Scuba Josh
New member
I know they grow deep in the Carribean where the temp tends o be around 70-73...but I was curious if anyone had particular luck with them at a higher temp? 75-80 or above 80.
What temp do rics like the water to be?
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acroporas
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What is your source that the natural temperature range 70-73. Perhaps in the winter it is this cold, but in the summer it is much much warmer than that.
I dive a lot in the Florida Keys (I used to live in Miami) and have seen tons of Ricordea there. In fact all of my Ric's I collected my self....
The Green ones are the most common, once you know where to look you can easily find 50 on a dive. They are most common at 15-20 foot. The temperature at this depth in the keys is 84 in the summer and 70 in the winter.
The orange and blue ones are not nearly as abundant as the green ones, but you find them occasionally. The orange ones are most common in the at 30-40 ft. The average temperature at that depth is around 81 in the summer and 70 in the winter. And the blue ones are most common at 50-60 ft. The average temperature at that depth ranges from 78 in the summer to 68 in the winter.
I keep my tank ~82 in the summer and 78 in the winter. My ricordea love it.
I dive a lot in the Florida Keys (I used to live in Miami) and have seen tons of Ricordea there. In fact all of my Ric's I collected my self....
The Green ones are the most common, once you know where to look you can easily find 50 on a dive. They are most common at 15-20 foot. The temperature at this depth in the keys is 84 in the summer and 70 in the winter.
The orange and blue ones are not nearly as abundant as the green ones, but you find them occasionally. The orange ones are most common in the at 30-40 ft. The average temperature at that depth is around 81 in the summer and 70 in the winter. And the blue ones are most common at 50-60 ft. The average temperature at that depth ranges from 78 in the summer to 68 in the winter.
I keep my tank ~82 in the summer and 78 in the winter. My ricordea love it.
Scuba Josh
New member
acro... I pulled those numbers out of the sky...well maybe not as I also dive the carribean a lot, but mostly out on the southern islands like Paradise Island, Bahamas Virigins and on 7 mile beach. Funny, I never have seen rics in the wild, only Condi anemones in the shallows.
I will take your word for it and keep my tank at 78-80 as well. Do your rics split on their own or do you slice 'em?
I will take your word for it and keep my tank at 78-80 as well. Do your rics split on their own or do you slice 'em?
Scuba Josh
New member
Acro...do you have any pics of your rics. I read on another thread that you have 500 watts on a 75 gal. Where are they placed?
acroporas
New member
My blue's are very picky and turn grey in brighter light. They still grow fine, but loose their colour if I give them too much. Even in the bottom of my tank - direct light is too much. So they are in the sand, shaded from the hailides. They grow very quickly. I collected 4 and now have at least 40.
Currently I keep my greens in similar location. Though I used to have them a few inches from the surface in direct light. They grew faster there but I do not like them enough to give them such valuable real estate. In both places they never split on their own. They just keep growing and growing and growing. Some of them are more than 3" in diameter. I have tryed, but had no sucess fragging the green ones. The pieces I cut off, just slowly wither away. The blues and oranges seem to tolerate such fraging, but my greens do not.
My orange ones loose their orange colour in the bottom of my tank. I have to keep them at least half way up to keep them orange. These are solid orange ones, not the ones with the blue/green center that seem to be most common in the trade.
I'll post some pictires tonight....
Currently I keep my greens in similar location. Though I used to have them a few inches from the surface in direct light. They grew faster there but I do not like them enough to give them such valuable real estate. In both places they never split on their own. They just keep growing and growing and growing. Some of them are more than 3" in diameter. I have tryed, but had no sucess fragging the green ones. The pieces I cut off, just slowly wither away. The blues and oranges seem to tolerate such fraging, but my greens do not.
My orange ones loose their orange colour in the bottom of my tank. I have to keep them at least half way up to keep them orange. These are solid orange ones, not the ones with the blue/green center that seem to be most common in the trade.
I'll post some pictires tonight....
