glparr's NPS project

[glparr]

In early June (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1860180) I bought a Cirrhipathes spiralis, which was the first coral in my new NPS project. This came about after photographing Slapshot’s NPS corals (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1852345). That visit confirmed for me that I wanted to try keeping NPS corals.

In preparation, I’ve been selling off some of the leathers in my 40 breeder and moving others to my 65. I have a clownfish and a clam that is its home, so those have to stay in the 40, meaning I’ll be mixing leathers and NPS corals for the foreseeable future. Not an ideal arrangement, but it’s what works for now.

My setup is:

• 40 breeder w/20L sump
• MagDrive 9.5 system pump
• ASM G2 skimmer
• BRS reactor with carbon and GFO
• Chaeto on a reverse cycle
• MP40 to create flow
• T5 lights.

The tank gets a 10-gal. water change weekly and I use B-Ionic two-part daily for alk and calcium.

On July 5 my collection grew when I added a Nephthyigorgia, Umbellulifera, Tubastrea colony, and three Dendrophyllia colonies.

I’m currently shading the portion of the tank that contains the NPS corals to keep the light to a minimum during the day, while I work on a more permanent way to cut the light to that area.

I’ll talk about what I’ve learned about the corals in subsequent posts.

Gary

 

[glparr]

This is the Umbellulifera. When I got it, I put it on the sand. It wasn’t showing any polyp extension after a day and I knew it needed to eat, so I moved it up on the rocks into stronger current. Polyps started to open, so I started feeding RN Roti-Feast. It was doing OK for several days, but not great. This past Saturday I got some Rod’s Food Coral Blend. Within 24 hr. of regular feedings (turning off all flow and blanketing the coral with food) it started inflating more, standing more rigid, and opening more polyps. After a couple of days, it was looking more like a bush than branches with clusters and the polyps started showing much more aggressive feeding behavior.

Also on the rock is a small nub of the coral, quite separate from the main colony. It was showing no polyp extension at all and I figured it would just wither and die. A couple of days after I started feeding the Rod’s Food, it started showing polyps and eating. Today it is expanding to twice its size and showing considerable polyp extension. Looks like it’ll be part of the show.

The coral is getting a mixture of the Rod’s Food Coral Blend, Roti-Feast, and Cyclopeez. It seems to be getting what it needs, though it’s been a very short time period. If it continues to look and act well, I’ll keep up the feeding. If not, I’ll switch to some other food.

 

[glparr]

The Nephthyigorgia is the NPS coral I wanted most and it's turning out to be the problem child. When I first got it, I had it sitting low in the tank, upright, and shaded. It was showing some polyps but not expanding at all. I was feeding it RN Roti-Feast. The polyps seemed to be eating.

I communicated with Slapshot (Don Arndt) and he said his only eats frozen Cyclopeez and likes lots of flow. He also suggested it was starved and to feed as much as possible. He also suggested turning it on its side or upside down. I put it on its side and, every time the polyps appear, I've been blanketing it with Cyclopeez. It's definitely eating, but still not expanding. It's near the end/back corner of the tank and in very good flow, but tonight I put a small Korallia power head in that corner to increase flow even more. Within an hour it was showing better polyp extension and starting to put out some "œfingers" of tissue. I'll see how it does in the next couple of days.

Here's what it was looking like before I added the Korallia.

 

[glparr]

Here's the Tubastrea and two of the Dendrophyllias. The first Dendro has rather large polyps. The second is more conventional sized. The third Dendro is very different, with cream polyp bases and clear tentacles. It only extends them in the dark. I've been feeding it, but can't get any photos yet.

Tubastrea

Large-polyp Dendrophyllia

Regular Dendrophyllia

 

[glparr]

My Cirrhipathes spiralis has been doing very well and showing notable growth. Here's what it looks like today.

 

[Aquabacs]

Beatifully done Gary. That Umbellulifera is smokin' hot!

Mike

 

[flying_dutchman]

Beautiful , FTS?

 

[alexruegamer]

hi
i think your umbelluferia is an scleronephtya

greez alex

 

[glparr]

I got it from Diver's Den and Kevin Kohen ID'd it. You're the second person who has said that to me. How to you tell the difference?

Thanks, Aquabacs, Dutchman. Dutchman, I'll see about a FTS. It looks kind of goofy with the left half packed and the right have rather open with a few NPS frags.

Gary

 

[alexruegamer]

hi
i´m from germany so my english is not so good... words translated with google...

umbelluliferia lives in the sand.
and it has a long thin root with headpolyps like a umbel.
alex

 

[glparr]

Thanks. Given that, it's clearly a sclero because it is firmly anchored on rock and isn't going anywhere.
Gary

 

[glparr]

One of my early frustrations with this NPS stuff is there seems to be no source for identifying corals or a place that shows decent photos of the various types of corals. I so dislike posting photos without proper identification. Are there sources and I haven't looked in the right spots? Is there an NPS book?
Gary

 

[alexruegamer]

i have a book called
"Korallenführer Indopazifik" von Daniel Knop... i think this book even avalible in
the us...
in this book theres a lot of pictures from azoo gorgs and other corals...

the isbn is:3-440-10293-9

alex

 

[glparr]

Thanks Alex. I'll see if there's an English translation of the book. I'm language challenged.

 

[alexruegamer]

hi
i found it:
http://www.amazon.com/Corals-Indo-P...r_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279209840&sr=8-10

 

[SaraB]

Great pictures Gary!

Also, no I don't have that book on my shelf, so you'll have to order one up!

 

[Aquabacs]

One of my early frustrations with this NPS stuff is there seems to be no source for identifying corals or a place that shows decent photos of the various types of corals. I so dislike posting photos without proper identification. Are there sources and I haven't looked in the right spots? Is there an NPS book?
Gary

Gary, the book to get, that is difficult to find right now since it is out of production is Soft Corals and Sea Fans by Katharinia Fabricius and Philip Alderslade. It's is honestly one of the best books I have bought regarding non-photosynthetic corals...plenty of photos of different variants of each coral.

Mike

 

[DaveBien]

Knop is also the editor of "Koralle" magazine in Germany. The US version is "Coral" magazine. The photos are just one step below yours Gary. LOL.

PS: A book Sara DOESN'T have????? lmao. Impossible.

 

[slapshot]

Still waiting for the FTS!:bounce2::bounce3::bounce1:

 

[SaraB]

Still waiting for the FTS!:bounce2::bounce3::bounce1:

I've gone and littered Gary's beautiful NPS tank with a large amount of chalice frags as my system is having some issues ... so it may be a while for a good looking FTS :hmm5: