The Sun Coral

Aquarists, new or experienced, usually enjoy wandering around marine hobby shops just gawping or watching for that special fish or coral. Perhaps a reef aquarium is being set up and stocking is in progress, or the aquarium has more useable space.

A coral that will catch the eye if it is in stock is the one with the common name of Sun Coral or Orange Cup Coral. The proper name is Tubastraea faulkneri. It comes under the common general title of ‘hard coral’.

The eye is attracted to them because the colour really stands out. The hard coral base is often stone shaped with its upper side covered with a ‘skin’ of orange. The polyps, when extended, are yellow. In the shop the coral size is likely to be 3 to 6″ or so. The aquarist is likely to be drawn to have a closer look. Though it is possible that a new aquarist could successfully maintain the coral, it is better to wait for some experience to accumulate so that the techniques of maintaining consistent high quality within the aquarium have been mastered.

The aquarist with some experience may have an alarm bell ringing in his or her head - very beautiful coral, hmm, there’s bound to be something wrong! Maybe this coral is like the flowerpot coral Goniapora sp or the soft coral Dendronephthya sp. Both are very beautiful and often bought because of it, only for the coral to die as they are particularly difficult to keep. This is a beautiful coral also, maybe it’s the same.

Well, here’s the surprise - it isn’t. Properly cared for in a well maintained aquarium the coral is fairly hardy and has the potential to spread. However, there is one problem (told you so, says the ‘you get problems for super beauty’ experienced aquarist).

Most of the corals that are kept in reef aquaria require good lighting of sufficient intensity and correct spectrum. This is so the zooxanthellae (the single celled algae) within the flesh of the corals can photosynthesize properly, something very important to the health of the coral. However, the Sun Coral doesn’t have any zooxanthellae. The coral is found in the wild in the entrance to caves and other lower lit areas where many other corals cannot go. It may be thought that this is good, as it means the coral can be placed in an area of the aquarium in low light, filling in a gap. This is true up to a point.

The coral needs to get energy from somewhere and this of course means food. As it doesn’t have assistance from zooxanthellae it needs to capture the food. So in the wild it is often in an area of strong currents which will bring food to it, the food being plankton. In the aquarium plankton is in very short supply or missing. Yes, you’ve guessed it; the coral needs to be fed by the aquarist. Failing to feed the coral means it will shrink and die.

Is this a particular problem though? The aquarist’s seawater needs to be of high quality of course and the general aquarium environment the same, but only the aquarist can answer the feeding question. As said, the coral must be fed regularly, it cannot survive on plankton in the aquarium, and general feedings of brine and mysis shrimp will be insufficient as not enough will be captured by the coral. Heavier feeding is likely to cause pollution. The aquarist when purchasing the coral is undertaking the discipline of regular target feeding.

Having got past that point, that is, having accepted the need for ‘personal’ feeding, the aquarist can be fairly confident, though as we all know failure can occur with anything marine for reasons not always clear. However, when the coral arrives home it needs to be acclimated to the seawater, and then placed in an area where there is plenty of seawater movement. The need for light is missing, so the aquarist can place the coral in a spot as required. Generally light is not harmful to the coral, so there isn’t a need for a shady cave etc unless the light is powerful.

Once the coral is in place and has had time to settle over a day or two, the feeding ritual should begin. For this the aquarist will need a supply of frozen brine or mysis shrimp, which will probably already be available anyway because of fish feeding. There is also a need for a syringe with an outlet big enough to allow shrimps to pass through - often a ‘baster’ which is a kitchen utensil with a tube and a rubber bulb at one end will do.

Take some shrimp and defrost it but do not use any heat to assist this - allow it to defrost on its own. Put the defrosted shrimp in a small bowl and using a spoon crush them. Make the result as much like a liquid as possible.

