Coral Reef Tank Photos-Corals, Invertebrates, and Salt Water Fish

Coral reefs are absolutely beautiful and in them you will find a wide variety of
aquatic life. It is a collection of brilliantly colored corals, fish, and invertebrates
that adorn these underwater oasis. You can enjoy this without leaving your home
by creating your own miniature coral reef in your living room. I will share my
beautiful photos so that you can experience the beauty and relaxation that a reef
tank can provide. Take a look at the photo bellow of the upper left side of my 110
gallon coral reef aquarium 6 months after the reef tank was set up. Anyone can
achieve this, but it does take some time and money in order to accomplish it.
However, even if you are a beginner, or if you are curious about what it takes to
keep a miniature coral reef aquarium, you'll find plenty of information and helpful
tips that will help you save time and money. Setting up a coral reef tank can be a
very enjoyable and relaxing activity as long as you get good results. Some basic
information about aquariums, corals, fish, and invertebrates is what you need to
start a radiantly colored reef. Knowledge and simplicity are the keys to a fantastic
and healthy miniature coral reef tank.

This Yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) has been in this reef tank for a little over
4 months. Its bright yellow color is very attractive and its herbivorous eating
habits help to control algal growth in the reef tank. Soft corals cover most of the
live rock in this reef, not just because I prefer soft corals, but because of their
movement and fast growth. This coral movement has a hypnotizing effect on
people that is very relaxing and brings the coral reef to life. You can see P umping
Xenia Coral (Xenia sp.) in the foreground with some Silver branch Pulsing Xenia
Coral (Xenia elongata) hovering over it. There are several colonies of Yellow
polyps (Parazoanthus gracilis), Wood 's polyps (Anthelia glauca), and Sand
polyps (Zoanthus sp.) in the middle. These coral polyps are desperately fighting
for space on the live rock. I've had to place small pieces of live rock in between
the coral polyps on an on going basis just to keep the corals from stinging each
other. I also get plenty of coral frags every time that I do maintenance on the reef
tank when I remove the dividing live rocks that have been overgrown with a variety
of coral polyps. I have another reef tank just to house all the extra coral frags.

On the left, there is an assortment of
Leather corals. These corals are
very hardy and don't require a lot of
light. For that reason I've placed
them at the bottom of my reef tank
where the light levels are much
lower. This is a great reef coral for
beginner tank because it does very
well in many different lighting
conditions and it isn't as delicate as
many other corals. The center piece
is a Toadstool coral (Sarcophyton
sp.) and the pieces on either sides
are Cabbage Leather coral (Sinularia
dura).

As you can see, 2 different types of Xenia
corals dominate the top left hand portion
of my reef tank. Xenia corals are very
flexible because they respond well under
different lighting conditions and they can
grow very fast. No other corals within my
reef tank can keep up with Xenias, as far
as growth is concerned. All of my visitors
are completely overwhelmed by the
rhythmic movement of this coral, which
alway initiates a debate as to whether the
corals are animals or plants. The 2 white
circles that appear to be floating at the top
and bottom of the picture are turbo snails.

Here you see a plethora of different types of polyps in a continual battle for space
in this coral reef tank. In the center you see a large colony of Zoanthus sp., or as
its commonly known colonial anemones. Although it doesn't grow as rapidly as
the other surrounding corals, it is able to defend its space with remarkable
resilience. This coral is so hardy that it has even been found in polluted waters.
This is a quality that is welcome in our reef tanks since they usually suffer from
high levels of nitrates that are detrimental to the health of fish and corals. I have
spread these coral polyps all over my reef tank by taking small fragments and
placing them on pieces of live rock (Scleractinia) on another part of the reef.

All the corals polyps in this photo
started out with about 4 to 5 inches of
clearance on each side. I've placed a
small piece of live rock (Scleractinia) in
the center to keep them from stinging
each other, however, the corals just
over grow the new rock. I took away
one of the four 95 watts Power
Compact bulbs, but the corals are still
growing fast. A fast growing coral reef
is not necessarily a bad thing as long
as you have enough room and plenty of
live rock in your tank.

The Red Mushrooms Anemones
(Actinodiscus sp.) are an extremely
versatile and fast growing coral. They
do well in a variety of lighting
conditions and provide beautiful color
to the coral reef tank. The coral colony
on the right consists of 15 red
mushroom anemones. That colony
produces about 3 to 5 additional
anemones per month that break off the
parent colony and float to the bottom of
the reef tank where they attach
themselves to anything, which includes
the tank glass.

Welcome to Miniature Coral Reefs . com, the website for
everyone who enjoys coral reef aquariums.

Keeping a reef tank free of nuisance
algae could sometimes be a real
challenge. Experienced reef keepers
employ the use of a cleaning team to
keep the algae from over growing the
corals in the aquarium and
monopolizing the valuable real estate
on your reef tank. The captain of my
cleaning team is the C o n v i c t t a n g
(A c a n t h u r u s t r i o s t e g u s ) on the right.
He spends most of his day nibbling on
the different types of algae that we
normally find in our coral reef tanks.

Many different animals in our oceans
have unusual relationships with each
other called symbiotic relationships.
Thankfully, these ties between marine
organisms continue in our coral reef
tanks. One of the best known is the
Clown fish (Amphiprion ocellaris) and
its host Bubble Tip A nemone
(Entacmaea quadricolor). It is
absolutely wonderful to watch the two
in action in our coral reef tanks. This
family of fishes has become much more
popular since the release of the
animated movie Finding Nemo.

To maintain good coral health we have to concentrate on water quality and this
can easily be achieved by starting out with clean filtered water and adding a good
quality salt mix. Salt mixes have evolved to the point that they fully address all the
trace elements needed for healthy corals. Do understand, we need to replenish
trace elements in our reef tanks as they are used up by growing corals. There are
many products designed to address these concerns that will give you excellent
results. Don't forget that our coral reef tanks are closed systems that rely on us to
replenish those elements that are naturally replenished in coral reefs by mother
nature. In order to maintain a healthy reef tank, there are certain basic steps that
the reef aquarist must follow in order to ensure a successful reef.

These Sand Polyps (Zoanthus sp.) on
the right, have quadrupled in size in
less than a year. The growth is so
extensive that the polyps are growing
under the live rock and it doesn't seem
bothered by the other coral polyps that
are hovering over it. This piece is
rather large and I'm hoping to take
some fragments for placement in other
parts of the reef tank.