Made the leap!

[Connorer]

I've finally made the leap to corals in my tank, i'm fairly inexperienced so i'm looking for some tips (i know it's a vague question), but just something that would help along the way. I'm also wanting to know what to buy, what to avoid, and the best ways that you have all found in making them grow huge, as I plan on only buying small ones.
I've just started off with a couple of cheap ones:
a cluster of button polyps
a small xenia (I think)
A trumpet coral
and some huge ugly thing that i can't remember what it was called, think it was some kind of button, it doesn't matter anyway as it's most likely going back, looked lovely in the store, but even now it's opened up it looks like an internal organ.

Thanks for your help

 

[pegasus]

Button polyps and the trumpet coral will get most of their diet from good lighting, but a small supplemental feeding of frozen mysis or brine once a week will go a long way towards keeping them healthy and growing. The xenia is a filter feeder, and can often get enough food from the water column to survive. I spot feed my xenia (and anthelia) Marine Snow on occasion (once every week... or two weeks) by using a turkey baster.

 

[reefkeeperZ]

Pegasus Xenia is actually not really a mechanical filter feeder, it has no mouth (thus no mechanism to actually feed on particulate matter). its one of the very few corals that are almost purely photosynthetic it is believed it may absorb nutrients directly from the water as DOC (dissolved organic compounds). It will not benefit from any sort of particulate feeding at all. it may however benefit from the pollution that products like marine snow create and introduce.

theories abound as to why it pulses but research by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem indicates the pulsing may be used to drive new water and oxygen to aid photosynthesis, enhancing photosynthesis up to ten times the rate of when it is not pulsing.


and anthelia (being a Xenid) depending on which species may or may not, some do feed on micro zooplankton (not phyto), but other species rely on absorbing nutrients from the water much like xenia. so thats a toss up as to whether the marine snow is doing your anthelia any good.


HOnestly in my opinion and experience marine snow is pretty much bottled pollution

 

[reefkeeperZ]

conoror show some pictures of the "internal organ" looking one I am intrigued.

 

[Connorer]

Button polyps and the trumpet coral will get most of their diet from good lighting, but a small supplemental feeding of frozen mysis or brine once a week will go a long way towards keeping them healthy and growing. The xenia is a filter feeder, and can often get enough food from the water column to survive. I spot feed my xenia (and anthelia) Marine Snow on occasion (once every week... or two weeks) by using a turkey baster.

That's brilliant, I've got 2x T5s so that should do right? Also how many hours a day would you recommend, as i'm trying to discourage algae growth, and i've not yet bought a cooler so the lights are making the temperature go past 27C which is really starting to get on my nerves!

conoror show some pictures of the "internal organ" looking one I am intrigued.

I'll put them all on for you, as i'm not sure i got the names right anyway (bear in mind I've only just switched the lights on so they're not quite open yet)

This is the button (perched rather precariously on the rocks for now):

This is the revolting internal organ, again it's not opened up yet but it's not much better when it does, i think its a button polyps, but not sure

This is what a think is the xenia, absolutely gorgeous specimen, and the trumpet thing is just underneath the clownfish in the sand, but the picture isn't very clear (i think it's quite ugly tbh, when i want corals i prefer them to be more like the xenia

 

[reefkeeperZ]

the internal organ one looks like it might be a clove polyp (clavularia sp.) of some sort put it in a medium/high flow area. it will most likely look better with some flow.

and for god sakes man get some grazers in there snails etc

 

[Connorer]

I've got about 10 snails, the algae is on its way down, i'm working on it

 

[reefkeeperZ]

lol hair algae is never a fun battle.

 

[Connorer]

I don't mind it so much, as all my levels are in check, it's when it starts growing in the sand that it bothers me. I've got 5 nassarious snails for that though, a serrated shrimp lobster, and a giant orange marbled snail. Can you recommend the best invert for hair algae? I've tried pulling it off myself, but it slips out my hands and ends up settling in other places, which probably makes it worse

 

[Connorer]

Oh and on that note, something that doesn't kill the red/purple algae, which i think is absolutely stunning, and from what i've red is not harmful in the slightest

 

[reefkeeperZ]

the coraline is good stuff, emerald crabs are awesome little hair algae eaters. you could borrow some ones seahare for a bit if you want it mowed really fast. but it would eat all you have then run out of food. so you would have to find it a new home once your tank was cleaned out. either that or grow algae at a prodigious rate.

