Kaleidoscope Eyes Echinophyllia echinoporides Original DiamondsintheReef.com colony.
Incredible corallite pigmentation includes outer green rays, inner violet/blue center
with faint rays along with one or two pink center spots.
Another incredibly pigmented Echinophyllia species coral. The surface of this thick plating
coral is covered with pigmented corallites that are flush to the surface. These pigments give
the impression that the surface is covered with eyes. The outer areas of each corallite
contains thick green rays of pigments that appear as eye lashes. The inner area of each
corallite has blue and violet pigments. The center of the inner corallite areas contain one
or two spots of bright pink pigments. It appears that corallites that are cloning and
splitting might contain two hot pink spots. Each corallite appears different and this is why
the coral was called the Kaleidoscope Eyes coral.
The coral was found by Clint Conway of
DiamondsintheReef.com . Clint found the coral in a local retail reef shop within the
Bay Area of California during the summer of 2005. Initially the coral only had weak pigment patterns
that were barely visible. The corals pigments intensified while the coral was maintained in
captivity under moderate light levels. This coral is relatively easy to maintain.
Steve Tyree is maintaining a farmed section of this coral
for reeffarmers.com in one of his 125 gallon naturally filtered Tri-Zonal Reef Aquariums. In
Steve's captive reef the coral is positoned to recieve moderate light levels under a
400 watt 20,000 K Radium Metal Halide. Update June 2007 - Reeffarmers has
retired this coral as a Limited Edition. This is primarily due to the loss of the parent seed.
The coral did not sustain long term growth in captivity.
Kaleidoscope Eyes Echinophyllia echinoporides Original DiamondsintheReef.com colony.
Image through glass. Note new corallites developing on distinctive edges of the colony.
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