Felicia's Pico Reef Vase

When I had my son and moved back to my hometown a few years ago, I gave up reefing for a short time. I had a 6 gallon cube with a ravenous clingfish and some corals. My mom bought me a beautiful vase from an antique shop, and it got my wheels turning. All I could see was coral. 

My best friend Ricky from Ricky Fin's Aquatics had been holding and growing some of my favorite corals that I put in his tank when I moved. In the summer of 2016, Ricky fragged the colonies that grew from the frags I gave him and I put them in my new vase along with the few corals I had in the cube. The vase took a whole hour to set up with boxed natural sea water and already cured live rock. A small powerhead, heater, and 38 PAR ABI LED bulb were all the equipment I needed.

Thank you, CORAL magazine, for publishing an article about my reef vase in the Jan/Feb 2018 issue. The cover features my son, Lachlan, peering into his favorite aquarium in our house. Enjoy these photos that didn't fit into the article. Lots of before and after photos!

June 2017

Feb 2017

Feb 2017

Jan 2017

June 2017

June 2017

June 2017

June 2017

June 2017

June 2017

Setosa Dec 2016 

Setosa apr 2016 - Nov 2017

Setosa Jun 2016

SunnyD Palys 1 year of growth

SunnyD Palys June 2016

SunnyD Palys March 2016

Red Monti May 2017

Red Monti Feb 2017

Red Monti 1 year of growth

Red Monti June 2017

Purple Gorgonian 6 months of growth

The Reef Vase was transferred into an 8 gallon bowl in June 2017. The stand I kept my 2 gallon vase on cracked down the center. My step dad made me a new stand with a carved unicorn on the front, and the tiny vase looked silly on the big stand, so I upgraded to an 8 gallon bowl which fits perfectly and gave my corals some room to grow.

Unicorn Reef Bowl Dec 2017

Unicorn Reef Bowl Dec 2017

Unicorn Reef Bowl Dec 2017

Unicorn Reef Bowl Nov 2017

Unicorn Reef Bowl and Stand

38 PAR LED ABI Tuna Blue

Handfeeding Peppermint Shrimp

Blue Hornet Zoas Jan 2017, now spread all over the tank

Neon Green Toadstool

Mini cucumbers that reproduce in my bowl

Rasta Zoas, courtesy of Ricky Fins

Undata Closeup

Undata Dec 2015

Guardians of the coral - Tetralia and Trapezia

There are two genera of coral guard crabs commonly found in the aquarium trade – Trapezia and Tetralia – that are symbiotic with small polyp stony corals such as Acropora, Pocillopora, Stylophora, and Seriatopora corals. These corals attract and feed their tiny symbionts with special fatty mucous they produce just for the crabs. Inexperienced reefers sometimes remove coral guard crabs from their host coral in error, but they are actually quite beneficial. Coral guard crabs remove debris and sediment that settles on the host coral and increase flow to the coral’s center, preventing tissue necrosis. In turn the crab gets a home and a coral mucous meal. They also protect the host coral from some pests and predators. 

Larger species pinch the underside of the crown of thorns star, a large predatory sea star that consumes coral, until it moves on to an unprotected coral. Smaller crabs protect corals from predatory snails and small pests. Studies show that higher densities and diversity of coral guard crabs on wild Acropora and Pocillopora coral colonies increase survivability. 

In captivity it’s best to keep them on larger SPS colonies since their activities have been reported to sometimes cause damage to frags and very small corals. Pairs of Tetralia spp., such as T. glaberrima, T. nigrolineata, and T. cinctipes live in Acropora corals. They are tiny and have different sized chelipeds (claws). They are usually purple, white, or orange, and some have a dark “mask” across the eyes, giving them the common name “bandit crabs.” Larger, equal handed species like Trapezia rufopunctata, Tetralia cymodoce, Tetralia sereni, and Trapezia septata are Pocilliopora symbionts. Trapezia digitalis is a less picky symbiont and will pair with Acropora, Pocillopora, and Pavona corals. Seriatopora spp. host Trapezia guttata.


