Hitch Suggestions?

[Kay Tickle]

I still haven't purchased my seahorses, but I'm trying to decide on hitches for the future residents.

I don't want anything artificial right now. I like the look of a nice seagrass/macro bed, but I've been reading about how difficult they are to take care of. I have a pretty branchy tonga rock, may get a gorgonian.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't mean to be lazy about macro, but there just seems like a lot can go wrong. Does anyone have a particular type of grassy hitch that does well with just some periodic pruning, that is readily available somewhere?

 

[namxas]

Live macro is about as EZ as can be, and I can't say enuff good about what it does for your tank and your SH. We have live macro in almost all of our 13 setups and it looks great, adds motion, provides hunting grounds, and aids in nutrient export.

There are a lot of "horror" stories out there, but to be honest, I think MOST of them aren't true and are only perpetuated by folks who regurgitate the info (ya know, kinda like bristleworms are bad).

Tips:

If you have a fast-grower, prune it (freeze the clippings for 24 hrs to kill them).
Don't keep too many species at once.
Keep reds a bit dimmer (they hold their color better).
Otherwise, just enjoy it.

Trust me...NOBODY is lazier about macro than I am. I try a species and if it grows in a given system, cool, if not, I try another. We have some systems that certain macros like better than others and some that will grow pretty much anything.

One of the easiest to grow is Caulerpa prolifera. It has a good growth rate without going nuts, and can be "planted" for a faux sea grass look. Botryocladia sp. (red grape) is a nice red color and doesn't require a lot of light, altho it's a much slower grower.

For the most part, we've gotten our macro for free, either as hitchhikers, trading, or asking a LFS for a clipping from their systems (where it was likely a hitchhiker anyhow).

A little inspiration:

 

[DanU]

Nice!!!!!!

Dan

 

[Kay Tickle]

Thanks, Greg! That is great information and makes me feel a lot better about macro. Your pics are beautiful. I've seen them on other threads, and I think that little pink bush is a pink galaxy, right? I'd love to do a "seagrass bed" with the Caulerpa and a couple of other pieces like that.

 

[namxas]

Yeppers...it's pink galaxy, and we got it from John over at Reefcleaners. It's a calcareous macro, so most critter leave it alone. It's VERY cool stuff when you can find it.

As a matter of fact, besides the red bushy stuff (the name escapes me) right in the center, all of the other macro in that pic were freebies, altho it was John's "penny macro" (all I did was stuff it into a crevice and it grew). The SH LOVE to hunt in it as it really harbors pods.

Nice!!!!!!

Dan

Those are "your" SH that the org displayed in the booth at IMAC, so of COURSE they're nice!

 

[Kay Tickle]

One more thing (well, I'm not promising that!)

I was researching more about grasses/macro and can't find much about temperature. One thread I saw, someone mentioned their tank was 84-85* (but was in the macro group, not SHs). I plan on keeping my tank at 72-74* for the SHs. I'm assuming you keep your tank a lot cooler as well. So, my question is probably already answered as to if those lower temps are fine for the macro? I guess the same goes for flow as well, since I have a much lower flow than the macro might like.

 

[namxas]

We even have macro growing quite well in our bluefin lion setup, which runs at 63*F, and I haven't noticed much difference in growth or the look of the macro. Our SH setups run at 74*F and the larger one runs at about 15x turnover, altho the smaller setup is much less (whatever the HOB power filter plus the chiller pump (MJ 1200) and an open-ended rigid airline does).

I know that seagrasses are typically found in shallow lagoons, so the water is a bit warmer, but lots of peeps keep them at SH temps. Pesonally, I think true seagrasses are great, but more work than I want to put in ATM.

 

[scapes]

an item i use for hitches are dead sps's. i had quite a few die a year ago, i kept them in a tank with my liverock, and when the time came i put the dead colonies in there with them. they love them!