New Corals!!! Whoho!!!!

[brndfrb]

I jut got a green brain coral and a large colony of Zooanthids. With probably 100 polyps on it. That is alot to me. Quaestion about the brain coral. Where do they like to be placed in the tank. Do they like alot of light? I have 288 watts of compact floreceant light on a 65 gallon tank. And the zoo's can be placed anywhere right?

One other question. How fast to zoo's spread? I know it depends on water quality and light but my peramters are perfect and i have quiet a bit of light.

 

[steve-s]

The brain (depending on species) will for the most part prefer being on the soft sandy substrate. They do not do well on hard surfaces or where the edges of the scleractinia may get damaged or "bruised" by being up against rock.

The light should also be fine for the brain and even though most zoo's can never seem to get enough light, I would start the coral out on the substrate and guage it's health as time passes. If the zoo's do not fluorish lower in the tank, you can make special arrangements to place it higher with epoxy or super glue gel.

Any chance of posting a pic? That combo sounds cool..

Cheers
Steve

 

[captivereefs]

Make sure the brain does not receive to much flow as this can cause it to not expand fully. They prefer gentler cureents; enough to make them move slightly but not lift the polyp up.


Darin

www.captivereefs.com

 

[brndfrb]

Thanks guys... I will try and post some pictures of the two. Any more info would be great. Also has anyone ever heard of a clown hosting a toadstool? I have noticed my clown checking it out latley. I hope it does that would be GREAT.

 

[fishtender]

I get giddy every time I add a new coral to my tank too. As for the clown....I have a saddle clown that has hosted just about everything in my tnak at one time or another. He is now hosting a flower anemone which is strange because it is from the carribean where there are no clowns. It took a while and a lot of stings but the clown was diligent and now they are inseperable. During the day the anemone lays flat all spred out and at night it stands up like a flower and the clown sleeps in the folds of its petals.

I am constantly being amazed and awed by my little freinds from the waterworld.

Howard

 

[ReefLady]

Ditto to what both Steve & Darin said. Also, here is a good article on Open Brain corals if that is what you have --

>>Open-Brain, Rose Coral, Family Trachyphylliidae<<

I've found that zoanthids will survive under almost any lighting/flow. However, the brighter the light, and the better the flow/current, the faster they will spread. What color are the zos? Sounds like a nice piece.

As far as the Clowns hosting the Toadstool, here's a pic from our old 75g softy tank:

 

[brndfrb]

The polyps on the zoo's are all different colors. Some are Bright orange and green, some are blue and purple and some are Orange and brown. Very cool. I will try to get a pic

 

[brndfrb]

How exactly do you feed an open brain coral?

 

[NaH2O]

You can try and place a piece of meaty food (like shrimp) right on the open brain. They are generally nocturnal feeders, and you may see it extend tentacles at night.

 

[brndfrb]

so shuold i wait until night to see if its feeding tenticles are out or place it on the brain before the lights go out?

 

[ReefLady]

When we had our Open Brain, we typically fed it at night, because this is a more 'natural' time for them to feed. Often though, their tentacles aren't obvious or visible. Sometimes you can trigger a feeding 'response' by using a turkey baster to squirt liquified seafood, brine, or zooplankton on/near them.

For the most part, we just gently tucked a small piece of raw scallop, clam, or oyster between the 'folds' in the coral. It would almost always quickly consume any offered food.

HTH,