Chalice help...

[CoRalAdDiCt]

Just bought my first chalice, believe it is a nightmare or darth maul. My problem is idk what they need have read all over these forums and on reef2reef and rc that different people say different things. Low light, high light, strong flow, low flow. Please give me some info on how to care for it cause its a pretty sweet little chalice! and will probably get some more in the near future.
Thanks for any advice!

 

[ed4]

I'm not a chalice-keeper, but isn't the general sentiment that of low/medium light and movement over the coral without making the skin jiggle rapidly from the flow? Might also vary between different types of chalices.

When I hear that something needs high light and flow, to me, it's a bright & intense environment with flow that can make some corals wobble in place.

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

idk if this helps but I have VHO's and the chalice is 8-10 inches below water level, and the lights are 4 inches above that (so its 12-14 inches below lights). What would you say the lighting intensity is on the chalice? IMO judging light intensity is hard because there is no standard to say whats high, medium, and low.

 

[ed4]

How many VHO bulbs are in your fixture?

We can rule out high intensity lights in your application.

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

Good cause the chalice is in the perfect position at the top! lol Running 1 vho 50/50, 1 t8 blue, and 1 vho 50/50 over the chalice and its in the middle of the tank... and 8-10 in below the water surface.

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

If not a chalice-keeper, what do you keep?

 

[James983]

I have only two, but I keep them both on the bottom with medium flow. I am running a 14 bulb T5 fixture so i would say it's high intensity. My Mummy's Eye has more than doubled in 6 months where it is. The other is tiny and new, so too soon to tell.

 

[FaviaFreak]

start with low light and move around until you see the best colors, some chalice love low light, some love med light, and some do really well under high light. I would say low/med for your particular piece

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

But with my lighting and position in tank would you consider it under medium light or high? Should I move it down? are there signs that i should move it down? cause it looks good now, but am going away in 2 weeks for 3 weeks so i want it in the best possible spot while im away!

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

Its also hard to tell if it's "happy" cause unlike a zoa it doesn't look drastically different from open to closed. so what are some signs that they aren't liking their conditions? they are supposed to be pretty hardy corals... correct?

 

[FaviaFreak]

if they are happy than they usually get a bit puffy and not drawn in where you can really see the skeleton..I say start it low in leave it there until you get back and see how it looks, if it browns out at all too little light, if it pales on you too much light, so I say keep it low for now but out in the open

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

Thanks for the advice, will also be looking for some more chalice frags and possibly favia when I get back in late august. do you know of anyone on here that has some chalices to frag? on LI only.

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

Got some other questions... How do they grow? I know they are encrusting but do they make a calcium skeleton like favia? how do new eyes form? I have no experience with them, but have read many forums but haven't found specific answers to my questions...

 

[knutez24]

..I say start it low in leave it there until you get back and see how it looks, if it browns out at all too little light, if it pales on you too much light, so I say keep it low for now but out in the open

probably the best way to acclimate your corals to the tank is to start them low and gradually raise them until you find their sweet spot.

Moving on from the zoas up to chalices huh?

 

[FaviaFreak]

Got some other questions... How do they grow? I know they are encrusting but do they make a calcium skeleton like favia? how do new eyes form? I have no experience with them, but have read many forums but haven't found specific answers to my questions...

they plate and encrust, they will slowly cover their frag disk and than spill over and continue to get round and larger, they do contain a calcareous skeleton like favia and other stony corals. New eyes form as the pieces grows larger but be warned most echinophyllia are painfully SLOW growers, some people see increased growth by spot feeding them something like mysis shrimp a few times a week

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

nah still love those zoa's!!! but these chalices are looking pretty sweet! are you collecting them?
btw how are those fruit loops, sm, and yj coming??? lol

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

they plate and encrust, they will slowly cover their frag disk and than spill over and continue to get round and larger, they do contain a calcareous skeleton like favia and other stony corals. New eyes form as the pieces grows larger but be warned most echinophyllia are painfully SLOW growers, some people see increased growth by spot feeding them something like mysis shrimp a few times a week

Yeah last night (it's first night in the tank) I got one eye to eat a piece of brine! And I think I will keep up the spot feeding.

 

[CoRalAdDiCt]

So a chalice is one large polyp with many eye's (mouths)? or is each eye a separate animal that should receive it's own food?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Most chalices don't like a lot of light.Do better in shaded areas of the tank except for my Tyree Pink one that's doing well under MH lighting.

 

[FaviaFreak]

So a chalice is one large polyp with many eye's (mouths)? or is each eye a separate animal that should receive it's own food?

feed as many eyes as you can, although the mouths share the nutrients to the main colony..you could soak some mysis in amino acids for an extra punch of nutrients