Anyone else have a hard time with a Dendro getting picked on?

[easterly81]

I have had a dendro for a few weeks that i got from a buddy who almost killed it. Through diligence i have nursed it back from one dying head to 3 good ones, but im having issues with my coral beauty angle, some hermit crabs, and a shrimp, picking at it. It seem like they at tring to get the food out of the dendro after it eats. I have a mesh cage i made for it but it seems i have to almost leave it on all the time I feed a ton of food so i just think they are starving, just greedy, and have found an easy meal. Im thinking of moving my dendro to the sump as its a non photosynthetic. Any thoughts or common experiences?

 

[basser1]

I have 2 colonies of dendros. They are both placed near where my bluespot jawfish has taken up residence. When I fed the dendros, the bluespot would occassionally take the food out of their tentacles. So.... I make sure I feed the fish first, then I target feed the dendros. It has worked for me.

 

[easterly81]

I do that but the damn fish takes the food out of the coral anyways it always hungry

 

[Western_reefer]

lol My fish do the same. I'd smack em with the turkey baster to get them to go away. lol

 

[easterly81]

I do the same thing even flick them. one of the three heads looks pretty bad it might heal but it makes me mad cause i am trying so hard to heal it with out other inhabitants beating it up.

 

[Western_reefer]

I do the same thing even flick them. one of the three heads looks pretty bad it might heal but it makes me mad cause i am trying so hard to heal it with out other inhabitants beating it up.

Yeah, I try to usually feed the most at night while everyone is sleeping. I don't have any shrimp and wont get any as it will be a PITA with shrimp. lol

 

[SanJuan]

Moving it to the sump seems like a fine idea, that is if you are ok with it.

 

[uhuru]

I used to have fish that would steal food from my sun corals. It got to the point that they stopped opening and I had to relocate them to a sump, and retrain them to open. Major PITA. Never again. That's why I have no shrimp or crabs, and 1 frogfish that could care less about the sun corals. Life is much better - and I feed all my sun corals and dendros daily!

 

[easterly81]

Yeah i done with crabs just wait for them all to die. Maybe i will put them all in the sump lol. My wife hates it cause i have a fish tank for coral and with really no fish. Its funny people come by the house and ask where are the fish? I say dont need them, got corals lol

 

[uhuru]

there are some fish that won't bother your dendros -

cardinal fish for example are more likely to only take food that is flowing in the water, I'm thinking anthias would be fine as well

 

[Western_reefer]

there are some fish that won't bother your dendros -

cardinal fish for example are more likely to only take food that is flowing in the water, I'm thinking anthias would be fine as well

I agree, chromis also work very well as they don't steal food from corals, they are like anthias, but can be in a smaller tank.