new stuff...

[sogreene]

I went to the lfs today to talk about bringing in our two damsels who have got to go...he said "great, and oh, by the way, I have some corals you were interested in..."
He had a torch, a hammer, and two tiny pulsing xenias! Since we come in regularly he worked a deal; so now I am drip-acclimating my three corals, and bagging the damsels to go back!
The torch (green and yellow) is about 4"x3", and the hammer (blue and green) is 6"x3", and they are both about 4"tall when expanded. The xenia are tiny, about 1" long each, and lavendar. I will post pictures after they get settled in, and re-expand!
I read on a couple of sites that clowfish will occasionally host with hammers...has anyone else heard of this, or even had luck with it?

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by sogreene

I read on a couple of sites that clowfish will occasionally host with hammers...has anyone else heard of this, or even had luck with it?

[sogreene]

guess so ; ) thanks melosu58!

[melosu58]

No problem. Clowns will host several different corals. I have a maroon that host a bubble coral.

[sogreene]

Good news and bad...My male clown has started nudging the hammer...he looks so happy when he's doing it--that's the good news....

Bad is that the xenia bit the dust...I had them on the bottom of the tank saturday and sunday, and when I noticed them starting to recede, I moved them to the middle, thinking they weren't getting enough light...and they just, melted away. I dont' know how else to describe it...their stumps are still there--can they grow back, or are they done for?

[MsBeanCtr]

Hopefully you'll be able to post some pictures soon. Just one little tid of info on that torch.....they can really stretch out so make sure you give it enough room so it doesn't bother any neighboring corals.

Pictures!!

[sogreene]

i work 2nd shift tomorrow, so I'll be able to post some pics then...in the meantime, there are about 5 inches between the torch and the hammer...I am wondering if that is what happened to the xenia, since it was almost right next to the torch...

Hammer and Torch colors are quite a bit...ummm...shall we say "casual"? compared to what they were in the lfs since they went from MHs to PCs, but otherwise, I think they look healthy! Again, I'll post pics tomorrow so you guys can give me you opinions.

Oh, and does anyone have any advice to trapping a speedy damsel in a small tank w/o tearing it down? I can't catch the d@mn thing, and it's driving me mad!! I get the net in there, and he just disappears into the rock work-even if I leave it in there for awhile. I tried for 45 mins saturday, before finally giving up...maybe I'll make my hubby give it a try.

[sogreene]

Here are the pics...I took them right after lights went on, so the hammer is still a little retracted.
Is it normal for the branching torch to have a couple heads at a time get bloated and "freeze up"? After a few minutes they relax and wave around like the others. They all do it at some point throughout the day.

The bluefin damsel is the one I am trying to catch and remove. He has gotten too large for the tank, and has started picking on the male clown, who seems to be trying to host the hammer. I am not so much worried about the yellowtail damsel, he's tiny and timid.

There is one pic titled peekaboo, where one clown is obvious, the bluefin is peeking out the top left corner, the yellowtail is peeking out the middle, and the diamondback goby is looking straight at you dead center. I thought it was neat.
Anyway, any suggestions/comments for remodeling or staying as-is, along with other coral suggestions are greatly appreciated! Ooh, and comments on how the corals are doing since I can only compare them to what they looked like under those metal halides at the store, and pics online. Thanks!

[melosu58]

Get Out of My Tank! Fish Removal Tips & Tricks by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

I really do think that the torch was the demise of the xenia. They do have some pretty nasty sweepers. JMO

And BTW great looking pics of your tank.

[sogreene]

Thanks for the article melosu! I can't wait to get that devil out of the tank! I think I may go ahead and get the little guy out while I'm at it, since eventually he'll need to go for size/aggression anyway. That would leave me with the diamond back, and two oscellaris. I would like something that's herbivorous, but everything my lfs has that's nano sized, is carnivorous. Any ideas, or should I stick with the three, and just fill in with corals?

[sogreene]

One of the heads on my branching torch is dying/dead...it's all jelly-like, and I can start to see the skeletal plates...will this affect the other heads? Or will the rest be ok. I have read anything from, it's fine, leave it, to cut it off...

[MsBeanCtr]

yuk! sounds like brown jelly disease. my understanding is that, if possible, you should try to remove it. can you do this without doing too much damage? Also, I forgot to ask....what is the flow like around the torch?

[sogreene]

Flow is medium,...like a decent breeze? Should I cut the koralia to half a day, or off all together? The polyps wave, but don't flap about. The head that has died is in the lowest flow area of the whole coral (it is blocked by a rock) I doubt I could remove it...but I could check with the lfs and see if he wouldn't mind me bringing it in to cut, or maybe come here to do it. I'd just have to see what he would charge me.

"It is common to lose some branches, especially in the first couple months. All Euphyllia species are difficult to ship without some damage, causing bacterial infection later. Torches are probably the most sensitive of its family IMHO.
The dead branch will not grow back if there are no tissues left, but sometimes a new coral will grow on top of it."
---This was posted on another forum for someone else having a similar problem. I also saw a lot of posts to just "break" the head off...I don't want to do that. Is there a way to cut it w/o a dremmel?

[MsBeanCtr]

depending on the 'stalk' of the coral, you may be able just to break it off with your hand. I've done this without any problems.

I wouldn't reduce the koralia time. Could the head of the coral been crushed or damaged by the rock?

[sogreene]

it's very possible. The devil damsel that I'm trying to remove is also picking at it today...this is the first time I've noticed it, though. The other heads look fine, nice and plump. I am thinking about one of the techniques listed in the article posted for me to catch the damsel, and it is draining most of the tank to trap the fish...I guess could break the head off then.

[MsBeanCtr]

I have an evil 6-line wrasse that I'm going to try to catch this weekend (using the plastic pop bottle method). I'd break off the diseased head on that coral soon.

[melosu58]

Yes if the head is dying and you have that brown jelly disease you want to break it off or it will spread to the other heads. I had it and just broke it off and threw it away. Better than it spreading.

[sogreene]

Should it break off easily? I made the mistake of making my own lr rubble by breaking live rock with my hands...things called rock are generally hard...most people would realize that before slicing their palms wide open...I, unfortunately, am not most people. ; \
The head is on the outside of the cluster, so I don't think I'd cause a ton of damage by trying to grasp it...

[melosu58]

I could break mine off by hand but if it`s too hard then use a pair of pliers to break the infected head off.

[sogreene]

will do...it looks like a second head is going. I am going to go ahead and do it tonight, instead of waiting until tomorrow...this has all happened within 24 hours!