"Expert Only" Coral, please help

rldavisou

rldavisou

Member
So, I bought a rock with some tiny Carnation Corals on it, and I didn't know much about those corals when I bought it. I've been doing research on them the last few days, and they seem pretty hard to keep. One website went so far as to label them "Expert Only." Has anyone had success with these? I could use any tips you can give me.
Since most of the things I've read say they need strong current, I've got a powerhead aimed right at them, and they seem to be loving that. I dose my tank with DT's about twice a week, and I dose with strontium/molybdenum and iodine regularly, which most sites said is good for this coral. They're not photosynthetic, so lights don't really matter, but for information's sake they're under a 65 watt pc in a 20 gal tank.
They're absolutely beautiful corals, they're my new favorite thing in my tank, and I'd hate to see them die. Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
coolguy818

coolguy818

Member
In the wild carnation corals hang upside down in caves. Where there is medium flow and almost no light penetration.
The reason its labeled as an "Expert Only" is do to the high ratio of death in home aquariums.
Carnation Corals are very beautiful and vibrant colored. Don't be so hard on yourself. Many have tried to keep and care for that coral with no light at the end of the tunnel.
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
They're very hard to keep because of their feeding habits. They need food almost constantly, which is the one mistake many people make while keeping dendronepthyas and scleronepthyas. 2 doses of phyto per week isn't going to cut it. 2 doses per day? Maybe
They're much easier to keep in smaller tanks because of the amount of planktonic food you'll need to feed. You cannot target feed them by squirting the food directly at them, as that will just make the polyps close for the next 5 minutes or so. They also cannot consume very much food at once so even with a high dose of food they may only be able to eat a very small portion before it's too late. I believe the best way to keep the tank hyped with food for the carnation is to have a slow drip system dripping plankton into the tank throughout the day.
 
rldavisou

rldavisou

Member
Wow, so those guys really suck down the food. Is that the key to success with them? These guys are really tiny, I mean the size of a pencil eraser at the most. If they need that much food now, how much will I have to feed them when they reach maturity?
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
one other problem is with the amount needed to feed them, and in such a small tank as yours, you are possibly going to have issues with ammonia, trites, and trates because of all the food going in there that won't be consumed.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
bottom line is it is unlikely you can keep them fed and maintain any decent type of water quality. They are extremely attractive and extremely cheap to buy but they just arent generally going to survive in captivity. If they do you are probably going to have a terrible looking tank from excessive nutrients.
 
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