New pics, new lights, new livestock, PLEASE LOOK!

[joker577]

Here it was before the sunpod

here it is now

Anemone's lookin better too check out the before and after shot!

My new livestock

the white stuff on the clam is just sand, I should blow it off im guessing?

Operation accidental xenia frag was a success!

 

[returnofsid]

Definitely blow the sand off of the Derasa. That new addition to your corals is a Tubastrea Sun Coral. They require A LOT of care. They're not photosynthetic so don't get energy from light at all. In fact, they usually prefer to be kept in shaded areas. The problem with keeping them in shaded areas is that they also need to be fed A LOT. Each individual head must be fed or it'll die. They don't share a common gut so you'll have to supply each head with it's nutrients. When they're kept in shade, it's hard to reach every head. Even when you can reach every head, it's still difficult to make sure each head gets food. I'd recommend keeping it in an area of low current to make feeding it easier. Also should be fed after lights go out, when it extends it's tentacles. They can be trained to extend their tentacles during daylight but it's not easy. Make sure you do a lot of research on that particular coral because they are not at all easy to care for. One interesting tid bit about them....it seems they are the most photographed coral in the wild.

 

[joker577]

I fed them this morning, 2 cubes of mysis but I kept a cut coke bottle over the top so it could eat...almost all the heads got food...what can I say they were hungry I had it higher up but moved it down closer to the shade...I read up alot of articles today on them, melevs reef and alot of other stuff

 

[Juanfer]

the tank is looking great.. specially the jawfish.
congrats

 

[Krish]

Looks great!!! I noticed a huge difference even going from the 70w HQI sunpod to the 150 HQI when I had my aquapod up and running

 

[idgy]

Very nice! How deep is your sandbed ? Does the jawfish have more than one burrow or several?

 

[joker577]

It's in most areas 3-4 inches, others less...it only made one big burrow under that rock and blew sand everywhere (as you can see in the pics lol)

 

[Damsel13]

Wow, looking nice joker.

 

[returnofsid]

Joker, that's the perfect way to feed the sun coral. Also a good choice for food. Just don't get lax and miss feedings. They really rely on the owner for food to live, much more than most other corals.

 

[Jan]

Sid, do the sun corals need to be fed every day or a few times a week, or??

Joker, thanks for posting your before & afters. It looks WAY better under the new light.

Nice new clam, starfish and sun polyps. Good luck with them.

I noticed that your brain is not as puffy in the higher light than it used to be. I've read that they prefer lower light. Maybe you could move it into the shadows and see how it does there? I have mine halfway under a rock overhang and it gets hugely puffy most days.

All in all, it's looking great.

 

[returnofsid]

Jan, I'm not expert on Sun Corals by any means. I do think that it would depend on the quality and amount of food they're getting at each feeding. I'd probably start with feeding 2 or 3 times per week and adjust from there based on the growth and appearance of the coral. The important thing is that EVERY head needs to get food.

 

[Juanfer]

I noticed that your brain is not as puffy in the higher light than it used to be. I've read that they prefer lower light. Maybe you could move it into the shadows and see how it does there? I have mine halfway under a rock overhang and it gets hugely puffy most days.

I was just goin to say the same
maybe it just need some time to adjust to the new light, try placing it in a less iluminated place.
good luck

 

[Snowboarda42]

Looks good!

I've read that sun corals need to be fed once every 2 - 3 days. Micheal's right, more importantly is the fact that each one needs some sort of food in order to thrive. The more you end up feeding them, the faster they grow as well. Which can also help you "guide" them in the direction you want them to grow by feeding the ones that are in the direction of the wanted growth more food and more often, while the opposite side gets a little less food less often. Kinda difficult, but doable nonetheless.

You can also train them to open when you want, simply by putting food near the mouth when you want to end up feeding them, even if they're closed. They'll "smell" the food and open up to eat. You might do this around the time you normally feed your tank.

 

[Damsel13]

does chuck norris approve of that?

 

[joker577]

You just caught it at a bad time..I woke up and it was puffed out huge, it is now but not as much.

 

[james734]

Looking good Joker, Glad to see the light addition.

 

[morgan]

on the trachphillya im not sure about shade for these guys my mate has 2 under 2 150 wat mh bubls and they show as much extension as under one and these brains swell up real big probly because he feeds them quiet often

i like your tank its very nice but when i saw your side tank shot i noticed u wernt using the depth of the tank very much only a real flat rock wall against the back have u thought of sumthing a bit more adventurous with your aquascaping, im not saying it looks bad just wondering what u thought about ur aquascaping im never quiet happy with mine and when i am i have lps arguing over space

 

[joker577]

It's really what I envisioned it as, I wanted to have a visually appealing rockscape along with enough real estate for fish to swim around in and corals to be placed on the seabed