I Managed to Killl One of the Most Indestructable Corals!!

I had 3 branches of a pink & white Xenia.  I had it nestled nicely in between the rocks and it grew for several weeks. Then one day, two of the branches withered up and died.  The third branch died the next day.  I'm not sure what happened.  The only thing I can think of is that the salinity level of the water dropped from 1.025 to 1.021.  My fault, I forgot to add the salt when I did a water change.  It is rather ironic that I managed to kill a coral that others have complained grows like a weed. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Frogspawn Coral

Here is a picture of a Frogspawn coral.  It has 3 branches, and has been growing nicely.  I believe it has a slight sting, so I keep it away from other corals.

Flower Pot Coral

My very first coral purchase was a large, expensive piece of flower pot coral. Its Latin name is Goniopora, which is a stony coral with large polyps.  It is not surprising that I would be drawn to a coral that looks like flowers. Unfortunately, I did not do my research prior to my impulsive purchase, and did not realize it is a difficult one to keep alive.

This coral does contain the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae, which means it uses photosynthesis to create its nutrients. However, I have read that this particular coral should be fed with a product such as micro-plankton.

My second mistake was dropping it on its "face" when I tried to position it in the tank.  That it did not like.  The polyps retracted and released a coating of slime.  I was sure it was a gonner.

I immediately ran out to buy some zooplankton and fed it using a turkey baster.  After a few days of nursing it, a third of the polyps came back.  Then another third, and finally all of it.  It now looks like this.

It is a shocking transformation! It is by far my favourite coral in the tank, and I hope I can continue to keep it alive. By the way, I found that placing it on the sand bed, and away from strong currents works best.

One fascinating thing I witnessed was it releasing some sort of stringy substance from the centre of each polyp. Here is a video.

Got Some Clean Up Crew

There is even an acronym for these...CUC.  Fish can be a little messy when it comes to food, and it's the cleanup crew's job to eat.

First came two peppermint shrimp.  What a pain these are!  They are nocturnal, and spend most of the day hiding behind rocks.  I only saw both shrimps during the first few days, and then there was only one. It has been a month now, and I am convinced one ate the other.  The shrimp is amazing for sniffing out food and hauling it off. Unfortunately, it has a voracious appetite. I actually need to feed it, otherwise it terrorizes other things. I have seen this shrimp pounce on some of my soft corals (torch, button, frogspawn).  I don't think I would have bought these had I known their behaviour.

Peppermint shrimp with some Red Button Polyp coral

Next came the hermit crabs.  These guys are a lot of fun. From the moment I bought them, they have been working to clean up the rocks and sand. They also eat fallen food.  I bought 4 blue, 1 white, and 1 red legged.  I am not sure how the white one ended up in the batch.  They also have a voracious appetite, and I feed these as well as the shrimp.

Hermit crabs

I soon discovered I had an algae bloom. The brownish stuff was all over the rocks, glass and sand.   So next came the snails.  I bought 2 Trochus, 7 Nassarius.  They have been doing such a great job, that I'm running out of algae.  I will need to fed them as well.  The Nassarius also keep the sand stirred, which is nice.

Trochus snail, with a torch coral and a toadstool coral

Small Nassarius snail scooting away from the crabs

Larger Nassarius snail

Got Some Fish

It has now been a month since I setup the tank.  It has fully cycled, and water quality is great!  PH 8.2, no Ammonia, Nitrites or Nitrates.  Now for the fun part.

Here is the tank with the rock in place.

I purchased two Percula clownfish.  They are of course named Nemo, and Nemo's dad.  They're more likely to become a mating pair, but for now, it makes my daughter happy.  Strange thing, I purchased some soft corals for them to live in (rather than anenomes which can sting), but they would rather just swim around.

This one is Nemo. He even has a gimpy fin. Notice the hole in the dorsal fin.

Then came a small Blue Hippo Tang, named Dory.  What a peculiar fish. At first she was freaked out and hid in the rocks for days. I thought she was a gonner.  But she now comes out and swims with the two clownfish. Peaceful, except when it is dinner time.  She won't grab the food off the surface, but waits for the clownfish to eat, and then yanks the food out of their mouths. She is feisty!

Dory and Nemo's dad (looking for Nemo)

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