Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[sam.basye]

Is not cleaning the front glass part of your minimalist plan??

Neat shrimp! How much do they move throughout the day? I've seen one at my lfs that looks like a dead molt because it doesn't move.
I'll have to look through my honeymoon pics - I think I got a picture of one hiding in a nem. Hard to see the shrimp. I'll post it if I can find it.

The seagrass and macros are looking great as well!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I know, it's bad! I didn't want to spook the little guy, and with all the snails, I hardly have to clean the glass these days. But its pretty obvious in this pic!

He hardly moved at all yesterday after introduction. Today, he's exploring more and eating stuff. I let him have a few bites of the shrimp I was feeding the anemone. I was hoping to lure it closer, but he didn't follow.

Yeah, the macros are just sorta finding their own homes, like tumble weeds. The seagrasses are doing great. I'm getting lots of daughter plants from the turtle grass. Not as many with the manatee grass, but several have grown all the way to the surface. One of these days I'll have a nice little meadow!

 

[karimwassef]

Love that shrimp. I got one by accident in a bubble coral.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

More pics!

The Lagoon is coming along nicely. So much motion and color!

So much current coming out of that end of the tank! The macros can barely hang on here.

Anemones are just stunning to me… not to mention the blue macro hitchhiker!

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

Another important thing for sponge health/ growth are silicates. They need silicates to build their spicules, which is like their skeleton basically. I've had really good results dosing Sodium Silicate that I got from a chemical supply house. Do a search on RC and it will bring up dosing details. Good Luck.
Nice Condy 'Nem by the way. Gorgeous color.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thank you Morgan, for the tip and the compliment! Sodium silicate.

So you've had really good results with sponges? Would you care to elaborate? Or share a thread? Any experience you could share would be very helpful.

There are veins of silica sand throughout my substrate, that I added just for sponges.

Today I reinstalled the bio pellets. This will generate additional bacteria, that the sponges themselves will consume, as well as other tiny stuff sponges eat. It's cool to feed the very bottom of the food chain. I'll watch the test sponges to see if they respond favorably.

In the initial deployment of bio pellets, my tank wasn't mature enough. There weren't enough tiny mouths to feed at that stage. And I got an excess of bacterial films and clouds, so I discontinued its use. My setup is more mature now, with lots of plant material, some sponge and feather worms, and a healthy pod-pulation, etc.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Hmm...just thinking out loud, but how would veins of silica sand help? From my understanding of using silica sand in saltwater aquaria, organisms (specifically diatoms) can't utilize the bound silica. Wouldn't dosing regular amounts of live diatoms like Isochrysis species be more beneficial since it provides nutrients and silica? Adding sodium silicate does sound like a good idea though...

Speaking about bacterial blooms, I've found that hatching brine shrimp with their cysts on leads to very clouded hatching water (read: bacteria)...so if you feed brine, you end up feeding bacteria for the filter feeders, and zooplankton for your zooplanktivores...

 

[Michael Hoaster]

So, the sponges can't get at any silicates from the silica sand? I thought that was one of the reasons people stopped using silica sand, that it led to excess diatoms. Oh well! I like your idea of feeding sponges with diatoms. I guess I've got some studying to do!

 

[saltwater sam]

It's looking great, Michael! Very nice colors and movement.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thank you, Sam!

I was just posting a few pics and everybody's gone all 'siencey' on me! Thanks guys!

By the way, Mr Pederson, the shrimp, still hasn't gone to the anemone. I actually herded the little guy over next to it. He checked it out, and wanted nothing to do with it, wandering away. So, at least he knows it's there. I'd feel a lot better about it's chances to survive if it would 'move in' soon.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Silica sand: That's what I heard, that diatoms are a result of nutrients, not the sand used. Personally, I never got them when I set up my first tank with silica sand (but a lot of cyano though).

Do you know if your shrimp's compatible with the anemone? I know that some anemones/shrimp aren't compatible with each other...so it may be that you have incompatible species; alternatively, maybe hte shrimp doesn't feel "threatened" enough, so doesn't need to go to the anemone?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes I'm pretty sure Pederson's shrimp is compatible with condylactis anemones. But they aren't the only anemone they cohabitate with.

Interesting thought about him not feeling threatened enough. Maybe he hasn't bumped into the coral banded shrimp in the night.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

So I did a little reading, and it seems there is some disagreement/discussion on the point of silicate availability when using silica sand. So I'm going to take away that my silica sand additions are not harmful and are possibly helpful for sponge growth in my tank.

I'm not finished reading, but here is a quote from Randy Holmes-Farley's Advanced Aquarist article: "I’ll discuss issues around measurement of soluble and insoluble silica, and also describe some of the sources of soluble silica in reef tanks, including a demonstration that release from “silica” sand can be substantial."

