The Puffer Forum

Today I finally bought som LR. Finally I am starting up a SW tank! The seller also gave me three frags of corals. I had absolutely not planned on having corals here now, so I don't have any food or anything ready for them (not even proper light - but that's been ordered now). As these corals came before I even had read anything on the topic, I feel really stupid right now. How often do they need feeding? How long can they do without food? I don't have any food ready, and would be very surpised if any of the two LFSs here has any food for corals. What food would you recommend? I don't know what kind of corals I have, and they are tiny, tiny. One looks like a real mushroom.

90% of corals only need good lighting to thrive. Tell me about that.

Until the order I placed today arrives from Germany (I hope I recieve it before I go on my next vacation), I barely have lighting. I didn't plan on getting corals today. Only a small 15W or 18W T8 fluorecent with reflector. I've ordered a 2 X 39 W T5 with reflectors. It's actually a bit too long for the tank, but I thought rather too long than too small. For how many hours would you recommend the lighting to stay on per day? This is like learning fish keeping from the start all over again.

BTW, do you know a good website for finding the right tank size for SW fish? I don't know where to look to find what fishes are suitable for my tank. It will be a while before I can buy a fish, but I like to start planning.

Try http://www.bluezooaquatics.com. I like those guys. Without knowing what corals you have, I can't give you much info about them. Do you have a macro lens? If not, try shooting though a magnifying glass.

I know of that shop, but can I trust the tank size they suggest? I have a feeling I am going to end up with clowns...

I will take som pics of the corals later on today. I am so happy to see that they are well and looks like to be in a good mood. I had to take a risk yesterday, and drop them straight into my tank, which had lower SG than the water they came from (which was all too high). But they are doing very fine today. And there is plenty of life in the LR. It's so fun to watch the life, even though the seller said that it wasn't very much of anything in the LR - that's why he gave me the corals too. SW is FUN!

I took some pics of two of the corals (I couldn't find the third one right now). The pics aren't very good, but it was the best I could do for now. This is the one that looks like a mushroom. The pic doesn't show the perfect mushroom form, but it's a cool coral.



This one I have to glue to the LR later on today. Right now it's just laying there.





This is something I found on the LR. I wonder what it is.

#1 Sarcophyton aka toadstool (sometimes mushroom (not US, where mushrooms are different corals))

#2 Montipora digitata an easy stony coral

#3 The last one is Aiptasia, something you probably don't want to have in your tank. It multiplies rapidly and has a potent sting. Also sometimes difficult to get rid off once established.

That last pic is aiptasia i'm pretty sure. It can be considered a pest (I have 2 in my tank, 1 largem 1 small). They can sting other corals...

The second and third pics (unmounted pieces) are Montipora Digitata. They need good lighting to thrive, but will probably survive until you get your new light. I have to constantly "break" mine, as it always grows out of control and out of the water!

I have no idea what the first pic is. It almost looks like a BTA (bubble tip anemone?) (or something akin), but I don't know.

I've been corrected (well, before I posted lol)... It's not a BTA, but a toadstool. I totally agree. Thanks Corvus.

Thanks both of you!

After reading up on it, it seems like aiptasia is the SW evil version of pest snails. No wonder I've seen them before. I thought they were cool.

The toadstool is supposed to get large! But it's really, really cool to watch.

I've got plenty of (what I think is) feather dusters too. LR is just so cool to explore. I look forward to glueing things together later on today, to make things look better. I bought reef epoxy a long time ago, and I am happy to have it now.

LOL I thought that was a baseball in the first pic when I first saw it

Darn, Corvus beat me to the ID.

Here's a pic of my toadstool:





Orange digitata (on left):

once again im speechless on your salt tank

That's just one lil tiny corner.

Yes, I wish I could see that tank some day PP. It's beautiful!

What are the requirements of the Toadstool?

I dreamt about my corals this night. They were walking around on the LR, looking for a good place to live. And there was a large, brown coral with long hands and an extremely ugly face that tried to hunt me. It stung my hand. It went numb and painful, and my brother laughed at me and told me that was only the beginning of it...