Dr. Marzia Bo, Italien
Info
We would like to thank Dr. Marzia Bo from Italy for the first two photos of this black coral.
Dr. Bo discovered and first described this coral species in the Bunaken Marine Park in the Celébessee.
Black corals are generally considered to be difficult to preserve, as it was previously assumed that these animals did not have zooxanthellae.
However, this previous knowledge has now been updated, at least in part, to the effect that there are indeed black corals that have formed a symbiosis with zooxanthellae:
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
The majority of gorgonians do not have zooxanthellae and do not live off light. Azooxanthellate gorgonians do not host symbiotic algae that produce nutrients and energy through photosynthesis.
The pumps should be switched off before feeding. In order for the gorgonian to survive in the aquarium, each individual polyp must be fed sufficiently, i.e. daily or 3-4 times a week. Without feeding, the gorgonian will not survive in the aquarium. The polyps need a certain amount of time to absorb the food (granules or dust food (Ultramarin, Cyclop Eeze) or frozen food (lobster eggs, mysis)). If shrimp and fish are present, they will try to steal the food, so it is essential to feed these cohabitants beforehand.
Newly introduced gorgonian sticks can be stimulated with a liquid food, e.g., PolypLab Polyp, to encourage the individual polyps to open. Only then can feeding be carried out.
The better the individual polyps take up the food provided, the better the growth and reproduction rates will be.
Azooxanthellate corals eat suspensions, marine snow, microplankton, and other organic matter, which is their natural food.
See:
Wagner, D., Pochon, X., Irwin, L., Toonen, R. J., & Gates, R. D.
(2010). Azooxanthellate? Most Hawaiian black corals contain Symbiodinium.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, rspb20101681.
Bo, M., Baker, A. C., Gaino, E., Wirshing, H. H., Scoccia, F., &
Bavestrello, G. (2011). First description of algal mutualistic endosymbiosis in a black coral (Anthozoa: Antipatharia). Marine
Ecology Progress Series, 435, 1-11. species
It is also interesting to note that the shrimp Pontonides unciger, as an epibiont, protects itself by perfect mimicry in the coral, adopting the color patterns of the polyps.
Pseudocirrhipathes mapia is one of the few species to have so-called cleaning polyps (see first description).
Very special thanks for the frist two photos of Pseudocirrhipathes mapia to Dr. Mazia Bo, Italy.
Dr. Bo discovered and first described this coral species in the Bunaken Marine Park in the Celébessee.
Black corals are generally considered to be difficult to preserve, as it was previously assumed that these animals did not have zooxanthellae.
However, this previous knowledge has now been updated, at least in part, to the effect that there are indeed black corals that have formed a symbiosis with zooxanthellae:
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
The majority of gorgonians do not have zooxanthellae and do not live off light. Azooxanthellate gorgonians do not host symbiotic algae that produce nutrients and energy through photosynthesis.
The pumps should be switched off before feeding. In order for the gorgonian to survive in the aquarium, each individual polyp must be fed sufficiently, i.e. daily or 3-4 times a week. Without feeding, the gorgonian will not survive in the aquarium. The polyps need a certain amount of time to absorb the food (granules or dust food (Ultramarin, Cyclop Eeze) or frozen food (lobster eggs, mysis)). If shrimp and fish are present, they will try to steal the food, so it is essential to feed these cohabitants beforehand.
Newly introduced gorgonian sticks can be stimulated with a liquid food, e.g., PolypLab Polyp, to encourage the individual polyps to open. Only then can feeding be carried out.
The better the individual polyps take up the food provided, the better the growth and reproduction rates will be.
Azooxanthellate corals eat suspensions, marine snow, microplankton, and other organic matter, which is their natural food.
See:
Wagner, D., Pochon, X., Irwin, L., Toonen, R. J., & Gates, R. D.
(2010). Azooxanthellate? Most Hawaiian black corals contain Symbiodinium.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, rspb20101681.
Bo, M., Baker, A. C., Gaino, E., Wirshing, H. H., Scoccia, F., &
Bavestrello, G. (2011). First description of algal mutualistic endosymbiosis in a black coral (Anthozoa: Antipatharia). Marine
Ecology Progress Series, 435, 1-11. species
It is also interesting to note that the shrimp Pontonides unciger, as an epibiont, protects itself by perfect mimicry in the coral, adopting the color patterns of the polyps.
Pseudocirrhipathes mapia is one of the few species to have so-called cleaning polyps (see first description).
Very special thanks for the frist two photos of Pseudocirrhipathes mapia to Dr. Mazia Bo, Italy.
