a few total newbie questions...

[soulbereaver]

ok, first how long does it usually take for coraline (purple stuff) to start growing on back of tank and base rock? I have about 60 lbs of live rock, well established already.

second, how much light does coraline generally need per day? I have two 250W metal halides over a 75 gallon tank.

thirdly, are there any worms known for eating small anenome's like aptasia? And also has anyone ever known aptasia to be harmful to smaller fish?

thanks much for any answers/input you have.

Craig

[HappySkittles]

im not sure how long it takes for it to grow
but if you have high calcium that is what it really needs to grow
i think your lights are good

as for aptasia...peppermint shrimp eat that

[jimbo78]

keep your calcium above 400 and the coraline should start showing up pretty soon, if there is some in the rocks already you can scrape some of it with a razor blade or knife and it will break up and help seed the rest of the tank. you have plenty of light

as far as the aptisia, some people have luck with peppermint shrimp, but its kinda hit or miss. i dont know of any worms that eat it , but you could always use aptisiaX or joes juice or kalk paste, or some people even use super glue gel to kill them with.

[stingythingy45]

"ok, first how long does it usually take for coraline (purple stuff) to start growing on back of tank and base rock? I have about 60 lbs of live rock, well established already."

It depends how your calcium,magnesium and alk levels are.
And if you already have some coralline growing on a rock in the tank.For me growth on the glass was the last place it started.
And that was about 3 months.

"second, how much light does coraline generally need per day? I have two 250W metal halides over a 75 gallon tank."

I have coralline growing in oth my refugium(65 watt) and my QT tank.It doesn't need that much light to grow.Most often it seems to like actinic lighting.

"thirdly, are there any worms known for eating small anenome's like aptasia? And also has anyone ever known aptasia to be harmful to smaller fish?"

There's a type of nudibranch(bergia or something like that) that will eat aiptasia.
Most hobbyest use an army of peppermint shrimp.
It would have to be an extremely large one.But,I've never read of one eating a fish yet.

[soulbereaver]

actually i don't have an aptasia problem, just have one big one right now, and i'm not too worried about killing it cause something is chomping on it at least one a week. I don't think it's a peppermint since I've had the tank for a month, and watch it very closely and have NEVER seen a shrimp... haven't observed with lights off yet though. Also, something recenly attacked my fish and I was wondering if a large aptasia could be lethal to a small fish like a chromie...

Otherwise i have a bigger problem and have some preditor in my tank... crab or mantis or something. Hoping that's not the case.

[stingythingy45]

If I were you,i'd get some Joe's Juice and kill that aptasia right away.They can spread through a tank like wildfire.

Check you tank with a red flashlight at night.
Also listen for clicking,it could be a mantis shrimp.

[soulbereaver]

OMG really?? clicking? I heard clicking when i was aquascaping my tank!! I figured it was just little bubbles popping in the poors of the rock! I bet it is a damn mantis... what's the best way to catch a mantis? Obviously i'm not adding a thing to my tank until this little assassin is taken care of!

[HappySkittles]

snapping/popping could be a mantis OR a pistol shrimp

[soulbereaver]

yeah but i've never heard of a pistol shrimp eating chromies

[budbreak96]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13340995#post13340995 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stingythingy45
If I were you,i'd get some Joe's Juice and kill that aptasia right away.They can spread through a tank like wildfire.

Check you tank with a red flashlight at night.
Also listen for clicking,it could be a mantis shrimp.

WHat does the red flashlight do? WHy cant you just look with a regular flashlight?

[jbc123]

Red lights are low in the spectrum and most nocturnal critters can't see it.

[HappySkittles]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13341793#post13341793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by soulbereaver
yeah but i've never heard of a pistol shrimp eating chromies

oh its already eaten a fish? then its probably a mantis

[fivesmallworlds]

Yup, the red light will help you tell for sure what's lurking around during the night time. DEFINITELY kill that aptasia and NOW! Once they get big they just explode into hundreds very quickly. Don't wait for something that may be eating at it. If it hasn't killed it yet it's just irritating the aptasia which could cause it to start spreading sooner rather than later.

[fivesmallworlds]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13340931#post13340931 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jimbo78
some people have luck with peppermint shrimp, but its kinda hit or miss.

This is usually because people mistake the camel back shrimp for peppermint shrimp. The camel back has no interest whatsoever in aptasia. Personally I haven't had a peppy that hasn't gone straight for any aptasia it can find.

[Robin764]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13343743#post13343743 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fivesmallworlds
This is usually because people mistake the camel back shrimp for peppermint shrimp. The camel back has no interest whatsoever in aptasia. Personally I haven't had a peppy that hasn't gone straight for any aptasia it can find.

Same here
My pep went straight for my bta when I added it as well. Actually held onto a tenticle for a minute before he decided it wasn't such a good idea, lol. I have had 100% success with peppermint shrimp as well.