Learn more about the unique new Bowerbanki coral imported by Carolina Aquatics, and be sure to read the official rules and then submit your entry in the comments section of this page.
NOTE – THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! VIEW THE WINNERS HERE!
At A Glance
#NameTheBowerbanki
Homophyllia bowerbanki
Carolina Aquatics
Kernersville, North Carolina
carolinaaquatics.com
Geographic Origin: Mackay, Australia
Light Level: Moderate
Flow Level: Moderate
Care Level: Easy
Photographer: All images by Jeremey Shenk/Carolina Aquatics.
Notes: This unique Homophyllia bowerbanki was collected water at a temperature of 75F (24C) and a depth of 24 feet (8 m), on the top of a reef in the vicinity of Mackay, Australia. The gold-yellow ridge coloration is highly unusual in this species. It arrived in the United States at an import price in the four-figure range, and thus, this stunning Bowerbanki was destined for the band saw!
Carefully divided into fragments, the coral is being placed into aquaculture production at Carolina Aquatics. But what to call it? Carolina Aquatics is offering a one-polyp frag from this coral to the person who names this new cultivar!
Keep reading to find out how you could be the lucky reef aquarist who wins!
Bringing A Rare Coral To Market
Kris Cline, founder and president of Carolina Aquatics, had been sharing images of this stunning coral with CORAL editors from the very moment it first became available, excitedly wondering if it was worth the investment. Coming to the decision to spend more on the importation of a single coral colony than many individuals make in a month’s salary is not an easy decision. As he reflected on the decision, he said, “I know we ‘overpaid’ for it, but the reality is that the collector was going to get that price from somebody.”
This large Bowerbanki arrived in the US at the start of March, and a few weeks later after settling in, it was cut up into approximately 55 frags. “Cutting up that piece was rough,” said Cline. “It hurt me a little bit. But, we’re expanding our coral farm, so cutting up coral should not bother me. But when you have a piece like this, that’s so pristine, so beautiful, it’s just tough. In the back of my head, though, I know that piece is going to be grown and spread out amongst countless reef hobbyists. That, in a way, makes it better.”
This is a coral that Cline aims to keep in ongoing cultivation at his Carolina Aquatics facility. “We will probably sell a few frags early on, but I’d really like to get at least one generation’s growth under our belt before we start selling them. These corals grow so slow, that in order to consistently produce a steady supply of frags it will take a lot more than what we have now. Otherwise, we’d have to limit sales strictly to a couple of pieces here and there.
“When cultivating a coral like this Bowerbanki, one polyp can yield 6-10 smaller polyps, and then you cut off the new polyps and wait for the next generation to grow. I’m guessing it will be three or four months before we see the first noticeable extra polyps on the frags we recently made. I predict it will be at least a year, but probably two years, before we’re really ready to push out quantities of this coral.”
Thankfully, while a slow grower and an incredibly rare variety, Kline feels that Bowerbanki corals do well in captivity. “I feel like they’re very similar to an Acan Lord. They’re overall pretty easy, you can feed them, but you don’t have to. We notice better growth when we feed.”
All that’s needed now is patience while these corals grow, and a name!
You Could Win One Of These, So It’s Time To Get Creative!
The aquarist who supplies the name chosen for this new coral cultivar will receive a frag of the new coral, compliments of Carolina Aquatics. Shipping to continental U.S. (lower 48 states) only. See contest rules below:
GRAND PRIZE
A single (1) Bowerbanki Coral Frag of the currently unnamed variety, similar to the ones shown here
(available only to entrants only in the lower 48 continental United States, where permitted)
–and–
a Three-Year Subscription to CORAL Magazine
(available to all entrants)
Three Runners-Up
One-year Digital Subscription to CORAL Magazine
(available to all entrants)
OFFICIAL RULES
1] The #NameTheBowerbanki contest is open to everyone except contributors, advertisers, and staff of CORAL Magazine, Reef to Rainforest Media, LLC, along with employees of Carolina Aquatics and its subsidiaries, as well as the immediate families of all the aforementioned.
2] The live no-name Bowerbanki coral frag prize option will be shipped only to an address in the continental U.S. (lower 48 states).
3] To enter, you must comment on this page with your proposed name for the no-name Bowerbanki coral cultivar. Entrants must include a valid email address in the email field, required for contacting the selected winner. In the event that the winner cannot be contacted, no prizes will be awarded to any other participant. CORAL / Reef to Rainforest Media, LLC, is not responsible for entries not received/marked as spam on Reef2Rainforest.com; be sure your comment is in public view.
4] Deadline for entries is 11:59 PM EST, May 31st, 2021.
