Adding new soft corals

[MarkW19]

I'm planning on adding a few soft corals to my tank:-

pulsing xenia, capnella, and 2 sarcophytons (leathers).

I dont want to add too much more rock to my system (all I have now is quite a big piece of rock that was bought as baserock, not live). I just want to add 4 new smallish pieces of rock to fix the new corals to. This could be baserock or live...which would be best? I'm hoping baserock will be ok because of the cost!

Or, do the corals need more rock to go on?

I won't be feeding the corals phytoplankton or anything because I've been advised they dont need it, and I'm not going to use carbon if I can get away with it (although if I have to I will).

As long as I make sure the corals are at the correct height in the tank by choosing my pieces of rock carefully, am I ok with not putting liverock in and also putting small pieces in so the corals just fix on?

My tank is 35g, my current piece of rock is probably about 10kg, I have 2 maxijet powerheads and an eheim wet/dry canister filter. All levels are good. I've got an ocellaris clown, banggaii cardinal and royal gramma in already (as well as a fireshrimp and 11 blue/red-legged hermits), and my final fish is going to be a fireball/flameback angel (I'm taking the risk with the coral nipping).

Mark

PS. Can I also add a feather duster like the pictured one to my tank? Any issues or anything, and will it get by without being specifically fed?

 

[lando]

Most corals you buy in the store (at least around here) already come attatched toa piece of LR or rubble rock. It is just a matter of placing it in the tank. If you go with the feather duster you will need to start feeding a food designed for filter feeders. DT's live plankton works well. I must caution you against the angel, more times then not they will make a snack out of your new corals. If it were me, I would skip it.

 

[MarkW19]

Yeah, the corals do come attached to a tiny piece of liverock.

Is it ok to just bury this in the sand then (assuming the corals I choose are ok placed at the bottom of the tank) and not fix it to another piece of rock?? Where will it grow onto though?

And I'm ok without using carbon or adding anything else to the tank for the corals (food/additives etc.)? I just plonk them down and go, the ones I've chosen?

 

[MarkW19]

Also, my LFS said this when I was talking about using baserock to attach the corals to instead of LR (which I guess applies even more if I'm not adding any new rock at all):-

"If you decide to opt for baserock decor instead of liverock, I don't feel that the tank will be able to sustain the corals we have talked about, certainly not when adding them all at the same time".

What do you think about this? The corals talked about were the ones I mentioned above.

 

[lando]

Is it ok to just bury this in the sand then (assuming the corals I choose are ok placed at the bottom of the tank) and not fix it to another piece of rock?? Where will it grow onto though?

that is fine. You can also wedge the rubble rock onto a crack on the LR. the cral will eventually grow onto the rockwork.

"If you decide to opt for baserock decor instead of liverock, I don't feel that the tank will be able to sustain the corals we have talked about, certainly not when adding them all at the same time".

As long as all water parameters are good during the introduction of the corals you will be just fine. The water is wat matters to the corals, not the LR (although it help water quality) They will not add to your bioload. Overtime, your base rock will become LR.

 

[MarkW19]

I'll just use the tiny piece of LR that the corals come on and bury it into the sand then, if that's ok.

Thanks for your help!

 

[MarkW19]

Would it help to get a couple of small pieces of LR as well? Or doesn't it really matter?

 

[MarkW19]

Is it ok to handle the corals carefully when placing them in my tank?

 

[steve-s]

Soft corals will generally attach to about anything given enough time. Some materials much easrier than others but natural substances are the better choice. The ones you buy from the LFS will normally be adhered to something anyway.

As for handling them, best practice is to wear some type of glove or use a plastic bag as a barrier. In the grands scheme of things, soft corals are usually not bothered by bare skin contact as long as your hands are clean. The danger is usually to you. LPS and SPS should not be handled with bare hands though.

Cheers

Steve