 

[Connorer]

I've done that before actually, my LFS rents them for £5 (with a deposit of course), as for the emerald crabs, Are they okay with other tank mates? I had to get rid of my hermits because they attacked a snail. (I did my research of course, and put loads of extra empty shells in, but they clearly showed no interest). Is Coraline what it is then? i find it really hard to identify things like that, it's got little floral buds i think, brilliant stuff, makes the tank really come alive.

I think the reason the algae is so badly blooming is because it's still cycling, it's coming towards the end of it now i think, but i have added an extra external filter so i'm not sure if that will contribute to another bloom. What have you found in your experience? (sorry got so many questions still! it's just one thing after another, and thanks for all your help so far)

 

[reefkeeperZ]

the pink is coraline algae, a calcerous algae the red is probably the base for foraminiferans, but could also be coraline, coraline algae comes in every color out there, pink and purple being the most common in aquariums, reds semi common, yellows and greens tend not to last in our little glass boxes.

 

[reefkeeperZ]

phosphates (which your hair algae is consuming) inhibit coraline growth, so if you have no hair algae but don't eliminate the fuel for it the coraline development will be stunted.

 

[reefkeeperZ]

not hermit crabs, emerald crabs Mithrax Sculptus. it looks like a traditional crab but has spoon tipped claws. small ones are better the bigger they are the more prone they are to ingesting animal matter to flesh out their diet especially in aquaria low on plant matter to forage,.

Any hermit crab is a scavenger, omniverous but focused more on protien, may eat vegetation if nothing else is there BUT they will most likely eat leftover food or snails (MEAT) if it's available. they arent going to waste energy on digesting plant matter if there is easy meat. (easiest way to know if its an herbivore is look at the claws if they are pointy they are more focused on meat if they are spoon shaped they are primarily an herbivore)

 

[reefkeeperZ]

if I could think of everything I wanted to say in one post that would be great, the brain fits and farts are really beginning to tick me off.

 

[jacob rabuck]

I just put a bubble tip anemone in my tank yesterday and it has yet to open, attach to anything or move.. what could be going on, is this normal? if anyone knows anything please help

 

[pegasus]

if I could think of everything I wanted to say in one post that would be great, the brain fits and farts are really beginning to tick me off.

That's why they conveniently provided an "Edit" button underneath the comment box. Please don't ask how many times I've hit that button... I'm pretty sure I've exceeded the limit on Edit usage, and I'm expecting my account to be suspended at any moment!

 

[Connorer]

not hermit crabs, emerald crabs Mithrax Sculptus. it looks like a traditional crab but has spoon tipped claws. small ones are better the bigger they are the more prone they are to ingesting animal matter to flesh out their diet especially in aquaria low on plant matter to forage,.

Any hermit crab is a scavenger, omniverous but focused more on protien, may eat vegetation if nothing else is there BUT they will most likely eat leftover food or snails (MEAT) if it's available. they arent going to waste energy on digesting plant matter if there is easy meat. (easiest way to know if its an herbivore is look at the claws if they are pointy they are more focused on meat if they are spoon shaped they are primarily an herbivore)

Ah right, I may or may not get one then, I love my snails more than half my fish for some reason, so I would be very upset if they did snuff it

 

[pegasus]

Ah right, I may or may not get one then, I love my snails more than half my fish for some reason, so I would be very upset if they did snuff it

Hermits love to eat snails. Emerald crabs won't bother them. I've watched my emeralds eating hair algae. I don't know that one or two will make a dent in your tank, so you should seriously consider renting a sea hare so you can get that mess cleaned up. You have a pretty severe case of GHA...

lol hair algae is never a fun battle.

That's for sure. I had an outbreak a little over a year ago, and even with trates and phates near zero, it still persists. As long as I keep it plucked, it stays manageable. I don't mind having a little in the tank, as it serves the same role as the macro in my fuge. I find it rather therapeutic using hemostats to pluck it from the rocks, and I know at the same time I'm exporting nutrients. I have to think of it that way, or else I'd be pissed off... lol!!!