Blue eyed Cymo spp. crabs are coral symbionts, but in captivity they tend to be too destructive on all but the largest coral colonies, so most reefers banish them. Trapeziid crabs are easily distinguished from blue eyed crabs. Guard crabs are more smooth and colorful while blue eyed crabs are hairy, rough, and tan or brown with pale blue eyes.

Cymo spp. blue eyed "bad" crab

Squat Lobsters and Porcelain Crabs - Fun Nano Crustaceans

Porcelain Crabs and Squat Lobsters are neither true crabs nor true lobsters; they are actually Galatheoids, and are more closely related to hermit crabs. Most of the tiny squat lobsters and porcelain crabs you’d find as hitchhikers or for sale at your LFS are reef safe and peaceful. They are best kept singly or in pairs in nano tanks, as they may fight with their own or similar species, but given enough territory, multiples can be housed together.

Crinoid squat lobsters, Allogalathea elegans and Galathea inflata, make their homes on Crinoid feather sea stars for protection. Crinoids are believed to have an unpleasant taste or toxin and are rarely eaten by predators. Crinoid squat lobsters also obtain food from their hosts; these kleptoparasites use their chelipeds (claws) to comb food from the Crinoids’ feathery arms. Crinoids are nearly impossible to keep in captivity, but Crinoid squat lobsters do not require a host to thrive in a home aquarium if they are target fed plankton and meaty foods like frozen mysis and copepods. Their coloration is as variable as their hosts, though the most common colors are black, white, and yellow. Most Crinoid squat lobsters are smooth, but some are spiny, further helping to blend in with their host. A. elegans can be distinguished from the nearly identical G. inflata by having a longer rostrum that extends far past the eyes.

One other squat lobster – the stunning scarlet red Galathea balssi – is infrequently offered in the aquarium hobby. It grows slightly larger than the Crinoid squat lobsters and has no symbiotic relationships. Other free-living Galatheids found as hitchhikers make fine pets. Squat lobsters are typically drab brown or gray, but some of the coral symbionts have striking colors and patterns.

Three similar species of Porcelain crabs in the genus Neopetrolisthes live on anemones like E. quadricolor, bubble tip anemones. They are white with varying brown dots and spots. They feed on mucous and food particles that fall into the anemone’s tentacles and also use their filter feeding setae to sift plankton from the water. They protect their anemone from small predators, but you should use caution when housing porcelain anemone crabs and clownfish together. If the clownfish decide to live in the anemone, they usually evict the porcelain crabs.

There are dozens of free-living and coral symbiont species in the genus Petrolisthes. Many can be found as hitchhikers and a few are readily available in the aquarium trade. They’re usually gray or purple, but some very brightly colored specimens are occasionally found.

The squat lobsters and porcelain crabs most often encountered by hobbyists are hardy and adapt well to life in aquariums, but like other crustaceans, they are sensitive to copper, nitrates, and changes in salinity and water quality. Avoid aggressive tank mates or those large enough to consume them.

All photos by author unless otherwise noted. Photo captions and credits, left to right:Gallery 1: Allogalathea elegans on purple Crinoid; Galathea inflata on Crinoid; White and yellow Crinoid Squat Lobster; Galathea Balssi, Photo with permission by Justine Hughes Ostrowski, All rights reserved; Photo by Ratha Grimes, CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ratha/17285435165/; Galathea inflata Crinoid Squat Lobster, note the short rostrum; black and white Crinoid Squat Lobster; Crinoid Squat Lobster in Crinoid eating frozen mysis; Photo by Akuppa John Wigham, CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/90664717@N00/1464427318; Gallery 2: Porcelain Anemone Crab on Rose Bubble Tip Anemone; “Purple Zebra” Bolivian Porcelain Crab; Porcelain Crab; Photo by Christian Gloor, CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_gloor/11019792676/; Photo by Christian Gloor, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_gloor/25911687430/; photo by Tam Warner Minton, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/travels_with_tam/28288489240/; Porcelain Anemone Crab on E. quadricolor

Originally hosted on reefs.com