Nano Sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef

[Nano sapiens]

It's Saturday...it's Halloween...and a few pics...

 

 

 

This was a major 'hit' overnight by either (both?) of the Pavona species on the encrusting red polyp Montipora that happens to be sandwiched in between. No two ways about it, Pavona are 'naaasty'! I also dug out the last two purple Discosoma mushies in this tank as they were killing the green Pavona wherever they touched (big hole between the red Monti and the left most edge of the green Pavona). And, removed a big arm of green Pavona that had made contact with the Sunset Monti...

 

 

 

Zoas hanging out in the back of the tank. Top-to-bottom: Utter Chaos, no-names (interesting white/yellow/turquoise center, purple disk and green tentacles), Petroglyphs (my favorite Zoa, large polyps slightly over 1" across), Blue Hornets (always a favorite) and some Gold Mauls.

 

 

 

Some simple Rhodactis that are starting to color up nicely with an old-resident green Calgreni clone in the background. The one on the top-left is obviously bleached (came that way from the LFS), but it's hanging in there there. Often, nondescript Rhodactis sit in the cheapy coral section at the LFS, but with a bit of TLC they can turn out quite nicely.

 

 

 

Rhodactis have been a bit hit-or-miss in this tank due to higher flow that passes by the rock wall face that they are attached to and the somewhat intense LED lighting. They tend to detach easily under higher flow/higher light conditions. I have found them to also be very sensitive to handling (unlike Ricordia) with bruising and brown-jelly infections sometimes setting in. The last batch I got in I placed them under the Zoas (to provide some shading), where possible, and carefully acclimated them to the light for a few days. I also moved the rock wall that they are attached to about 3/4" inwards towards the tank's center which decreases flow between it and the glass side wall of the aquarium. So far, so good

[Nano sapiens]

I've seen a few odd things over the years in reef keeping, but every once in a while something unusual pops up.

 

So, due to a bit of excess green turf algae I decided to slowly cut my coral feeding with ReefRoids and Brightwell AAs down from daily to every 2-3x/weeks to allow me (tweezers) and my hermits to catch up. For the last couple weeks I dropped feeding from 7 days/wk, then to 6 days for the next week, then to 5 days down to 2-3 days (~50% food reduction). During this time my Kalkwasser usage went from ~50% to around 10%. That's one heck of a drop in just a few weeks which I wasn't expecting, especially considering that I still feed the fish 2x/day.

 

What I did notice is a sizeable accumulation of a grayish material on the bottom of the back chambers every few days. This material apparently comes from some kind of small, gray fuzzy sponge-like organism that literally lines all the chambers' walls. I suspect that the organisms are composed of the usual silicates, but *may* also contain some calcium carbonate that is dissolving in the water and supplying Ca and Alk. The other thought is that the dying excess organisms may be releasing compounds that interfere with calcification and thereby reduce Ca and Alk usage. The good news is that no negative effects can be seen on the corals (so far), all other parameters have remained stable and with 2x/wk chamber vacuuming I should have most of the excess sponge material cleaned out in a few weeks.

 

This got me thinking about the reefer who drastically changes feeding parameters and the potential negative effects due to organism die-off. Depending on the type of organisms present, I believe that this type of action *can* precipitate a system crash, so slow and steady is the best policy.

[Sk8n Reefer]

I've seen a few odd things over the years in reef keeping, but every once in a while something unusual pops up.

 

So, due to a bit of excess green turf algae I decided to slowly cut my coral feeding with ReefRoids and Brightwell AAs down from daily to every 2-3x/weeks to allow my hermits to catch up. For the last couple weeks I dropped feeding from 7 days, then to 6 days, then to 5 days down to 2-3 days (~50% food reduction). During this time my Kalkwasser usage went from ~50% to around 10%. That's one heck of a drop in just a few weeks which I wasn't expecting, especially considering that I still feed the fish 2x/day.

 

What I did notice is a sizeable accumulation of a grayish material on the bottom of the back chambers every few days. This material apparently comes from some kind of small, gray fuzzy sponge-like organism that literally lines all the chambers' walls. I suspect that the organisms are composed of the usual silicates, but *may* also contain some calcium carbonate that is dissolving in the water and supplying Ca and Alk. The other thought is that the dying excess organisms may be releasing compounds that interfere with calcification and thereby reduce Ca and Alk usage. The good news is that no negative effects can be seen on the corals (so far), all other parameters have remained stable and with 2x/wk chamber vacuuming I should have most of the excess sponge material cleaned out in a few weeks.

 

This got me thinking about the reefer who drastically changes feeding parameters and the potential negative effects due to organism die-off. Depending on the type of organisms present, I believe that this type of action *can* precipitate a system crash.

 

Interesting- the last few days I've cut the amount of food I feed in half. I believe the lack of flow now from my corals growing to large and changing flow patterns has caused the sand to have a reduced amount of flow which is causing some dead spots and build up of organic material. I added a small powerhead to shoot across the front to help with this but I am seeing some green cyano type of growth that I never had before. Reduced feeding, changing out GFO more frequent and larger W/c's is my attack method. I am still feeding everyday just a fair amount less- I'll keep my eye out for die off of micro life

[Nano sapiens]

Interesting- the last few days I've cut the amount of food I feed in half. I believe the lack of flow now from my corals growing to large and changing flow patterns has caused the sand to have a reduced amount of flow which is causing some dead spots and build up of organic material. I added a small powerhead to shoot across the front to help with this but I am seeing some green cyano type of growth that I never had before. Reduced feeding, changing out GFO more frequent and larger W/c's is my attack method. I am still feeding everyday just a fair amount less- I'll keep my eye out for die off of micro life

 

I treat feeding just like any other tank parameter. If I change my feeding routine in a major way, then I'm on high alert for other tank parameter changes, too.

 

My take is that as long as the changes are gradual and any mess left over is promptly removed, a healthy system should be able to cope and readjust.

 

I also have seen gradually reduced flow from the Setosa up in front, but in my case it's a mixed blessing as it's helped my Rhodactis, but slowed down my SPS growth. In a tank like yours with a high density/rate of growth, pruning and/or more powerful flow should work to find that sweet spot again.

[Nano sapiens]

I've also noticed that certain nutritional additives can favor specific organisms. This makes sense since each of these sustances have different ingredients and, in the case of additives like AAs, many are 'proprietory' so we don't even know exactly what they contain.

 

I treat AAs very carefully/skeptically. My experience with using the Brightwell product was 'okay', but trying to quantify if they were effective in my tank is very difficult. Anecdotally, I did notice a modest reduction in nitrates that coincided with their use, so they could have been providing a carbon source to the nitrifying/denitrifying bacteria. Some people experience the opposite effect where use of AAs has increased nitrate levels. Used to support the bacterial fauna in a low nutrient system may be their best use, actually. Which also begs the question; "Can they help support the bacterial communities residing in our corals?"

[teenyreef]

Great insights! I've always felt that the worst thing we can do is change anything too quickly. Even something that we might think is benign like reducing the level of feeding can change the balance between the different organisms in the tank. Sometimes it seems like my tanks do best when I just don't mess with them in an attempt to constantly make things better.

[Nano sapiens]

Great insights! I've always felt that the worst thing we can do is change anything too quickly. Even something that we might think is benign like reducing the level of feeding can change the balance between the different organisms in the tank. Sometimes it seems like my tanks do best when I just don't mess with them in an attempt to constantly make things better.

 

Agreed. But it's oh so tempting to tweak this and that to try and get the tank/corals 'perfect'

[metrokat]

Slow and steady changes are the best. That way the first sign of trouble is easy to see and stop. It took 3 doses, 1 a day, of Pohls for me to notice a negative change in my tank. The suggested dose was 3 times the amount I was dosing, but the minimal dose was enough to see that I needed to stop dosing it.

[Nano sapiens]

Slow and steady changes are the best. That way the first sign of trouble is easy to see and stop. It took 3 doses, 1 a day, of Pohls for me to notice a negative change in my tank. The suggested dose was 3 times the amount I was dosing, but the minimal dose was enough to see that I needed to stop dosing it.

 

Yup, interesting that each system can be so different (some benefit from additives, some don't) and why reef keeping is so challenging...especially for the novice.

 

As I cut down on the nutrients I noticed the sponge growth decreasing...and the diatoms increasing due to silicates being released. I've seen this before and it just takes a month or two to subside (usually). Sponges are great in balanced numbers, but with the AAs/Oyster Feast/Reef Roids/fish food every day they were getting out of control.

[Sk8n Reefer]

Forgot I owed you a shot of the mystery guy- not the same one but there are many now and doing well in the shadows

 

 

[GoingPostal]

Oooh I love those little corynactis, I've got a couple on one of my rocks, always forget they are there.