5] One winning name will be selected from all entries by Carolina Aquatics. Three runners-up will be chosen by the editors of CORAL Magazine. Winners will be announced on this website.
6] In the event that there are multiple identical/duplicate submissions of the winning name, only the first person to have submitted the name will be eligible to receive the prize. All comments are time-stamped and saved by the website software for accurate determinations.
7] Shipment of the live coral prize to the winner is handled by Carolina Aquatics. Given the exclusive nature of this coral, no guarantees of live arrival or subsequent survival are made by CORAL, Reef To Rainforest, or Carolina Aquatics.
8] In the event that the prize becomes unavailable due to circumstances beyond the control of Carolina Aquatics, a similar, comparable frag coral will be furnished by Carolina Aquatics.
9] Any and all applicable taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner(s).
This is one sweet coral, I would call this on “Rainbow Honeycomb”
Our first entry, Lynn, thanks!!!!
How about:
Hanky Panky Bowerbanki
Or Hanky Panky Banky
I can’t believe I actually rhymed… 🙂
Carolina Nebula
Blue Jean Baby
Strawberry circus
Intergalactic Rainbow Homophyllia Bowerbanki
The Brent Mydland
“Cryptic Cosmos”
Blue Independence
Eye of Davy Jones
A beautiful bowerbanki! It’s definitely out of this world so I would call it “Saturn’s Rings” Hope we see this in the future.
blue eyes
“Galaxy’s Edge”
Beautiful bowerbanki! How bout, “joker goes wild”!
Soul of the REEF
Rainbow Caverns
Gravity Shake
The Big Lebanki
Carolina Beauty
Sugar rush
Parallel Universe
Splendid Talavera Mosaic Bowerbanki Coral.
The combination of rust colors with bright blue and yellows resembles a piece of Talavera Mosaic artwork.
Gobstopper ( the multi-layer colors)
Blue Moon Bowerbanki
I would call it the Carolina gold rim reaper bowerbanki
Mackey Crater Lakes Bowerbanki
This beauty needs a name that is grand! Disco Volcano is my suggestion!
Purple Haze
Aurora Borealis – Bowerbanki …. color of the northern lights!
Yellow Brick Road Bowerbanki.
Hello,
This coral is very dreamy and gorgeous!
I would name it “Purple Dream” bowerbanki.
Purple Powerbanki!
Treasure Island
Blue Magic Bowerbanki
Saint Elmo’s fire
Liz Taylor
Berry-blast bowerbanki.
This looks like “a mid summers night dream”.
It reminds me of a night sky with the stars out.
Looks like a maze of freeways, how about “Gridlock”
The Power Bower
You could name it after a superhero that wears purple and gold, “Batgirl”
I would name this Stella-collectio.
Latin meaning star collection. Fingers crossed in hopes I win. Best of luck to each and everyone who submits a name.
Purple dragon’s eye
Such a sweet piece, must be called (The One!)
I think it needs to have a localized name: Carolina Chasm
Rainbow volcanos
“MeteorShite” H. bowerbanki
AC AZUL BURNING GOLD NEBULA
KIND LOOKS LIKE NEBULA LOVE IT.
CA AZUL BURNING GOLD NEBULA
had to fix the AC TO CA .
FOR CAROLINA AQUATIC
Banana bruise bowerbanki
Carolina Cosmic Crusher
“Dazed and Confused”
Clotted Honeycomb
Starry Night Bowerbanki
PowerBand
Gamma-ray Burst
Gamma-ray Blast
Gold Rush
I would name this coral Neptune’s Crown
I’d name it the Carolina Hurricane Bowerbanki
CA Crown of the Reef Bowerbanki
Or
CA Gold Ridge Mountains Bowerbanki
Purple Passion
Prismatic Spring Bowebanki
Or
Yellowstone Bowerbanli
It looks like gold and fine gems so I’m going with, “Pirate’s Booty Bowerbanki”.
Irwin’s Soul Bowebanki
“Brain Childs Hive”
Witch’s Cauldron
Tarheel Twist
Gravity Field
or
Eternal Abyss
‘Corbomite’
Aurelian Sunshine
Carolina Aquatics Event Horizon
Mind Melt!!..
Carolina Cosmos
CA Sweet Caroline
How about the Tie-dyed Tar Heel Bowerbanki?
Call this the CA Carolina Caviar
Sirens Song Bowerbanki
Luscious Berry Banks
Venom Favites
Rainbow Labyrinth
Rainbow Maiden
Luigi Lips
The name should be: The Stirring Sea Symphony.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED A NAME! Stay tuned for the winner!