Corals as tank barometers

[Gamepro_inc]

Ok so recently I was talking with a friend and he was mentioning certain corals he keeps in every tank for the purpose of guaging the health of the tank, I forgot the names of the specific corals but one he said helped him tell when his nitrates were high and the other helped him spot red bugs. I have also heard of people who keep zenia for the purpose of nitrates, clams to help filter bad stuff, ect. I myself can tell when I need to do a water change by watching my anenome when its limp and wilty I do a water change and it perks right up. So my question is what corals or animals do you guys keep as tank barometers?

Not so much interested in the fish and inverts as I am corals but I also keep
peppermint shrimp---eat aiptasia (never had any)
emerald crabs---eat bubble algea (never had any)
yellow coral banded shrimp---eat bristle worms
six line wrasse---also eat bristle worms

 

[phenom5]

I've never kept a "canary" coral for the purpose of monitoring my tank.

For me, it's more about getting a good feel for your tank, and learning how to read the inhabitants. Corals are the first thing I look at if something seems off because they generally show signs of stress first. Takes a little bit of time to get a handle if something is truly off, or if things are just closed up because that's what corals do sometimes. Ultimately, I use an eyeball test to see if everything seems okay, but if anything seems off, testing is really the only way to determine what's really going on.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Yes but I am speaking more as though watching your corals could in fact help identify a quick crash type problem or levels being off. I also test levels but only weekly not daily.

 

[Ycore]

For me it would be either my Monti cap or Birdsnest. If the Monti color fades or the polyps retract on the birdsnest, I know there is a problem.

 

[epicenter]

All corals show signs of stress, I watch my open brains for signs of stress & also Lobo's.

 

[unclejed2]

In my 14 gal. Bio the Pallys let me know when Alk or PH is awry and in the 55 gal. it's the Colt coral.

 

[Pickupman66]

all of mine are barometers. after keeping a reef for years, you can learn to read your corals.

 

[sunil6784]

If new growth on a birdsnest is rounded instead of pointed, it could point to high nitrates.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Wow thanks for the input, I was just wondering if there are any corals that are better at reading than most. Good info though

 

[Pudge957]

I'm able to tell my when my alk is out of whack by looking at my ORA birds of paradise. It's a good safe guard for me bc I have issues reading my test kits due to color sensitivity. (have to have lfs and friends/GF do tests for me :-/) wish Hannah would get everything worked out with there checker!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tigre9]

each to his/her own...

each to his/her own...

I agree with the anemone, my RBTS loves the salt to be just perfect and fresh mix of salt water topoff.

The zenia have always shown me if the water quality in general is good if they pulse, and too much potasium they have not liked. Calcium added to quick, I have lost some also.

As previously said, each coral reacts to something more than the other.

- each to his/her own... (the coral I mean!)

:bounce3:

If you figure out more, post it here. Would love to know more little intricate details of corals and there responses. (Or - Growth Rates as I have tried to get other to talk about in one of my Posts, still working on that.. haha)

 

[aleonn]

Wow good observations. I should look at mine more closely haha. Do torch corals respond differently to tank conditions?

 

[njudson]

Wow good observations. I should look at mine more closely haha. Do torch corals respond differently to tank conditions?

Euphyllia are a good indicator for salinity in my experience because they seem sensitive to it.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Thanks everyone for the advice/knowledge, I have decided to keep a few of the above named corals to help me guage my tank stability. The main reason I ask is I have a friend who had a tank crash due to a Alk spike he test once a week but this happened a few days after testing. He thinks but is not sure that his 9 year old son was trying to help (he occasionally let him do part of the maintance) and ended up over supplementing the tank he didnt lose everything but lost alot.

 

[RVANANO]

After posting in another thread and recalling my voltage leakage, I would say a mushroom would be the first indicator that you have stray voltage in the tank. My green mushroom started spitting it's intestines before anything else started to show signs of a problem. Although I still think they are the devil as they take over tanks. I was a noob then so...

 

[sue711]

My frogspawn is very sensitive to nitrates. Whenever I replace my GFO I notice that he is happier.

 

[allsps40]

My xenia is ****ed from high potassium. It is also a good indicator for ph and alk. Xenia only pulses with good and stable ph and alk.