elegance coral
They call me EC
I have never tried adding vitamins or amino acids the the aquarium water. Does it work? I am wondering if this may help Elegance corals that are not feeding properly. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
vitamins and amino acids
- Thread starter elegance coral
- Start date
gh0st
New member
These products ussually get pretty mixed reviews. For some they work, some not.
I've been using Seachem Reef Plus, and more recently Boyds Vita.
Both seemed to SLIGHTLY improve color and polyp extension. It wasn't much, but it did improve things a bit.
Mostly I'm using them to reverse a case of Lateral Line Erosoin, which they have also appeared to help, so the color and extension are just kinda side perks.
I've been using Seachem Reef Plus, and more recently Boyds Vita.
Both seemed to SLIGHTLY improve color and polyp extension. It wasn't much, but it did improve things a bit.
Mostly I'm using them to reverse a case of Lateral Line Erosoin, which they have also appeared to help, so the color and extension are just kinda side perks.
MCsaxmaster
New member
Please define "work."
cj
cj
elegance coral
They call me EC
When it's used does it cause increased growth rates, improved polyp expansion, better coloration, or reproduction? Basically, is there any noticeable benefit to it's use?
Is the user convinced that their corals are coloring up, growing faster, expanding more ...
...bad fredfish bad...
Sorry, the cynic in me couldn't resist.
In order for us to know that these things work someone would have to do the basic research first to determine that corals can absorb these products from the water, and then that they have some sort of positive effect. To my knowlege, nobody has yet done this.
Personally I think that your money would be much better spent giving your corals fish etc. a good quality food. We do know that most organisms have digestive systems of some sort to extract the amino acids etc they need from said foods. JMO.
Fred
greenbean36191
Premium Member
It strikes me as funny that people are convinced that if a sea hare inks in their tank it will crash, but you can bottle the same compounds and charge large amounts of money and people will intentionally add them to their tanks expecting wonderful things to happen. :lol:
Like you said, the best way to give your animals amino acids is through food.
When I first started in the hobby and was trying all sorts of miracle supplements, AA's were one of them. Other than increased polyp extension I never saw any change. You would expect to see that much though since you're adding the taste of food to the water.
Sure, it's been done, but AFAIK it's never been shown that they're used as anything more than another source of N.
Like you said, the best way to give your animals amino acids is through food.
When I first started in the hobby and was trying all sorts of miracle supplements, AA's were one of them. Other than increased polyp extension I never saw any change. You would expect to see that much though since you're adding the taste of food to the water.
Last edited:
glassbox-design
New member
sps do intake amino acids, as was mentioned as a source of nitrogen. there are scientific studies showing this. we do not know if this is happening in our tanks, as other organisms could utilize the aa's first...but they can be used by corals nonetheless.
in tanks that are very low nutrient, they can be a good tool to control the input of "clean" nitrogen without the effects of po4 imo...the effects are subtle and it's far from a miracle product. aa's do increase polyp extension which for many corals can make them more attractive. ime, colors darkened slightly too.
bacteria's also utilize aa's, and are used in bacterioplankton systems....
eric
in tanks that are very low nutrient, they can be a good tool to control the input of "clean" nitrogen without the effects of po4 imo...the effects are subtle and it's far from a miracle product. aa's do increase polyp extension which for many corals can make them more attractive. ime, colors darkened slightly too.
bacteria's also utilize aa's, and are used in bacterioplankton systems....
eric
MCsaxmaster
New member
Sure, corals take up amino acids, but even at very high concentrations they can't (at least the species studied) satisfy much of their nutritional needs from DFAAs. Yes, they serve as a food source to corals, but not nearly as "good" of a food source as most everything else (since they can't suck them up very quickly). Most corals would be better served by being fed zooplankton and zooplankton substitues, though I doubt a little bit of DFAA would hurt anything. I don't see much if any utility in dosing vitamins to a tank and hoping that they will benefit the corals....
cj
cj
acrylic_300
New member
I usually put a couple drops in before I feed the fish to let the corals know the food is coming. The fish usually release their waste products while they are eating...the aminos make a good appetizer.
I only use a fraction of the recommended dosage but still get polyp extension.
I only use a fraction of the recommended dosage but still get polyp extension.
Reefer Steve
New member
Same, just enough to let them smell it and extend their polyps out. Then I hit them with the phyto/cyclops
elegance coral
They call me EC
From what everyone is saying, if a coral is injured and can not feed properly AA's added to the water may indeed help until the coral is once again able to feed normally, correct?
MCsaxmaster
New member
That's a possibility. The only significant utility I see to adding DFAAs would be to provide nourishment to a badly damaged coral that doesn't have the resources to properly extend its tentacles and feed normally. DFAAs might help get some nutrition into them in such a scenario. May I suggest that if you're having trouble with an elegance coral it may be due to 'elegance coral disease' and may not be easily remedied.
cj
cj
elegance coral
They call me EC
Thanks for the reply. I am able to bring these corals through the "Elegance coral disease" probably 9 out of 10 times. Depending on the amount of tissue damage when I get the coral. I am just looking for ways to speed up this process. I have recently started adding vitamins and AA's. Polyp expansion and overall health seem to be improving. I have a bleached Elegance that started regaining it's algae after 3 weeks in the tank. I'm not sure how much of this can be contributed to these additions and how much is normal recovery. You can check out my thread "Elegance Coral Theory" in the LPS forum if you are interested.
