Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

Well, I finally added a new resident - a Purple Condylactis Anemone! I picked a spot for it and sort of made a little nest using some rocks. It took a few tries, but it seems to like the location. It hasn't moved in 3 days, so I'm hopeful!

I fed it a piece of shrimp. It seems happy, and so beautiful! I'll have the pics to prove it shortly…
 
Purple Condylactis Pics

Purple Condylactis Pics

Here it is from a little ways back, so you can see where it is in the tank.
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A little closer. Probably the best shot I got this morning.
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From another angle-a bit blurry.
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Close-up. Not too sharp, but you get an idea how pretty it is.
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I really got lucky with this one. I knew that I wanted to add a condylactis anemone next in my tank. I wanted to see if I could get one to settle in and not wander around killing stuff, before I added anything else. I also wanted a purple one. I saw a few available online, but the cost of shipping, (and the stress to the animal) was discouraging. I wandered into my LFS one day and there it was! And cheap!

I, of course, have been studying up on them. One of the key factors with this one is very high light. These guys tend to live in the brightly lit shallows, like in a seagrass lagoon. My 400 watt MH at 6500K seems to be keeping it happy. It has never moved from the original spot I placed it. I think it gets a little of the food I feed the tank, plus I target feed it a couple times a week.

So I'm psyched! I love anemones. Like the seagrasses, they move with the current, which is just mesmerizing!
 
I was planning on adding gorgonians. I have a small one now, but even though it's a photosynthetic variety, it's not doing so well-just a long slow decline. I talked to a guy who was in charge of a gorgonian tank, and he said it was a pain to maintain, with constant live plankton feeding, to keep them healthy. Which doesn't sound too compatible with this confessed, lazy aquarist! So, I may rethink the gorgonians, unless I can find one I like that is easy to keep happy (and alive). We'll see.

A gorgonian forest tank would be awesome, but I'm really more focused on a seagrass meadow for this tank. I think it would be tough to provide ideal conditions for both.
 
The photosynthetic ones do well under MH.

Based on my snorkeling last week, the turtle grass grows in deep (10') and turbid conditions.
 
That's what I heard too, but mine is not doing well. I really want to keep Caribbean gorgonians, but I won't if they're too difficult. I'll keep an eye out for an easy one though. I'd like one that required no direct feeding on my part. Relying on photosynthesis (and an occasional random morsel) for all its needs would be best. Hopefully, I can find one compatible with my slackness…

Assuming the condylactis stays put, I may add a flower anemone or two next. Then I'll add some symbiotic shrimps and crabs. That will be cool!

By the way, the pair of coral banded shrimp I added a couple weeks ago, are still hiding in the fake wall. All I ever see of them is the tips of their antennae. I guess they're doing their thing under cover of darkness. One of them did molt, and it looked like one of them may have had babies when I bought them, so who knows. I still have a lot of snails. But it doesn't seem as out of control anymore. I think I'll go take a peek with the flash light…
 
The water motion is a constant back and forth rocking. Nothing close to anything I've seen in a tank.

Even my surge doesn't do it right. I have alternating water flow - flowing from the left, the right.

The real motion is literally the entire water column shifting to the left and then right... Shifting - Not flowing ...

Did that make sense?
 
I understand the surging water movement you're talking about. The Monterey Aquarium does a good job mimicking that. I've seen wave boxes in home aquaria do that as well. Are you suggesting I attempt that for gorgonians?

Isn't it funny, when we see the real deal, we realize how inaccurate we are with our tiny boxes!

I'm attempting to mimic a strong tidal flow, like in a protected lagoon, with the pumps I already have. I have them set up for a gyre flow pattern, which does move a lot of water, but not in a surging/rocking motion you speak of. More like a rectangular whirlpool! If I had more pumps, I'd love to mimic the tidal cycle, reversing the flow every six hours or so. I guess the ultimate flow pattern would combine tidal and surge flows.

I did take the flash light to the tank last night. Sure enough, the coral banded shrimp were out and about! I couldn't see if they were going after snails, but, like I said, they don't seem to be quite as out of control as they were before. So, between the 2 coral banded shrimp and the 4 blue legged hermits, I think I got what I wanted - a mild predation that keeps their numbers in check.
 
I've seen the Monterey and it's good. My surge is pretty good too. The difference is that the natural action has no flow. There is no outlet pushing water this way or that. It's the entire space of water that is shifting.

