Well we can firmly say that the festive season is well on its way now and we'll all soon be gorging ourselves on festive food and drink. What about our reefs though? Do fish and critters know it's Christmas too? Let's do a blog on things festive.
The first thing that springs to mind when we're talking about festive season reefing is coral with a Christmas twist. There are a few quick obvious ones here too such as the Jingle Bells Cyphastrea (left) which is a lovely encrusting coral with a teal and glowing polyps. Cyphastrea is a LPS coral which benefits from stable conditions, medium flow and medium to strong lighting. I see it in the middle to lower sections of well lit reef tanks most often. As an encrusting coral i've also seen it placed on the back wall of an aquarium or the overflow box and as it grows it creates a really dramatic backdrop which I'm personally a big fan of. Another coral with a Xmas themed name is the Christmas Favia (right) which I can only assume is named according to its colouration. It is another LPS coral which does well in medium light and moderate flow. Favias can be aggressive towards other corals and can extend stinging tentacles so when placing it, make sure to give it a little bit of space.
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Now this isn't exactly a through and through Xmas named coral but for whatever reason I always mentally associate the Rockin Redneck Favia with the 'Rocking around the Christmas Tree' tune so I'm going to include it here. I've talked about this coral before and how much of a fan I am of it. Online pictures really don't do it justice, it has a strong red, orange and yellow/green colouration to it and it's a really strong grower! So much so that we're now able to offer frags of it rather than just a colony. If you're looking for a nice bold Favia then this might be just right for you.
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But what about the fish I hear you say? Maybe they don't know it's the festive season but why not treat them anyway I say! Whilst you're tucking into your Xmas dinner why not give the Fish their own? Don't worry, I've got you covered here too, maybe treat your fishy friends to some live food like Mysis or Brine? Or this could be an opportunity to mix it up and try a new food such as Reef Feast which is a mix of many food types frozen into a slab. I've used this quite a bit in the past and I am a fan of it. Simply break of a chunk and drop it into the tank. No need to defrost if you don't want to, just drop it straight in. If you've got a lot of Algae eaters you've also go the option of the Veggie Feast.
What if you're Xmas shopping for a reefing friend, relative or loved one? Well we've got you covered as well! Rock N Critters Gift Vouchers. You can purchase in store or online through the website and give the voucher as a gift so they can grab what they want in store.
We'll be open as per normal in the run up to Xmas and we will have some reduced hours here and there around Xmas day as we recover from Mince Pies and Carols but we will publish our opening hours in advance on Facebook and online so make sure you find us on Social Media to check in! Happy Xmas shopping!