RnB

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/eb/feature/index.htm worth the read.

the commonly accepted method is to cut the mushie into small bits.... say 3 or 4mm square, Prepare a shallow dish of say 5mm coral rock chucks, could be marble chips I guess. cover dish with the chips/bits etc place the little bitty pieces of mushie onto these and cover with a fine netting.... think wedding viel - tie neeting down to dish so even if muchies float around they will at least stay trapped in dish till they attach. tie viel to dish etc Place in a low flow part of the tank and let gravity just hold them down, wait about 3-4 weeks then the mushies will have attached to the little rocks..... now glue the little rocks to where you want the mushines in your display tank with superglue gel. or you could just feed them into your power heads But i prefer the mushroom cluster look rather then the trifford takeover look!

I have observed in both my tank and while diving that the rocks covered in coraline algae seem immune to other algae growth, even in a tank with quite a bit of hair etc..... so it does seem to provide a firebreak effect I guess. Does the encrusting lower the porosity of the rock its on? Seems that it does require light, as growth on the direct underside of the rock seems minimal. has anyone read anything that scientifically documents the benefits it brings to a tank? It looks good, much better then white rocks, though.

I have lots of pinky, dark dark purple, black. have green but growth but several people think its a sponge not coraline.

most display tanks, the rock has some point contact with sand..... I mean more like a frag tank but everyones milage varies i guess.......

why not just have sand then raised eggrate for rock / frags... ie rock has no contact with sand at all.....

for those interested this appears to be the norm. Q. How many fishes or corals can fit in a box ? A. For corals generally we can fit around 20 pcs per box. For fishes it is generally harder to determine since the variety and size of the fishes matter to make up the box. As a guidelines, we can put these items in a box. Coral Beauty Angel (M) around 30-35 pcs, or Sebae Clown (M) around 25-30 pcs, or Damsels (M) around 180 - 200 pcs, or Red Volitan Lionfish (M) around 10 pcs, etc Q. What is the box’s dimension and how much does it weight ? A. L x W x H is 21†x 14†x 16â€, one box of fish is about 18 KG (40 lbs) and one box of corals is about 25 KG (55 lbz).

Is this the coral in question?

as an aside i never ever joke about other peoples tank.... ever... I am almost always impressed with tank piccies and if not keep my mouth shut as its to easy for people to take offence....... When I do attack someone... both they and the moderaters can normally tell :oops:

what is the best LFS in your area.... sorry I ment who stocks marines in the central north island... stoped in at wet pets in palmy north but nothing to note..... anything else central? whats the shop near tirau called? anyone in tauraga sell them? whats hamilton shop caled?

Your tanks look great - keep posting

Does anyone know if the jensens chain has changed ownership recently?

was you plate coral ok on import? Mine is going from strength to strength... I can almost see it growing....

Have you ever asked a LFS for advice on a coral or fish purchase and been told that it is an advanced spicies requiring good equipment in your system and that you are probably better off avoiding it? I know Alois has steered me clear of something that would have probably died and for that I am thankfull. I have not experienced such honesty so far from any LFS. When I purchased my copperband, the shop did not mention that they where a difficult fish to keep alive, heavon forbid they might think I am an advanced reef keeper! your experience here?

Can you provide more detail as to what "good equipment" is needed to keep Acropora?

Sounds like its quite a common practice so far, this ties in well with my own experience and others I have spoken to in Auckland. Must be a bit of an underground practice though, as its not mentioned much on these boards.....

I wonder if they sell direct to hobbists outside of CHCH...........

hehe reminds me of shrek 1 - PC envy post from a 300MHz Pentium 1 toshiba portege laptop! missing return key (very annoying)....

do they only import for themselves? or do they sell wholesale to other shops in NZ?

I originally started with storm pipe model, and yes for trickle towers! But a clear acrylic tower is as everyone says good to see the bubbles, funny thing is that clear acrylic is cheaper then coloured! Takling to watercut people later on.

perhaps a more agressive feeding program for the anemone? Pretty much just one of those things I would think. its a jungle out there

I am not sure that would add much value, we all have in our profiles (or know) where we live so it would probably be pretty obvious. I am just trying to guage how many people are buying direct. As I will be quite small scale, it may not be worth the shops time dealing with me. I am sure they are after reliable, constant supplies. I am aiming to be a little bit more niche... fill my own tank and pass on the rest to cover costs, meet hobbists, learn more etc. I plan to list what is available before I import to see if anyone wants anything on the list..... etc etc Being small will allow me to be a little more agile, but i have to know how many people would deal direct with a hobbist importing.

sorry to hear that.

Once I have my MAF system up and running I am sure that I will have some corals / fish that I will want to move on to offset hoby costs. Would you/have you brought fish/corals off an importer? how do you feel about the wholesaler bypassing the LFS in your area? I am sure that the shops do not buy everything the importer imports... what does happen to the rest........ cheers Peter

my copperband is doing fine at the moment, sometimes I worry that he does not eat much of the food I add.... but he is constantly picking off rocks, and i have no featherdusters or aptasia at all. An friend from India who has collected lots of butterfly fish, and other picky eaters from the wild, reckons he looks fine at the moment. But you never know, I have had it 3 months. I think I am past the danger zone tho.