I'll do a bit more reading and report what I learn shortly.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

OK, so after doing some more reading here's what I got: (and these are broad generalizations)

Sponges feed on very small dissolved organic matter (DOM), which we have plenty of in our aquariums - on the order of 10x natural seawater.

They need soluble silica in the water, so they can build their spicules. Our tanks are rapidly depleted of silicates, so dosing is suggested, using Sodium silicate.

They also feed on bacteria and only the tiniest of the phytoplankton, namely Nannochloropsis.

Depending on the species, some larger planktons may also be consumed. Assuming we already have these in our tanks, I think supplementation of these is unnecessary.

For me, going forward, I want to change only one thing at a time, to see what's helpful.

I have first, implemented bio pellets, to increase bacteria production. I'll observe my test sponges over the next month or so, to see if there is any change.

Next I will dose sodium silicate.

After that I'll try feeding with nannochloropsis and/or a food containing diatoms.

With all the algae I have in my tank, I may already have enough phytoplankton to keep sponges happy. With the silicate dosing, diatoms should increase in my tank, and cleaning the glass will be de facto feeding diatoms for them.

 

[sam.basye]

and cleaning the glass will be de facto feeding diatoms for them.

You actually have to 'clean' the glass for that to be effective..

Your condy is really pretty and looks like it belongs in your biotope, like it was naturally growing there! The vibrant splash of purple really pops.
Side note - is it a 'dyed' nem? I read somewhere recently that collectors/exporters in foreign countries often dye some anemones because they think it adds value for when they sell them to us. I want sure if the condy comes in a color other than cream/purple tips and reddish/orange stalk.

I found the pics I was referring to, but the shrimp came out blurry in all them.

Keep it up! Can't wait to see a jungle o' seagrass in there one of these days.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I was curious about the dyed thing myself. I contacted Blue Zoo Aquatics, since they sell them. They said they were not dyed, but came mainly from Haiti, just that purple. So I doubt mine is dyed. If the purple color fades away, or the anemone dies, maybe it is. To my eye, it appears to be naturally colored, with the same distribution of color intensity I've seen in other anemones.

 

[sam.basye]

Good to hear! I was intrigued when I read the article and wondered how they could get it evenly distributed. First I'd heard of artificially colored Coral. I've seen the awful tattooed freshwater Platty's... Hearts and different colored shapes.


Anyways, how big is your purple Haitian condy supposed to get? It would be bad*** to have it grow huge in that spot it is in. Especially with Mr. Pederson living in it. Lol

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Condylactis Gigantea can reach 20 inches across in the wild, 16 in captivity. I hope it gets big too! Although maybe not 16 inches…

I saw one while snorkeling in Tortola. It was huge, and one of the most beautifully colored things I'd ever seen!

I really do hope to take good care of this animal! It seems pretty happy. It has moved from the original placement about 2-3 inches only, in a couple weeks. It has grown some already as well. I'm feeding it 1-2 times a week.

Mr Pederson was hanging out about one inch away today, so maybe he's working up to it. He didn't stay close though. I think he's still exploring. Sowing his oats before settling down. I just hope he survives his journey.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Mr Pederson was checking out the anemone today. But he didn't stay. He wanders around.

Snail population is receding. I may have to get those coral banded shrimp out of there.

Went back and reread some of "The Environment Gradient", by Steve Tyree. I wanted to see what he fed his sponges. Nothing. He basically increased the bio load in the tank as sponge mass increased. Both corals and fish contribute to the DOM-dissolved organic matter, which sponges feed on. He did say that feeding phytoplankton could be beneficial.

He wasn't concerned with aesthetics. He employed many small, workhorse sponges, as living filtration.

I however, want my sponges to be pretty (and living filters). So, I will be feeding them and pampering them.

I was studying up on sponges and found some good news regarding a sponge I want-the Purple Tube sponge. It's supposed to be one the 'easier' sponges to keep. Sweet.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm getting excited about sponge shopping! I found an online vender with a good selection of caribbean sponges. I'm thinking seriously about fragging them up and scattering them around the roots, rocks and wall. Spread them over various conditions, and see what works. Need to get some sodium silicate, and possibly, a nannochloropsis culturing setup.

It might be good to introduce a school of chromis beforehand. It'd be nice to have more fish!

I considered adding the atlantic blue tang, but I want to get my macros to overgrown status, before I unleash the voracious herbivore on it. Maybe if I start with enough, they can equalize. I wonder if it's possible, in my size tank, to support a single tang. I doubt it, in the long run, but it might for a while…

I'd love to add the grammas, but not with that shrimp not hosting in the anemone yet. I'm sure they'd take mr pederson out in short order!

The chromis will probably leave him alone. They have pretty small mouths. Mid water column plankton pickers.