hermit crabs and coralline?

[demonboy279]

i was just wondering if hermit crabs will stop my coralline from growing? ive got a 55 gallon tank with 11 hermits. my coralline is not growing yet. im still trying to get it to spread. i have 3 pieces of liverock that has coralline on it. i want it to spread. so will the hermits mess with the coralline or weill they not bother it?

thanks

o yea any advice on getting the coralline to spread would be greatly appreciated.

[DirtySouth056]

how long has it been setup?

[demonboy279]

the tank has been setup for about a month and a half. it has went through the cycle and ive already got 2 clownfish in there. and i have a baby feather duster grow off of a rock. and hes living so im pretty sure the water conditions are ok.

[Deacon]

I doubt if its the hermits stopping the coralline. You'd see areas of your existing coralline disappearing if your hermits were eating it. Some hermits will eat it however, but you'd see evidence of it.

You could try scraping some of your existing corraline off the rocks and letting it float around the tank. That can sometimes get the coralline to start in other areas of the tank.

[scrmbld33]

do you test for alk calcium and mag? if so what are your readings, these play a big roll in the growth

[demonboy279]

so how big of a spot and what would i use to scrape it with? how long does it usually take coralline to grow? anything i need to add for it?

[rustybucket145]

You need to test for Calcuim and Alkalinity. They are really the major deciding factors for coraline growth.

[4MB]

I just recently got coraline growing in my tank. Greens, purples, and reds. I read somewhere about scraping it so it could spread out in the tank. Did that almost a week ago and now have it starting on the glass, all over my rocks, powerheads. Now that it has a good base Ill let nature run its course.

[IslandCrow]

After only a month and a half I wasn't seeing very much new coraline growth either. I think you just need to give it some time. Around the three month point, it really started taking off for me without having to add any supplements and just doing weekly 10% water changes.

[demonboy279]

i dont have that test kit yet but i will get it as soon as i can. thanks.

i use instant ocean salt so its supposed to add that. ill check

thanks

[sir_dudeguy]

hey, i'm just wondering...does coralline have give any benefits to the tank? or does everyone just like it cuz it looks good?

[Deacon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7283779#post7283779 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demonboy279
so how big of a spot and what would i use to scrape it with? ...

I used a small knife and scraped maybe 2 square inches. Make sure you wash that knife after use because the salt water will rust the metal.

Good luck!

[ho bag]

After 2 months i just started to get green coarline growth on my glass and power heads and rock. I also have white, purple, and red in my tank on rocks as well. But not spreading yet.

[sttroyiii]

I started using Purple Up a month or so ago. It seems to help. Magnesium is supposed to help it grow, and PU has two forms of calciu m, plus Mg. From what Ive noticed, the colors other than purple occur with lower light levels. If I pick or turn one of my rocks, I see the greens, blues, yellows, pinks, etc. on the darker side. So you might consider upgrading your lights if you are getting colors other than purple out in the open. There is nothing wrong with those colors, its just an observation on my part. White is bleached, and will regain color eventually. The other colors might corrospond to lower flow as well, who knows. Make sure you blast your rocks with a turkey baster at least once a week as well.

[bjonesjr1]

Here's a picture of one of my rocks that really took off, on coraline growth... I really like that this rock has done this, and Its starting to spread to other rocks, which is really cool.

Here's the picture:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/1/116685mini-HPIM0624.JPG