnivorous and filter feeds a few times per week when food lands on it. Bubble Coral eats meaty bits of silverside and raw shrimp, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Add Calcium, Strontium and trace elements in the water as dietary supplements for the Plerogyra species. Maintain the Calcium level in the water at 400 ppm.

Care:
Bubble Coral is easy to maintain.
Hermit Crabs may disturb the Plerogyra species therefore; avoid keeping the crab and the coral in the same marine aquarium.

Caution:
Keep Bubble Coral away from the other corals in the marine aquarium as it needs to expand itself and if the other corals come in the Bubble Coral’s way, it stings them.
 
Yeah they are awesome, mine does the same as yours.

Wow stunning set of photo's. Would love to add one, think they are one of the most classic corals around, but will cause havoc in my Nano I suspect.

Is that a Duncan coral in the back ground, I would kill for a frag :p

Was wondering the same thing, would also kill for a frag.:p
 
Hi Len

This particular always did that from the beginning. The ones ive seen at the LFS all did look withdrawn, but I guess different tank conditions bring out different things from the coral.

As regards different species - I dont know. This one has an unusual luminescence to it which is simply just awesome
 
Hey Guys, I really dont have a clue if its a Duncan coral. I did ask around and refers said its a torch, but I somehow know this one is just so different.

Will take some more pics of it and ask for an id on a new thread.

Wow stunning set of photo's. Would love to add one, think they are one of the most classic corals around, but will cause havoc in my Nano I suspect.

Is that a Duncan coral in the back ground, I would kill for a frag :p

Yeah they are awesome, mine does the same as yours.

Was wondering the same thing, would also kill for a frag.:p
 
Ahhh I have the same guy :) he doesn't extend as much :) you feeding him at night?

Hi there

I dont do any particular target feeding for the bubble, he seems to be happy with what is in the tank. I do weekly feed cyclopeze at weekend and alternate with phytoplankton and zooplankton during the week

If he is not opening up, I suggest move him to a different spot. post a pic of your FTS and maybe I can offer a relocation
 
Thanks Guys

Those pics werent that easy to take. You know how it goes take 10 and one will come out fine

What I would like to do is take some timed exposure photogrpahs over a 24hr period and see how it comes out - will tr it and post when I have the time and the equipment to do it


beautiful photos man. awesome tank youve got there. looking very healthy

Yo, stunning. Respect.

Wow stunning set of photo's. Would love to add one, think they are one of the most classic corals around, but will cause havoc in my Nano I suspect.

Is that a Duncan coral in the back ground, I would kill for a frag :p
 
I really dont have a clue if its a Duncan coral.

its not a duncans coral. Duncans tentecles dont have inflated tips the the coral in your pic.
Will need close up pics to get a proper id, but from that pic it looks like a very interestingly colourd frogspawn.
 
its not a duncans coral. Duncans tentecles dont have inflated tips the the coral in your pic.
Will need close up pics to get a proper id, but from that pic it looks like a very interestingly colourd frogspawn.

Hi there

I also think its a torch coral/frogspawn. The centre is super luminous green and remains wide open approx 2-3cm in diameter with the tentacles on the outside. Unfortunately the camera cant pick up the fine stripes in the centre green section often appearing transparent,

Have thought of rescaping that part of the tank, but this coral is doing so well there that ive decided to leave it alone

Here is a more close up pic a few months back - the tentacle normally extend double than in the pic below

OceanseekerAquarium-106.jpg
 
Is there different bubbles species? I have not seen ones on a fleshy stalk like this in the shops, the bubbles on the ones I have seen normally expands directly from the skeleton?

Hi Len

Here is a pic of the same bubble that was in my Nano tank to give you an idea of what it looked like a year ago. It didnt open that much, but when I moved it to the new 1.2m tank a few months ago it just bubbled to excuse the pun

IMG_4825.jpg
 
its not a duncans coral. Duncans tentecles dont have inflated tips the the coral in your pic.
Will need close up pics to get a proper id, but from that pic it looks like a very interestingly colourd frogspawn.

I almost got fooled into thinking this was a precious coral as well until I found it was a Mujati. The tentacles were so very lumi green. I finally got rid of it.

IMG_9992.jpg
 
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