New Deodronephthya sp. study group?
- Thread starter charles matthews
- Start date
Stottlemire
New member
Salty Joe
the substrate is just an araganite with some small shells and gravel it seems to work well.
the substrate is just an araganite with some small shells and gravel it seems to work well.
Stottlemire
New member
The sand is about 3 inches. Do you have a Dendro system?
I know that this is Dendronephthya thread, but many of you are keeping other non-photosynthetic corals as well. Can somebody help with advice on specifics of scleronephthya keeping?
So far I was lucky with non-photosynthetic gorgonians and Christmas tree worms, now trying to add baby scleros to the system. I have few of them for a few months, two startes to grow a little. Now added one more rock withs smallest scleros.
As I can see from this thread, the temperature is preferably lower, around 77F, but at what level should be alkalinity and nitrates? Phosphates - be unmeasurable, right?
Should be filtration and skimmer be turned off during feeding, how long should be cycles on and off, or filtration is working all the time and just the amount of the food should be increased, may be 4x, to compensate their removal by skimmer?
Thanks.
So far I was lucky with non-photosynthetic gorgonians and Christmas tree worms, now trying to add baby scleros to the system. I have few of them for a few months, two startes to grow a little. Now added one more rock withs smallest scleros.
As I can see from this thread, the temperature is preferably lower, around 77F, but at what level should be alkalinity and nitrates? Phosphates - be unmeasurable, right?
Should be filtration and skimmer be turned off during feeding, how long should be cycles on and off, or filtration is working all the time and just the amount of the food should be increased, may be 4x, to compensate their removal by skimmer?
Thanks.
Stottlemire
New member
Dendro982
Do you have a tank set up just for non-photosynthetic corals?
These corals as well as others like them like more nutrients.
Do you have a tank set up just for non-photosynthetic corals?
These corals as well as others like them like more nutrients.
Yes, I have established tank, holding only Chili corals and Diodogorgia with (likely) Siphonogorgia non-photosynthetic gorgonians. 6g, no light, equal size sump with LR and macroalgae. Micron filter sock between them.
The problem with this tank is that this baby sclero started to decline, when the tank become unlit, before that it had 18W PC. Could be coincidence, of course. And the chilis with gorgonians are using the different size of food, close t 600-800 micron, mostly dried Cyclop-eeze. The small-polyped corals are just bombarded by this large food.
This tank is small, as most of my tanks, except 90g.
90g could be used too - it's low light, high nutrients tank, holding messy fish, fed 3 times daily very well. I tried chilis there, but they opens regularly only in a dark tank. Baby pink scleronephthya was here for almost an year, no visible growth, despite of abundance of the finest food particles and proper laminar(ish) flow from Seio poweheads.
Because of this the new, orange baby scleros, are in established 10g tank with anothers fine filer feeders - Christmas tree rock with Spirobranchus worms, and new non-photosynthetic gorgonians - tangerine Swiftia, blueberry (likely Acalycigorgia) and with finest intense blue polyps (likely Guaiagorgia).
It can be counted only as filter feeders tank, because porites and baby Tridacnas there require the good light.
This tank also receives multiple feedings daily, but in smaller range - 10-250 micron to frozen baby brine.
I may use any of these tanks, or a not used 20g/64L extra high tank (will be problem with access for a cleaning bottom) or 20g/64L long (can't make the laminar flow of more or less equal intensity along the tank, yet).
The tank with large particles feeders has high nitrates and phosphates (80 and up to 1 ppm correspondingly), that are reduces by massive water changes and PO4 removing media, Alk is stable at 10-11 dKH.
Fine filter feeders tank has relatively low nitrates and practically no phosphates (10-20 ppm NO3), Alk drops all the time, usually at 7-8 dKH, and had to be added frequently. Lives on water changes too, less massive. Has an almost equal size side sump and a good skimmer.
90g dirty tank with spitting fish and regularly spawning Tubastrea (a lot on baby colonies across the tank), has medium nitrates 20-40 ppm and medium phosphates (0.25-0.5 ppm), that are removed by PO4 removing media. Alk is stable at 8-9 dKH. This tank has the a skimmer, rated for 200g.
All are bare bottom.
My apologies for a long post and the small tanks (lack of space).
