New coral. Yay!

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Feeder Fish
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Dec 10, 2007
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Elsinore
Okay, after my mom bought me some coral I didn't expect and it started to die, I redid my tank some. I got stronger lights (40 watts of 50/50 mini-compact on a 10 gallon) and put in a powerhead, even though it keeps me awake at night...:irked: Still waiting for a recommend on a small, quiet powerhead. The yellow polyps are looking better.

So, I went down to the LFS, looking to get a new fish after my damsel mysteriously died. They didn't have anything small enough so I decided to try my hand at coral again, but properly this time.

The guy recommended these, based on what I told him about my set up and experience. He said they were toadstools. They're actually much greener, and look like chalk.

IMG_0354.jpg


IMG_0352.jpg

Sorry for the algae, I hadn't wiped it off yet.

Couple questions:
1. Is that anemone looking thing aiptasia?
2. What's that green and orange stuff on the rock?

I acclimated for an hour, pouring a cup of tank water in every five minutes, dumped out half when I had to and started again. Then, I scrubbed the rock gently with a toothbrush where the coralline stuff wasn't and shook it off in the bag of water, but those little things still made it. They're hard to see out of the water.
 
that is definately an anenome but i dont think it's aptasia persay... my zoology teacher picked up that kind of nem for our cnidarian unit.. i do theink they are problematic nems though, i'd keep a very close eye on it

the greenish/orange stuff is probably either coralline algea or some encrusting sponges
 
Thank you. I will watch it carefully, so it doesn't have a chance to kill anything...
 
i'd be more worried about spreading at this point
 
Looks a lot like aiptasia to me.

As an experiment I've intentionally allowed aiptasia to run 'unchecked' in one of my tanks.

Here's what the one I started with looked like (which to me looks identical to yours). It's since massed produced itself throughout the tank:
aiptasia.jpg


I'd highly recommend removing/killing it, you definately don't want these in a reef tank. You'll want to remove or eliminate it in a way which won't leave any remaining living fragments (using chemicals rather than manual removal).
 
It's like a clone of mine. I really want to kill it, but it's so close to my coral, practically touching, maybe even growing on the foot. I started with three and now there's a fourth on a piece of live rock. It's big, though so I think it just detached from where I couldn't see it and went over there. I guess it's a good thing I didn't scrub it off, or it could have spread faster.

What's the safest method to get rid of aiptasia in close proximity to coral?
 
Predator 1;1840257; said:
Copperband Butterfly fish are the most natural and effective method of clearing "Aiptaisia" Once the fish has finished its duty, you can feed them on a varied diet.
Click to expand...

in a 10 gallon minimal setup you cannot keep a copperband alive.

I would get 2-3 peppermint shrimps., they're like $8.00 each ,and easy to keep, will definitely finish the aiptasia and still eat other food after.

the 40 watts 50/50 is barely cutting it., make sure your tank is well established before adding anymore corals, as they will not live long. and probably shouldn't add too many fish to the tank either. try putting more rocks so the corals are raised closer to the tank and for filtration also.

maxi jets are very powerful, and quiet, and inexpensive. you could also use a bag of chem pure in your filtration, that would help maintain your water quality.
 
your toadstool looks healthy enough, it should open and have tenticles extended in a couple of days, if not, i would move them closer to the light and increase the circulation, not directly on them. and change some water.
 
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