N
nonphotosynt
Guest
The private messaging takes only a short messages, with 6 min interval, so I'm posting the long text here.
If we are talking about corals, the text is below.
If fine filter feeders, like Christmas tree worms, scallops, filter feeding sea cucumbers and feather stars, then very little information is made public, and experience differs. Mostly trial and error. For a 2 yrs I have only Christmas tree worms, they require very fine food and high light for porites.
Tube anemone and basket stars are non-photosynthetic, and are easier, because of the meaty chunks of food, they require. But the first comes in conflict with other non-photo inhabitants, because of low flow requirement. Do not have basket stars, though.
I tend to say Tubastrea and Dendrophyllia (or Cladopsammia, all are LPS), but don't want to mislead.
LPS should be fed, at least twice a week, roughly each head 2-3 mysis shrimps (feeding each polyps is not mandatory, from my humble experience). The smaller colony, the less impact on water quality. Daniela Stettler has an sps tank, 1/3 of which is densely filled by sun corals. Spectacular view, and crystal clear water. She feeds by washed frozen mysis and brine shrimp, every day, by syringe. For such amount of sun corals such feeding could become expensive, $6/pack.
Grated frozen seafood and fry marine pellets is another way, but tank a look at this thread, https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/330199/how-many , what is going on in my tanks. But I have a lot of suns, and feed them approximately every second day equivalent of 8 frozen cubes.
Gorgonians:
Popular choice, especially Menella and Swiftia. Diodogorgia (red or yellow finger gorgonian) for many is problematic, it just dies within year. Mine is 2 yrs already and doing fairly well. I'm trying to find, what was the problem. Guaiagorgia and Leptogorgia (you can see photos by entering name in Google Image search) are probe either to algae growth, or chemistry of the tank, apart from catching every crud on itself, like velvet does.
Gorgonians will need 5-8 times a day feeding, manual, automatic or slow thawing in double centrifuge tube with hole, above flow source. 200-600 micron food, could be dried food, frozen seafood blend, crushed flake food, FaunaMarin seems gives the best results. Flow: medium high, they will die in low flow, and if polyps are bent too much - will fail to feed enough in very high flow. Wavemaker or timers will be good.
One thing more: there is high probability, that LPS will reproduce in the tank, but not so for gorgonians and soft corals.
Soft corals:
Continuous feeding (24/7) and high flow for them.
Having the healthy dendronephthya - if you had seen the polyps open in the store - is surprisingly trouble free, but I have it for a very short time, few months, and two previous, bought not in a good health and unattached - died withing few days. It is considered most difficult coral, after blueberry gorgonian. But - again - it does surprisingly well so far. Smallest food, up to 70 micron maybe, bacterioplankton too.
Scleronephthya and chili coral are usually named easier, but I believe, this is personal. Scleros are holding worse, then dendros for me, and chili is fighting for existence even 2.5 yrs later.
Summary:
1. Dendrophyllia and Tubastrea (mind manual feeding and filtration)
2. Menella and Swiftia (continuous feeding is preferred). Less impact on water quality.
3. Do not, if you can: blueberry and Muricella gorgonians and chili corals. In any case, post your results and observations. I believe, that all together we could work put, that the non-photosynthetic corals require.
If we are talking about corals, the text is below.
If fine filter feeders, like Christmas tree worms, scallops, filter feeding sea cucumbers and feather stars, then very little information is made public, and experience differs. Mostly trial and error. For a 2 yrs I have only Christmas tree worms, they require very fine food and high light for porites.
Tube anemone and basket stars are non-photosynthetic, and are easier, because of the meaty chunks of food, they require. But the first comes in conflict with other non-photo inhabitants, because of low flow requirement. Do not have basket stars, though.
I tend to say Tubastrea and Dendrophyllia (or Cladopsammia, all are LPS), but don't want to mislead.
LPS should be fed, at least twice a week, roughly each head 2-3 mysis shrimps (feeding each polyps is not mandatory, from my humble experience). The smaller colony, the less impact on water quality. Daniela Stettler has an sps tank, 1/3 of which is densely filled by sun corals. Spectacular view, and crystal clear water. She feeds by washed frozen mysis and brine shrimp, every day, by syringe. For such amount of sun corals such feeding could become expensive, $6/pack.
Grated frozen seafood and fry marine pellets is another way, but tank a look at this thread, https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/330199/how-many , what is going on in my tanks. But I have a lot of suns, and feed them approximately every second day equivalent of 8 frozen cubes.
Gorgonians:
Popular choice, especially Menella and Swiftia. Diodogorgia (red or yellow finger gorgonian) for many is problematic, it just dies within year. Mine is 2 yrs already and doing fairly well. I'm trying to find, what was the problem. Guaiagorgia and Leptogorgia (you can see photos by entering name in Google Image search) are probe either to algae growth, or chemistry of the tank, apart from catching every crud on itself, like velvet does.
Gorgonians will need 5-8 times a day feeding, manual, automatic or slow thawing in double centrifuge tube with hole, above flow source. 200-600 micron food, could be dried food, frozen seafood blend, crushed flake food, FaunaMarin seems gives the best results. Flow: medium high, they will die in low flow, and if polyps are bent too much - will fail to feed enough in very high flow. Wavemaker or timers will be good.
One thing more: there is high probability, that LPS will reproduce in the tank, but not so for gorgonians and soft corals.
Soft corals:
Continuous feeding (24/7) and high flow for them.
Having the healthy dendronephthya - if you had seen the polyps open in the store - is surprisingly trouble free, but I have it for a very short time, few months, and two previous, bought not in a good health and unattached - died withing few days. It is considered most difficult coral, after blueberry gorgonian. But - again - it does surprisingly well so far. Smallest food, up to 70 micron maybe, bacterioplankton too.
Scleronephthya and chili coral are usually named easier, but I believe, this is personal. Scleros are holding worse, then dendros for me, and chili is fighting for existence even 2.5 yrs later.
Summary:
1. Dendrophyllia and Tubastrea (mind manual feeding and filtration)
2. Menella and Swiftia (continuous feeding is preferred). Less impact on water quality.
3. Do not, if you can: blueberry and Muricella gorgonians and chili corals. In any case, post your results and observations. I believe, that all together we could work put, that the non-photosynthetic corals require.