Wait a while after the aquarium lights go off or at least the main ones and only the blue ‘actinics’ are on, draw some of the shrimp liquid into the syringe and very gently, without touching the coral, slowly release the liquid across the polyps of the coral. The polyps may well be closed but this doesn’t matter. Make sure the liquid is released so that the seawater currents assist in moving it across the polyps (if necessary reduce the circulation strength temporarily). There may not be any reaction to the food enticement, but the operation should be repeated each day at the same time. Eventually the polyps will extend in readiness to capture food. As time progresses, they could extend at about the same time each day making life easier for the aquarist. There is little danger of pollution from the shrimp liquid as it will not be in high quantity and other life, maybe other corals, will make use of it.

Once the polyps are extending, the liquid is not fed but the shrimps. They are defrosted as usual but not crushed. Excess liquid is drained off and some seawater added, then the shrimp are drawn into the syringe. In the same way the shrimp are gently expelled into the polyps. Any shrimp that are not captured will float away and will be taken by fish etc. The aquarist may need to keep fish away from the feeding polyps or they may steal the coral’s meal.

Tubastraea sp does not only come in the colour described, but has variations. There is one called the Black Sun Coral, and others could be green or brown. They are all treated the same way.

Provided the aquarist maintains a high quality aquarium environment and successfully feeds the coral, it is possible the coral will create new ‘buds’ and spread. The coral in the aquarium is certainly an eye catcher and worth the effort.

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Tags: coral, Coral Reef, home-aquarium, marine-aquarium, reef-tank, saltwater-aquarium

The Bubble Tip Anemone

There are a few anemones that find favour with aquarists and this is one of them. As well as the name in the title they are also commonly known as the four coloured anemone, the bulb tentacle anemone, and the bulb anemone. The proper name is Entacmaea quadricolor.

The anemone is one which requires good lighting as it contains symbiotic algae, and it is this algae that gives the anemone its colour. Good lighting is defined in the same way that lighting for corals is, and that is it must be sufficiently intense and of the correct spectrum. If the anemone is to be located quite low down in a deep aquarium then metal halides will be required.

Again in the same way as corals, good seawater movement is needed. This does not need to be particularly strong, just strong, moving the tentacles and swaying the body. Current from a power head should not hit the anemone directly.

The final requirement needed to settle the anemone happily in its home is to provide it with the correct position from a security point of view. When placing the anemone on the reef ensure that the anemone when fully open will not interfere with neighboring corals, but the most important point is to ensure that the foot of the anemone is located in a fairly deep crevice or hole, not a tight squeeze but a good generous loose fit. The anemone should anchor itself within the hole or crevice, which will also give it protection should it require it. It is unlikely that this will be needed in a home aquarium but the anemone doesn’t know this!

Failure to provide the named requirements, some of them, or one of them will either result in the demise of the anemone, or it will be very tiresome and start wandering around the aquarium looking for what is missing. I located an anemone in an earlier aquarium, meeting all the above needs, and it stayed put from the word go. Finally the anemone had to be removed as it just became too big.

Talking of size, the aquarist should be aware that this anemone could achieve a diameter of around 18″ (circa 45.75cm). Therefore it is not suitable for small aquariums; a length of say 48″ (circa 122cm) should be suitable.

It is my opinion that new aquarists without experience should not purchase this anemone (or any other) until such time as they have some experience. If the aquarist has kept an aquarium for a year successfully, that is, has maintained high seawater quality and the fish and corals have done and are doing well, then that is a reasonable time to consider an anemone.

Once in the aquarium a little time is needed for the anemone to indicate that it is settled. The indication is that it stays in one place, expands fully and is in good colour (meaning the algae are functioning therefore the lighting is acceptable).

Feeding is simplicity itself. First of all the anemone obtains nutrients from the symbiotic algae and feeding should not be overdone. When required, the anemone will accept a small piece of fish or mussel. This can be placed towards the mouth within the tentacles, when the anemone should respond and move the food to the mouth. Feed once or twice a week to start and build on experience.

