Pink Birds Nest - Seriatopora hystrix

This is a frag of Pink Birds Nest (Seriatopora hystrix) with purple polyps. This is a fourth “generation” captive raised colony. All of the branches displayed are new growth during the past 3 weeks. This coral is less than 2 inches tall and 2 inches wide.

Pink Birds Nest (Seriatopora hystrix), 3 weeks after being added from above. Picture taken September 2006, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm macro lens The original frag provided to me was a very thin and fragile branch. Instead of encrusting a new base which is typical of Acropora corals, this coral thickened its branches and generated many new branches. Almost no effort has been made to encrust a new base.

Pink Birds Nest (Seriatopora hystrix), three months later. Picture taken December 2006, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm macro lens Three months later this coral is showing excellent growth rates with a vibrant pink coloration that the camera is unable to capture.

Pink Birds Nest (Seriatopora hystrix), two months later. Picture taken February 2007, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm macro lens Just two months later this Seriatopora is showing significant growth and great colors!

Pink Birds Nest (Seriatopora hystrix), five months later. Picture taken July 2007, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Nikkor 18-70mm DX lens Five months later this area has become a nice coral cluster. It is not as pink as it used to be, some of this may be do to a switch in the lighting last month. The bulb over this side of the tank is not as white/blue as the rest of the tank.

Pink Birds Nest (Seriatopora hystrix), eight months later. Picture taken March 2008, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Nikkor 18-70mm DX lens Eight months later and this birds nest has reached the water surface and has encroached upon other nearby corals. This colony has also been fragged a few times during the past eight months.