Enough Light? Must Be
August 29, 2009 · Print This Article
Watching a marine aquarium is a great pleasure and probably one of the major reasons why so many keep them. With a reef system sometimes a new arrival is seen to appear, or a species of coral that is already present appears somewhere else.
On a few occasions I’ve noticed arrivals that must have come in with coral rock, such as a very dark and tiny crab that was very timid and only appeared at ‘dusk’. Its presence was shown by an exploratory claw appearing out of a crevice. The crab hasn’t been seen for a long time and no doubt has gone.
Corals too can appear when new live or coral rock is introduced. In this case the coral type is already present in the aquarium with a fairly large colony, and the new appearance is in a completely separate part of the aquarium.
As far as I can tell, the main colony is a Rhodactis species (the purchase was made years ago and the dealer didn’t have a clue). Rhodactis are also commonly known as hairy mushrooms and mushroom anemones. I think it could possibly be Rhodactis indosinensis – but is this correct as most grow larger than my specimens? Maybe they are Discosoma species. The colony is receiving plenty of light as it is half way up the reef (about half way up the aquarium depth). The new one, however, is not; it is right down at the bottom. The aquarium is 24″ deep (21.5″ from lights to coral). Further, this new growth is at the end of the aquarium and is partly shadowed by another coral.
Is my lighting system powerful? No is the answer, it’s a fluorescent array of five tubes, three marine whites and two marine blues (actinic). They’re not even T5’s, they’re T8’s. The reef is furnished with soft corals and they are perfectly happy but I had to wonder at the growth of this new one. The blues will penetrate well but even so….
The original colony is in an ideal spot apart from seawater flow which is a bit too vigorous, they prefer weak flow. However, I’ve left things as they are as the mushrooms are clearly healthy and open well, though not to as large an extent as with lower seawater flow.
The new one is the reverse; it’s in an area of slow flow. However, as said, I wondered about the light. It has been slowly growing for about 8 months now and has reached a size of 3″ across, which, because of the slow seawater flow, is full expansion. However, though I believed the slow growth must be because of light, or at least the lack of it, it seems this could be wrong. Looking at one of the references available to me * it seems that though light is no doubt an influencing factor it isn’t that important, as strong lighting is not required by Rhodactis species though they will tolerate it. Discosoma species prefer in many cases reduced light.
How did the new growth appear? It is possible it’s by natural detachment, but in this case is more likely to be my error. From time to time I have to get out the trusty and sharp scissors and reduce the colony to prevent interference with other species. Part of this is catching the detached parts. These corals are easy to ‘frag’ so if a small part escaped my attention and lodged it is more than likely to grow.
So there we are – what started as a general belief followed up by some simple research has turned my notion upside down. Goes to show how important basic research is. As far as identifying the species, I’d need a marine biologist and I bet there’d be uncertainty even then.
(*Reference: Aquarium Corals. Eric H. Borneman)
Related Posts - How To Acclimitise Corals Correctly To Aquarium Lighting Too often do I hear of people who go to an aquarium shop, see a coral, think to themselves ‘that would fit great in x...
- Remember The Lighting What is the most important part of a marine system? Lighting? Well no, it isn’t, seawater quality is the number one with both fish only...
- Aquarium lighting for reef tanks. A topic that is not discussed very often is [tag-tec]aquarium lighting for reef tanks[/tag-tec]. Although this topic is not discussed very much it is very...
- Aquarium Lighting Advance In years gone by aquarists lit their aquariums with tungsten lights. They probably had no idea of spectrum, probably had lots of algae growth, and...
- How Do You Know Which Aquarium Lighting You Will Need? The marine aquarium has two main types, the fish only (FO) and the reef. These systems have a good few things in common, one that...
Related Websites - How To Use Natural Lighting For Portrait Quality Pictures There's a lot to be said about a fully equipped photo studio, filled to the brim with expensive lights and equipment just waiting to be...
- Amber 9 LED Strip NEON MOTORCYCLE / CAR / BOAT / HOME / POD LIGHT BRIGHT ACCENT GLOW 9LED FLEXIBLE WATER PROOF, Aquarium Light Under Water Proof Tank Used for any 12 volt application (motorcycle, car or suv auto modding).Easy 2-wire Positive/ Negative incased w/ a black sheathed jacketLeds typically last 200,000 hrs...
- Islands 'Defy' Sea-Level Rise Introduction This week will see some news that will be twisted and churned by the climate change sceptics... Apparently, the coral islands are responding well...
- Creating Romantic Bedroom Décor It should be fun to decorate your home—especially the master bedroom. The master bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the home for...
- Angling Tips Angling is an incredibly fun way to catch fish, but it does require a few changes from your normal fishing habits. Whether you are brand...
Comments
Got something to say?