This anemone in common with others contains nematocysts in the tentacles, which are like small harpoons that are activated on contact with a fish or shrimp. They penetrate the body of the victim and inject a toxin enabling the anemone to overpower and devour. There isn’t usually a distinction made for the aquarist’s prize livestock! Having said that, most fish seem to have an inbuilt instinct to keep away from the danger. I clearly recall becoming tense on more than one occasion when a lovely fish, intent on its search for food, seemed to be so, so close to the anemone ” but I didn’t lose any.

Many aquarists are keen to associate an anemone with a clownfish. Well, Entacmaea quadricolor is one of the anemones that act as hosts for clownfish. It is important not to overload an anemone with clownfish, usually one or maybe two is quite sufficient in an aquarium. No attempt should be made to host a clownfish until the anemone is known to be settled. The clownfish that are known to inhabit this anemone are Amphiprion clarki, Amphiprion ephippium, Amphiprion frenatus and Amphiprion melanopus.

It has been known, more than once, that a suitable clownfish has been placed in an aquarium containing a host anemone, only for the clownfish to totally ignore the anemone. Why this is I cannot say - is it because the fish was aquarium bred? If so, perhaps the fish doesn’t know it is supposed to live in an anemone! As said, I don’t really know. Fortunately, I have managed to obtain clownfish in the past that have been cooperative.

So if the aquarist has the experience and can provide the conditions, an anemone is worthwhile. If the anemone settles well and a clownfish (of the correct type) is introduced, then the aquarist will have the pleasure of seeing one of Nature’s strange and amazing combinations.

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Tags: anemone, aquarium-fish, aquarium-livestock, coral, invertebrate, marine-fish, reef-fish

Base Your Lighting On Your Livestock Or Your Livestock On Your Lighting

This article is aimed more at aquarists who are interested in keeping corals. Aquarists who decide to keep a fish only aquarium do not need to concentrate on lighting as much as aquarists who keep corals do. Fish only aquarists need to use lighting to create a day/night cycle to provide an inhabitant which the fish feel safe in and also to make the aquarium more visibly attractive to the aquarist.

In a coral only or coral/fish aquarium it is a different matter. The corals utilise the light to gain much needed energy from the light source. Actually it is not the corals themselves it is the symbiotic algae that live within the coral which use the light and provide the coral with energy.

Very much like a ‘thank you for keeping me safe’ kind of thing.

As with the fish only aquarium there is still a requirement to create a day/night cycle so that the aquarium inhabitants are both not engulfed in light as well as being suddenly plunged into darkness.

The trouble is different corals have different lighting requirements. There are some corals which require very intense lighting and other corals which prefer lower levels of lighting. There are even some corals which do not need lighting and gain their energy purely from feeding. These are called non-photosynthetic corals but I won’t cover these in this article.

Photosynthetic corals receive the majority of their energy from the light and the remainder of their energy from actively feeding. As the corals receive so much energy from light it is therefore imperative that the correct lighting be supplied to them.

Aquarium lighting is quite a large topic due to the various types of lighting available, the different spectrums etc. I am not envisaging this article to cover the different types of lighting available but to hopefully provide a little bit of guidance when it comes to ensuring that the correct lighting is installed for the corals you either have or hope to keep.

There are too many times I hear of people purchasing a coral and then attempting to find out what the corals requirements are or even worse not bothering to find out and then wondering why the coral is not thriving or even unfortunately dying.

It is of my opinion that every single purchase made should be thoroughly researched prior to the decision being made to part with your cash. I do appreciate that this is very hard to do and at times is not even possible.

I firmly believe that there are two options available which are covered in this articles title:

‘Base Your Lighting On Your Livestock Or Your Livestock On Your Lighting’

I will cover these one at a time however it is also important to consider the depth of your aquarium. The reason for this is that the colours of the spectrum in the lighting are stripped out the deeper the light has to penetrate.

