Same experience here...I had a powder blue, yellow and yellow eye kole. I've got a purple fire fish that I almost never saw. He stays out swimming all around the tank now. I've got a lawnmower blenny and used to have a tuxedo urchin. Once I see more algae growing on the rocks I'll probably get another urchin.
For those interested here's some of the research papers showing the problems caused by high nitrates and/or low phosphates, as well as showing the probelms with dosing nitrates and/or phosphates. Best source of both is from fish poop. WHile the majority of research is done on wild corals in aquaria the work done by SOuthampton Univeristy in England was done with corals maintianed for a minimum of 2 years in a closed and closely monitored reef system:
Southampton University:
Phosphate Deficiency:
Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching:
Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont:
Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont
Reef building corals associated with symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) can access environmental nutrients from different sources, most significantly via the uptake of dissolved inorganic nutrients by the algal symbiont and heterotrophic feeding of the coral host. Climate change is expected to...www.frontiersin.org
Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates
Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates
Enrichment of reef environments with dissolved inorganic nutrients is considered a major threat to the survival of corals living in symbiosis with din…www.sciencedirect.com
D'angelo, C., & Wiedenmann, J. (2012). An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92(4), 769-775. doi:10.1017/S0025315411001883
******************************************An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom | Cambridge Core
An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals - Volume 92 Issue 4www.cambridge.org
Nitrate enhancment inhibits carbon fixation (calcification) Ammonium is better than nitrate
Nitrate or nitrate and phosphate additions decreased calcification while phosphate alone additions increased calcification
Context-dependent effects of nutrient loading on the coral-algal mutualism | Request PDF
Request PDF | Context-dependent effects of nutrient loading on the coral-algal mutualism | Human-mediated increases in nutrient availability alter patterns of primary production, impact species diversity, and threaten ecosystem function.... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on...www.researchgate.net
Nutrient availability, specifically the forms and ratios of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, mediates algal symbiont parasitism
Nutrient Availability and Metabolism Affect the Stability of Coral–Symbiodiniaceae Symbioses
Coral reefs rely upon the highly optimized coral–Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis, making them sensitive to environmental change and susceptible to anthropog…
Nitrate and Iron enhancments inhibit growth
Response of a scleractinian coral, Stylophora pistillata, to iron and nitrate enrichment
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the addition of iron alone or in combination with nitrate affects growth and photosynthesis of the …
Additionally, research shows the benefits of feeding corals is species specific and more likley than not has either no effect or a negative effect on coral growth
Coral farming: effects of light, water motion and artificial foods
Improved coral cultivation will facilitate the reduction of wild harvesting, reef restoration, preservation of biodiversity, and the use of corals as model experimental organisms. In this study, we examine species-specific responses in growth andwww.academia.edu
And , keep in mind corals have simbiotic diazatrophs that assimilate dinitrogen (N2, free nitrogen) for the coral
Diazotrophs: a non-negligible source of nitrogen for the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata - PubMed
Corals are mixotrophs: they are able to fix inorganic carbon through the activity of their symbiotic dinoflagellates and to gain nitrogen from predation on plankton and uptake of dissolved organic and inorganic nutrients. They also live in close association with diverse diazotrophic communities...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Yep, mine spent most of it's time on the rocks.
