New Biota Group Acro ID Help

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Hey all,

I'm no SPS expert and I'm not a newbie either. I purchased a few Biota group corals and they'll be here tomorrow (today as of this post). Curious if anyone can ID these as far as general type, tenuis, Mille, etc.

Also, I've heard a rumor that it's best to remove these from the frag plug they use as it leaches some element that causes them to die? Any advice on this?

Really appreciate your help on this.

 

[Kasrift]

First one looks like a mille just based on the thin white feeder polyps you can see. Third and fourth look like tenuis to me. Second one, not sure, acropora tortusa?

 

[Kasrift]

Second one could be acropora samoensis http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_summary/acropora-samoensis/. I can't quite place it, but the coralitte structure is familiar. I'm looking through Biotas site for similar ones. Just make sure to dip.

I dunno why, but the third picture on the right branch halfway up, that little red thing looks like a flatworm right below where the Skeleton looks white.

 

[sculpin01]

I would guess: 1) millepora 2) nasuta 3) tenuis 4) tenuis.

Be sure to dip these upon receipt (I like potassium chloride 10 g/L tank water for 5 minutes, personally) and consider removing them from their bases (where AEFW eggs tend to hide).

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Hey all,

So my SPS order came in. It was shipped regular UPS overnight and it didn't arrive until about 5 pm the next day and it was cold outside.

One bag was leaking real bad and all water was out of the bag and in the cooler. The corals were pretty cold as the heat packs were soaked and submerged.

With that said, here are the corals as of today. They've been in the tank about 3 days. Would like some feedback on their health. They have a 7 day guarantee. I reported the cold water and waterless one Coral. They said "SPS do very well in no water for very long periods of time." I would disagree, but........ Here are some pics.

The white one you see is the most worrysome. It has recovered a little bit of color, but doesn't look good in my opinion. See the Biota pics in the first post.

Also, I can't tell, but are the spots flat worms? Maybe I don't know what I'm looking for? Just curious what you think of the overall health.

Paramaeters are:

Phosphate 0.03
Nitrate - 4.9

 

[Kasrift]

They look healthier than I would suspect, polyps are out and all. Those spots on the last several pics do look like flatworms. Did you dip at all or were you worried they were too stressed from cold water? If you did dip prior, did anything come off?

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

They look healthier than I would suspect, polyps are out and all. Those spots on the last several pics do look like flatworms. Did you dip at all or were you worried they were too stressed from cold water? If you did dip prior, did anything come off?

I have them at the bottom of the tank under dual ReefBrite DE 250w 14k Hamilton bulb fixtures. It's a Red Sea Reefer XL 300 G2. I have 4 Ecotech Vortech MP40QDs for flow. So they are definitely getting enough non-direct flow.

Yeah, they suggest against dipping, but there's no way I was going to chance that. A bunch came off, along with bristle worms, etc. Honestly, they were loaded.

I'm afraid to give them another dip this soon. *$#&#, what's the chance of spreading those, never had flat worms. I so have a leopard wrasse, but I haven't seen him near them.

My bi-color Foxface and Yellow Scopas Tang won't leave them. They keep trying to eat something off the frag plugs. Algae I suspect.

Here's a Pic of one that came off, many more did too. Appreciate your feedback.

 

[homer1475]

I see some flatowrms too. Leopards aren't the best pest hunters, but they will eat flatworms.

I would have to agree with them to be honest. Many SPS are exposed for many hours of the day during low tide. I have a WD, and pink the bear that are exposed to the air for about an hour every week when I do a WC, and they just slime up. Been fine for years.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I see some flatowrms too. Leopards are the best pest hunters, but they will eat flatworms.

I would have to agree with them to be honest. Many SPS are exposed for many hours of the day during low tide. I have a WD, and pink the bear that are exposed to the air for about an hour every week when I do a WC, and they just slime up. Been fine for years.

Yeah, no worries Homer, just curious from the Reefers like you that have kept Acros a long time. Any tips you would suggest for these and how to get rid of the flatworms?

I've enjoyed dealing with Biota, just wish they wouldn't have been loaded with pests. To be Maricultured, I just want tiem to survive and thrive.

I can tell you that I had only 4 ORA Acro frags and my calcium usage was virtually 0 even through the frags are growing good. Since adding these 4 colonies, the calcium usage has skyrocketed! Happy to see that.

I'm excited to see where these go and would love some advice if anyone has any from what I'm currently doing.

 

[homer1475]

Honestly the best thing I ever did for my tank and acro's.....

Running ALK closer to NSW levels.

No really, I had issues early on as many people do with SPS, but most would survive. After dropping my ALK levels down to 7 to 7.5, I haven't lost a frag in many years.

I would keep dipping for the FW, remove the plugs they came on, and inspect for eggs.

A great pest hunter would be something in the halichoeres family, like a yellow corris if you have the room for one.

 

[homer1475]

A well established, fully stocked tank that is basically hands off, is about the best thing you can do for SPS. LOL

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Great, appreciate the info. Just force them off the plugs? They're clear plugs thru came on.

I'll probably have to change salts to get that low on Alk. I use Red Sea Blue Bucket.

Why do you thing lower alk helped? Always like to learn.

 

[homer1475]

If you like the salt, but hate the ALK. Just use some acid to lower the ALK when you mix it.

Easy peasy.

I use muriatic acid I buy at my local Ace hardware. A gallon lasts me a couple years, it doesn't take much.

Transchem Muriatic Acid 1 gal Liquid - Ace Hardware

Professional Strength 31.45% HCL (Muriatic Acid), excellent for pH reduction in swimming pools or to clean and etch masonry surfaces, excellent for pH reduction in all commercial and residential pools.Find the ACID MURIATIC GAL at Ace.

www.acehardware.com

water volume x alk drop x .123 = volume of acid to add in ML.

Never add to tank with livestock, the PH drop will kill things. With that said, you just need to mix well for a while to bring the PH of your WC water back up to a normal level.

I use plane jane purple box IO and lower the alk on every batch. Been doing it for many years without issue.

One of the reasons I like to reef is the science behind it, adding acid to my WC is a science geek thing. LOL

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Funny you would mention the instant ocean. I was thinking of switching to that so I could dose more effectivly. Think I'm going to since you've done it.

Thanks again.

 

[homer1475]

I think you'll find many old school reefers use IO. It was around when we started, it's what our LFS used, it was out before many other brands were, It's been around forever, is readily available at any pet store, every batch is extremely consistent(so much so I rarely test mine any more. I know my "recipe" and just blindly add a measured amount of acid, and calcium. It's always very close), and is cheap.

I've used just about every salt out there over the years, never noticed any difference between any of the major brands.

I always come back to IO because of the above.