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Blastomussa merleti health  10/25/07 Cheers Crew. <good morning> Someone was breaking down a tank and gave me a small (5 or so polyps) Blastomussa Merleti frag. The polyps were very full when I got it. Since adding it to my tank after quarantine, however, it is not faring so well, as the polyps are not nearly as full and portions of the skeleton/cup are visible. <What kind of system was it in before you got it? i.e. what lighting was it previously under?> I have a 110g display with a 30g fuge (4-5" DSB, Chaeto and LR) and 85lbs of LR. Lighting is six 54W T5 HO (4 10000Ks and 2 460nm actinics). Mechanical filtration is a wet-dry trickle filter and a Coral Life Super Skimmer. I run carbon in the sump that I change out every 4 weeks. Flow is via a Little Giant 1345 gph return pump, 2 MaxiJet 1200s, 1 MaxiJet 900 and one cheapo low-flow powerhead that I threw in for good measure. <This is still probably not quite enough water flow for a 110g reef tank. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/circmarart.htm  and if you have the time/interest... http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/1/aafeature > Livestock is a Sailfin Tang (I know . . .), Gold Stripe Maroon Clown and BTA, Royal Gramma, Brown Comb Tooth Blenny, Yellow Canary Wrasse, Filament Flasher Wrasse, a Citron Goby, 2 Cleaner Shrimps, a Sally Lightfoot, 2 unknown tree corals, a Lemnalia tree coral, two small groups of Pulsing Xenia, 6 Green Hairy Mushrooms, 5 red Shrooms, 2 Ricordea Shrooms, and 4 unknown Shrooms. I use RO/DI for top-off and water changes (10% per week). I dose with B-Ionic 2-part calcium/buffer as needed with testing and Kent iodine one per week with water changes. <No more iodine. Or, please at least test the iodine levels in your tank first. For some further reading on iodine: http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/chem.htm> Water parameters are: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate (SeaChem) all 0ppm, phosphate (Salifert) 0ppm, calcium (Red Sea) 400, pH (SeaChem) 8.3, SPG is 1.024-1.025, Alk (SeaChem) is 3.5-4 mEq/L, and temp is 78-80. Based on these readings and a ton of Coralline Algae on my LR and glass, I believe that my water quality is excellent. <::sigh:: Well, I will agree that the results of your test kits do not raise any alarms.> I've read that Blasto Merleti like low flow and low to moderate lighting, so I figured that my T5 setup would be acceptable. Initially, I placed the coral in the lower portion of my tank but have since moved it to the upper third to see if the increased lighting might help. I have seen nominal improvement. I have also read that supplemental feeding is not required, as this coral is primarily a photosynthetic feeder, but I've also read that target feeding with Mysis is not discouraged either. <Hmmm, where did you read that they are "primarily a photosynthetic feeder"? I would have to disagree with that. Yes, these corals can be slowly acclimated to tolerate intense light. However, usually coming from mid-level waters, they prefer less light (or indirect light). They extend extensive feeding tentacles at night and have strong prey capture ability. As a side note, the phrase "photosynthetic feeder" makes no sense. Animals do not feed photosynthetically. If they are photosynthetic, they convert light energy into chemical energy and store it in the form of ATP. Feeding is when an animal metabolizes organic matter from another organism. An animal can't "feed" on sunlight.> I've tried to target feed the coral, but it doesn't seem to eat the food. I target feed whole Cyclop-eeze to my tree corals, so I would think that some of the free floating particles are available for the Blasto Merleti for what that's worth. <When did you attempt to target feed the coral? If you tried to feed it during the day, this might explain why you didn't have much luck. You should try feeding the coral a few hours after lights out. It might not start feeding right away, but if you're consistent, it should start to respond in a few days or weeks. Please see here for some coral feeding tips: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fdreefinverts.htm> Any ideas on what might be going on or what I can do to improve this coral's health? <My guess is that the coral is stressed and/or starving. I would move it slowly back down from the light and start trying to target feed it at night.> The only thing I can think of other than that maybe my lighting is not sufficient is that it is positioned near my Green Hairy Mushrooms, but not right on top of them or anything. When it was in the bottom of my tank, it was not near any Shrooms. <It is a good idea to keep it away from the mushroom corals. Though they might not kill the B. merleti, they'll compete with it for space as they grow.> As always, I appreciate your help. Andy <My pleasure, Sara M.>
Re: Blasto Merleti... fdg.  10/25/07 Dear Sara, Sorry--"I've read that they feed primarily through photosynthesis." I hope that makes more sense to the scientists among you--It is clear from your response that you understood what this fledgling was attempting to say. <Yes, I do understand what you're trying to say. If you'd like to say what you want to say correctly, saying "I've read that they obtain most their energy needs through photosynthesis" would be more accurate. :-) > I did take biology in 9th grade, but it's been 20 years so I am sometimes not as accurate as I should be. I'm just going to warn you now in the event you have to respond to any of my future questions that I never took Latin nor did I take any classes in college of the type that would have exposed me to the manner in which Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species should be referenced ;-p. <No worries. I apologize if you found my clarifications of the science here to be pedantic.> Now, turning to your questions/comments. In all seriousness, thanks for the help that is embedded in your other comments. I see now that I was not feeding this coral at the right time and I will try to feed after lights-out (if I can stay up that late). <No need to stay up too late if you adjust your lighting schedule so that the lights go off towards the end of the afternoon (maybe 6 or 7 pm).