Wildeone's Newest Obsession

[wildeone]

I thought it would be a neat idea to do some research on each of the corals that I have in my tank. That way I can learn about them, everyone can chime in with their stories, opinions and experiences and others can use it in the future as a reference tool.

Here we go!

[wildeone]

Anthelia
(Waving Hand Coral)
Anthelia sp.

Taxonomy - Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Anthozoa Order: Alcyonacea Family: Xeniidae Genus: Anthelia Species: Sp.

Click to play movie...

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Anthelia is a relatively non-aggressive soft coral from the Indo-Pacific region. With it's gentle waving motion and typical eight tentacles on each polyp it makes a beautiful specimen for a reef aquarium. is known to be rather hardy and therefore makes a great coral for the beginning hobbyist.

Anthelia does best in a gentle current and high quality water. Specific gravity should be kept near 1.024 and a PH of 8.3 to 8.4.
Anthelia relies on photosynthesis for food production, so bright light is a must, although some metal halides may be too bright. In addition to photosynthesis, Anthelia relies on filtering of passing water for nutrients.

It is also said that by placing Anthelia in several locations that touch the back glass of a tank, it will grow to cover the back of the display. Anthelia may also require iodine supplements for optimum health.

Sources and More Information:
http://www.centralpets.com/animals/f...s/swi1732.html
http://www.petsolutions.com/Anthelia...-16165-C-.aspx

[wildeone]

Tank Levels - Still testing to find proper Kalk dosing level to determine the takeup.

SG 1.025
PH 8.06
Temp 81.7
Ca 450
Alk 3.89
dKH 10.9

Have not dosed Kalk for 4 days, having dosed last on the 22nd.

[gwen_o_lyn]

So are anthelia and xenia similar at all or completely different? Will anthelia suddenly crash like xenia can?

[wildeone]

I read that Anthelia and xenia are different species but very similar in nature. Some anthelia may even pulse.

[fat walrus]

Originally Posted by gwen_o_lyn

So are anthelia and xenia similar at all or completely different? Will anthelia suddenly crash like xenia can?

you can kiss off an entire colony with one water-change.

[V]

Originally Posted by fat walrus

you can kiss off an entire colony with one water-change.

hey blub, long time no see!
i dont get what this means my friend!
thanks for the info wildman, i like these reports, shows u care about the animals u keep + sharing the info u have learnt along the way!

[fat walrus]

Originally Posted by veriann

hey blub, long time no see!
i dont get what this means my friend!

it is in respond to gwen's question about their sensitivity. anthelias, like xenias are sometimes unforgiving to sudden water parameter changes. an ill-planned waterchange can kill off an entire colony.

[kj_yoda]

Looking great! Keep up the great work.

[wildeone]

I got a call on Friday afternoon from my 11 Year old daughter saying something wasn't right with the fish tank. She said the sump was filled to the top and the display was real low. I knew that I had lost my return pump (Rio). I only had about 3 hours left at work so I had her rig up a bubbler, turn on all my powerheads for flow and had he monitor the temps.

I didn't even think about the fact that I had a Seio pump high in the tank. My wife called me a couple hours later and told me that something was very wrong. The tank had so many bubbles in it that she couldnt even see inside. I heard a loud grinding noise in the background and realized that my Seio was pulling air.

I had her shut it all down except for one pump as I would be home within an hour. When I got home I found that we had a small power bump and I think the Rio didn't start back up. My other Rio that is on my skimmer came back on. I pulled the pump, cleaned it and it fired right up. I have been dosing Kalk and I admitt I probably should be cleaning the pumps more than I am.

In order to safeguard from this in the future, I am installing my flow switch so I get a page if it fails again. I am also installing a small UPS to carry me through small spikes. In additiona I will purchase a 3rd Rio pump and rotate, always having one at the ready. And finally I have relocated all powerheads lower in the tank to eliminate them pulling air in the event of a failure.

Everything in the tank was fine, short of some added stress, and a drop in PH. My Tank levels we just checked, Ca is at my low limit, I may need to dose Kalk.

PH 7.88
Temp 80.7
ALK 4.34
dKH 12.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Ca 350
SG 1.024
PO4 0

[wwest]

glad to hear everything is ok duane.

[fat walrus]

your aquarium seems to be in good condition because it seems like u have always came out of mishaps with no loss. keep up the good work.

[wildeone]

glad to hear everything is ok duane.

Looking great! Keep up the great work.

Thanks Kevin & Wesley I appreciate your comments and concern.

Xenia is back!
I actually found out about this a week ago and forgot to update my journal. The Xenia that gwen send me didn't look so good when I received it. I was told it was a tough creature to ship. Anyway I put it in my tank strapped to a rock, and the next day it was gone, nowhere to be found. Then last week my daughter and I were looking in the tank and I saw something in the rear moving around on a piece of missplace rubble. It was a small piece of the xenia. I moved the rock to the front of my tank and discovered another piece attached to the same rock. I was so happy to see that it had made it! Here is a photo, it is in the blue circle.

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Any Ideas on the Red Circle?

I have several of these on my rocks and they are hard to get a photo of with my camera. They are white and look like a tree. Any ideas?

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Aiptasia
I do believe my peppermint shrimp may be on strike,