OK I give up ... Please help me save my bubble.

[Doan]

Hello all. First off let me post my tank params.. 55 gallon 5 gallon fuge. calc 450 alk 14 amm 0 nitrate 0 nitrite 0 Coralife aqualight power compact 265 watts firing down in there Ok here is my real problem it's not that I don't know the problem I just don't know how to fix it. I have had my bubble for about 4 months now and for the first 3 it has been beautiful. I have it about half way up in my tank and all was well. Then I bought another cleaner shirmp and the trouble began. The problem that I am having is that the 2 shrimps have figured out that I feed the bubble the same krill they do backflips for. So for the last month they have established a camp one on each side of this coral and when ever anyone is near the tank they jump up on him and start diging for the krill. Even if I feed them then the bubble as you know it takes that bubble a WHILE to eat it. So it always seems that the shrimp finish thier meal then go and pull out his. Well about a week of this the bubble stopped opening like it had. Now the bubbles only were half full and the tenticels were out all the time as well. Well I have tried everything to no avial to keep these damn shrimp off him and it is to no avail. As of today about a month after they started he has completley pulled away from about 3 of his spines and is going down hill fast. 1/2 of him won't open at all and 1/2 of that he has pulled away from his skeleton. So it's time for drastic measures.. or I need to give this thing to someone in my reef club that can feed him but he is my favorite thing in my tank. Tonight I am gonna pull apart the rock work and place him on the bottom of the tank so I can get a little breeder tank I bought yesterday over him while he feeds. That way at least he can take his time and eat. Like I was thinking that mabye I would feed him put his litte cover on at night then take it off when I got up for work the next morning. Does this sound like a good solution a bad solution. Looking for imput here. or would not having any flow during the night be an even worse thing. Please help.

Doan

 

[reefrunner69]

A feeding cap might work...but I would remove the shrimp. You can probably bait a net with a piece of krill after not feeding them for a couple of days and it shouldn't be a problem. There are other shrimp that aren't as outgoing as the skunk cleaners that may be a better choice for you.

 

[Doan]

Thanks Reef I just set up a 10 gallon that I hadn't quite figured out what to do with yet so it looks Like I will be getting a shrimp tank.

Doan

 

[Biggen]

I agree, I would remove the shrimp. When you get more coral, they may be smart enough to continue doing this to the others...

 

[jamal-188]

My gang of 4 pepermint shrimp do the same thing to my frogspawns, it's really annoying but I can usually distract them for a couple minutes. I would remove the skunks or try the method you suggested. How often do you feed the bubble coral?

 

[Doan]

I had been feeding him 2 or 3 times a week about a 1/2 inch piece of krill. If you look back I have been trying to figure out the problem for quite some time in past posts but it took me a while to finally realize that the shrimps are smart. I would feed them they would scurry away and eat then I would feed the bubble and walk away after about 10 minutes. THEN they would go harass the bubble. I know it sounds strange but my wife actually noticed the behavior about a week ago when she went back down stairs for some water as we feed them before bed and sure enough we have determined this must be the problem. You know with the bubble you have to wait for lights out to feed so It is always late and i didn't really hang out there after I did, I went to bed. We have been checking all week. I am just shocked at how smart they are. we had tried the cover before and it worked twice. Before the shrimps realized the way it sat on the rock made it so one corner was hanging off and they could swim up under it. That is why I want to move the coral to the bottom. Funny thing they don't do this to the plate coral mabye it's the long tenticles that throws them... and the anonome they won't get within a foot of. There has to be a way to fix this...... no more coral that require feeding other than photo I guess

Doan

 

[Biggen]

I feed my tank blender mush (food for corals and fish), so I don't target feed that much. But when I do target feed the mush, I make sure that my cleaner shrimp gets a big o'le junk of the mush. It usually keeps him busy enough to not bother my corals.

There has to be a way to fix this...... no more coral that require feeding other than photo I guess

Unfortunately, the majority of corals don't eat phyto at all.

 

[Doan]

Maybe I should look into the blender mush....


Doan

 

[Salt4Us]

Sorry to hear about your bubble, hope you can catch the shrimp, they are really hard once they get wise to what you are up to. I know with ours we target feed krill soaked in Zoe. Good luck!