The following examples are based upon an aquarium which has a depth of 24″.

Base Your Lighting On Your Livestock

In this scenario you have decided upon the type of corals you wish to keep and now you will need to select your aquarium lighting based upon the requirements of your choice of corals.

It is presumed that the aquarist is still in the research stage and has not actually purchased any corals prior to installing all the required equipment.

In the hard only coral scenario you will need to have lighting which is quite strong and has the ability to be able to ‘punch’ the lighting to the entire depth of the aquarium. In this example I would recommend either metal halide lighting or the new LED aquarium lighting. As said it is important to consider the depth of the aquarium. If you do not consider this and purchase lighting which is not strong enough then the lighting which is at the bottom third of the aquarium may not get enough light and therefore any corals you place in this area will not get enough light.

In the soft coral scenario you will still need to have lighting which is of the correct spectrum however you will not need lighting which is as strong as the metal halide/LED lighting option. The reason for this is that whilst soft corals do still need a good amount of lighting it does not need to be as strong as hard corals require. In this scenario I would recommend using either T5 or T8 lighting.

In the mixed hard/soft coral scenario then you need to be a little more careful. The reason for this is that these two types of corals require different strengths of lighting. The reason why you need to be careful is in relation to the placement of the corals in the aquarium. If you place a hard coral too low down in the aquarium then there is a risk that the coral will not receive enough light. If you place a soft coral to high in the aquarium then there is a risk that the coral may receive too much light and actually could get burnt. In this scenario the recommendation would be that you can use either metal halide, LED lighting or even T5 tubes as long as you can place enough of the tubes in the hood. As said though in this scenario you need to ensure that you place the corals in the correct position so that they receive the correct amount of light based upon their requirements.

Base Your Livestock On Your Lighting

This option is my preferred option as you are able to setup all of the equipment required prior to even considering the actual purchase of a coral however I do appreciate that a lot of people do actually set up their aquarium based upon what they know they want to keep and for this I applaud them.

OK, let’s have a look at some of the lighting options available:

T8 Lighting – With this type of lighting you will need to put quite a few tubes into the hood in order to give good coverage of light. It is recommended that you utilise an even split of white and actinic tubes in order to give a good colour spread. T8 lighting whilst economical do not provide that much power and therefore cannot push the light that far down into the aquarium. For this reason it is recommended that you only consider keeping soft corals with this type of lighting.

T5 Lighting – T5 lights are very similar to T8 lights with the exception that they are slimmer in design and are slightly more powerful. As with the T8 lights it is recommended that you install an even mix of white and actinic to give a good colour spread. At the top of the aquarium (about 6″ inches or so) they have a good amount of power, however further than that they have about the same power of a T8. For this reason you should be able to keep certain types of hard corals in the upper quarter of a 24″ deep aquarium and soft corals under that. Certain LPS (Long Polyp Stony) corals may be suitable to thrive in the mid/lower regions however I would recommend that you check their requirements prior to committing to a purchase.

Metal Halide/LED Lighting – This type of lighting is the most powerful and there are a vast variety available in relation to the power types available. The power as with all lighting is based upon the watts. The higher the wattage the more powerful the lighting is and the further into the water the unit can push the light. Using this type of lighting you should be able to keep both soft corals and hard corals; however you will need to ensure that the corals are placed in the aquarium in a location where their light requirements are met. For example you would not want to put a soft coral at the top of the aquarium as it would receive too much light and could even get burnt.

Conclusion

It is exceptionally important that the correct environment be created for the corals which are being kept. Not just lighting but also water movement and the actual physical placement of the coral.

When in the store looking at making a purchase do not be afraid to speak to an employee of the store and ask if the coral(s) in question are suitable for your aquarium. Inform them of your lighting and they should provide you with the correct information for you to base your decision upon. I say should as unfortunately there are some stores who will just say ‘Yeah, that will be fine’ just so that they can get the sale. The majority of stores are not like this and have a huge interest in the well being of the animals they sell but unfortunately there are some that do this. My recommendation if this happens - walk away and purchase elsewhere.

