Coraline.

Does anyone have any coraline plating that you could chip some off of. I will be willing to pay a little bit and I will pick up at the meeting if Im able to make it.

I can scrape some off of the glass and bring it on Monday.

Ok cool thanks slp.

I can give you some flakes but why do you need it? Is it to grow coraline algae?

Yeah to help it out alittle.

i thought SLP gave you some

Yes he did. More is always welcome.

Oh ok lol

What type of lights are you running? Crusty couldn't grow coraline in his tank because he was only using MH.

Im only using mh and i have a ton of coraline

Only PCs for me.

Ya that could be why its not growing. Not enough light

What else can I put in my Biocube 14 for the least amount of money.

Oh in the bio cube? Hmmm im not sure. I dont know how big it is

I had a 72 with cf lights and coralline grew out of control. I think it has more to do with having the big 3 at the right spots.

I will test and post. It's not that its not growing, I just want more of it growing.

I never meant to have the coraline but its going like crazy. I dose 2 part so its easy.

im with you Mike. I started my tank with dead sand, dead rock so that I could control what went into the tank, coralline was introduced into my tank from frag plugs. now it's everywhere. I personally view it to be a headache to continue to scrape it off the glass and when it covers the rock it blocks the porous surface and inhibits biological filtration.

don't get me wrong coralline growth is a sign that you're doing something right but I can't stand the look of it in my tank.

yeah, coralline is like a very pretty weed, you think it's awesome until you have to develope a routine to clean it off the glass weekly. I really hate the look of coralline on the glass. it makes things look filthy.

sisterlimonpot wrote:im with you Mike. I started my tank with dead sand, dead rock so that I could control what went into the tank, coralline was introduced into my tank from frag plugs. now it's everywhere. I personally view it to be a headache to continue to scrape it off the glass and when it covers the rock it blocks the porous surface and inhibits biological filtration.

don't get me wrong coralline growth is a sign that you're doing something right but I can't stand the look of it in my tank.

Hey Sister, I never thought of coralline as a hinderance of filtration. It makes complete sense though, and it almosts changes my mind about being so happy to see it grow. Although it is a good sign, I see on others tanks how it becomes a problem. I personally love the color purple, so the color for me is beautiful. I do not, however, like the way it looks all over the tank walls.

It seems as though even if you are careful to use dead sand and dead rock, it is easy to introduce things such as aiptasia or coralline into the tank. ALmost impossible to avoid this.

Yeah, all it takes is one time you don't dip that coral, one time you don't QT that fish and then all your effort is for nothing.

Aiptasia is another one that I have been battling, I recieved some aiptasia X from nick and it seems that since I've been using it the aiptasia have been popping up everywhere.

Terra and I are now considering getting one of those ugly file fish that eat aiptasia to keep it at bay. we still have to read a bit more on them before we decide on that route.

I have heard that they can really be hit or miss on the filefish. I would get some peppermints atleast they are more likly to get the aiptasia.

I've tried the file fish, coppperband, peppermint shrimp and berghia. The issue with the CBB, is its too hard to keep after and it could eat zoas. The peppermint shrimp work in a small tank. Berghia is 100% proven but depends if you have a wrasse or other fish that might eat them. I've see aipstasia in beautiful DTs but its a challenge to truly eliminate them.

Nike what was your experience with the file fish?

I have a wrasse that eats shrimp for breakfast, and I have tried the berghia's and they were eaten by the wrasse and have gone through 4-5 (stopped counting) copperbands. The file fish is just another attempt at getting this under control...

I have a wrasse that eats shrimp for breakfast, and I have tried the berghia's and they were eaten by the wrasse and have gone through 4-5 (stopped counting) copperbands. The file fish is just another attempt at getting this under control...

But what happens when there is no more aiptasia? They just die?

The berghia will die unless you can catch them from your DT and try to find aiptasia from other reefers.

I tried the file fish and they do eat aipstasia but they ended up dying, I think I tried it two times. I don't know how many times I tried the CBB, unfortunately they are too timid and I can't add them with my tangs.

Btw, how is this thread in the member's only section.

Btw, how is this thread in the member's only section.

Good point thread has been moved out of the members area so all can view.

But what happens when there is no more aiptasia? They just die?

Not 100% sure if they will eventually cross over to eating prepared food, not to sound like an ass, but yes it probably will die from starvation.

Almost cruel to add them unless aiptasia is a major problem. There must be another food source for them, or the existance seems as if it would be strained in the wild. I'm gonna look into this.

Not really to defend the position but one can argue that having a salt water fish tank is cruel and once we add livestock to our tanks we have sentenced them to a lower lifespan. However my thoughts on the issue are that when these fish are in the wild they are subject to being food by many predators and very few make it to live a full life anyway.

This is a hobby and we have to be as mindful to the fact that we have this responsibility, but if a fish dies we shouldn’t be concerned too much with what our intentions of getting it is, you may have the intentions of getting a fish that is very pretty and will look good in your tank, there’s no difference in getting a fish to rid the tank of aiptasia and then allow it to starve to death, it happens all the time in nature. I would make an effort to remove the fish and hand him off to another person that has the same problem but that can be hard to do without tearing done the entire tank just to capture him…

It's amazing to see this thread go from coralline to aiptasia to responsible reefkeeping.

I agree that we as hobbyist don't have the best interest of the livestock in mind, or else we wouldn't be in this hobby. I believe that we have all gotten into this hobby so that we can have a slice of the ocean right in our living room. Responsibility wasn't at the top of our priorities, however some hold it higher than others. I personally find it interesting to watch corals grow and to see what it takes to keep them alive. If for some reason the tank crashed and I lost all my coral, I would be devastated but not because i killed something from the ocean but because of all the time and effort I put into the endeavor just to have it slip away. There are a few fish in my tank that if died I would be bummed just because I'd miss their personalities.

I agree with both of you, and specific fish do serve a purpose. The goal is to make their stay in our living room environments as pleasent as possible while providing an educational and entertaining aspect. I believe this to be similar to owning a cat or snake. I do not believe these fish realize they are missing out on the vast ocean. They also eat better in our tanks then they could ever eat in the wild.

that's for sure. I have never seen a new arrival of fish show up at the lfs plump. although it might be because of the trip from the ocean to here but the certainly get a better diet from us.