One......or two more coral QT questions

[Matt Miller]

I've had some corals in qt for 2 weeks doing fine, but now I have some more coming Friday.
I've got some rfa's, mushrooms, zoas, gsp, kenya tree, bird's-nest and a bta (I know too soon, but I couldn't resist for the price). I will be able to keep a close eye on everything so if things start to go south I think I'll be ok.

My first question is should I put a little sand in for the RFA'S or will they, and everything else, be fine bb?

2nd question is about the RFA'S. Do they get the 14 day quarantine that is recommended for anemones or the full 45 with the rest?

 

[Ron Reefman]

The RFAa will be happier in a BB tank if you put them in a pvc pipe end cap. I even keep my 25+ RFAs in end caps placed in the sand of my DT (front left of the photo).

I'm not the person to ask about quarantine as I have no fixed rules. Most new things go in a holding tank for anywhere from a few days to several months before they get to the DT. The long timers are more due to my not really wanting them , but not ready to sell them yet.

 

[Matt Miller]

The RFAa will be happier in a BB tank if you put them in a pvc pipe end cap. I even keep my 25+ RFAs in end caps placed in the sand of my DT (front left of the photo).

I'm not the person to ask about quarantine as I have no fixed rules. Most new things go in a holding tank for anywhere from a few days to several months before they get to the DT. The long timers are more due to my not really wanting them , but not ready to sell them yet.

Oh I like that, thanks!

My original plan was to take the corals I've had it quarantine 2 weeks and put them in my tanks and keep the new in longer because they are from an online vendor, but I decided to leave them all together a bit longer.

So far everything has gone good and aside from buying a bta a little early I'm happy.

Thanks for the pointers, and love your tank!

 

[Matt Miller]

The RFAa will be happier in a BB tank if you put them in a pvc pipe end cap. I even keep my 25+ RFAs in end caps placed in the sand of my DT (front left of the photo).

I'm not the person to ask about quarantine as I have no fixed rules. Most new things go in a holding tank for anywhere from a few days to several months before they get to the DT. The long timers are more due to my not really wanting them , but not ready to sell them yet.

What size end caps do you use? I think I'm going to pick some up.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Oh I like that, thanks!

My original plan was to take the corals I've had it quarantine 2 weeks and put them in my tanks and keep the new in longer because they are from an online vendor, but I decided to leave them all together a bit longer.

So far everything has gone good and aside from buying a bta a little early I'm happy.

Thanks for the pointers, and love your tank!

Matt, I use sizes that are appropriate for their foot. I use some that are just a bit bigger and some that give room to grow. But honestly, I have only had one RFA move out. I even have 2 RFAs in one end cap from the time they were very young and small. They are both still in the same cup and look almost like just one big RFA!

There is a good thread with lots of good RFA info here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ron-reefmans-rock-flower-experience.409436/

And thanks for the compliment on the tank. You should see it in the evening. House lights out, dark outside and just blue leds over the tank. It looks like the planet Pandora at night from the movie Avatar!

 

[Matt Miller]

Matt, I use sizes that are appropriate for their foot. I use some that are just a bit bigger and some that give room to grow. But honestly, I have only had one RFA move out. I even have 2 RFAs in one end cap from the time they were very young and small. They are both still in the same cup and look almost like just one big RFA!

There is a good thread with lots of good RFA info here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ron-reefmans-rock-flower-experience.409436/

And thanks for the compliment on the tank. You should see it in the evening. House lights out, dark outside and just blue leds over the tank. It looks like the planet Pandora at night from the movie Avatar!

Thanks, I'll grab a few different sizes and just go from there.

I've read through your write up and seem to find a little new info each time. It's all very impressive and I will definitely keep going through it.

I bet that does look amazing in a dark room with blues on!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thanks, I'll grab a few different sizes and just go from there.

I've read through your write up and seem to find a little new info each time. It's all very impressive and I will definitely keep going through it.

I bet that does look amazing in a dark room with blues on!

I now pick 90% of my corals based on how well they fluoresce under blue leds!

I do the same with my RFAs except for one I got about 2 years ago. The oral disk is a deep purple/maroon color that I'd never seen before (or since) in any RFA. The oral disk doesn't fluoresce at all. But the tentacles are a gold color (not yellow ot a funny tan, but really gold. And they have tiny green specs in them as well. The tentacle fluoresce very well. But it's the color of the oral disk that really caught my attention. In the tank photo, it's in the front row and 3rd from the left. It doesn't look like much in that photo, but in person it's pretty cool.

The fun thing about RFAs is that so little is really known about them. Even now the gestation period from the time a male spawns to when the female releases new babies is mostly guess work. I've not been able to fine any scientific research on the subject. Currently my best guess is between 25 and 35 days based on anecdotal evidence in my tank.

And why the shallow water RFAs in 1 to 10 feet of water are so ordinary looking (very little flashy color but some very cool patterns in B&W) and yet deep water RFAs have all these flashy and fluorescent colors. As best as I've been able to find, they are the same species. But I haven't seen any evidence if they can even breed with each other.

 

[Matt Miller]

I now pick 90% of my corals based on how well they fluoresce under blue leds!

I do the same with my RFAs except for one I got about 2 years ago. The oral disk is a deep purple/maroon color that I'd never seen before (or since) in any RFA. The oral disk doesn't fluoresce at all. But the tentacles are a gold color (not yellow ot a funny tan, but really gold. And they have tiny green specs in them as well. The tentacle fluoresce very well. But it's the color of the oral disk that really caught my attention. In the tank photo, it's in the front row and 3rd from the left. It doesn't look like much in that photo, but in person it's pretty cool.

The fun thing about RFAs is that so little is really known about them. Even now the gestation period from the time a male spawns to when the female releases new babies is mostly guess work. I've not been able to fine any scientific research on the subject. Currently my best guess is between 25 and 35 days based on anecdotal evidence in my tank.

And why the shallow water RFAs in 1 to 10 feet of water are so ordinary looking (very little flashy color but some very cool patterns in B&W) and yet deep water RFAs have all these flashy and fluorescent colors. As best as I've been able to find, they are the same species. But I haven't seen any evidence if they can even breed with each other.

I do love the glow from the blues and am not far enough in to know how it's going to look in mine yet.

I think I have just about all I'm going to put into my tanks right now. I got my first bta a bit early, but I have a 2nd one lined up once I know I'm good for it. I also have another purple that ill get after everything is still going good.
I've got 3 coming today, they all look cool in the pics so hoping they look as good in person. I'm hoping I get both genders? Doesn't feel right saying that, but that would be cool if I ended up with babies someday.

I'm surprised as popular as they are there isn't a lot more information on them as nest as they are.

 

[Matt Miller]

@Ron Reefman

Any suggestions for the small green one? They were all open and looking good when I went to bed, even when the lights came on this morning, but now the green one has a gaping mouth and shrunk down a little.

The bubble tip ended up in the cap overnight and I relocated it to a separate cap in the same area. Should I try to feed or just monitor and hope for the best??

 

[Ron Reefman]

Anemones can be very slow to react and change. They can push their gut out of their oral opening and leave it out there for a day or more (we think it's a way to 'flush' stuff out). I'd just give yours a few days of rest. Anemones do not need to eat very often and feeding may do more harm than good.

Best of luck.

 

[Matt Miller]

Anemones can be very slow to react and change. They can push their gut out of their oral opening and leave it out there for a day or more (we think it's a way to 'flush' stuff out). I'd just give yours a few days of rest. Anemones do not need to eat very often and feeding may do more harm than good.

Best of luck.

Thanks, and it is already looking better!
I'll just try to leave them alone and keep watch.