It should also be noted that proper acclimatisation techniques should always be followed - not just in relation to actually transferring the coral from the shop to the aquarium but also correctly acclimatising them to the light.

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Tags: Aquarium Lighting, aquarium-livestock, coral, Equipment, metal-halide, reef-tank

Two Corals To Avoid

When an aquarium is ready for coral stocking, or is up and running and additional coral stocking is being contemplated, a trip is usually taken to the local retailer to decide on what to purchase. On arrival, more often than not there is a large range of corals on display of both the hard and soft varieties, though the latter may be in higher numbers.

The choice can be bewildering. What to choose? It is said over and over again that research into potential stock before purchase is very important. Inappropriate corals are still purchased though. Many, maybe most aquarists do it. I did.

The corals look so splendid, but there are some that stand out. There are others that really stand out, and it is with these that the aquarist is overcome. So they are bought.

The first is a soft coral. Soft corals are supposed to be ‘easier,’ and so they are generally. There are always exceptions, and this is one of them.

The coral is commonly known under several names- carnation coral, tree coral, strawberry coral and cauliflower coral being some. The proper name is Dendronephthya. There are perhaps 250 different  types under this banner. They are really colourful, coming in purple, red, yellow, white, green, pink and orange. Without doubt they are beautiful - attractive is to do them an injustice. I feel quite certain that they will sell quite easily simply because of their visual appeal.

So what is the problem? Most corals help the aquarist by having symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), which, with adequate light, greatly assists in the maintenance of the coral by providing food and ridding the corals of waste. Dendronephthya do not have this algae. They obtain food by capturing it. To survive a high level of phytoplankton and possibly zooplankton are required. This means, in a closed system, a great danger of pollution. Also the corals require fairly strong currents to bring the food to them which may not suite some other corals. On introduction to the aquarium, some do not even re-expand. Even if they do they are likely to perish quite quickly. As said, if sufficient food is provided it is likely that the tank will be polluted and then more than this coral will be negatively affected. The only good thing about the coral (apart from its beauty) is that in nature they are found in areas of very low light and also, but less, in areas of sunlight. Therefore it may be that they can tolerate many positions in the aquarium. However, be that true or not, they are not going to survive anyway.

The second coral that requires a mention is for the same reasons - difficulty of maintenance. This coral is possibly even more attractive than the one already mentioned. This is the one that I purchased (once) years ago.

In this case the coral is commonly known as the flowerpot coral or daisy coral. The proper name is Goniopora, and they are hard corals. They can be brown, green, cream, pink or yellow. Their beauty comes not only from the colour but also from the long stems of the polyps, hence the common names. These do look like flowers in a vase, and they sway in the currents in a really attractive way. They can easily be the centrepiece of any aquarium.

They are often sold as a round ball like rock, with the coral covering most of the upper and uncovered surface of the rock. The ’skin’ of the coral seems to be stretched tight over the surface of the rock and this is the first danger. The aquarist can unwittingly damage the coral when putting it into the aquarium if the support rocks are sharp, or there is insufficient support and the coral falls. Great care needs to be taken when handling these corals and their placement pre-checked.

They prefer low to moderate currents because of the long polyp stems, and also bright light. So in an aquarium lit by fluorescent tubes the coral needs to be placed high on the reef.

The second problem is with feeding. It is reported that Goniopora cannot survive on their zooxanthellae, therefore supplementary feeding with phytoplankton is said to be required. So the same problem can occur as with the first coral if due care isn’t exercised - pollution.

Even if all apparent requirements are being met it is likely that the coral will fail. It may last a month or longer, but the high probability is it will die. This happens slowly, the first indication being that the polyps, or some of them, are not expanding as much as they used to. Eventually, the polyps hardly expand at all, and more and more fail to open.

