Scolymia Archives - Coral Ever After

Portfolio of Rescued Corals: Before and After

reefdup Rehabilitation January 24, 2025January 24, 2025Acan, acropora, Coral, Dying Coral, elegance, Euphyllia, Frogspawn, Micromussa, Rehabilitation, Rescue Coral, Scoly, Scolymia, Torch, Zoanthids 0 Comment

Before and After of a Dying Homophyllia Coral

This is – by no means – my complete portfolio of rescued corals with before and after photos. Honestly – it’s just what this little hobbyist website could handle without bogging down too much (please let me know if the site starts acting like it’s 1995 on dial-up). In the early days, I didn’t document my rescued corals – because I didn’t think I was doing anything unusual or interesting to anyone else. So, there aren’t many photos of the early rescued corals with before and after images for comparison. I have documentation that I’ve successfully rescued over 300 corals in my home aquariums, but I don’t know where the true number really is.

Photo Composition

In showcasing this portfolio of rescued corals, I’m often asked to show the “before” corals in better lighting and in the same orientation as the “after” photos. As you can see, some of these photos go back over a decade (and a few back over 15 years). That was the age of dinosaurs, when I had to pull out an actual camera, try to remember all the manual settings, add the dates, upload and edit everything in a program, and somehow not lose the files after years of device changes… In other words, I’ve improved alongside technology. But, care of the coral during intake is my first priority (and not getting an Insta-worthy image).

Another consideration (that I have yet to solve) is… when to take the “after” photo? Should I take the “after” photo when the coral is just fully healed, or should I take the photo when the coral is at its full, mature glory? During the rehabilitation process, I try to photograph all corals monthly, and for the “after” photo, I typically use the first photo where the coral looks actually “good.” However, there are a few success stories, where I just love to show the coral as a thriving colony years later.

Photo Layout

Each photo “block” within the portfolio of rescued corals has two images: the “before” image is on the top, and the “after” image is on the bottom. Both images should have dates when the images were taken to help give a timeline between the two for comparison. On the top right of each set is just my categorizing nomenclature.

Coral Categorization

And, regarding nomenclature, I nearly gave up trying to recategorize my system after the latest round of scientific re-naming (e.g., a lot of coral in Lobophyllia were reclassified into Acanthastrea, Scolymia was reclassified as Homophyllia). I tried to categorize everything correctly here, but who knows anymore. If you see something under an old name, please just consider it a legacy item within this portfolio of rescued corals.

Gallery: Portfolio of Rescued Corals

Note: Some images have links to the full story of the coral’s recovery (this is a work in-progress; more will be added later).

Dying Homophyllia (Scolymia) Coral Rehabilitation

reefdup Homophyllia, Rehabilitation March 12, 2024March 12, 2024australis, Coral, coral dip, Dying Coral, Homophyllia, husbandry, quarantine, Rehabilitation, Rescue Coral, Scolymia 0 Comment

Previously Dying Homophyllia australia (Scolymia) Coral Fully Rehabilitated

A local reefkeeper contacted me about possibly saving his dying Scolymia coral (Homophyllia australis), and the condition of it sounded quite bad. But, seeing its condition was still a shock. I wasn’t sure if there was even a mouth left since the tissue was so shrunken and discolored. But, I went ahead and did my best; its complete rehabilitation was a success! Read on for more information about this dying Homophyllia australis (Scolymia) coral’s successful rehabilitation.

Intake: Acclimation, Inspection, and Dips

Dying Homophyllia australia (Scolymia) Coral in a Dip

When I brought the coral home (12 March 2022), I placed it (still in the container) into the sump of my quarantine tank to acclimate to the temperature for only 15 minutes. Next, I brought it over to my workbench for inspection, dipping, etc.

First, I had to assess its health. For more information on assessing a coral’s health and potential causes of damage, check out “Assessing Coral Health: An Introduction.”

Next, came the inspection and dip process. My “handy-dandy flow-chart” led me to classify this coral as an “urgent” case, which meant that it was in bad shape requiring lots of care. However, it wasn’t to the point of an emergency. This category determination was based on the algae-covered skeleton, clinging tissue, and unknown mouth situation (along with the mesenterial filaments coming out everywhere). Then came my dip process, which was fairly standard for this case. Typically I would remove excess skeleton and glue down any damaged tissue, but in this case, I absolutely had no clue what was what. Even what little tissue remained didn’t fluoresce much, so I just rolled with what I had.

Quarantine: Care and Feeding

Dying Homophyllia australia (Scolymia) Coral

After the dips, I placed the coral into my quarantine tank. Typically, I place these types of corals on the sand bed, but I wanted to really observe this one closely. So, I placed it up on a frag rack up near the surface of the water. This would also make feedings easier. I still wasn’t sure what was tissue and what was skeleton at this point.

In several days (18 March 2022), I was able to start to see the actual remaining tissue condition a bit better. Granted, it was pretty bad. At this point, I was in a “watch-and-see” mode. Attempts to feed could cause the coral to rot, if it is unable to properly digest the food. However, I did start target feeding corals nearby to see if I could elicit a feeding response.

In less than a month (8 April 2022), the coral was no longer retracted into the skeleton. It wasn’t pretty, but by this point, I had confidence in its survival – as long as I could get it to eat. However, I still wasn’t ready to start feeding it, as its mouth condition was unsuitable.

Recovering Homophyllia australia (Scolymia) Coral

The coral was finally ready to start taking supplemental food by about the 1.5 month point (21 May 2022). Notice the tentacles extending and mostly-formed mouth. Success!

Conclusion: Scolymia Rehabilitation Success

Rehabilitated Homophyllia australia (Scolymia) Coral

Today, the previously dying Homophyllia australis (Scolymia) coral is an absolute stunner (although my photography is lacking). Notice how a lot of the grayish stripes turned green over time. This coral also features various orange shades and even yellow hues! Absolutely lovely! (Photo was taken 25 November 2023.)

Scolymia Rehabilitation

reefdup Rehabilitation, Scolymia June 26, 2020January 17, 2021Dying Coral, Rescue Coral, Scolymia, Stung 0 Comment

On 3 March 2012, I received this badly stung Scolymia coral.

By 14 April 2012, a little over a month later, the coral was healed and starting to recover.

At the two-month point (14 May 2012), the coral was a voracious eater.

After nearly four months (30 June 2012), the coral was starting to fill out.

By 7 October 2012, only seven months later, the coral was just looking a bit lop-sided.

One year later (31 March 2013), and the coral was nearly back to its original condition.

Here is the coral on 16 June 2013, as beautiful as ever.

Even after three moves across the country (this coral has been with me in Nevada, Utah, and Virginia), I still have this beautiful Scolymia. Interestingly, in 2016, the coral underwent color changes, as shown here (3 July 2016).

Oh what a difference a year can make!