Unusual Acanthastrea maxima! The green ring makes it very unique and striking.
This morph literally glows under actinics. Just fabulous!
Not too common, two headed Acan max. This one sports purple with light blue stripes!
There is another set of some unusual corals that I discovered among lobophyllias. These are pretty rare, and the colors vary. Looks kind of like an Acan species, not sure still trying to id. But one thing for sure, it is super nice!
Currently I call these "Acan - lobos". They look like lobos but has Acan colors and grows like an acanthastrea. These are different than the coral before, or the large headed Acan echinatas. Very rare, this is the only one I found among thousands of corals that I reviewed. Definitely a collector's item!
Very unusual Acanthastrea echinata. The colors are not the typical orange and green. Somehow it missed the orange part as it grew!
Another unusual Acan echinata. With orange and sky blue markings, this one is sure to stand out in a reef tank!
Gorgeous bright orange Cerianthus tube anemone!
"Speckled rose anemone anyone? Found only one among hundreds!
Pretty green bubble anemone with white rings and reddish tips!
Have a look at this gorgeous Blastomussa wellsi! Most of the nicer color morphs come in small colonies with few heads. Rarely do I see huge pieces.
Quite not blue blasto, but still very nice. Again note the small size.
This blasto morph is different than the normal. The funny thing is, even the skeletal structure looks a little different. But one thing that is unusual, is the fact that the colors and pattern are always the same on these - small green centers with lots of red.
Very nice for a green blastomussa. The darker green on the skirts makes it very unique looking.
Nice echinophyllia chalice with pink eyes. I had a total of six pieces, but only one survived by the time it got to Jakarta. The chalice type of corals are very sensitive during transport. I've seen many beautiful pieces come in severely damaged from the islands. Very unfortunate since these are one of the more desired corals.
These oxy- chalice types only come from Makassar. The funny thing is that these were known as "poca" corals, meaning montipora. Thanks to me, they know the difference now. You may think it is simple, but no one has taught the fishermen or the suppliers. I'm always working with the guys to get the names straight.
Check out this light purple echinophyllia chalice. Not the most desired color, but still very nice!
Metallic green Cynarina lacrymalis! One of the prettiest "green" corals in the reefs!
Pink and orange morphs of Cynarina lacrymalis are more common than the green ones. With its translucent tissue, it really is beautiful!
Cynarina, or scolymia donuts as it is better known, is one of my personal favorites. Again the best ones come from Makassar!
Ok this purple/pink favia/montastrea did not come from Makassar. I picked this one up from Jakarta LFS. I'm always on the look out for corals for my customers where ever I go. Once I picked up a red fungia from the LFS's! Me and my friend try to make it out to the shops at least once a week. We are kind of known there, since we supply some corals to these places.
Ok now we are back to Makassar favias. This beautiful green and red "Christmas" colored favia is a South Sulawesi specialty. The best ones come from this area.
Once in a while, I will run into a special morph. This light blue, red eyed favia is just amazing!
Even the best fungias come from the Makassar area. Have a look at this crazy green polyped fungia. I coudn't believe my eyes at first!
Orange fungias are common in Makassar, but this dark orange morph is definitely not common!
Very sensitive almost white fungia is also not a common morph. The bright pink-orange mouth makes this color morph very different. Unfortunately, one a few made it out six pieces. This morph is definitely a poor shipper.
This light green fungia with red polyps is even more rare than the pure red morph. This is the only second one I've ever seen. Just too unique and beautiful!
Even green bubbles are metallic in Makassar!
Wow! I will let the colors do the talking. Totally gorgeous lobophyllia!
I'm totally amazed at the colors and morphs that Makassar keep spitting out! This little lobo is definitely an awesome piece!
Strange deep water lobos are another Makassar specialty!
Nice red symphyllia looking lobo. My suppliers are always on the lookout for these as they know I really like them!
This symphyllia came in heavily damaged but I still bought it hoping it would recover. It is doing nicely now!
Ok guys this is no joke! Under actinics, this trachyphyllia looks better than this. I took this picture using super closeup with led on my camera under actinics. It is unbelievable in real life!
So here is what it looks like under t5 whites and actinics.
Unusual purple trachyphyllia from Makassar!
The orange stripes on this trachy makes it stand out among others!
Bright red trachys from Makassar are just beautiful!
And now the yumas! Blue with green tips, simply marvelous!
Purple yumas are very nice. The bad part is that this morph can turn brown quickly if stressed!
One of my multicolored Ricordia yumas! This one even has a white stripe of pimples!
Ok you zoanthid fans! This one is a new morph that I've never seen before. I'm going to call this "Makassar orange speckled zoo"!
Another zoanthid morph that I haven't seen from Makassar. Relatively small heads on a small rock but definitely different!Conclusion
Ok guys that is it for today. Makassar, South Sulawesi is just amazing. I just keep running into new corals and colors. And of course I will be here to share with you everything I find!
Cheers,
Eddie
2 comments:
just fabulous! I can't think of any ther words...well maybe WOW!!!
Great photos! And the amazing variety, colours, shapes, textures...
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