Some aquarists keep Goniopora for a ’long’ period (’long’ in terms of the expected captive lifespan of this coral) which could be 6 months to a year. In my case it was about 8 months. My coral didn’t die because of failure of the polyps, though they were quite short and, if I recall correctly, some didn’t expand at all and some polyps didn’t open, it died after a fall from the rockwork. There wasn’t any obvious damage, but the coral  became covered in a jelly-like substance and that was it.

Very advanced aquarists who may wish to experiment with the captive care of the two mentioned corals could be of great benefit to all of us. Experiments with feeding, water currents and light could be undertaken.

For the rest of us, the corals should not be purchased, and the magnet of their undeniable beauty resisted. As far as I am aware they are not threatened in the wild, but surely it is wrong to sell or buy corals that are very nearly 100% certain to die. Better to leave them to survive with nature until the secrets of keeping them in good health in captivity are known.

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Tags: coral, home-aquarium, marine reef, marine-aquarium, reef-tank, saltwater-aquarium

What Causes Coral Bleaching?

The keeper of an established and carefully maintained reef aquarium usually does not need to be concerned about coral bleaching. The corals have been in situ for a lengthy period and are well settled. A change in environment can upset this idyllic situation.

Bleaching is popularly linked to hard corals, but is applicable to soft corals also.* ‘Bleaching’ is a term given to describe a particular situation, and the term is pretty accurate. Many, possibly the majority of corals, harbour symbiotic algae, known as zooxanthellae. This algae is of benefit to the coral. For several reasons the coral may expel the zooxanthellae, leaving the coral looking white or jelly white. Anything from 50 to 90% of the zooxanthellae is ejected.* The coral is still alive, it has lost the colouring algae within.

As said, there are several reasons why a coral may bleach, and the following demonstrates
this:

Bacteria, chemicals, ciliates, coccidians, darkness, fungi, heavy metals, higher
temperature, hypersalinity, hyposalinity, lack of water movement, light,
medications, noxious agents, physical stress, red spectral light, sedimentation,
starvation, stress, temperature change, and increased ultraviolet radiation.*

Reading that lot could make an aquarist wonder if it is worth starting a reef in the first place. Well, it isn’t as bad as it sounds. It is very much like reading a gardening book - the pests and diseases that can afflict a plant species are a long list.

If the aquarist is careful in selection and placement in the aquarium, minimising handling, then stress is minimised. Stress is not only created by handling though. If there are continuing fairly large fluctuations in temperature, and/or the specific gravity similarly fluctuates, then the corals are going to be stressed. Stability should be maintained. The water should not be full of sediment, if it is there is something amiss with the set-up and the husbandry - it needs correcting. Sediment can settle on a coral, reduce light, and cause stress. No aquarist is going to put anything in the aquarium that is dangerous to corals, for example metals, insecticides etc, and if reverse osmosis water is used then this danger is minimised. Oxygenation of the seawater is very important, if there is plenty of oxygen then the water movement could be adequate, but note that the guideline for movement in a soft coral display tank is 10 times per hour, and in a hard coral display 20 times or more an hour. If not, it needs correcting. A lack of light can cause stress, the algae need light and a lack will cause problems. The light should be of adequate power (watts) and suitable spectrum. Metal halides are the normal lights used for hard corals. They emit ultraviolet light but the bulb or canopy normally includes a UV filter. This doesn’t cover everything in the list but all that is probably necessary.

It follows that if a well designed reef system is stable then all should be well. The aquarist should not suddenly increase or decrease the temperature because it is thought a different temperature is better, it should be achieved slowly over time. Likewise specific gravity. The power (watts) of metal halide lighting should not be suddenly increased. If there is a reason for doing so, then the output from the lights should be controlled by raising the bulbs further away from the water surface, and over a period of time slowly                        lower them. Fluorescent lighting changes should not be as problematical, but watch for spectrum changes in the tube output, and whatever the lighting, watch the corals.