[Elizabeth94]

I like these guys too. I had one when my tank first got started. Now I have three that I know of. One was even riding the back of one of my snails. Yours has a great green sparkle to it... I gotta go check mine now lol.

[HarryPotter]

Forgot I owed you a shot of the mystery guy- not the same one but there are many now and doing well in the shadows

 

 

 

Hey what are the semi-clear spongy tubes? I have one or two growing in extremely high PAR so didn't think they were sponges.

[Sk8n Reefer]

Oooh I love those little corynactis, I've got a couple on one of my rocks, always forget they are there.

Ya , I really like them, do you use any liquid feeds?

I like these guys too. I had one when my tank first got started. Now I have three that I know of. One was even riding the back of one of my snails. Yours has a great green sparkle to it... I gotta go check mine now lol.

 

Oh wow, you gotta get a picture of the one on the snail- that would be a great pic?

[Elizabeth94]

You are in luck..

 

[Sk8n Reefer]

Hey what are the semi-clear spongy tubes? I have one or two growing in extremely high PAR so didn't think they were sponges.

 

Interesting- is that just where they ended up with the rock placement? I wouldn't think they are photosynthetic or need light in any way- just filter the water through. Not sure exactly what they are- I bet Nano Sapien will have an idea ?

[Nano sapiens]

Forgot I owed you a shot of the mystery guy- not the same one but there are many now and doing well in the shadows

 

 

 

Great that you posted a pic, thanks. Cool little 'shroom, for sure!

[Sk8n Reefer]

You are in luck..

 

That's shot is awesome? good catch!

[Nano sapiens]

Interesting- is that just where they ended up with the rock placement? I wouldn't think they are photosynthetic or need light in any way- just filter the water through. Not sure exactly what they are- I bet Nano Sapien will have an idea

 

While there are sponges that are photosynthetic (PS), the majority are not. The PS ones that I've seen tend to be highly pigmented.

 

If one looks at a photo of a healthy, thriving sallow reef one can typically see many sponges growing in strong sunlight.

 

http://c8.alamy.com/comp/E6CDHB/colourful-sponges-and-soft-corals-in-a-shallow-reef-in-maldives-E6CDHB.jpg

[Nano sapiens]

Coral Bacterial Study (Coral Mucus and Tissue):

 

http://aem.asm.org/content/78/9/3136.full

 

The symbiotic realtionship between the coral host and it's Zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium) has been well studied, but the bacterial association...not so much. This study is very interesting in that it looks at the bacterial communities in the coral mucus and the coral tissue. The scientists took samples from three different coral types (Acropora millepora,Acropora muricata, and Pocillopora damicormis) found on multiple GBR reefs within 200km of each other.

 

Some of the more interesting information:

 

1. Tissues of three common coral species on the GBR displayed species-specific patterns in diazotrophic (bacteria and archaea that fix atmospheric nitrogen gas into a more usable form such as ammonia) communities, suggesting that this bacterial group is likely to have a symbiotic role in the coral holobiont.

 

2. Diazotrophs from coral tissues are specific to coral species.

 

3. The most prevalent group (71%) of diazotrophic bacteria were of the Rhizobiales group. Our finding that this type of bacteria is the dominant diazotrophic group in three common coral species is an indication that methane is potentially abundant in coral tissues. Accordingly, our results highlight the need for further investigations of the fate of methane in the coral holobiont.

 

4. Interestingly, OPUs 5 and 6 were affiliated with a nifH sequence ofMethylocystis echinoides, a methanotroph (sometimes called methanophiles, they are prokaryotes that are able to metabolize methane as their only source of carbon and energy. They can grow aerobically or anaerobically and require single-carbon compounds to survive) type II organism that also belongs to the Rhizobiales group. The ability to fix nitrogen is an important phenotypic trait of most currently known methanotrophic bacteria, and nifH has been used to distinguish representatives at the clade level.

 

5. Our results suggest that, as in terrestrial plants, rhizobia have developed a mutualistic relationship with corals and may contribute fixed nitrogen to Symbiodinium.

 

6. More recently, cyanobacteria (32, 36) and other bacteria that possess genes for nitrogen fixation (26, 43, 57) have also been detected in coral tissues. Interestingly, Lesser et al. (35) and Olson et al. (43) both found that diazotrophs may have a close relationship with Symbiodinium. Lesser et al. (35) observed that the distribution of corals with symbiotic cyanobacteria was positively correlated with depth and suggested that cyanobacteria could sustain Symbiodinium nutrition in low-light environments.

