Cycling with coral?

[synthetix21]

hello guys.
im very new to sw aquarium hobby.
my 1st experience in sw fishkeeping was when Finding Nemo came out long time ago. my dad brought me to the lfs and was super excited to see the nemos. was young, no money and no internet back then. only able to keep some fishes for a year (many deads too).

now im back to try again.
watched tons of youtube videos about sw fishkeeping, decided to go with fishes before corals.
told my brother about going into this hobby, because he goes fishing at sea once in awhile, told him maybe he can get some small fishes later from the ocean.

basically got all the stuffs needed to start cycling a new tank and also some test kits.
last week, my brother went fishing, he called, telling me to start cycling the tank.
because the tank is going to be new, i asked him not to get fishes instead get some tiny live rocks so maybe i can jumpstart the cycle.
idk, maybe he was being funny, brought me a live coral instead.

looks like a goniopora or a variant of it, but i could be wrong.
i put it in a QT tank with the sea water for several days, dips with coral revive for 15 mins, rinse it with fresh sw and put it in my display tank.
coral going in 4th day of tank cycle. pictures and videos below are on 5th day after about 20+ hrs.

what do u guys think, is it looking stressed? or normal?
the coral still looks almost exactly the same as when its arrived.
on the side (2nd row pics), its pale, or light colored, is it bleached? or just very young arms?
and brown-ish on the back side (3rd row pics), is it dying? or maybe was lacking lights?

and here is my water parameters.
Aquaforest Sea Salt mix.
4ft tank with 2 ft sump. about 280L - 300L sw in total.
SeaChem Ammonia badge only showing yellow (safe).
fishless cycling with small dead shrimp and daily dose with MicroBacter 7.
charts below only tested with API test kits. whatever available to me atm.

now it looks like im cycling with coral. what else should i do to keep this coral healthy? i have not yet feed anything to the coral, but i have the Red Sea Reef Energy Plus ready.
im still learning, i appreciate any inputs. thank you!

and sorry for the long post.

 

[mushrommy]

hello guys.
im very new to sw aquarium hobby.
my 1st experience in sw fishkeeping was when Finding Nemo came out long time ago. my dad brought me to the lfs and was super excited to see the nemos. was young, no money and no internet back then. only able to keep some fishes for a year (many deads too).

now im back to try again.
watched tons of youtube videos about sw fishkeeping, decided to go with fishes before corals.
told my brother about going into this hobby, because he goes fishing at sea once in awhile, told him maybe he can get some small fishes later from the ocean.

basically got all the stuffs needed to start cycling a new tank and also some test kits.
last week, my brother went fishing, he called, telling me to start cycling the tank.
because the tank is going to be new, i asked him not to get fishes instead get some tiny live rocks so maybe i can jumpstart the cycle.
idk, maybe he was being funny, brought me a live coral instead.

looks like a goniopora or a variant of it, but i could be wrong.
i put it in a QT tank with the sea water for several days, dips with coral revive for 15 mins, rinse it with fresh sw and put it in my display tank.
coral going in 4th day of tank cycle. pictures and videos below are on 5th day after about 20+ hrs.

what do u guys think, is it looking stressed? or normal?
the coral still looks almost exactly the same as when its arrived.
on the side (2nd row pics), its pale, or light colored, is it bleached? or just very young arms?
and brown-ish on the back side (3rd row pics), is it dying? or maybe was lacking lights?

and here is my water parameters.
Aquaforest Sea Salt mix.
4ft tank with 2 ft sump. about 280L - 300L sw in total.
SeaChem Ammonia badge only showing yellow (safe).
fishless cycling with small dead shrimp and daily dose with MicroBacter 7.
charts below only tested with API test kits. whatever available to me atm.

now it looks like im cycling with coral. what else should i do to keep this coral healthy? i have not yet feed anything to the coral, but i have the Red Sea Reef Energy Plus ready.
im still learning, i appreciate any inputs. thank you!

and sorry for the long post.

It's never good to cycle with coral! let alone with a goniopora!!! but the parameters look pretty good but soon may rise quickly! It's only your fourth day of cycling and you need to wait more time. if you have any reefing buddies ask them if they can take care of it for you. and avoid starting sps, try soft coral. they're extremely hard to kill and don't need calcium and alk. please give updates, I'd like to see what happens next. Just don't cycle with coral!

 

[mushrommy]

sorry I meant lps, gonioporas aren't sps but lps.

It's never good to cycle with coral! let alone with a goniopora!!! but the parameters look pretty good but soon may rise quickly! It's only your fourth day of cycling and you need to wait more time. if you have any reefing buddies ask them if they can take care of it for you. and avoid starting sps, try soft coral. they're extremely hard to kill and don't need calcium and alk. please give updates, I'd like to see what happens next. Just don't cycle with coral!

 

[synthetix21]

Thank you for your input. I understand goniopora is not a beginner coral. im new to this hobby, and unfortunately none of my friends are into this hobby, so no reefing buddies, yet. Nearby lfs are not that friendly people/workers, they are snobs, so i dont wanna put my trust on them.
This is what the coral looks like on 6th day, morning. They extend the arms a lil bit more. Is this a sign of them being comfortable? or looking for food?

Im also noticing one of my rock has brown patches on it. Could it be diatoms? or some kind of algae?
probably have been there for a couple of days, im just noticing it now.

