New plant setup pics

[bottlecapp09]

Hey guys,
I setup my 55gal a week ago and yesterday I introduced some new marine plants, which i am not sure of the name. I have a twin tube 10,000k bulb and an atinic bulb in the fixture. How do I get maximum amount of life and growth out of the plants? I am not sure what type of plant they are that I got.
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[lancer99]

It's a species of Caulerpa, probably C. taxifolia. Very hardy, but also very invasive, so keep an eye on it ....

-R

 

[saltycreefer]

Try mixing some fine sand in with your substrate to give the jawfish something to burrow in.

 

[bottlecapp09]

I want a nice full tank, and also for burrowing purposes he should be fine. Its a finer type of crushed coral. He is also new to the tank so I think he should be fine unless if you dont think so?

 

[Tayler]

I setup my 55gal a week ago

1 week is too quick to add fish to the, tank the tank needs atleast two months to cycle before you can add any fish to it. i would suggest taking the fish back to the lfs and letting the tank cycle.

tayler

 

[Samala]

What the wattage of the bulbs over this tank?

As for the jawfish.. mine were happiest with a mix of crushed coral and finer sand fragments. I would be tempted to add finer sand to this setup anyway for the plants. With crushed coral the "roots"/ rhizoids may grown into the crushed coral and be very hard to remove later on.

You definitely have a Caulerpa species member, though there are several species that fall within this kind of "feather" appearance.

I also agree that one week is too short for fish life. Plant life can make it this early in while the tank is still maturing. Unless the HOT filters had a lot of bacteria from another tank its risky to have the fish in this early on.

What are your plans for this tank? All seaweeds?

>Sarah

 

[bottlecapp09]

Its going to be seaweeds. The tank was cycled by very cure LR, bioballs, and bacteria filled sponges. I am starting to go threw the brown algea cycle what is the best way to keep the crushed coral somewhat white? Should I gravel vac it or just sit back and let it go?

 

[LNell]

I would replace it with fine sand and add a few pounds of live sand to seed it. Then you just need to seed it with a little live sand about once a year and you should be fine (I add the "should be" to avoid the DSB discussion).

 

[bottlecapp09]

Sorry but what is the DSB discussion. Also is it neccesary to remove the Crush Coral? The jawfish has a beautiful little cave now and is eating great. I have 2 20wat 10,000k bulbs in the fixture.

 

[bottlecapp09]

Inorder to keep the Caulerpa taxifolia un control will it be a problem if I trim it back with scissors? Will it release toxins in the water that could hurt my fish? I was reading about how no fish will eat the Caulerpa taxifolia because of the chemical it makes, which makes it taste awful.

 

[bottlecapp09]

This Caulerpa taxifolia I have in my tank, is it going to completely fill the tank? Should I remove this before it attaches and spreads through out my tank? I have 2 jawfish and a puffer on the way. Will they be okay with this Caulerpa in my tank?

 

[Samala]

I use scissors to trim Caulerpa prolifera and C. mexicana without incident. I am not sure if these species harbor caulerpenyne or not (the anti-herbivore molecule Caulerpa's produce to discourage fish from snacking on them).

In the past we have advocated running carbon on plant heavy systems to remove potential toxins as well as large water changes.

Generally, if you give any Caulerpa enough access to light and nutrients they will overtake the space you provide. I would not completely remove it since it can be a very beautiful genus of plants to have in a seaweed specific tank.

There is a lot of alarming literature out there on the web concerning Caulerpa and some of it is unwarranted IMO. Yes, it has its faults and issues, but it can also be a tremendously beneficial plant if the husbandry is right. The trick is to pay attention to what the plant needs and to be vigilant about keeping the plant in check in side the display and also when disposing of excess plant material.

Since puffers, jawfish, and the cardinals you have in the tank are not herbivores in general I imagine they will be fine in a planted tank setup.

I just wanted to also toss into the discussion that it is by no means certain that you have C. taxifolia. As I mentioned there are several species in the Caulerpa genus that have this feather morphology. I would still suggest that you treat this species as if it could be invasive and be sure to freeze or bleach any trimmings that you pull from the tank in the future.

You might want to include a few other species of macroalgae in this tank just for variation and some more color. I happen to like most of the red algaes, though they can be hard to get to attach to the LR in the beginning stages. I'd suggest Halymenia, Gracilaria, or Botryocladia given the setup you have so far.

>Sarah

 

[graveyardworm]

You have a very nice start for a planted tank. We'll have a good time watching it mature. Read as much as you can about the caulerpa and hopefully you can avoid some of the pitfalls associated with it.

 

[bottlecapp09]

I had to take all the plants out the puffer started to tare through them he just would rip and chew and spit out so all the plants are in my 20lg now.
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[Dyepes]

If you ever want to trim any kind of leafy macro algae, all you need to do is introduce some kind of sea urchin. It will mow down everything, or just enough for you to feel comfortable and then return it wherever you got him from.

 

[bottlecapp09]

i have a pencil urchin the the 20lg tank. There is plenty in there for him to trim.