Rafi Amar, Israel
Info
Melithaea sinaica (Grasshoff, 2000)
The Sinai Fan Melithaea sinaica Grasshoff, 2000, formerly known as Acabaria sinaica Grasshoff, 2000, is an azooxanthellate coral from our "home sea", the Mediterranean.
All the more astonishing that apparently only one information (from Underwater World Red Sea) about the height (size) of the species can be found, therefore we would be very pleased if diving users, who have seen the coral in natura, could give us further hints.
Maybe one of the divers even brought back an offshoot from vacation and could possibly give an experience report on keeping it?
Since the fan has no symbiosis with zooxanthellae, it does not need daylight for growth, therefore habitats in underwater caves and shady areas in rocky reefs with appropriate water movement for feeding microplankton are ideal for the coral.
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.
Color: Red-orange, depending on lighting and incidence of light, the white polyps stand out clearly from the basic color of the animal.
Growth forms of the Sinai fan: the sea fan has a net-like structure, which can also be bush-like under good conditions.
Corals like the beautiful Sinai sea fan are often found in mesophotic depths, the indication of the depth of 65 meters is taken from the paper "Octocorals of the Indo-Pacific", page 717.
We would like to thank "Underwater World Red Sea", Peter Jonas, for the first photo of this beautiful coral.
Synonym: Acabaria sinaica Grasshoff, 2000
The Sinai Fan Melithaea sinaica Grasshoff, 2000, formerly known as Acabaria sinaica Grasshoff, 2000, is an azooxanthellate coral from our "home sea", the Mediterranean.
All the more astonishing that apparently only one information (from Underwater World Red Sea) about the height (size) of the species can be found, therefore we would be very pleased if diving users, who have seen the coral in natura, could give us further hints.
Maybe one of the divers even brought back an offshoot from vacation and could possibly give an experience report on keeping it?
Since the fan has no symbiosis with zooxanthellae, it does not need daylight for growth, therefore habitats in underwater caves and shady areas in rocky reefs with appropriate water movement for feeding microplankton are ideal for the coral.
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.
Color: Red-orange, depending on lighting and incidence of light, the white polyps stand out clearly from the basic color of the animal.
Growth forms of the Sinai fan: the sea fan has a net-like structure, which can also be bush-like under good conditions.
Corals like the beautiful Sinai sea fan are often found in mesophotic depths, the indication of the depth of 65 meters is taken from the paper "Octocorals of the Indo-Pacific", page 717.
We would like to thank "Underwater World Red Sea", Peter Jonas, for the first photo of this beautiful coral.
Synonym: Acabaria sinaica Grasshoff, 2000