 

[bushdoc]

Yes, looks like diatoms , which on one side is good as they are harmless, but also means that your journey to mature tank is on the first gear so to speak and many other fazes to follow.
There is a whole thread about introducing corals to uncycled tank:

Is it a myth that tanks need to be cycled for corals?

Recently I set up a small pico tank with my roommate. We had some disagreements over it but I insisted it needed to be cycled before adding any sort of livestock including corals. My roommate disagreed and has had a tank before that he never cycled and he says his corals did just fine (he...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I'd return the coral to the store; gonis are finicky at best and you're asking for trouble trying to keep one in an immature tank...

 

[mushrommy]

Thank you for your input. I understand goniopora is not a beginner coral. im new to this hobby, and unfortunately none of my friends are into this hobby, so no reefing buddies, yet. Nearby lfs are not that friendly people/workers, they are snobs, so i dont wanna put my trust on them.
This is what the coral looks like on 6th day, morning. They extend the arms a lil bit more. Is this a sign of them being comfortable? or looking for food?

Im also noticing one of my rock has brown patches on it. Could it be diatoms? or some kind of algae?
probably have been there for a couple of days, im just noticing it now.

well, good luck! goni's have a bad reputation for closing for no reason. try spot feeding it with meaty food or lps pellets. It will heighten the chance of survival. Diatoms are a good sign of your tank starting to cycle. And yeah, I'd never trust a store to borrow unless you know the owner very well. They might as well sell it if given the chance. But do try spot feeding, it will increase the survival chance of goni's. At least that's what I've heard. spot feed it twice a week.
Also, long floofy polyps are a good sign! good luck!

 

[mushrommy]

I'd return the coral to the store; gonis are finicky at best and you're asking for trouble trying to keep one in an immature tank...

His brother brought it for him from the ocean
don't worry, in most places, it's legal to take gonis. I think!

 

[pennied]

Well mistake number 1!

 

[mushrommy]

Well mistake number 1!

The hobby is all about mistakes! Mine was putting cerith snails with blue leg hermits. Many lives were lost that day so now I only keep trochus snails with my hermits. It's all about learning from mistakes. I hope the goni is going to live and do well!

 

[pennied]

The hobby is all about mistakes! Mine was putting cerith snails with blue leg hermits. Many lives were lost that day so now I only keep trochus snails with my hermits. It's all about learning from mistakes. I hope the goni is going to live and do well!

It won’t and is gonna die most likely. A healthy goni alone is one of the Morse difficult corals to even keep. As other suggested, should take it back or give it to someone that can properly care for it. Also, this hobby isn’t all about mistakes at the expense of life…

There are a plethora of stickies on how to start a saltwater aquarium properly to be successful. I would suggest you start there!

 

[mushrommy]

It won’t and is gonna die most likely. A healthy goni alone is one of the Morse difficult corals to even keep. As other suggested, should take it back or give it to someone that can properly care for it. Also, this hobby isn’t all about mistakes at the expense of life…

There are a plethora of stickies on how to start a saltwater aquarium properly to be successful. I would suggest you start there!

Well, I was trying to lighten the mood! But yet you are right. I have a lot of doubts that it will live. From what I read it dies on people.

 

[synthetix21]

thank you all for the inputs.
yes, my brother brought it from the ocean, and its gonna take 2+ hrs of drive to bring back to the ocean where it came from.
and i have no reefing buddies to care for it.
so i guess, i will just try my best to keep it alive and healthy. however it may be.
this is how they look today.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

The hobby is all about mistakes! Mine was putting cerith snails with blue leg hermits. Many lives were lost that day so now I only keep trochus snails with my hermits. It's all about learning from mistakes. I hope the goni is going to live and do well!

15 years in and I just learned why I can't keep a cerith snail alive.

 

[mushrommy]

thank you all for the inputs.
yes, my brother brought it from the ocean, and its gonna take 2+ hrs of drive to bring back to the ocean where it came from.
and i have no reefing buddies to care for it.
so i guess, i will just try my best to keep it alive and healthy. however it may be.
this is how they look today.

Welp, good luck. It most likely will die but there is maybe the slightest chance it'll survive!

 

[mushrommy]

thank you all for the inputs.
yes, my brother brought it from the ocean, and its gonna take 2+ hrs of drive to bring back to the ocean where it came from.
and i have no reefing buddies to care for it.
so i guess, i will just try my best to keep it alive and healthy. however it may be.
this is how they look today.

Are there any updates? How's the coral doing. It dead?

 

[synthetix21]

U wanting it to be dead?
Bad news for u, its still alive and well. Hehe.
Pls dont mind the dirty glass.

 

[mushrommy]

U wanting it to be dead?
Bad news for u, its still alive and well. Hehe.
Pls dont mind the dirty glass.

Er me gerd! You got to be so lucky! And it's absolutely gorgeous!

 

[FishyThings]

U wanting it to be dead?
Bad news for u, its still alive and well. Hehe.
Pls dont mind the dirty glass.

You said your brother got this from the ocean? If you dont mind me asking, what country are you from?

 

[synthetix21]

Er me gerd! You got to be so lucky! And it's absolutely gorgeous!

Not so much luck with fish though. Lol.

You said your brother got this from the ocean? If you dont mind me asking, what country are you from?

Yes. Im from Malaysia.