Coral chicken

[rayn]

This may sound weird, but has anyone ever been coral chicken?

I mean so scared of killing corals you just don't buy them?

I understand tank setups, parameters, light settings, maintenance, and all that. But for the life of me I'm scared to buy corals.

I went to a lfs yesterday and stared at corals wanting to buy, but left empty handed as I'm scared I would just kill them.


I have gsp growing and macro algae growing. I've kept anemones alive as well. But coral never lasts for me.

 

[143MPCo]

This may sound weird, but has anyone ever been coral chicken?

Not weird at all!!!

Personally I don't feel it's weird at all! when you take into consideration the amount of money that we paid for some corals you can become shy for the fact that you don't want to kill the investment that you have with that animal.

Not to mention the fact that you're taking a living organism into your care and the likelihood of it expiring on you, can weigh heavily.

 

[Elementalj]

Not weird at all!!!

Personally I don't feel it's weird at all! when you take into consideration the amount of money that we paid for some corals you can become shy for the fact that you don't want to kill the investment that you have with that animal.

Not to mention the fact that you're taking a living organism into your care and the likelihood of it expiring on you, can weigh heavily.

Precisely [emoji41][emoji1611]

 

[Elementalj]

This may sound weird, but has anyone ever been coral chicken?

I mean so scared of killing corals you just don't buy them?

I understand tank setups, parameters, light settings, maintenance, and all that. But for the life of me I'm scared to buy corals.

I went to a lfs yesterday and stared at corals wanting to buy, but left empty handed as I'm scared I would just kill them.


I have gsp growing and macro algae growing. I've kept anemones alive as well. But coral never lasts for me.

If you hang out with us, we can FIX THAT! [emoji12][emoji13][emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]

 

[MaiReef]

Actually, I am more Invertebrate chicken after some of the selections I have made and the random death and disappearance.

 

[rayn]

Exactly my feelings. I can get fish to live and grow and be "happy", they tell me so!

But corals are my enemy. I can't think of how many frags I've bought just to see waste away.

Money yes, but I put myself in the group of not wanting to kill what we bring into our tanks.

 

[Tahoe61]

If you can keep anemones then lighting is appropriate, so that leaves chemistry.

Personally I find corals easier to keep than a lot of fish and invert types. Try really hard to get aquacultured proven hardy pieces such as Favia, Micromussa/Acan, Duncans. You can usually get them fairly cheap. What about softies like Coraillmorphs or Gorgonians? I find it hard to believe you can not keep Sinularia, or other invasive types.

I say go for it, be afraid of the addiction though, be very afraid.

 

[143MPCo]

I think in the end the best that we can hope to do is provide the optimum environment for survival for whatever inhabitant we decide we are going to introduce into our closed systems... it lessens the likelihood of them dying on you, it doesn't prevent it, but if you set them up for success to begin with ultimately they will thrive.

 

[rayn]

So here is another reason behind my being coral chicken. Test results and tank usage.

I'm working with a 20L with two false percs, a small colony of gsp and like 3 zoa polyps. Rock was acid dipped and cycled well before ever going into the tank.

From my test result, I am going through minimum 1ppm of alk a day in this system, sometimes more. Yesterday it tested our at 9.2ppm and today already it is at 7.6ppm. Can I really be using this much?

Cal has a small uptake, but not near this amount.

 

[ludnix]

Are those measurements supposed to be in dkH? I retest my results if they are not what I expected, if they come back the same then I work out a plan of treatment. I found keeping alkaliity stable and near 9dkH to be a requirement of success with corals, even softies seem to benefit from the stable carbonates.

 

[rayn]

Those are dkh. I've been testing daily this past week and each day they drop by 1ppm. After dosing I give it a couple hours and retest and the results are higher as they should be.

 

[mort]

I'm actually the other way around. Fine with corals but scared of some fish (admitedly hard to keep species) as I don't see corals quite the same as fish. I think it's harder to think of them as animals I guess, although I'm still saddened if I lose one.

