New to reef tank

[idreif]

I need some advice. I have a 35hex tank thats been established for over 1 year. I have 4 seahorses and a cleanup crew of emerald crabs, ble leg crabs and turbos'. I have just purchased a PC light 2X55w and bought 2 corals. The bubble coral is doing great after 1 week.

the mushroom coral, which is red/blue with a mint green interior has not opened since i put him in the tank. He is sitting 3/4 of the way up the tank,

Is it to close to the lights..why doesn't it open up??

please help

 

[Clownkeeper]

Well i have several differnt type shrooms in my tank and they all like differnt parts of the tank.. my purple/blues like the bottom... greens like it up top along with the reds.. ricordia like mid and so do my green with redish stripes.. so try moving it down to the bottom.. they open up to gather light.. that may do it for you...


Troy

 

[danmhippo]

Uh oh, seahorse tanks. Hmmm, what's your setup like? What kind of filter you are running and have you tested your water chemistry lately?

Many seahorse setup I have heard about are based on canister filter, which is very efficient of turning toxic ammonia into nitrate, but the process stopped there. I don't know if you fall into that category, but if you are, and you decided to start keeping corals, you have to find ways to control nitrate as most coral are sensitive to it, unlike fish.

Mushrooms do not normally expand themselves upon introduction to a new environment, unless the new tank condition are optimal. Getting past the introduction stage and once they've settled into the tank, they will do well even if the water quality are not perfect though.

What's your salinity, temp, alkalinity, nitrate and ph reading? IMO, 2x55W PC may not be adequate in a 35Hex. PC lights doesn't penetrate deep tanks that well. Although the mushroom generally doesn't require strong lighting, but your bubble does.

Also, a word of caution on your bubble coral. Bubble are notorious of sending out stingers. It is possible for your seahorses to get stung at night. Bubble coral also need to be fed small chunks of meaty food to keep it healthy. Bubble, as a member of hard coral, needs calcium and alkalinity to be kept in optimum, which you will have to check on regular basis.

HTH

 

[HuBu]

shrooms will open up when they need light and keep close when they have enough. if you dont notice anything coming out of the shroom then there shouldnt be any problem. they will open up when they are in need of light, opening up would increase the surface area hence increase the amount of light they get, and keeping close is vice versa. hope that helps.

 

[idreif]

Thanks for all the advice.

My filter system is a Fluval 404 and a Prism Protein skimmer.

My ph is 8.4, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 25-30 nitrate and salinity is 1.25

I have always battled these nitrates and this is always were it stays!!

What would happen to my seahorse if the bubble stings it?? One of them stopped eating and looks very unhappy in the last few days!!
I had asked the LFS if it was ok..they had 2 horses in with these corals..

I will try and move the mushroom down the tank a little or should I give it more time??

 

[Anonymous]

First your Specific Gravity is a 1.025(1.25 is extremely high and your specimens are pickled). Your salinity is 34 ppt.

Second, like stated above canister filters are nitrate factories and may encourage diatoms and problem algae. Diatoms and hair algae can smother corals. However, many corals survive well in high nitrate environments and some even adapt.

Now the shrooms. Shrooms do not react well to movement. It is best to leave them be for a while. I'm no expert on seahorses, but I do not think they fare well with stinging corals.

 

[Alf3482]

I also agree that the Bubble coral is not a good choice for a SH tank. It could sting the SH and possibly cause death if stung to many times. JMO Leathers are more suited for The SH tank. jmo