The only way I can describe it in a small reef tank is to put the entire rock work on a moving underwater dolly. The move that back and forth. The sensation to the corals (and me as the diver) is not that of 'flow'. It's of complete translation against the surrounding water.

The coral motion is also not 'flow'. The shearing ripping flow from a surge is nothing like having every particle of water move at the same speed in the same direction against a fixed reference, gently and gradually. It is comparing the cube of water volume being instantaneously shifted, to the same volume being pushed at one location or another. It's different.

The corals and grasses sway very significantly as if the flow was massive, but the flow pattern is so uniform that they're not stressed...

Dirt doesn't settle and it literally feels like the ocean is breathing in and out and every sessile organism breathes with it.
 
I got a descent pic of the purple anemone!

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About time! I love this beautiful creature, and its elegant life form. It's also a new responsibility. It should outlive me.
 
Also, notice in the background to the left is my long suffering tan sea whip. I moved it to a less bright but more favorable current position, so maybe it will be better able to catch food. And moving it out of the brightest light might be beneficial as well.
 
I've been thinking about the next phase…

Sponges. What do I need to do to accommodate them?

Right now I can provide them with good hard attachment points-the fake wall, the fake root and the live rock. The right one third of the tank is dimly lit, compared to the left, and there is a ton of water current churning through that end of the tank.

So, I'm in good shape so far, but the real key will be to provide the right food for them. I'll have to keep tweaking the recipe to my 'tank brew', which is what I feed the tank as a whole. Ideally, that would be the only feeding I do. Tyree's book, Environmental Gradient covers the employment of living sponges to filter aquariums, specifically, reef tanks. I am going to try to use these methods in my seagrass tank.

I may reemploy the bio pellets. Having additional bacteria should be good for sponges and other filter feeders. Not having to dose with vinegar again will be a bonus!
 
I'd assume that you'll need phytoplankton, which some of the macroalgae is constantly producing, bacterial floc (a byproduct of the results of vinegar dosing), and some other form of filter-feeder food, maybe a fine-grade coral food. Which species are you looking at? There's this awesome blue one that looks like Montipora at first, and the "infamous" chicken liver and pineapple sponges, as well as the giant barrel sponges, but what do you have in mind and where do you think you want them?
 
I've had the blue one! It's photosynthetic (rare for a sponge) and a Pacific species, so it won't go in this caribbean biotope. Great sponge though! I had a Moorish Idol and he loved it, unfortunately…

I've been adding powdered phyto and zooplankton to the daily feeding, and I hope the sponges will consume some, but I imagine it won't be that easy. I expect to have to feed them some live food too. Hopefully, the sponges will eat stuff that other tank mates produce.

I've been looking at the caribbean species, like tree and ball sponges. What I'd like most of all is the purple tube sponge! As I noted above, the right side of my tank should be ideal for them. I hope to attach some to my fake mangrove roots.
 
Did you say Pacific photosynthetic sponge? Well then...I know what my reef tank is getting next!

I've heard that powdered phyto has a larger diameter than other types of phyto, something about needing to put it in a blender for a bit to get it to small enough particle sizes.

Additionally, maybe invest in some Caulerpa racemosa or similar Caulerpa macroalgae? The species that quickly go sexual, I think, would provide great food for the sponges.
 
If we're talking about the same blue sponge, I highly recommend it!

I've heard that about the powdered stuff too. Hopefully, I can figure out an 'easy' way to keep sponges happy. I think the bio pellets will help.

I've got caulerpa racemosa all over the tank. It disappeared, then came back…everywhere!
 
I was just examining my live rock. Each piece has some kind of sponge(s) on it. Most are encrusting types. I have one that looks like a small, yellow ball sponge. They all appear to be doing well, but not springing up and taking over.

I guess I could call these my test sponges. If I can keep them alive and happy, then maybe I can add some more decorative varieties…
 
New addition! A Pederson's Anemone Shrimp. He's a monster, at over one inch long! Not a great pic, but I'll try again later.

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Ironically, he cost more than the anemone! Still, I saved cash buying from my LFS and not paying for overnight shipping.

Introduction for this guy is particularly tricky. He's small enough that the barnacle blennies could take a shot at him while he's exploring. You can't just dump him on the anemone. He'd get eaten. He's got to first find the anemone, then do the gradual process of covering himself with anemone slime, so he can hang out. He's been as close as 8 inches to it, so maybe soon…
 
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