Dendronephthya red

titi59 · Nov 2, 2015

Hello everyone, my pet sector will soon close (end of December) so, I have recovered a red Dendronephthya and soon I'll get red discosomas.

It is placed in the shade and under a gentle stirring, and fed three times a day with phytoplankton and alternately ,reef pearl and coral snow, I change the water once a week 30l, it's a 250l, hoping it takes, I recovered very bad way, completely on its side because they are not occupied, and retype it quite well and grows on nearby stones (like mini Dendronephthya).

But last night at the feeding, I found a tiny white crab with red stripes, the color of the Dendronephthya, is a symbiotic crab or I have to remove it?

When I got:

Now:

soggytees · Nov 3, 2015

Very cool! Do you have any pictures of the crab? Maybe someone from the [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] can help with the questions.

titi59 · Nov 3, 2015

I don't have a very good picture of the crab but i think it's a hoplophrys oatesii !

My picture (the crab is in the middle)

reefwiser · Nov 3, 2015

It does look like it. This soft coral is hard to keep as it is a filter feeder and needs a constant source of Plankton to survive. More than is possible in a home aquarium at the present time.

stunreefer · Nov 3, 2015

Awesome! They're symbiotic rather than parasitic. However keep an eye on it in case it begins to irritate coral.

titi59 · Nov 4, 2015

Yes I know, I fed three times a day)
I also think it's a symbiotic crab, I'll watch that!

i980311 · Nov 6, 2015

reefwiser said:
It does look like it. This soft coral is hard to keep as it is a filter feeder and needs a constant source of Plankton to survive. More than is possible in a home aquarium at the present time.

I'm sorry but this is a myth. NPS do not need constant food. I've several in my tank for more than a year and they live an grow (slowly but grow). They need to be spot fed once a day or 2 in 2 days, with the pumps of for a while and after that just the circulation pumps and after an hour you can turn the return pump on.
Just pay attention to PO and NO because of the extra food (that can include any food in market for filter feeders).