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Montipora confusa
Nemenzo, 1967
Corals of the genus Montipora:
Stony corals are reef-building, invertebrate, sessile, colony-forming cnidarians that form a calcareous skeleton and live in the world's oceans.
They live primarily on light through their zooxanthellae, but are also capable of capturing plankton with their polyps.
They extract calcium and, to a lesser extent, other elements from seawater, producing several grams of calcium carbonate per day, which is how they formed the coral reefs we know today.
The species of the genus Montipora, like Acropora corals, are also often very colorful and their long-term, successful keeping has been considered a high art for many years.
They have been kept in aquariums since the late 1980s, and in the 1990s they were even widely bred.
The keeping and asexual propagation via offshoots became popular very quickly, which is why today private aquarists offer coral offshoots in addition to commercial breeders.
The breeding of stony corals is very easy, because they only have to be fragmented.
One breaks off a piece of the mother coral and the thus obtained offshoot grows (mostly glued to a piece of live rock), similar to plants, under good conditions, to an own coral.
In hobby circles, stony corals are roughly divided into Small Polyp Scleractinians (small polyp or SPS corals) and in
Large Polyp Scleractinians (large polyp or LPS stony corals.
Not all SPS corals are equal in their keeping requirements, even here there are species that are less sensitive than others.
We would like to say in advance that there are several Montipora species that are easier to keep than Acropora Steinkorallen.
But one must not be deceived.
There are also enough corals that have at least the same water quality requirements as the corals of the Acropora genus.
General:
Taxonomists now consider there to be 18 families of stony corals with a total of over 100 genera. The two genera Montipora (over 70 species - Veron 2000) and Acropora (over 180 species - Veron 2000) are among the most species-rich and numerous.
The care of small polyped stony corals was and is due to the requirements of the corals to water quality and lighting usually far more complex, than that of most LPS corals and zooxanthellate soft corals.
Therefore also only with the possibilities of the skimming and the use of live rock a better water quality came about, as well as by a better lighting and a better calcium supply the durable attitude and propagation on.
Since keeping SPS corals became an attainable goal for many, zooxanthellate soft corals are hardly the main focus of most aquarists.
The identification of small-polyped and large-polyped stony corals is not always easy, despite really good works, like the book by Veron, Corals of the World, or the AIMS pages - especially since a clear identification should actually be made by the calcium skeleton.
It should also be remembered that many animals in the aquarium do not look the same as they do in nature, and change their appearance due to current, light, as well as other influences.
Among the important parameters:
Light:
All small polyp stony corals from the genus Montipora require very high light intensity.
Therefore, they should tend to be located at the top of the tank with average lighting.
Heat/Cold:
Corals of the genus Montipora will not tolerate water temperatures below 20 degrees or above 30 degrees for extended periods.
Both cases they will acknowledge with bleaching.
Current:
They can tolerate a fair amount of current, although the pump outlet should never be aimed directly at a coral.
Alternating, more turbulent flow conditions are best.
Water parameters:
Trace elements, (calcium 420-440 mg/L, magnesium 1100-1300 mg/L, KH below 8, strontium 8 mg/L). Water changes: at least 5% a week or 10% a month.
Water quality:
Permanently stable and clear water if possible; if necessary, carbon filtration or ozonation is advisable to remove yellow substances.
The bucket comparison (white containers of the same size, freshly prepared water in one bucket, aquarium water in the other bucket) will quickly show you if your aquarium water is as clear as fresh water.
Acropora Steinkorallen do not like to stand in a yellow broth.
Nitrate NO3:
Less than 5 mg/L.
Phosphate PO4:
Less than 0.1 mg/L better even in the range of 0.01 mg/L.
While large polyp stony corals can usually cope with higher nutrient levels, certain Montipora corals sometimes show a loss of color, or the growth of the animals is partially disturbed.
Corals that used to be colorful then quickly turn into an often unsightly brown.
The reason for this is the higher supply of nutrients.
The more nutrients, the more zooxanthellae are formed and the darker the animal will become.
If there is a long-term oversupply or imbalance of nutrients, tissue dissolution can occur.
Now this does not affect all Montiporas, as there are definitely some that are considered beginner corals, as they can still handle higher nitrate levels.
Last but not least:
Let's not forget the aspect of animal and environmental protection, which all coral breeders do by now.
The more offshoots, the less removals in nature.
Fortunately there has been a lot of change in the last years.
Today corals from aquaculture are offered preferentially and sold as offspring.
Systematics
Division: Tissue animals (Eumetazoa)
Subdivision: Hollow animals (Coelenterata)
Phylum: Cnidarians (Cnidaria)
Class: Flower animals (Anthozoa)
Subclass: Hexcorallia
Order: Stony Corals
Scientific name: Scleractinia
Notice:
This Monitpora is not quite as fastidious as brighter species (in more gaudy colors).
The color of the colonies is variable, ranging from brown to green to yellow.
The poylps are small and often not only seen at night.
Similar species are: Montipora vietnamensis and Montipora cebuensis.
