Mol_PMB's Maldivian Biotope

[Mol_PMB]

Another striking type of coral that is common in the shallow areas of the Maldives reefs is Platygyra, the maze or brain coral. I saw many of these in a range of colours, including browns, greens, purples, and a gorgeous multicoloured brown/green one. It's possible that some of them are the similar-looking genus Leptoria. Here are the pics:

Brownish maze, with surge hawkfish (Cirrhitus pinnulatus) resting on it:


Purplish and brownish maze corals. Any similarity to a builder's bum is purely coincidental:


Green maze coral:


Brown maze coral surrounded by wrasse:


Perfect sphere maze:


Gorgeous maze with brown ridges and bright green between:



After a quick google, these are hard to find in the trade and I'm not convinced that everything advertised as a Platygyra is actually what it is sold as. Although they are firmly etched in my memory and would make a great cameo of the Maldives, it may not be so easy to find a suitable frag. They don't seem too hard to keep if you can actually find one, although apparently they have long stinging tentacles so need to be kept apart from other corals.

[Mol_PMB]

Last one for today.

Pufferfish have a great personality, and I saw lots of them, large and small. No chance of keeping the biggest species in a tank; here's an adult spotted porcupine (Diodon hystrix) that was about 2 feet long:


But there are lots of smaller puffers and a particularly common species in the Maldives is the valentini puffer: Canthigaster valentini. I saw these on several different reefs, often in pairs in shallow water. They only grow to about 3" or 4", and are readily available in the aquarium trade. But are they reef-safe? Opinions differ.
There is also a filefish that mimics the shape, size and colouration of these puffers: Paraluteres prionurus. I didn't see any of those.

These photos show many different individuals that I saw during my trip:

[Gingerlove05]

As you know i have no experience of the salty side, aside from the odd swim in the sea and around some small shoals when on holiday
They are some great pictures and some really interesting ideas
I remember your 100/120l salty tank, the perspective of that tank was amazing as it looked huge, so i will be interested to see what you do

[plankton]

I wonder how much it would cost to adapt your pond........

[Mol_PMB]

Another classic Maldivian cameo would be the clownfish and anenome combination.


The most common clown in the Maldives is the endemic Maldivian clownfish (Amphiprion nigripes). It's not readily available in the trade, and associates only with the magnificent anenome (Heteractis magnifica) which is very difficult indeed to keep in captivity. So this combination isn't practical in a tank:





Below that group of clowns and anenomies was a well-camouflaged scorpionfish, at the bottom of the picture just right of centre, head pointing downwards. Can you see it? The feathery edge of the pectoral fin and the triangle of the dorsal fin may help to distinguish it from the rocks.


The other clownfish in the Maldives is Clark's clownfish (Amphiprion clarkii). This is more readily available and less fussy over its anenome. In 2017 I saw them in a variety of anenomes including the bubble-tip (Entacmaea quadricolor) which is easier to keep. On my recent trip I only saw one Amphiprion clarkii, and that was in a carpet anenome (Stichodactyla haddoni, I think) which are also moderately easy to keep. So those options would be more practical.


I suspect that in the confines of a tank, the clowns wouldn't get on with a shoal of damsels, and anenomies can wreak havoc with SPS corals. So I'm not sure this would be a first-choice cameo unless I had a larger tank.

[Mol_PMB]

I wonder how much it would cost to adapt your pond........

The pond is a bit chilly for Maldivian fish!

[plankton]

Not too cold then....

[Mol_PMB]

Today I have been on a fact-finding mission to Burscough Aquatics, then dropped in to Pier Aquatics on my way to Abyss.
At Burscough I mainly wanted to take a first-hand look at the Evolution Aqua range of salty tanks, and I ended up talking to the designer of that range.
They look excellent, and are made locally (in Wigan). The cabinets come in a wide range of colours, including an oak veneer that would match my other furniture. They run very quietly and look neat. I am very tempted...

If I do get one, I am torn between the 2-foot and the 4-foot version. I have space for either, but the 2-foot cube would be in a better location, more easily watched. It's also significantly cheaper and the appropriate lighting and other equipment would also be cheaper. Against that, there's less space inside which would restrict the choice of fish and the number of cameos I could recreate. Nevertheless I am leaning towards the 2-foot cube. One of the key questions in my mind at present is whether a 220-litre 2' cube is big enough for a shoal of chromis or damsels.

I also looked at fish and corals in both Burscough and Abyss. At Abyss I picked up a couple of new frags and a couple of snails for the 40L tank, which I have just finished acclimatising. Burscough's range of fish included several species appropriate for the Maldives theme.

[Mol_PMB]

One of the things that I found very interesting in the Maldives was the huge Porites boulder corals and the variety of other things living amongst them. I was fascinated by these in 2017 when they comprised most of the remaining living corals in the shallow areas, though they had died off in places. They often form huge boulders, up to 3m in diameter in my experience. Here's a typical example:


Porites have small polyps and look furry when the polyps are extended:


Most of the biggest Porites boulders are a warm buff colour, but this is decorated with dozens of multi-colour christmas-tree worms making a beautiful combination:








And it's not just christmas tree worms. Blue clams commonly appear in the boulders, and in areas where the Porites has died off it is common to see other corals filling the gaps, as in these examples:






The boulders are a haven for fish, with larger nocturnal types hiding in the shadows underneath, and smaller species on the upper surfaces. This example hosts a shoal of Chromis viridis, including some youngsters lower centre:

And here's a blackside hawkfish resting on a Porites; note also the Acropora growing in the hole:


On a smaller scale, there are species of blenny and micro-goby that live on these boulders too. This photo shows the Maldives blenny (Ecsenius minutus) lower centre, and two micro-gobies (Eviota sebreei) upper centre.


Not all the Porites boulders are buff-coloured; there is also a blue-purple variant. This generally appears in smaller boulders but I did see a few huge old ones. This photo shows the side of large boulder with a blenny:


Here is a smaller one with polyps fully extended:


And here is one which has been pecked at by a Parrotfish, showing the contrast between the blue and purple parts:


A full-scale boulder would require a huge tank, but I'd love to try and recreate part of one, perhaps in a back corner of the aquarium. It should be possible to include some of the features shown above. A few years ago it was common to see lumps of buff Porites with christmas tree worms in fish shops, but they seem to have disappeared recently. I wonder why?
I've seen purple Porites frags for sale, but not any buff ones. Perhaps they are considered too 'boring'?
In my old 120L tank I successfully grew Porites from a frag, and it was pretty undemanding for an SPS coral.

[plankton]

Nice to see some gobies and blennies in the wild.