 

7. The ephemeral nature of coral mucus.In contrast to the consistent patterns found for diazotrophic communities associated with coral tissues, a variety of nifH groups were retrieved from coral mucus samples, and these belonged to five different classes of bacteria:

(Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Epsilonproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Cyanobacteria).

The location of mucus bacterial communities at the interface between seawater and coral tissues undoubtedly promotes continuous exchange and contributes to the ephemeral, complex, and dynamic nature of mucus microbial communities.

 

A couple questions come to mind.

 

1. Since it has been inferred that nitrogen fixing bacteria ('cyanobacteria') in the coral's tissues and mucus provide nitrogen to the Zooxanthellae, this begs the question "How detrimental to the coral holbiont (functional entity formed by a macrobe and its associated symbiotic microbes and viruses) are commercial products to rid the tank of 'Red Slime' (Cyanobacter) in the long run?". It may be that since our reef tanks typically have nitrogen in quantities much greater than the natural reef environment that this is not of major importance in the reef aquarium, but this needs further study.

 

2. Since methane was found within coral tissue, does the coral actively sequester methane to feed it's Methanotrophs? These Methantrophic bacteria provide nitrogen to the Zooxanthellae (the ability to fix nitrogen is an important phenotypic trait of most currently known methanotrophic bacteria).

 

3. Photosynthetic corals (Leptoseris, Psammocora) have been found at great depths (400 ft and more) where light energy is a tiny fraction of what it is in shallow water. How crucial is the nitrogen provided by diazotrophic bacteria to the coral's zooxanthellae of these deep dwelling coral species?

 

Truly astounding how complex the coral holobiont is (Zooxantheallae, bacteria, fungi, protists) and how much we still have to learn.

[ABC]

Very good thread, I'm following.

[Nano sapiens]

FTS Dec 2015:

 

 

Not much has changed, actually, which is good since it means things are going along rather well at 7-1/2 years . 99% of the corals are doing fine with just a bit of bleaching here and there (as seen with the orange Yuma up front). This morph has done this on occasion over the last 14 years I've had it and I expect it will recover yet again.

 

The only coral that is really problematic at the moment is a 'Bubblegum' Montipora samarensis. The original frag was doing just fine before I fragged it into two pieces, but now both frags I made are struggling. The LFS that I got it from lost all of their ten frags when they cut up the mother colony:

 

 

Sad frag is sad, but at least it still has some tissue and now has regained a little color. It actually looked worse a few days ago (totally white). It seems to have improved somewhat likely due to a reduction in flow to that particular area and some light daily feedings. The other mini-frag can be seen near the base, left side. Time will tell, but I hope to take pics in the future of a totally recovered (and growing) samarensis. What I have read on ths species is that it is very prone to bleaching and disease, but grows fast once it finds it's 'sweet-spot'. It comes from protected, shallower reef areas, but does occur to at least 15m (~50 ft). Definitely not to be treated like M. digitata which can take some 'abuse'.

 

On a brighter note, a few months ago I had bought a trio of Seriatopora frags. They all had some trouble adjusting (STN from the bottom up for a while), but they have finally come around (sorry for the blurry pic, but after 40 tries this is the best one). While they are all really nice, the BOP ('Bird of Paradise') is the standout with those insanely long flowing polyps. They are also starting to grow towards each other, so the thicket that they eventually produce should be interesting

 

[teenyreef]

Looks fantastic as always! I'm encouraged by your note about the yuma periodically bleaching and recovering. My bleached rics seem to be slowly recovering - I may try dosing some iodide but want to change things as slowly as possible while I'm reducing lighting intensity and nutrient levels.

[Nano sapiens]

Looks fantastic as always! I'm encouraged by your note about the yuma periodically bleaching and recovering. My bleached rics seem to be slowly recovering - I may try dosing some iodide but want to change things as slowly as possible while I'm reducing lighting intensity and nutrient levels.

 

Thank you

 

Yumas are finicky. This one bleached when I added a single additional violet emitter in the center which moved the LED string about 3/8" further on either side. Crazy that such a small change would effect it, but there it is. Absolutely no effect on the Floridas...

 

I'm dosing a few drops of iodine every week.

[Weetabix7]

I always enjoy reading a thread that I genuinely learn from.

Thanks for the food for thought.