Nemenzo, 1967
Corals of the genus Montipora:
Stony corals are reef-building, invertebrate, sessile, colony-forming cnidarians that form a calcareous skeleton and live in the world's oceans.
They live primarily on light through their zooxanthellae, but are also capable of capturing plankton with their polyps.
They extract calcium and, to a lesser extent, other elements from seawater, producing several grams of calcium carbonate per day, which is how they formed the coral reefs we know today.
The species of the genus Montipora, like Acropora corals, are also often very colorful and their long-term, successful keeping has been considered a high art for many years.
They have been kept in aquariums since the late 1980s, and in the 1990s they were even widely bred.
The keeping and asexual propagation via offshoots became popular very quickly, which is why today private aquarists offer coral offshoots in addition to commercial breeders.
The breeding of stony corals is very easy, because they only have to be fragmented.
One breaks off a piece of the mother coral and the thus obtained offshoot grows (mostly glued to a piece of live rock), similar to plants, under good conditions, to an own coral.
In hobby circles, stony corals are roughly divided into Small Polyp Scleractinians (small polyp or SPS corals) and in
Large Polyp Scleractinians (large polyp or LPS stony corals.
Not all SPS corals are equal in their keeping requirements, even here there are species that are less sensitive than others.
We would like to say in advance that there are several Montipora species that are easier to keep than Acropora Steinkorallen.
But one must not be deceived.
There are also enough corals that have at least the same water quality requirements as the corals of the Acropora genus.
General:
Taxonomists now consider there to be 18 families of stony corals with a total of over 100 genera. The two genera Montipora (over 70 species - Veron 2000) and Acropora (over 180 species - Veron 2000) are among the most species-rich and numerous.
The care of small polyped stony corals was and is due to the requirements of the corals to water quality and lighting usually far more complex, than that of most LPS corals and zooxanthellate soft corals.
Therefore also only with the possibilities of the skimming and the use of live rock a better water quality came about, as well as by a better lighting and a better calcium supply the durable attitude and propagation on.
Since keeping SPS corals became an attainable goal for many, zooxanthellate soft corals are hardly the main focus of most aquarists.
The identification of small-polyped and large-polyped stony corals is not always easy, despite really good works, like the book by Veron, Corals of the World, or the AIMS pages - especially since a clear identification should actually be made by the calcium skeleton.
It should also be remembered that many animals in the aquarium do not look the same as they do in nature, and change their appearance due to current, light, as well as other influences.
Among the important parameters:
Light:
All small polyp stony corals from the genus Montipora require very high light intensity.
Therefore, they should tend to be located at the top of the tank with average lighting.
Heat/Cold:
Corals of the genus Montipora will not tolerate water temperatures below 20 degrees or above 30 degrees for extended periods.
Both cases they will acknowledge with bleaching.
Current:
They can tolerate a fair amount of current, although the pump outlet should never be aimed directly at a coral.
Alternating, more turbulent flow conditions are best.
Water parameters:
Trace elements, (calcium 420-440 mg/L, magnesium 1100-1300 mg/L, KH below 8, strontium 8 mg/L). Water changes: at least 5% a week or 10% a month.
Water quality:
Permanently stable and clear water if possible; if necessary, carbon filtration or ozonation is advisable to remove yellow substances.
The bucket comparison (white containers of the same size, freshly prepared water in one bucket, aquarium water in the other bucket) will quickly show you if your aquarium water is as clear as fresh water.
Acropora Steinkorallen do not like to stand in a yellow broth.
Nitrate NO3:
Less than 5 mg/L.
Phosphate PO4:
Less than 0.1 mg/L better even in the range of 0.01 mg/L.
While large polyp stony corals can usually cope with higher nutrient levels, certain Montipora corals sometimes show a loss of color, or the growth of the animals is partially disturbed.
Corals that used to be colorful then quickly turn into an often unsightly brown.
The reason for this is the higher supply of nutrients.
The more nutrients, the more zooxanthellae are formed and the darker the animal will become.
If there is a long-term oversupply or imbalance of nutrients, tissue dissolution can occur.
Now this does not affect all Montiporas, as there are definitely some that are considered beginner corals, as they can still handle higher nitrate levels.
Last but not least:
Let's not forget the aspect of animal and environmental protection, which all coral breeders do by now.
The more offshoots, the less removals in nature.
Fortunately there has been a lot of change in the last years.
Today corals from aquaculture are offered preferentially and sold as offspring.
Systematics
Division: Tissue animals (Eumetazoa)
Subdivision: Hollow animals (Coelenterata)
Phylum: Cnidarians (Cnidaria)
Class: Flower animals (Anthozoa)
Subclass: Hexcorallia
Order: Stony Corals
Scientific name: Scleractinia
Notice:
This Monitpora is not quite as fastidious as brighter species (in more gaudy colors).
The color of the colonies is variable, ranging from brown to green to yellow.
The poylps are small and often not only seen at night.
Similar species are: Montipora vietnamensis and Montipora cebuensis.
