Leonardo's Formosa Forest 2

[gary faulkner]

sdiddy

[welcome]

 

[Oldude]

:smokin:Sweet looking corals Leonardo but when does all the formosa come into play with this forest of yours?

 

[Leonardo_]

Thanks!

shandy; Yes, these are aquacultured Bali-Maricultures.

Thanks Greg, don't worry I've already collected some nice branches of green Formosa that have all the room to grow out
Almost all the maricultured corals are branching Acropora too, so they will mix together nicely.

Leonardo

 

[shandy_say]

Nice! Wish we could get aquacultured corals here. Very nice Leo! FTS! hehe!

 

[Leonardo_]

Thanks Shandy. Isn't is possible to acquire nice Maricultures in the Philippines?
Working on the FTS, I have to build the stand first!

Leonardo

 

[shandy_say]

There is only 1 shop that brings in maricultured corals here. And it costs an arm and a leg. Most of the corals we get here are wild colonies which usually are damaged or too stressed out during transport and arrive damaged or bleached. I haven't even heard of any coral propagation endeavors here. So sad.

 

[animan]

Looking great so far Leonardo. I have enjoyed your Formosa Forest. Feel like this is going to be even better!

 

[mpoletti]

Thanks Kenneth!

Founds this crab munching on my Acropora Tenuis colony just a few minutes ago... Quickly took him out and put it in the sump.
I think he will be the first future resident of the refugium

Leonardo

How big was this guy Leonardo? Was this an acro crab or a hitch hiker?

 

[mpoletti]

Is this a maricultured purple hoek :eek1:

This thing would look awesome in a ZEOvit tank :lol:

 

[DanW]

That's one scary looking crab. I can just imagine hearing him chomping on your acros

 

[Leonardo_]

Thanks animan!

Mark, the crab was about 1.2" and I believe it came with the new colonies. That means it survived the Revive dip...
I also think this is a blue A. Hoeksemai, although I not ordered it. But I don't mind BTW, I think it will also do great in a BB-high flow, high light reef

You're right Dan, it was a bit creepy to take the coral out (tank was already dark) But luckily it didn't look so big close by I saw it literally pulling the polyps out! Would be a fun project to see it grow in my refugium. I'm curious how big these guys can get.

Leonardo

 

[mpoletti]

Mark, the crab was about 1.2" and I believe it came with the new colonies. That means it survived the Revive dip...
I also think this is a blue A. Hoeksemai, although I not ordered it. But I don't mind BTW, I think it will also do great in a BB-high flow, high light reef

Leonardo

I was curious about that. What is your dipping time and how much revive are you using?

 

[Leonardo_]

I didn't exactly calculated the amount of water I used when dipping I was a bit in a rush to unpack and inspect (admire) the corals. But I think I used roughly 50% more then the directions on the bottle, dipping for about 5 minutes.
Didn't saw any signs of (further) stress at all. No browning, bleaching etc. Pretty impressive results for a coral directly imported from Indonesia without acclimatisation at the LFS etc.
The smaller, commensal acrocrabs were running like crazy when I dipped BTW. They could be removed from the bucket easily and were placed back onto the corals afterwards. They all survived

Leonardo

 

[mpoletti]

FWIW, I use 4 capfuls for 1.5 gallons of water. After 5 mins, I "gently" baste the coral. I wait another 5 mins and repeat. By then all nasties, crabs and such will be on the bottom of the container. The water should be somewhat cloudy to the eye.

 

[Leonardo_]

Thanks for sharing your experience Mark. If I knew this product was so "gentle" to the corals, I would have dipped it longer. But I was a bit afraid to stress them too much after all the shipping.
I'm thinking about dropping the next few Levamisole treatments and replace them with a strong Revive dip. What are your thoughts?

Leonardo

 

[mpoletti]

I dropped the levamisole after the second week as I was so impressed with the Revive. As with any dip, be careful with the smooth bodied delicate acros like turakis and such

 

[Leonardo_]

Okay thanks I was thinking the same because the Levamisole is really hitting the corals every time.

Leonardo

 

[Oldude]

Thanks Greg, don't worry I've already collected some nice branches of green Formosa that have all the room to grow out
Almost all the maricultured corals are branching Acropora too, so they will mix together nicely.

Leonardo

I am just teasing you because of the thread title. I am confident it will be a great collection.

 

[Dejavu]

Thanks for sharing your experience Mark. If I knew this product was so "gentle" to the corals, I would have dipped it longer. But I was a bit afraid to stress them too much after all the shipping.
I'm thinking about dropping the next few Levamisole treatments and replace them with a strong Revive dip. What are your thoughts?

Leonardo

Leonardo, I've dipped as long as 15 min with revive without a problem.

 

[Leonardo_]

I am just teasing you because of the thread title. I am confident it will be a great collection.

I know Greg Formosa Forest just sound so much better then Abrolhosensis or Microphthalma forest! :lol:

Thanks for your input Brian. I will perform a longer dip next time without hesitation

Leo