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Thanks for the info about placement of your floridas acro. I had no idea the blues were much deeper water than other color morphs. I've been wondering why they were fading to a greyish color under the direct light of my PCs (funny... you wouldn't think PCs were strong enough to be too bright for anything except maybe a few yumas).
Scuba Josh
New member
Acro- your first hand experience about rics in nature has been very valuable to ALL of us!!!
Could you tell me is the rics you found in "nature" or natural habitat were in high or low water current? As we all know, the water off FL has a very high current do to the Gulf Stream, and anyone who has scubad the reefs (of fans and gorgonians) knows.
My tank is a 29 gallon Bio cube (19" cube) with 2* 32 watt PCs (10k and blue). Would you place any color any where or would you still place em all low on the sand?
kiknchikn- my blues also greyed out, not as "bery blue" as when they were purchased. What do you do with your lemon yellow rics?
Could you tell me is the rics you found in "nature" or natural habitat were in high or low water current? As we all know, the water off FL has a very high current do to the Gulf Stream, and anyone who has scubad the reefs (of fans and gorgonians) knows.
My tank is a 29 gallon Bio cube (19" cube) with 2* 32 watt PCs (10k and blue). Would you place any color any where or would you still place em all low on the sand?
kiknchikn- my blues also greyed out, not as "bery blue" as when they were purchased. What do you do with your lemon yellow rics?
I don't have any lemon yellow rics... I'm not sure that flavor of ric even exists. The closest I've seen to a yellow color were bleached out yumas or floridas that are more green than yellow.
I guess you're referring to my orange ones? They're under the brighest part of the tank (about 6 - 7 inches below my 2 x 65W PC lights) in medium-low flow and grow like weeds.
I guess you're referring to my orange ones? They're under the brighest part of the tank (about 6 - 7 inches below my 2 x 65W PC lights) in medium-low flow and grow like weeds.
All Delight
New member
mine are at 77
acroporas
New member
They, for the most part are too deep to feal much of wave action. But outer reefs where they live are often subject to strong wind driven and tidal currents. It is difficult if not impossible to replicate this kind of flow in an aquarium.
However they grow flat on the bottom which protects them from the brunt of it. Friction from other corals, and the reef itself significantly reduces the ammount of flow that hits them directly.
They don't seem to be too picky about flow. I have some of mine in very strong current (like directly in front of a Maxi-Mod) and others in no current at all. They do fine in both locations.
However they grow flat on the bottom which protects them from the brunt of it. Friction from other corals, and the reef itself significantly reduces the ammount of flow that hits them directly.
They don't seem to be too picky about flow. I have some of mine in very strong current (like directly in front of a Maxi-Mod) and others in no current at all. They do fine in both locations.
Scuba Josh
New member
Thanks Acro...Any response to my light question?
acroporas
New member
Josh, It's been quite a while since I used anything other than metal halides, so I'm a bit out of touch. I used to have them in a 55 with 4 x 110W VHO and my orange were pretty dull.
I would definately place orange ricorda as near to the top as you can. You say your blues are turing grey where they are, so I would try to reduce the light a bit.
Sorry, I havent gotten any pictures up. I'll try to get some pictures tommorow.
I would definately place orange ricorda as near to the top as you can. You say your blues are turing grey where they are, so I would try to reduce the light a bit.
Sorry, I havent gotten any pictures up. I'll try to get some pictures tommorow.
Scuba Josh
New member
I look forward to seeing them.
acroporas
New member
I posted the pictures in a new thread.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1120955
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1120955
Scuba Josh
New member
Acro very nice indeed. Why are my greens not like your greens. Mine are the flourecent greens.
I just got some pinks and peaches as well as yellow&orange mixed.
Let me know if you want to trade? I will get some pics up for you to see. If I cant....can I email you the pics. I still cant figure out how to post pics in threads.
I just got some pinks and peaches as well as yellow&orange mixed.
Let me know if you want to trade? I will get some pics up for you to see. If I cant....can I email you the pics. I still cant figure out how to post pics in threads.
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