So I recently stumbled upon a Blueberry sea fan. I have always wanted one since the first time I seen a picture of one. It is so infrequently available and often in very very poor shape\almost dead. The very few times I have seen it (Three to be exact including this time) I passed it up because of this. So when i seen this one at a local fish store and it was in good shape as they had just gotten them in I decided to take the plunge and get it. I normally don't like things like this because of its poor and spotty survival rate. But with my experience level and the fact that I have read the crap out of them for years, I decided to try it out as I have always wanted one and was fully researched on them.
So I decided to turn this into a learning experience for those that are interested in keeping NPS
(non-photosynthetic) like this.
NPS corals lack symbiotic zooxanthellae algae therefore they are sometimes referred to as “azooxanthallae corals. Because of this they need to almost constantly feeding or they dwindle and die. These corals should NOT be kept by those that are new to this hobby and who lack experience. They HAVE to be kept in a stable aged system or a dedicated to NPS coral tank. Because of the specific requirements for husbandry they are advanced corals and are not for beginners. So unless you have experience and are willing to go the extra mile for care leave them in the ocean.
With that being said. When you are buying corals like this you need to make sure to visually go over them before you buy. You need to make sure the coral is not breaking down or dying and that the polyps are extended and the coral is not covered in algae. In a case like a sea fan the tissue will be flaking off the inner gorgonian core if it is dying. Check out how the polyps look. Are they feathery or are they stumpy. Stumpy means the coral is starving and has broken down itself in order to reduce the amount of tissue in order to reduce the energy and metabolic needs of the coral. So it has a change to survive. The coral at this point is not dying yet it just needs food. NPS corals need high flow to constantly bring food to it. Size of food and flow rate are important. To high or low a flow will not allow for proper polyp extension and the coral will not be able to feed. Food size is also important. To large a size and it will clog the polyp limiting feeding. If the food particle is to large it will be rejected as well. Problem is this process uses up energy that the coral needs to survive. So you need to figure out what the coral needs. You can visually look at the polyp and make sure the polyp is open and not folded upon itself. If it is it is to much flow. In a case like the blueberry sea fan it looks feathery so it is a good indicator it needs to feed on fine particulate matter. So foods like reef roids, marine snow by two little fishes, Phyto\zoe plankton, food from Reef Nutrition like Oyster feast, Roti-feast and R.O.E are great foods for this. As well as live new brine shrimp that has been fortified and feed zooplankton or one of the before mentioned food can also be fed. Another important food source is detritus. It is nutrient packed and is the perfect size and is readily accepted. You need to space things out throughout the day so so you have a steady supply of food. You can do it manually or you can do a DIY refrigerated auto feeder like in the link below.
Something to keep in mind is the load all the extra feeding will put on your system. This is why it needs to be in an aged system as this is typically more stable then a new system. Even better is a dedicated NPS system where large water changes and chemical filtration can be used to reduce the nutrient level. I myself have a large fuge with lots of macro algae that I remove weekly. I do 30 gallon water change weekly. My fuge produces lots of live foods for the corals to snack on.
I have had the blueberry for about a week now and so far the sea fan is doing very well in my tank. I went back to look at the other ones at the local fish store and they were in a very sad sate and will probably be gone soon. I see huge improvement in mine and it is going good so far. We will just have to see how well it does long term. I placed mine on the substrate in high random flow. The wave like motion of my Vortech pumps helps keep the polyps evenly bathed in water flow and incoming food. Making sure each polyp is getting its fill. For now I am manually adding the food but in time i will look at one of the automated options. I feed in the morning, after work and just before lights out. This will make sure food is in the water at all times keeping the polyps out and feeding. If I don't the polyps close up using up the much needed energy budget. Here's to hoping things turn out for the best.
http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/249-refrigerated-automated-feeding-system
So I decided to turn this into a learning experience for those that are interested in keeping NPS
(non-photosynthetic) like this.
NPS corals lack symbiotic zooxanthellae algae therefore they are sometimes referred to as “azooxanthallae corals. Because of this they need to almost constantly feeding or they dwindle and die. These corals should NOT be kept by those that are new to this hobby and who lack experience. They HAVE to be kept in a stable aged system or a dedicated to NPS coral tank. Because of the specific requirements for husbandry they are advanced corals and are not for beginners. So unless you have experience and are willing to go the extra mile for care leave them in the ocean.
With that being said. When you are buying corals like this you need to make sure to visually go over them before you buy. You need to make sure the coral is not breaking down or dying and that the polyps are extended and the coral is not covered in algae. In a case like a sea fan the tissue will be flaking off the inner gorgonian core if it is dying. Check out how the polyps look. Are they feathery or are they stumpy. Stumpy means the coral is starving and has broken down itself in order to reduce the amount of tissue in order to reduce the energy and metabolic needs of the coral. So it has a change to survive. The coral at this point is not dying yet it just needs food. NPS corals need high flow to constantly bring food to it. Size of food and flow rate are important. To high or low a flow will not allow for proper polyp extension and the coral will not be able to feed. Food size is also important. To large a size and it will clog the polyp limiting feeding. If the food particle is to large it will be rejected as well. Problem is this process uses up energy that the coral needs to survive. So you need to figure out what the coral needs. You can visually look at the polyp and make sure the polyp is open and not folded upon itself. If it is it is to much flow. In a case like the blueberry sea fan it looks feathery so it is a good indicator it needs to feed on fine particulate matter. So foods like reef roids, marine snow by two little fishes, Phyto\zoe plankton, food from Reef Nutrition like Oyster feast, Roti-feast and R.O.E are great foods for this. As well as live new brine shrimp that has been fortified and feed zooplankton or one of the before mentioned food can also be fed. Another important food source is detritus. It is nutrient packed and is the perfect size and is readily accepted. You need to space things out throughout the day so so you have a steady supply of food. You can do it manually or you can do a DIY refrigerated auto feeder like in the link below.
Something to keep in mind is the load all the extra feeding will put on your system. This is why it needs to be in an aged system as this is typically more stable then a new system. Even better is a dedicated NPS system where large water changes and chemical filtration can be used to reduce the nutrient level. I myself have a large fuge with lots of macro algae that I remove weekly. I do 30 gallon water change weekly. My fuge produces lots of live foods for the corals to snack on.
I have had the blueberry for about a week now and so far the sea fan is doing very well in my tank. I went back to look at the other ones at the local fish store and they were in a very sad sate and will probably be gone soon. I see huge improvement in mine and it is going good so far. We will just have to see how well it does long term. I placed mine on the substrate in high random flow. The wave like motion of my Vortech pumps helps keep the polyps evenly bathed in water flow and incoming food. Making sure each polyp is getting its fill. For now I am manually adding the food but in time i will look at one of the automated options. I feed in the morning, after work and just before lights out. This will make sure food is in the water at all times keeping the polyps out and feeding. If I don't the polyps close up using up the much needed energy budget. Here's to hoping things turn out for the best.
http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/249-refrigerated-automated-feeding-system