My concerns are about:
- what alkalinity is preferable, also if dendros kept dying until nitrates were raised - will this be applicable for a scleros too? What about phosphates? I can keep them at any level, including total removing by RowaPhos.
- after reading posts about keeping non-photosynthetic tanks, I prefer to keep LR in the sump, after filtration, so it will not be clogged by particulate matter, and the main tank will be cleanable. This also reduces housing for bristle worms, who plaque the rock, to which scleros are attached, and now they are hiding under shells, the gorgonians are attached to. Big broblem.
- it seems to be reasonable to keep the corals, feeding by different particles size, in different tanks, and feed each group by properly sized food to exclude irritation by a large number of large particles, beating their surface.
- would like to hear any thoughts on keeping the food suspended for along time (other, than plankton kreizel) and how do you remove them, when they eventually settle on the bottom, under LR (moved there by flow) .
- the last is about filtration or skimming on-off during feeding: is skimming is working all the time?
Thank you.
I do realize, that you may not have much time for typing, the short hints to the point will be perfectly OK.
I'm tracking information for non-photosynthetic corals systems for 1.5 yrs, general considerations are already in my bones and blood
Keeping the oldest chili for 1.5 yrs, and Christmas tree wirms with Diodogorgia - for an year.
Morgandy
New member
NEW PICS
NEW PICS
I've posted new pics of Chuck's tank (R/C - Stottlemire), taken 1st week of September. I still need to organize some side-by-side comparisons of growth rates over the months, and post the pics I did of his frag plugs and some other things. As usual, the tank is looking gorgeous!
http://www.quillworker.com/dendrotank3.htm
There are links for the first 2 dendro pages from that one if you haven't seen them yet.
NEW PICS
I've posted new pics of Chuck's tank (R/C - Stottlemire), taken 1st week of September. I still need to organize some side-by-side comparisons of growth rates over the months, and post the pics I did of his frag plugs and some other things. As usual, the tank is looking gorgeous!
http://www.quillworker.com/dendrotank3.htm
There are links for the first 2 dendro pages from that one if you haven't seen them yet.
pnsnowboard
New member
that is amazing
i work at a lfs and we have been keeping a red dendro for about 4 months everyday when i go into work i use a turkey baster to spot feed it zooplex and phytoplankton
it has great polyp extention and it seems to be doing very well
i work at a lfs and we have been keeping a red dendro for about 4 months everyday when i go into work i use a turkey baster to spot feed it zooplex and phytoplankton
it has great polyp extention and it seems to be doing very well
pnsnowboard
New member
the phyto is marine snow i think it is phytoplankton
the dendro seems to be doing really well
the dendro seems to be doing really well
Stottlemire
New member
Phytoplankton is phytoplankton, and marine snow is marine snow, they are diffrent. I belive Dendros eat more phyto then anything else, also turkey baster feeding is not going to be the best way to feed them. the polyps are so small that after a few cells of food is captured and swallowed,the shaft or thoat backs up and the polyp can't take any more food in. After about 20 mins. I have then observed the same polyp feeding again.
Cheers to everyone for a fantastic thread! If you guys don't mind, I'd like to share my experience with a dendronepthea coral. This scleronepthea was given to me by a friend that's upgrading his tank. He originally received it from GARF over a year ago. Though it survived, it never thrived in his tank. I wanted to see if I could give it a go. Here is a photo of the coral three weeks after I received it:
Since then, it has shown noticable improvement in polyp extension and even slight growth. This photo was taken a week after the above photo:
I hope to maintain its health based on the experience and knowledge gained from this thread. Cheers to a magnificent group of corals!
Since then, it has shown noticable improvement in polyp extension and even slight growth. This photo was taken a week after the above photo:
I hope to maintain its health based on the experience and knowledge gained from this thread. Cheers to a magnificent group of corals!
Kreeger1
KING LEAR
Frag pic taken around a month and a half ago
Base is kinda skinny due to size of frag
New pic taken today 10/07/07
You can see the base getting thicker and more polyps have grown. Not positive the thick base is a good thing forsure, but it does look to be growing to me and others that have scene it a few times.
Base is kinda skinny due to size of frag
New pic taken today 10/07/07
You can see the base getting thicker and more polyps have grown. Not positive the thick base is a good thing forsure, but it does look to be growing to me and others that have scene it a few times.