Corals as part of their normal life eject zooxanthellae* and the aquarist will not usually notice. These ejections are because the algae is becoming too numerous, or it is old and is being replaced.

Though there is argument about whether wild bleaching is a natural cycle or not, large bleaching events take place on coral reefs. Bearing in mind the list of possible causes, some of it is probably the result of pollution such as sedimentation, heavy metals, insecticides etc that are in land run-off.

The aquarist may hopefully never see bleaching. In all the years I have kept soft corals under fluorescent lighting, it has never occurred. Nor has it with Peter and his hard corals, lit by metal halides. Do maintain the system properly, then simply enjoy.

(* Reference: Eric H. Borneman. Aquarium Corals)

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Tags: coral, Coral Reef, home-aquarium, marine reef, marine-aquarium, reef-tank

My Toadstool Coral, Is It Rotting?

The toadstool coral or mushroom leather coral, (Sarcophyton sp), are hardy and very decorative. They can grow to quite a size but this varies and is not usually a problem. These corals are suitable for a new aquarist, and, with some experience under the belt, are easy to propagate by cutting. More advanced aquarists who are ‘into’ soft corals often have a toadstool in their collection.

As the name implies, they look a little like a toadstool, but often have convolutions on the head. The usual open state is that they are expanded and many polyps extend from the upper surface of the head. If there is a clownfish in the aquarium, they will sometimes adopt a toadstool coral as home, nestling in among the polyps, which doesn’t seem to harm or bother the coral.

Sarcophyton sp. close down in the same way as other corals. They deflate and have their polyps withdrawn. Sometimes the polyps are only partially extended, and sometimes diffferent areas are not extended at all, giving a clumpy effect.

The question arose because a toadstool that had been healthy had closed up for a while. The coral had closed down normally, had opened the next day but with less polyps extended, the next with even less, and the next with none. When open it was noticed that the coral had discoloured patches on the surface of the head, and these areas had a waxy appearance. The coral stayed closed for a day or two, then began opening in reverse sequence, more and more polyps extending as time passed. Surface skin was sloughing off in the water current. This skin, not large in area, did not seem to affect any other coral. The discoloured areas disappeared and the polyps became fully extended and all present once again.

The coral was not rotting as the aquarist had feared. It was simply getting rid of surface skin. Presumably this is a possible routine occurrence on this species of coral, perhaps a means of ejecting any unwelcome passengers such as algae, accumulated dirt or even parasites.

A coral that is behaving in a different manner to normal needs observation over time. Some soft corals can stay closed for a week or more, then inflate and be as beautiful as ever.

If the period of closure seems just too long, and rot does seem to be a problem, then the coral can be carefully checked - rotting should be apparent if the area is gently squeezed with the fingers as it will tend to be excessively squashy and may break up (generally touching corals should be minimized, not touching at all in normal circumstances). Rotten parts can be cut away with a sharp pair of scissors or a suitable knife, cutting slightly into the good flesh to ensure all rot is removed. All things being equal the remarkable regenerative power of the coral will come into play.

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Tags: aquarium, coral, home-aquarium, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium

Saltwater Fish Compatability

A very big aspect to ensuring the well being of the fish within your care is to ensure that they get on well with each other plus any corals or invertebrates which are in the aquarium - in other words that they are compatible with each other.

For this reason I thought it would be worthwhile posting a saltwater fish compatabiltity chart so that you can see at a glance which fish get one well with other fish, corals, invertebrates and which ones do not.

One thing that must be noted however is that like humans not all fish are the same - there are some peaceful ones and there are some tempremental little blighters. For this reason this compatability chart is just a general guide and is not set in stone. It does however let you know generally if a fish f X species will be able to be housed in the same aquarium as X species.

Hope you find it useful.

Tags: coral, marine-aquarium, marine-fish, saltwater-aquarium, saltwater-fish

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