Is this coral available?- Distichopora violacea

[~Flighty~]

Is this coral available and can we keep it alive in our tanks? aside form the color, the growth pattern is spectacular. I'm guessing there is some good reason why it isn't in every nice tank around.

http://www.underwaterkwaj.com/uw-misc/violacea.htm

http://www.underwaterkwaj.com/

I guess they are non photosynthetic, so they need special care.

 

[Duds]

eric bonemans book says they have a low survival rate, and that they are dependent on phtytoplankton theres some more info there page 104
Thnaks
Duds

 

[Liquid]

Just based upon those links, it appears to be prevalent only in a very small geographic region. Given the low supply and the probable difficulties of care, I would suspect those are two strong reasons why they aren't prevalent amongst our tanks.

 

[NateHanson]

Also, there are very few non-photosynthetic corals that can be easily kept in our tanks. We just don't have the planktonic density to support them.

 

[MarkO]

If it's a softie, I'm guessing it might be a deepwater species based on the photo.

 

[muddskipper]

ahh yes... theres a place in providence that has a couple of them .. ones a yellow and ones a purple .. dont remember the name of the place or price but its off wickedan st..

 

[me2003]

It is available occasionaly in reef stores. I do not think it is rare, but you can
check the CITES list.
They may get listed under a lace coral
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sylasterina.htm
They are difficult to keep. It is a hard coral, but not photosynthetic. It
probably has to be feed some how.
You can buy them online.