Two views of the circular aquarium from opposite
sides. The curved walls create some distortion.
viewed from a greater distance, this optical
effect is barely noticeable.
Corals
The coral population in this tank is dominated by small-polyped stony corals, which
have developed into burgeoning specimens—even though the aquarium has been
running for only around three years—and
are now competing with one another for
space into which to expand. However, a
multitude of zooxanthellate gorgonian,
soft, and mushroom corals, encrusting
anemones, and a number of large-polyped
stony corals provide an element of movement in the thicket of corals and lend a
very lively appearance to the captive reef.
Not only the small-polyped stony corals,
but also their large-polyped cousins—for
example, Blastomussa merleti, B. wellsi, and
Plerogyra simplex—exhibit strikingly vigorous growth, which is probably the result
of the addition of coral food, as well as
the powerful HQI lighting. Astonishingly,
even the Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus
imperator), sometimes described as a coral-eater, lives in peaceful harmony with the
actinians and doesn’t affect their polyp expansion.
material makes the colors of the fishes and corals appear
more vivid than they would in a tank made of conventional glass of the same strength.
Because of acrylic’s tendency to scratch, the cleaning
of the walls must be performed particularly carefully and
without the aid of metal tools (no razors!). In fact, most
algal growth comes away from acrylic glass fairly easily,
but calciferous red algae can present some difficulties,
particularly near the hard-to-reach bottom of the tank.
A further disadvantage stems from the circular form of
the tank: despite a tank diameter of 59 inches (150 cm),
the curvature of the pane is fairly marked, so there is
always a slight optical distortion of the observer’s view.
However, this is mainly apparent only when the observer stands very close to the tank. When the aquarium is
Fishes
René Reiche’s circular reef aquarium contains a number of fishes that aren’t maintained in the aquarium on an everyday
basis—for example, the Double Whiptail
Bream (Pentapodus emeryii). But undoubtedly its most
striking feature is the presence of two Powder Blue Tangs
(Acanthurus leucosternon), which are living together in
the tank without any problems—despite the fact that
these fishes are generally regarded as so aggressive that it
is impossible to keep them together with their own kind
The Double Whiptail Bream (Pentapodus emeryii) is rarely
maintained in the aquarium.
