Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[karimwassef]

Very interesting, Karim. You really got a lot out of that trip! Man, I need a snorkeling trip!

Could you tell whether the different zones were divided by depth (light), or water movement velocity?

Good question... light and depth were a big deal as were flow and nutrient content and sediment type.

The sea grasses and turtle grasses were never in the shallow or fast zone. They were always deep with relatively gentle flow. Doesn't look like they need a lot of direct light. The sediment mattered though. It was a little like densely compacted sand? Not loose, soft sand, not rock or rubble.

The caulerpa and other macros were in the more tidal zones. Much shallower and very very fast flow. Dangerous to snorkel in fast. They also seemed to be closer to the shore and the water was generally warmer too. I'm thinking higher nutrient. They liked rubble or rock. Didn't go for sand.

 

[karimwassef]

The branchy coralline zone was almost always just a little inland of the grasses. So much that I almost thought they were related in some way. They don't share territory, but if you find the grasses, swim a little in and there's the coralline. Might mean that calcium and magnesium matter?

these were shallower and brighter zones, cleared water too. mix of sand and rubble. No big rocks. Water was calm, but not as calm as the grass region.

The encrusting coralline was only with big rocks and really tracked where the coral was.

 

[andycook]

You seem to be dosing the water column. I didn't think sea grasses pulled from the water column. I think somewhere there was a mention of some kind of substrate fert. Are you mostly feeding the caulerpa?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Welcome, andycook! Yes, I am mostly feeding the macros, right now, but I expect the seagrasses to benefit as well. Seagrasses take in nutrients through their roots as well as their leaves. I am experimenting with water column and substrate fertilizing. Everything I've read supports dosing the water, but I'm still I wondering if substrate fertilization could help. Just a few posts back I was told that water column dosing was more effective, so I'm hedging my bets, so to speak. On 9/27/15 I pushed a small plant tab into the DSB, next to some manatee grass. In a previous experiment, I saw results in two weeks. So we'll see!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Welcome to the ghetto…

Fall foliage in the lagoon.

A look at the current-sculpted substrate on the high velocity end of the tank.

A tidal wave of caulerpa.

 

[sam.basye]

Would the tang also go after your multi-colored macro's as well? It might not discern against the different varieties you have and next thing you know, bam! Your blue and red macro's are now a brown carbon source. Lol

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes, Sam, that's likely. It wouldn't go after all of them, but the grasilaria would likely take a big hit. The more calcerous reds will be fine. I don't know about the blues. If I want help cropping the caulerpa, I have to be ready to accept the indiscriminate feeding style of the fish. Bottom line, I think it will help the seagrasses if I reduce all the macros' biomass.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Hello. I'm a Panamic Barnacle Blenny. What are you?

Big caulerpa export yesterday. Pulled out more red macros too. I've still got a ton of little red fragments. The turtles grass is still outpacing the manatee grass, growth wise. Putting out daughter plants frequently, but not getting much more than a foot tall. The manatee grass grows sloooooooow. But it does get tall, the tallest almost 3 feet.

I wonder if my manatee grass is a victim of succession. In the wild they move in first, then the turtle grass follows, eventually crowding out the manatee grass. Within the limited confines of my DSB, the effects could be exaggerated, even though they don't look crowded yet. Hmm…

 

[saltwater sam]

I believe competition would be more accurate since the manatee grass was never the established species. It looks great! I almost went and bought some seagrass the other night but I decided I must be patient for the new tank

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks, Sam. I suppose I should be happy with the turtle grass doing well. It's just that it was the manatee grass that I was hoping to cultivate. When I was just starting up this tank, I bought the turtle grass last minute, because they were short on manatee grass. Now, with it doing so well, I may have to shift focus. If I could figure out what works for the manatee grass, I'd love to have too much of both!

 

[Xeniaamore]

Any tips for getting the plants to flower?

I've tried adjusting nutrients, lighting, and temperature.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm sure sexual reproduction is rather expensive biologically, so you'd have to provide near ideal conditions for them to flower. Not easy to do in an aquarium. I did have several plants blossom in my fresh water plated tank, but these plants seem a bit trickier. Maybe they need more time to mature, and then wait for the right seasonal cues, like increased light and temp, to induce flowering. In my wife's garden, some plants won't flower the first year they're planted.

I don't really know. I can't even find an illustration or photo of a manatee grass flower, so I wouldn't even know what they'd look like. I do thoroughly examine my grasses daily, so if I see one, I'll be happy to show it off! But I doubt I would know what I'd done to help! But I'm sure I'd think of something to ramble on about…

 

[Xeniaamore]

Type syringodium filiforme flower into Google

 

[Michael Hoaster]

D'oh! Thanks, Xeniaamore. I'd been trying, using the common name. By the way, what seagrasses are you keeping?

 

[Xeniaamore]

It might sound weird but I actually can't say what it is right now.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Today I removed some small predators from the tank.

I had some snails that I thought were nassarius, when I bought them, but they were darker and larger. I witnessed one eating a smaller snail. So I think they are some type of whelk. I'm not sure how many I had, but I removed three.

I added four blue leg hermit crabs, back when I worried my snail population would crash. Today I removed three. I couldn't find the forth.

Last, and most challenging to remove were the two peppermint shrimp. They did a great job removing my aiptasia anemones. Unfortunately they also were great at removing spaghetti worms, which are key benthic detrivores. I put a piece of scallop in a net and put it over a favorite hole. They mocked me, getting on the outside of the net and picking through it. Eventually I triumphed, with a quick flick of the net, I got one. The other seemed stunned and tried to hide on the back wall, but I got him too. Victory!

Sometimes you have to intervene. It's so alarming to watch helplessly, as an important member of the food chain gets wiped out. Hopefully, there are enough spaghetti worms remaining to repopulate my substrate.

So, I'll take them down to the LFS, along with a couple handfuls of red macros, to see what I can trade for them. It feels good to get that done!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Almost forgot. I got a few pics today! I hope you guys aren't getting tired of these. I'm really getting into it! These were taken with my iPhone 6+.

Spot took a little journey today. This may be the best focused shot yet.

I've been trying to get a decent pic of the fighting conch. I call her Mom. She's always vacuuming!

This one shows off his colors well.

 

[touchingstoves]

Totally following this awesome thread

 

[karimwassef]

you're getting good at that.

 

[saltwater sam]

Nice pics Michael!