Three questions, please help!

[klingsa]

Ok, here goes.

1. I just got a squamosa clam, and I'm wondering if there is anything special I should feed it. I've been using phytoplankton, but I'm concerned that it adds too many nutrients to the tank. So, this is a clam feeding question, and a general question about using phytoplankton to feed corals.

2. I bought a beautiful blue-tip staghorn from the LFS where I work. They had a bit of an algae problem, and two of the tips had algae on them. It looks like tissue recession, very slowly, but only on one of the algae covered tips. Is there anything I can do, other than ripping off the algae as it grows?

3. My long tentacle anemone refuses to bury in the sand. It's very healthy, eats fine, nice color, but it either lays on it's side or clings to the rocks with its tentacles and stays upright. Is this a problem with the anemone, the sand bed, or is it ok? I know a lot about anemones, and know that when they don't attach it's usually not a good sign. I'm thinking about adding more sand in that area to encourage him to bury. What do you guys think?

Thanks!!

Sara

 

[tazdevil]

Sara, don't know on the first two. However, on the LTA, some LTA's are "happier" attached to rock/sides of tank than they are to the sandbed. This is normal behavior, just be sure your giving it adequate lighting and your parameters are right on. With the clam question, look up minh, he's pretty much the resident clam expert here.

 

[Anonymous]

The clam needs to be fed.

 

[danmhippo]

Follow the recommended dosage on the product label. If it's a home made phyto, one way to check is to cross reference with DT's, and watch the dissolved nutrient level in the water. Also if you see your clam shuts off everytime you squirted green goo's into the water, that means he is complaining about the food quantity or food type.

Food offered to squamosa (and most other clam), should be less than 18 micron.

Staghorn, Well, assuming your tank condition is optimal, I would cut off the receding part and let it heal.

Anemone, I would reduce water current for a while, and let it find it's preferred spot. After you see it firmly attached to subtrate (LR or walls), adjust the water current back up. Do you have other anemone in the same tank? My experiences with LTA is that they dislike presence of other anemone and some corals. I am assuming they detected chemical scent of other competitors in the water.

 

[klingsa]

Thanks, guys! The phytoplankton I'm using is the Marine Snow from Two Little Fishies. The clam does shrink when I spray at him, but he does that when a fish swims too close or his light is blocked for a second. I think he's shy.

How do you go about cutting off part of the staghorn? Doesn't that risk bacterial infection?

I have been leaving the anemone alone, other than feeding him. Yes, I have a bubble tip in there, but pretty far away. I'm going to go ahead and add some finer sand to his area and see what that does. I'm thinking maybe the sand that's been there for over a year is clumping up and he just can't burrow through it. Maybe wrong, but I'm going to try. I could use more sand anyway. I don't have any direct current on the anemone, so I don't think that's the problem. I already moved him for that reason, and he's more sheltered now.

Anyone else? Any comments are welcome!!
Thanks again!
Sara

 

[klingsa]

Bump up...more opinions, please!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, guys! The phytoplankton I'm using is the Marine Snow from Two Little Fishies. The clam does shrink when I spray at him, but he does that when a fish swims too close or his light is blocked for a second. I think he's shy.

Unfortunatly marine snow is not the same as phytoplankton, and IMO opinion it is not as good a clam food as Dt's.

 

[klingsa]

Hm, it says it has phytoplankton and zooplankton in it. Pardon my ignorance, but what is Dt? Thanks!!

I thought I'd include a picture of my staghorn so someone may be able to tell me if I should worry.

Sorry about the quality, but they're actually the best pics I've taken so far!! I'm learning. :lol:

Should I cut off that tip? It's either tissue recession or it's growing a new corallite, which would be good. How do you cut it off?

Any help would be appreciated (especially with the photography!! J/K).

Thanks for the help!

Sara

 

[klingsa]

Please forget that you ever saw those last two pictures. I now have better ones! So, someone please tell me if and how I should cut off this tip. This is a close up of the algae, and you can see the white area underneath and down a little. It is not progressing that I can see, but I'm a worried tank mother, what can I say.

 

[klingsa]

Bump up...need help!
Thanks!
Sara

 

[John_Brandt]

Sara,

The only additional advice I'll give you is dealing with those algae-fouled tips on your Acropora. It actually looks like there is cyanobacteria growing there. The coral won't readily grow over that. Take a pair of pliers and (working underwater with the coral in place) gently grind away at the tip until you get all the way to the living coral tissue. Hopefully this will leave a fresh exposed bit of skeleton with no algae. The coral may then grow over this quickly, and before you know it will look like there never was a bad tip.

Is your LTA a Macrodactyla doreensis? These like to bury their stalk completely in fine, silty sand. They are often found in muddy sediment. Ideal current would be a very gentle movement of the tentacles.

 

[klingsa]

Well, now, that bit about the LTA make sense. I just ordered some finer sand to pile in his corner, so we'll see if he likes that better. Yes, he's a M. doreensis. I'll try taking off the staghorn tip. How nerve racking!! Is there a chance it will get infected? I've heard that's a possibility when I have read about fragging. Yeah, it started as green hair algae on that tip, but now it has cyano there also. Great mix!

Oh, the other question was about using Marine Snow to feed corals. What do you think?

Thanks, John

Sara

 

[liquid]

Clams would be better off being fed phytoplankton like DT's Phytoplankton: http://www.dtplankton.com/ Marine Snow isn't the same thing. MattM from Inland Reef took some very good shots of the difference between Marine Snow and DT's Phytoplankton a while back:

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... toplankton

Shane

 

[klingsa]

Thanks, Shane. Is Marine Snow useless for all my corals then? And is DT's good for them all? I guess I'll stop using it, because I don't want to add useless nutrients to the water. I appreciate the link, that was cool.

Thanks!
Sara

 

[liquid]

To be honest I'm not sure if it's useful or not as I've not seen a feeding study on the usefulness of Marine Snow. I do know that DT's is live phytoplankton and that it'll definitely feed any microcritters you have in your tank. Phyto really doesn't feed corals directly with the exception of dendronephtheas, scleronephtheas, some gorgonians, etc. What it does do is feed microcritters like rotifers, ciliates, etc that then feed your corals. I've used it and liked the results it gave.

If you'd like to get your hands on a good clam book, I'd highly recommend Daniel Knop's Clams book. More info can be found here: http://www.reefs.org/library/reading

hth

Shane

 

[klingsa]

Actually, I have a clam book on the way already. Thanks for the info! Is there any product that is good to feed to SPS/LPS's? Maybe they're all a scam, I don't know.

Thanks, Liquid!

Sara