> First, prior to my acquisition, the coral was living on the outer edges of MH lighting (probably 250W, but I must confess that I have no clue). I'm sure some of its issues are that it needs to adjust to my environment. <Probably> Second, I read that Blasto. Merleti primarily feed through photosynthesis on: 1. Liveaquaria.com: <Ugh, unfortunately, this is not exactly an authoritative source of information.> "Its body contains the symbiotic algae Zooxanthellae from which it receives the majority of its nutritional requirements through photosynthesis. <Wow, this is just wrong. Corals do not obtain their "nutritional requirements" from photosynthesis.> It does not require additional food to maintain its health in the reef aquarium,  <This could be true if the tank as a whole is well feed. In well-fed tanks, healthy colonies of these corals can get all they need without target feeding. For some good general information on how to feed a reef tank, please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/Progressive_Recipe/Progressive_Recipe.htm> but it will feed on micro-plankton or foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates." 2. Reefcorner.com: "Feeding: Blastomussa is photosynthetic and does not take any known foods." <Again, just flat out wrong.> 3. On WWM (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mussidae.htm): "Though all are hermatypic, photosynthetic, most are voracious feeders of meaty foods." <Yes, this is accurate.> And the same on many other sites. After searching again today, I found a post from Anthony Calfo: "The real key to success with these (and most) corals is feeding. 3-5 times weekly ideally (or more). Use meats of marine origin/zooplankton substitutes. Cyclop-eeze is a great choice. Flying fish eggs (for sushi) are great too. For smaller polyped corals, DT's natural diet (oyster eggs). Best regards, Anthony" <Yep, I agree with Anthony here.> As you can see from the above, there is a lot of conflicting advice with respect to this coral, which is one of the reasons I posed my question to WWM in the first place. <I can understand your frustration. There is a lot of misinformation (and out-dated information) out there. Though it's getting a bit dated, E. Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" is still a good source for information on captive coral care. As for internet sources, obviously, I think WWM is your best bet. :-)> Third, by my calculations, at least on paper, I have 2195gph of total circulation, which is 20x total tank volume. Let's be realistic, however, and assume that I get 2/3 of that, which leaves me with 13.3 x turnover. The info you linked suggests a 10 to 20 x volume turnover, so it would appear that I'm in the lower end of that range and could stand to add another power head. <Yep. Knowing how to arrange your live rock helps too (make sure it stays away from the sides of the tank and avoid building big walls of rock). Since you're using power heads, you might find this helpful: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i4/power_heads/Power_Heads.htm> Fourth, why the "::sigh::" in response to my listing of parameters and statement that I believed they evidence that my water quality is good? Is there something else that the typical hobbyist should be looking for on a regular basis or something that I am not doing enough of/doing wrong, or was my comment just plain foolish (and if so, please explain so I can learn from this)? Please understand that I was simply doing my best to give you as much information about my tank, measured water quality and other factors as I could to assist you in understanding my problem--I was under the impression that you guys appreciated that. <I'm sorry if you were offended. The ::sigh:: was because I'm playing a drinking game with Bob involving any time someone says their water quality is "perfect" or "excellent" based on nutrient test kit results. No, no, just kidding! <<Gulp! I already drank mine. Dang! B>>  Seriously now though, yes, it is very good to be testing these things. And you have my genuine respect for being such a prudent and responsible aquarist. However, I would advice you not to let these test kits give you too much of a false sense of security. These test kits don't always tell you as much as you'd really like to know. For example, the phosphate test kits don't test for organic phosphates. More generally, we're actually quite limited in what we can test for (while some things are taken up before they can be detected). Additionally, it's difficult to define what "perfect" or "excellent" water quality even is because it's relative to what kinds of coral you are keeping.> Andy <Best, Sara M.>
Re: Blasto merleti 10/25/07 Dear Sara, Thanks for your genuine response and helpful thoughts. <my pleasure> Notwithstanding the limited amount of time that I have in my life for this hobby, I try really hard to understand the hobby and to keep a good tank and clean water for my pets. <Indeed, I can tell you care very much for them.> Of course I have made, and will make, mistakes in livestock selection/care despite good intentions and research. <It happens to us all.> As you might have guessed, I am no biologist or fish scientist (but do have a B.S. in mechanical engineering, which I haven't used in 12 years), but I do "get" scientific concepts. <Yes, I think any kind of science background helps. But you'll be surprised by how much biological science you'll naturally pick up as you read and learn more about the hobby.> I just think you guys sometimes forget that most of us have nowhere near the incredible background and knowledge that you have. <Thank you. As I said, I do apologize if I seemed pedantic or persnickety (<--great word, isn't it?).> Although there are a few lazy people out there, I suspect most posters are like me--they try to research issues before asking/doing and have genuinely good intentions when asking questions. <We do appreciate your questions.> I look forward to being a pain in your butt in the near future. <I do too. :-)> Andy <Best, Sara M.>