If your alk swings then I find corals do best if you minimise these swings especially for corals like duncans. I would do this by dosing less more often, I used to do this when I fed them but now have a doser. Once stability is maintained you should be fine to keep most corals.

 

[4FordFamily]

I've moved this direction over the years but I can keep some very difficult, high maintenance fish that many don't attempt. :shrug:

 

[BlueCursor]

You don't start off learning to play a piano by playing Bach! Start easy, gain knowledge and confidence, and move on to more difficult corals. My tank used to be predominately easy LPS, three years later it's predominately SPS.

 

[sde1500]

Got to say I'm sort of the opposite. I've only lost two corals, but have much worse luck with fish. Buying fish for me now is really stressful. And I love fish, but man....Don't like the process of getting them home, QT, praying they eat, etc.

 

[rayn]

Going out on a limb here! I also added a small, about ten head, drag of fire and ice zoa that are doing well

 

[mallorieGgator]

Yes and no. I think that is trial and error to some extent. Some people do better with different corals than other types. What happens to the coral can tell you alot about your tank too.

 

[CarrieB]

From my test result, I am going through minimum 1ppm of alk a day in this system, sometimes more. Yesterday it tested our at 9.2ppm and today already it is at 7.6ppm. Can I really be using this much?
.

What's your Magnesium at?

 

[jbow50]

So here is another reason behind my being coral chicken. Test results and tank usage.

I'm working with a 20L with two false percs, a small colony of gsp and like 3 zoa polyps. Rock was acid dipped and cycled well before ever going into the tank.

From my test result, I am going through minimum 1ppm of alk a day in this system, sometimes more. Yesterday it tested our at 9.2ppm and today already it is at 7.6ppm. Can I really be using this much?

Cal has a small uptake, but not near this amount.

That's not how alk works. This is probably why you can't keep anything besides soft corals. Hard corals need more stable alk than that big of a swing in such a small tank. You're probably meaning to say dkh which is much much greater than ppm. Your fluctuations are probably due to lighting throughout the day and if you don't have a fuge at night probably even more so.

 

[Rick.45cal]

I've never had much of a problem keeping fish or corals. That being said when I was younger I really enjoyed going and buying fish and corals, now it is probably my least favorite part of the hobby.

It's stressful these days buying livestock, both fish and corals. So many pests, invasive algaes, diseases have become more and more aggressive over the years. I don't enjoy the process anymore, I love all my animals very deeply and am very hard on myself (as I should be) for loosing and organism in my care, no matter their place on the food chain. I also don't want to purchase something I know nothing about so I am definitely not an impulse buyer. I also grew up working in this industry at a LFS and saw first hand how many people jump in feet first into this hobby and go overboard right away. I think the biggest/most important asset in this hobby is patience, fear of purchasing new livestock can actually help replace patience. (So that's kind of a plus).

I also am an artist and don't like looking at a 50 gallon tank that has 300 frags in it. I have a 200 gallon tank, people think that is a giant tank, but it is really still really limited space. So not buying new stuff all the time isn't a bad thing. I mostly enjoy watching my corals grow and change, I do enjoy fish, but my love has waned over the years. Marine fish can be a real heartache at times, and their behaviors/personalities can change over night. I'm writing this after hunting down and catching a very large angry purple tang from my display that just up and decided that he loved Micromussa Lordhowensis ALOT. It took me 5 days, but he is off to his new home. This is honestly not a new feeling I have had, once I started keeping corals I really fell in love with them, fish took a backseat and the corals became the priority.

Corals have been an adventure too. LPS are no sweat in my book, SPS are a whole other world of "worry and panic". Such fleeting objects of beauty that you can spend hundreds of dollars for a tiny nub, you can love and grow that nub into an amazing colony, beautiful and perfect in it's own unique way. Then wake up the next morning and they are all gone! I love them in everyway, but hate them in everyway, knowing that they likely won't be there forever and their demise ultimately will be my fault (more than likely). Kinda a tough pill to swallow after throwing thousands and thousands of dollars into little tiny nubs. But hey, it's a relaxing hobby!