We got our first Coral... need advice (with pic)

[djmpj2]

We took a road trip to That Fish Place in Lancaster PA yesterday and bought our first coral. I think they are zoanthus from looking in my new Aquarium Corals Selection, Husbandry and Natural History book (Christmas present). But I thought the lady who sold it to me called it a sea polyp. Are they known by both names? I told her we needed something hardy, inexpensive and that did not require metal halide lights.

She told me to target feed it a mixture of PhytoPlex and ZooPlex with a turkey baster about twice a week at night after the lights go out. Just wanted to confirm that with you.

Also, my Coral Beauty and Decorator crab won't leave it alone.

DJ

[Hara]

Coral beauty and decorator crab may be picking at bits of algae that could be amongst the polyps, or, they could be tasting for later snack ideas. Neither one are guaranteed reef safe. the chocolate chip starfish is not reefsafe either.

[djmpj2]

Oh, I forgot to remove that from my signature. I gave away the chocolate chip in anticipation of getting coral.

DJ

[lando]

It looks like a nice zoo colony. I would not really worry about target feeding. It is not needed. They are pretty hardy corals and can get what they need from light and the water colume. the coral beauty and crab worry me a bit. If they will not leave it alone chances are it will not open up. Both the angle and the crab are not reef safe so it may have to be one or the other.

[AquaReefer]

Actually they are sand polyps(well that is what they are selling them as), You got the rock for $29.99? I go there a lot(like once a week). It is a very nice place, with very nice prices, and a huge selection. I have a rock just like that one. Mine did fine under PC but once they got moved into the 55 with the MH they stand straight up. They are a nice and colorful addition to any tank. Good Luck

[Fluff]

djmpj2

Another problem I see is that snail right in the middle of them. That looks suspiciously like a Heliacus sp. snail and a known polyp eater. I'd remove it asap and any of it's friends should there be more and see if things improve. Good luck.

[austinsdad]

Sounds like someone is about to go fishing. Snail, crab, and maybe even the coral beauty if you wanna continue with more coral.

[demodiki]

Nice spot Cindy!!!!

[djmpj2]

Wow,you have good eyes! That snail was a hitchhiker on the coral from That Fish Place. Take him off? Can I put him down elsewhere in th tank or will he just make his way back to the coral?

I didn't mind getting rid of my CC star but I really hate to see the Coral Beauty go. She is such a beautiful fish. Can I hold out and see how it goes? You know it's getting very difficult to find a good mix of fish for our tank - LOL. We don't want anything agressive. They have to co-exist peacefully. We want fish that fit comfortably in our 55 gallon. We like colorful. Now I'm going to have to start paying attention to reef safe too!

DJ

[Fluff]

I'd just watch the angel. I had a coral beauty in my reef for two years without a problem. I would catch her nipping from time to time but she never did any damage. The decorator crab really is ok to if you don't mind that he steal a polyp, macro, sponges, etc from time to time to dress himself. You could also add colorful bits of things for him to use as well. As for the Heliacus snail, the best place for it is your choice of disposal technique. It will find it's way back to the coral.

[melosu58]

I`ve had bad experiences with angels in my reef tank. Just dont wait to long if you do see him nip. And yes you will have to look for the tag that says " Reef safe" from now on.

[Jermz79]

I think those snails are also called "sundial" if I'm not mistaken!!? There is a big writeup about the on wetweb media and I've heard they can consume an entire colony of Zoo's within a week???? 8O ... definitely not a keeper!

[DragonForce]

I wish I lived near you should I could feed the snail to my 5 inch peacock mantis.

Polyps, although simple are one of my favorite corals. They look great and night time with LED lighting and they give off a beautiful glow under actinic lights.

The best part of these corals is watching them grow and spread quickly. Don't expect too much growth atleast for a couple months, but when they take off they spread like weeds! mine was about the size of a quarter when I got it, it has almost quadrupled in size.

[dianeww]

The decorator crab really is ok to if you don't mind that he steal a polyp, macro, sponges, etc from time to time to dress himself.

Will the decorator crab continue to pick at corals once he is covered? I wouldn't mind having one if he just covers huimself with goodies and then stops. Do they use xenia? Or just small polyps?

[Fluff]

Yeah, they will continually change their adornments. They'll use anything they can find. I watched a show on Animal planet where one was offered bits of colored cloth and within a few minutes it had used every bit of it. I think if you have a small system and only a few corals, they wouldn't be the best choice but in a large system with an abundance of things, it may not be as bad.