Fusion 10 build - Species only

Tweaked

Tweaked

FUP&A Member
Bar tank 3.0
Figured I would start a build thread on our new little tank. This tanks theme will be deep water.

Equipment:
Fusion 10 gallon AIO
Stock Return
Spin Stream
50w Heater
AI Prime
AI Prime Mount

Filtration:
InTank Media Basket
Floss
Chemi Pure
Walt Smith Project Reef Rock 2.1
Black Hawaiian Arag Alive Sand



The tank will be low flow trying to avoid another plug and power head. It will be low light and only blues, the light that penetrates the deeper part of the reef. This should help in inhibiting any algae growth as well. And finally a lower temp which is found on the deeper shaded parts of the reef.

Our species only does include one fish however. We decided to keep with the deep water theme and keep a Liopropopoma Swalesi. Collected deeper, this is one amazing fish and is already out and exploring the tank.



And finally the coral. This coral can be a tough one to keep, and studies have starting pointing to the higher light and flow in our tanks a possible cause to the struggles with long term health. This single animal is found on the shadier sides of the reef, in deeper waters where only the blue rays of the sun reach, and experience a lower flow of water in the reef. Our tank will house only Scolymia.



 
Have you ever kept a Scolymia?

As you may have noticed, we are BIG into Scolys. We have like 60 plus Scolys of all types on hand at any given time. Since they are almost all collected instead of propagated, there is a lot of responsibility that goes with keeping them in your aquarium. Propagation of these animals is rare, although possible. Although they are not difficult to keep, they do seem to have some requirements that need to be met in order to help increase your success rate. Here are a few of our tips, based on our personal and professional experience in working with them:


Scolymia (or ANY coral, of course) often fare poorly, suffering damage or shipping insults that will often seriously endanger their lives. We obtain ours from very experienced, conscientious Aussie collectors - some of the best in the business. And the Australian government regulates the trade in these animals rigorously, to help preserve wild populations. It's not perfect, but it's a better way to trade in wild collected livestock.


2) Make sure that the vendor has had them for a while. Like any coral, they take time to adjust to the rigors of captivity. Shipping stress, light acclimation, nutrition, etc. are all factors that come into play here. When you're looking at a freshly imported Scoly, it will often show signs of stress, such as under-expansion, tissue recession, lack of feeding response...even tissue trauma. At UC, we typically do not make specimens available for sale until they have been with us for some period of time. "New" on our site typically means "we've had this coral for weeks, and we are now releasing it". We've had many for months! It may not be the most economical way to offer these corals, but it's the right way, in our opinions.


3) Acclimate the coral carefully to it's new environment. This means acclimation to water chemistry, flow, AND lighting conditions. Take days, even weeks to adapt the coral to your lighting. Acclimation to new lighting is a major source of stress to these corals, in our experience. If your dealer or vendor has had them for a while, find out what type of lighting regimen they are using. Very important!

4) In our experience, these corals typically fare better under moderate lighting...We use balanced T5 lighting, with an equal measure of blues, whites, and even actinic. If you are using LED, ramp up the intensity gradually, and even then, these corals fare surprisingly well with lower lighting intensity.


5) Feed carefully, yet sparingly. Yup, it seems like a lot of hobbyists will overfeed these corals. This can be a real problem, because simply squirting foods into the body cavity of the coral could lead to the food rotting away inside the coral, causing all sorts of problems that can snowball into a bad outcome. Feed once a week to start, with a small amount of fine, meaty foods of marine origin. Learn to observe the coral's feeding pattern. This is what we do at our facility, and it works great!


6) if the coral came on a rock or other material, make sure that you get as much of the epiphytic algae away from the coral tissue as possible. Some of the seaweeds that are attached to rocks, such as Sargassum, etc., can occasionally grow into the coral tissue, causing damage that can lead to infection.


7) These corals tend to fare better on the lower end of the temperature scale, in our experience- usually 75- 78 F.


8) For optimum results, make sure they are either on a soft substrate, or if they are on a rock, make sure that they are on a relatively smooth surface, which will not damage them as they expand from time to time.


9) If you keep fishes like gobies that dig, spew sand, or even perch on the coral, this may be a source of stress. So think this through when considering a Scolymia for your aquarium. Shrimp that "steal" food, walk around on the corals' tissues, and generally irritate the animal are something you should avoid if possible.

10) For best results, why not set up a dedicated "Scolymia only" aquarium! Not only will it enable you to provide optimum conditions that favor the "Scolys", it will provide you an opportunity to study them and observe their behaviors and needs more carefully. You can share YOUR findings, helping to contribute to the body of knowledge that we have on these beautiful corals. And, as my girlfriend loves to say- another aquarium will help take care of your "MTS" (Multiple Tank Syndrome)!

I encourage you to share your experiences on this coral, both here on this blog and elsewhere! Together, we can help advance the state of the art in their care, which will lead to greater propagation in captivity, and perhaps lead to a day when we will no longer collect them from the wild.

Stay Wet,

Scott Fellman
 
Tank has been doing great and had some observations. Have not had to clean the glass yet, and attribute this to only blues running. Also not seeing much of anything on the rocks besides a million pods and brittles. Temp is hovering around 73 and all the scolys are nice and inflated. Have a couple more specimens due in tomorrow and will update with some new pics.
 
Very nice!!!

But I would like to see a better shot of what is just left of the tank (looking at the first picture posted). Now that looks sweet!!! Nice to see another Jack fan!!!

Keith
 
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