Amazed and a little scared

rentnel

rentnel

Registered Member
Apr 6, 2007
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I have joined to gain advise and have learned alot from reading the posts. for example, I obtained a red light and some magnifying glasses and setup infront of the main tank at night and WOW. What are all those critters!? It is amazing but scares me a little in that there is more here than I knew and a crash (with my limited experience) is a possibility. I now feel out of control and that makes me uncomfortable. These critters obviously stowed away on the Fiji, Lalo and F&S Nano rock I put in but WOW.
I need help with 3 things and I have attached pics. 1) is this bulb anemone dead or dying? It has shrunk and discolored. There are 2 others in this same tank doing fine. Is this one digesting, dividing or dying? 2) this 'furry' urchin picks up and drags anything in the way. Is it trying to camoflage itself and is there any way to stop it from re-arranging the plants, rocks, mushrooms, etc!!?? I also have a blue tuxedo that is a little smaller but is not so 'destructive'. 3) I have noticed this opaque mass near the base of some rock. What is this and is it a potential problem? I have also found some very small semi-clear tubelike organisms on some rock. are these sponges/ I thought I saw some smaller critters on them. I could only see shadows but they looked like very small shrimp or at least 'antlike' in body shape. lastly I have seen some small white thing flitting about the tank at night. I could not get a pic but it 'swims' in an erratic fashion, is about 1/8 " long and hides quickly from light. Thanks to this forum I have identified other organisms bristleworms and such, that I did not know. Thanks.

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LR

all the rock and most everything else for that matter, is from Foster's and Smith liveaquaria.com. They are not alwyas the best price but have been reliable, good warranty and informative. The LR is their Fiji (seen as mostly purple), Lalo which I believe is from the same area - Tonga and a batch of their nano rock which is (supposedly) a mix from several sources I used to spike the tank. The 29 holding tank i have has some of the same rock but because I have not 'treated' it the LR is not as colorful. I have used 'purple up' and other elemental supplements. The LR definitely did not look like this after curing but is now coming alive. FYI, being OC (obsesive compulsive) I searched every LR source I could find on the net and again, although not the cheapest Fosters and Smith was my end choice.

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I can tottaly agree with you, I have never shoped at the DRs :) but they do seem VERY reliable. And from what i see there LR looks amazing, I kind of want some for my tank but i am running our of room. I have about 50lbs of LR in my 29 Gal tank! ahah
 
Your live rock does look good but back to your questions. To help us answer your questions it will help if we know what your parameters are - Ph, nitrAtes, nitrItes, salinity etc (and I always ask for Phosphates but that's me!). Also how long has your anemone been like that - is it hours or days? Once we know the answer to those questions we might be able to help a bit more.

I can't help you on urchins (I don't like them and took mine back after it ate all my "good"algae and others are better than me on identification aren't you JOJO, Niko & G/Man etc??
 
Well the foot on your nem is still attached so that is a plus, but as asked how olng has it been like this?? Urchins IMO have no place in a tank under 100 gallons, definately not two, your coraline will eventualy disapear in time (not always but very likely expecially with two). And your white mass appears to be some type of sponge.
 
The anemone is unhappy. It is iether the current where it is at or the amount of light it is recieving. Water quality may also be an issue at the moment. If the other 2 anemones are ok then I would just keep an eye on Mr.Unhappy right now.

As far as the urchins go...They will indeed feed on the corallines. However, if phosphates and nitrates are kept extremely low and you use a 2-part additive for Calcium/Alkalinity control, dose Iodine, and keep up on magnesium levels then the corallines will rapidly grow back in 1 weeks time. My urchins(1 rock boring and 2 diadema long spines) will leave white trails thru my coralline algae but it does indeed grow back purple by the weeks end.

As far as the urchins moving things...glue them down with super glue gel. You can drill and pin rocks together also. I am not kidding. If something you want in one place is being moved then glue it in place by removing the rock and the item and glue them together. Wait 3 minutes and return to tank. Urchins redistribute my frags that aren't glued and I sometimes loosethings in the rock work. I glue the more expensive frags.

The white thing...looks like sponge or spaghetti worms on my screen. I did not see anything to be alarmed by.

What I did see was cyano bloom. Phosphates/silicates are main cause. Use an iron oxide resin right away to remove phosphates and make sure you water source is RO/DI water. Alot gets past a RO unit so add a DI chamber if you don't already have one.

Invest in Salifert test kits. These will give you good readings and you will be able to monitor things well. These should be your next purchase before adding anything else to your system. Get the cyano issue under control and wait one month for everything to stabilize after the cyano is under control before adding anything else to the tank.

Make sure the following water parameters are met...

Here are some water parameters you should strive for...

* SALINITY:1.024-1.026s.g. Tested with hydrometer
Salinity can be as low as 1.021s.g. for fish only tanks

* PH 8.2-8.4 tested with high range test kit

* TEMPERATURE 76F-83F The key here is to stabilize the temp at a constant number like 79F.

* AMMONIA 0ppm Tested with a saltwater hobbyist test kit

* NITRITE 0ppm Tested with a saltwater hobbyist test kit

* NITRATE 0-10ppm Tested with a saltwater hobbyist test kit

* PHOSPHATES> 0-.03ppm Tested with a saltwater hobbyist test kit. WARNING! ALGAE BLOOMS CAN OCCUR IF PHOSPHATE LEVELS EXCEED 0.02PPM This can be controlled by using a phosphate resin.

* CALCIUM 380PPM-450PPM Tested with a saltwater hobbyist test kit
WARNING: LOW CALCIUM LEVELS WILL LEAD TO STUNTED GROWTH AND SEVERE HEALTH PROBLEMS IN CORALS AND CLAMS

* ALKALINITY 2.5-4.5meg/l Tested with a saltwater hobbyist test kit. ALKALINITY is a measurement of the systems ability to buffer itself. PH, ALK, CALCIUM are all linked and balanced together. You should strive to keep all levels stable and in balance.

* MAGNESIUM 1250-1350ppm Magnesium should be tested at least once a week and adjusted properly

* STRONTIUM, IODIDE, AND IRON should be dosed weekly per manufacturers directions OVERDOSING IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE!!! DO NOT OVERDOSE!!!
 
BEAUTIFUL write up Mr.Firemouth!!1
 
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