Feeding my corals

[ttharo69]

Hi
I am new to this, but here goes, have been keeping a marine nano aquarium for some time now( years) but the corals I get don't seem to survive past 6 months or so, started feeding them now on marine snow, is this sufficient for them? Will post some pictures of the ones I have now, appreciate any help from anyone out there, many thanks.

 

[joy13]

What type of corals do you have? Look at your water parameters to see if that is what might be killing your corals.

Most of the commercial foods will raise your nitrates. Most corals are photosnthetic. I know that when you clean your glass most corals will eat the algae that comes from that and when you feed your fish they will get a little food that way. One person said if they could figure out a way to manufacture fish poop that is the best coral food known.

 

[ttharo69]

Thanks for your reply, will post a picture of my corals as they are looking good right now, and I am keen to keep them this way

 

[joy13]

One thing you want to research is dipping corals before adding any new corals to your tank. Getting rid of pests in an established tank can be difficult since they can go unnoticed. One of my tanks got flatworms when I was starting out, now I dip everything.

 

[ttharo69]

This is my nano, more photos to follow

 

[ttharo69]

One of my corals

 

[ttharo69]

Hi this photo shows the polyp coral on the left that is not doing so great, and the other two are relatively new additions, any help is very much appreciated.
Helen

 

[ttharo69]

This shows my tank setup as a whole

 

[ttharo69]

One thing you want to research is dipping corals before adding any new corals to your tank. Getting rid of pests in an established tank can be difficult since they can go unnoticed. One of my tanks got flatworms when I was starting out, now I dip everything.

What do you dip them in? I have a lot of very fine thread like worms all over my tank floor and on the rocks and a few bristle worms that leave casts, not sure if these are the flat worms you r talking about, by the way thanks for your replies they are very helpful.

 

[carey]

Wow Looks great!very full and colorful!

 

[ttharo69]

Thanks, the polyps though on the left of the tank are only a few left, the others went White and then became part if the rock, if that makes sense

 

[needmorecowbell]

Those polyps are zooanthids, or button polyps. What type of lighting do you hav?

 

[ttharo69]

The lighting I think is ok, sealed unit in lid of tank, and the aquarium is an orca, double White and blue bulbs 15-20 wats, seems very bright, but perhaps that might be the problem, I hope not though. Any advice is greatly appreciated
Helen

 

[needmorecowbell]

How big is the tank?

 

[ttharo69]

Nano orca 450 T, is the titile of my aquarium, hope that answers the question.

 

[joy13]

What do you dip them in? I have a lot of very fine thread like worms all over my tank floor and on the rocks and a few bristle worms that leave casts, not sure if these are the flat worms you r talking about, by the way thanks for your replies they are very helpful.

I usually dip my corals in coral rx or revive and then iodine.

Your zoas look like they are being irritated by something either a pest, other coral, or flow. Sometimes it takes a while for corals to adjust as well to the light. I don't know how long you have had them.

Flatworms are little reddish colored flat bugs. The bristle worms are a good thing to have in your tank as part of the CUC.

Worm Hitch Hikers I hope that this will help identify some of the worms.

 

[ttharo69]

That coral I have had over 6 months, and was covered in polyps to start with, now all that is left is what you can see from the photo, thanks for the advice about worms an excellent site to identify them. I have never seen red worms, only bristle and thread ones from the substrate.
Just a thought I think I have got numerous snail like creatures which come out at night only, seem to have a kind of shell but elongated, not sure what they are, but are breeding big style. Could these be the culprits perhaps? Will try and get a photo on here so you can see what I mean.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Limpets maybe? They are also called pond snails but I thought they were exclusively freshwater.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

The lighting I think is ok, sealed unit in lid of tank, and the aquarium is an orca, double White and blue bulbs 15-20 wats, seems very bright, but perhaps that might be the problem, I hope not though. Any advice is greatly appreciated
Helen

Sorry to say, but I really don't think 15-20W is enough light. I'd be shooting for twice that amount... as a minimum. I think that's the crux of your problem. Corals, while delicate in some ways, are pretty hardy in that it can take a while for them to die off under incorrect lighting.

Also... the corals you have aren't really going to directly benefit from that Marine Snow. They might eat the things that eat the Marine Snow, but in a small tank (58 liters, I think?... about 15g) it probably does more harm than good.

 

[ttharo69]

This aquarium is a marine specific one with built in skimmer, steriliser etc so I was told the lighting would be adequate for soft corals. This particular tank I have only had approx 6 months, whilst the other one an open top tank with a hang on the back red sea skimmer had 25 watt double lights.
I guess if it is the lighting after these corals demise I will not stock the tank anymore with them. I really appreciate your advice, thanks very much.
Helen