Carnation feeding?
- Thread starter itz frank
- Start date
graveyardworm
Premium Member
At this point there is nothing which is considered to be the correct food for dendronephthya (carnation coral) here is a long read which may help.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=524097
Carnation corals are nonphotosynthetic and do not require light to survive, but what they dont get from light they need to get from the water. There are some foods which show promise, but for now success stories are few and far between.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=524097
Carnation corals are nonphotosynthetic and do not require light to survive, but what they dont get from light they need to get from the water. There are some foods which show promise, but for now success stories are few and far between.
reefnewbie54321
In Memoriam
Should have done research before putting this in your tank ... due to lack of information on these corals theres is a 99% chance it will wilt away ... if your are one of the determined ones who is willing to dedicate time and money to keep it successfully I suggest you read the entire thread linked above, I would suggest you try the Ultra Pack. It mimics coral mucus which is what many believe these corals eat. To me it looks the most promising and that's what I plan to use.
The most full and detailed information on the web is on the thread posted above (New Dendronephtya Study Group).
I have it only since February, and it still alive (after melting/dormancy stage and moving through 3 tanks - 20g, 5g, 10g). From my experience:
1. Feed any fine food you have (Kent Micro-Vert, Chroma-Plex, grosery seafood finest blend or mysis shrimp with Selcon - add tank water and use test kit pipette (suck-off, repeat until finest particles will appear in the water, and use them). Variety is better. General tank feeeding, not target feeding.
2. If tank has a lot of life (any - corals, life rock hitchhikers, not just dead-looking live rock and fish) - it will be source of food by itself. Finest particles, mucus and bacteria, produced by habitants.
3. No sand bed, but some leftovers of aragonite under rocks will be OK.
4. Not too clean tank with some detrius at the bottom - also source of food.
Not-food related:
1. No predators or harassers - urchins, hermit crabs, nipping fish, hanging on or bedding in fish or shrimp.
2. Agressive corals (green star polyps, mushrooms) and anemones in proximity are OK, but no direct contact.
3. Light - OK with soft natural light, direct sunlight from southern window (not burning, Toronto level); indirect sunlight with PC light support is OK. Never 4100K or lower. Low light - in cave or at the bottom, shaded by the rock from the sun and lighting - not good.
4. Flow - more important than level of light. Laminar (unidirectional, non-turbulent) flow, not strong direct from powerhead, but weaker - reflected from the glass or along the way of the water flow in the tank. Flow from HOB filter directed not onto the dendro, but aside, near of it is OK. Polyps need to be oriented toward flow.
5. Positioning in the tank: not important. Even on the sand (aragonite), if coral feels OK (polyps opening regularly, inflating).
6. Placing coral upside down wasn't accepted in my case. Nor handling (most jentle) for repositioning, not gluing (Super Glue). Dendro has own opinion and will detach and move with flow in the search of favorable conditions. Trials to attach it are only make matters worse.
So, most important - don't interfere, remove predators and let it live. It will find own place and return to life even after dormancy stage (looks like melting, but still reversible even after 2 month). Watch for predatory micro-crustaceans (isopods), bristleworms and other unseen predators too - if half-eaten, will melt irreversibly.
7. Lewels of salinity, ammonia, nitrates, alkalinity, calcium, pH may fluctuate widely and fast, but not to the extremes (like ammonia 1.2 mg/l or more).
It can came alive even after seemed melting.
P.S. Sorry for a lots of "OK" - it's like short form of "acceptable".
I have it only since February, and it still alive (after melting/dormancy stage and moving through 3 tanks - 20g, 5g, 10g). From my experience:
1. Feed any fine food you have (Kent Micro-Vert, Chroma-Plex, grosery seafood finest blend or mysis shrimp with Selcon - add tank water and use test kit pipette (suck-off, repeat until finest particles will appear in the water, and use them). Variety is better. General tank feeeding, not target feeding.
2. If tank has a lot of life (any - corals, life rock hitchhikers, not just dead-looking live rock and fish) - it will be source of food by itself. Finest particles, mucus and bacteria, produced by habitants.
3. No sand bed, but some leftovers of aragonite under rocks will be OK.
4. Not too clean tank with some detrius at the bottom - also source of food.
Not-food related:
1. No predators or harassers - urchins, hermit crabs, nipping fish, hanging on or bedding in fish or shrimp.
2. Agressive corals (green star polyps, mushrooms) and anemones in proximity are OK, but no direct contact.
3. Light - OK with soft natural light, direct sunlight from southern window (not burning, Toronto level); indirect sunlight with PC light support is OK. Never 4100K or lower. Low light - in cave or at the bottom, shaded by the rock from the sun and lighting - not good.
4. Flow - more important than level of light. Laminar (unidirectional, non-turbulent) flow, not strong direct from powerhead, but weaker - reflected from the glass or along the way of the water flow in the tank. Flow from HOB filter directed not onto the dendro, but aside, near of it is OK. Polyps need to be oriented toward flow.
5. Positioning in the tank: not important. Even on the sand (aragonite), if coral feels OK (polyps opening regularly, inflating).
6. Placing coral upside down wasn't accepted in my case. Nor handling (most jentle) for repositioning, not gluing (Super Glue). Dendro has own opinion and will detach and move with flow in the search of favorable conditions. Trials to attach it are only make matters worse.
So, most important - don't interfere, remove predators and let it live. It will find own place and return to life even after dormancy stage (looks like melting, but still reversible even after 2 month). Watch for predatory micro-crustaceans (isopods), bristleworms and other unseen predators too - if half-eaten, will melt irreversibly.
7. Lewels of salinity, ammonia, nitrates, alkalinity, calcium, pH may fluctuate widely and fast, but not to the extremes (like ammonia 1.2 mg/l or more).
It can came alive even after seemed melting.
P.S. Sorry for a lots of "OK" - it's like short form of "acceptable".
reefnewbie54321
In Memoriam
I have to disagree with too things
"5. Positioning in the tank: not important. Even on the sand (aragonite), if coral feels OK (polyps opening regularly, inflating)."
This will irritate the coral alot, I would never suggest placing it in the sand.
"3. No sand bed, but some leftovers of aragonite under rocks will be OK. "
The first person who ever had succsess with them long term stirred there sand bed as a source of food. Many people believe stirring a sandbed to be benificial as bacteria and detrius is believed to be a food source for them. A DSB is probably the #1 source of bacteria/detrius in any tank so I would say having a DSB is good thing.
"5. Positioning in the tank: not important. Even on the sand (aragonite), if coral feels OK (polyps opening regularly, inflating)."
This will irritate the coral alot, I would never suggest placing it in the sand.
"3. No sand bed, but some leftovers of aragonite under rocks will be OK. "
The first person who ever had succsess with them long term stirred there sand bed as a source of food. Many people believe stirring a sandbed to be benificial as bacteria and detrius is believed to be a food source for them. A DSB is probably the #1 source of bacteria/detrius in any tank so I would say having a DSB is good thing.
Your mileage vary... Agreement or desagreement with my experience will not change it (MY experience). I'm not forcing my opinion, just thought that some particularities are better that generalities. 
If I had left one of the dendros on the aragonite - where it chosed to be - it could be still alive. And functioning (or not) of DSB in nano-tanks (20 gal and less) was discussed widely.
See also thread mentioned above - posts by mcox.
If I had left one of the dendros on the aragonite - where it chosed to be - it could be still alive. And functioning (or not) of DSB in nano-tanks (20 gal and less) was discussed widely.
See also thread mentioned above - posts by mcox.
