Caribbean Corals?

kenny77 · #1 04/18/2006, 11:47 PM

Im planning on setting up a 100g tank. I will try to keep it all caribbean as posible. Offcourse with some exception. But I have a question about mixing some coral. I had before a mixed tank with SPS, LPS, Spfties, Gorgonian .....

On this tank most of it will be Gorgonian, only 6 types of SPS but in large quantity and 2 LPS type coral.

Here is a list of them

Rusty Gorgonian
Orange Tree Gorgonian
Yellow Finger Gorgonian
Purple brush Gorgonian
Red FInger Gorgonian

acropora palmata
acropora cervicornis
Millepora alcicornis
Millepora complanata
Lettuce Coral( agaricia agaricites
Porites porites

Golf ball Coral ( favia fragum)
Brain coral (diploria strigosa)

All of this coral I have found them in the same water condition here in Puerto RIco. I usually had too feed my gorgonian twice a week and I only had 2 in my 55g tank.

What will be the effect with all this gorgonian mixed with SPS. Even when the 4 types of sps coral grow on "dirty" waters here in PR and will be collected in the same waters.

kenny77 · #2 04/18/2006, 11:50 PM

BTW. EVen when this is all the oposite way fish will be added last. with the exception of a Blue Carribean Tang and a pair of Royal Gramma.

Invert will come first, then the tang and royal gramma, and then the coral. After that I will think If I want more fishes

Mike4284m · #3 04/19/2006, 12:10 AM

As much as I love the corals you are considering, they are illegal to collect and I don't believe they are available to the general hobbyist.

kenny77 · #4 04/19/2006, 12:24 AM

not over here. We have regulation on the Island most likely to Florida. In the East area it is completly ilegal since teh global warming affect this area mora than anywere in the caribbean. Also more than 50% of teh coral are comming from the laboratory the college i'm studying. Thay collect on the same water I go Scuba Diving

Aslo al lthe gorgonian are available almost at any site were you can buy coral. the only ones that are rare to see available are the milleporas and the agaricia garicites. But non of this deales will ship to PR

kevin gu3 · #5 04/19/2006, 11:35 AM

Can you stick to gorgonians that only need light? You may find it difficult to feed them and maintain water quality at the same time.

gman0526 · #6 04/19/2006, 11:35 AM

Kenny, sorry but you're wrong.

PR Law 147 from July 15th, 1999 states on article 9 section 2 that it is illegal to even own a dead coral from PR waters in a saltwater aquarium regardless of the area.

Here's a PDF copy of the law:

http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/LeyesReg...yes/Ley147.pdf

kenny77 · #7 04/19/2006, 11:59 AM

gman0526 I never knew about that. Thanks.

ALl I know is that all this coral will come from the Institude of Marine Science situades on Magueyes Island were I had some friend and soon after finishing the Biology BA will contiue my master ther in Marine Science.

a 100% of this coral collected by this departemnt are use for research only part of them goes to the museum. This are the coral that are in danger of extintion around the island. What happen whe the research is done and they have adcure the information they need from this research. This coral are returned to the reefs or are places in man made reef for propagation. only a very low percent of them stays in the island for further study or because they are sick. this are the one people from the MArine department take home.

Don't think im just gonna go there and wank a piece of a nice acropora cervicornis. I'm more concervative that you think or if my seen

gman0526 · #8 04/19/2006, 02:41 PM

As long as you can get proper documentation that states that particular coral comes from a lab where it was used for research purposes then there should be no problem

. I just would hate for a fellow hobbyist to make the news here as if you were trying to smuggle the corals. You know how stupid the press can get over here.

kenny77 · #9 04/19/2006, 05:27 PM

haha yeah I know how the press gets over here. But don't worry since at least all teh gorgonian can be found in Liveaquaria and I have at least 3 of them in my tank in Orlando, wich Im gonna bring some coral from that tank to this one.

Now all the caribbean coral will come from the Institude of Marine Science. The only thing is that they are just little frags, except for a acropora cervicornis that Im getting an entire colony from a friends old tank.

BTW what store you recomned here on the island for dry good. Sincerely not a single one have convinced me to even buy them a damsel.

gman0526 · #10 04/19/2006, 05:52 PM

Honestly dry goods none, fish/corals I only get stuff from 2. Ocean City Aquarium and Little World Marine both in Carolina, PR. Everybody else, let's just say that they leave a lot to be desired from.

Cutiewitbooty · #11 04/19/2006, 06:00 PM

one thing i thought i mention is about the Carribean Tang. They are one of my favorite tang and i saw one in a LFS around here that was about 1 foot high and about 1 1/2 feet long. They get huge. Are you planning on putting one in your 55 gal?

kenny77 · #12 04/19/2006, 06:31 PM

No cutiewitbooty.

the 55g tank that appear on my profile is a tank I left in Orlando when I moved to PR. Here Im setting up a 100g tank. ANd yes they get big. I have never seen one bigger than 10" but I'm pretty shure they can get over 1'.

they are one of my favorite tang too. Actually my favorite one is orange shoulder tang but get even bigger than atlantic blue tangs

thank.

Back to the topic. is there any way posible to achieve this. mixing so many gorgonian with some SPS. Personally I never thoought it will be easy since in my 55g the gorgonia had to be feaded every now and then. I have seen this but only in the ocean and in a big pool that the Institude of marince science have outside the laboratory. And this tanks run with natural sea water. and almost no filter since water come from the ocean on one side of the pool and it return to the ocean from the other.

dougc · #13 04/19/2006, 07:22 PM

I snorkeled off the beach in Pinones last week, which is just a few minutes east of urban San Juan and was astounded to find living stands of a. palmata twenty feet from the shore. They are probably actually doing better than the ones on the Carribean side of PR, since the temperatures on the Atlantic side are probably a bit lower. After seeing the size of these colonies, I can't imagine how it would be suitable candidate (if it was legal) for even a large aquarium. Mature colonies are 10 or more feet across.

What really killed me, though, was the still-living sea fans washed up on the beach. They were doomed, but all I could do is toss them in the water and walk away.

kenny77 · #14 04/20/2006, 12:44 AM

I know does it feel. Down here in the south west coast, specificaly Cabo Rojo you can find colony of green zoanthias and white one at 15' from the shore. Actually there is a great spot at Ratones Island were you can find A. palamata colony huge in size, also sea fan has wide has 5'. It is a great site since fishing, collecting and almost everything is prohibited. only snorkelling and Scuba Diving but with the permition of the Dept of Natural Resource. wich they have an office right there in the island.

gman0526 · #15 04/20/2006, 08:21 AM

In order to be able to keep gorgs. with SPS you would have to plan on a great means of export for this tank. I'm talking an overrated skimmer that would allow as little of the undigested food to be taken out of the systen as quick as possible.

I for one don't believe at all the theory that softies and some LPS thrive in high nutrient environments, since all of those "lagunal" systems so often refered when talking about softies and such have 100's times less organics than any low nutrient tank out there. But most of this corals do need a constant supply of food. It's a tricky situation but is up to the hobbyist if they feel they can go through the trouble of keeping such a system, mixed SPS/gorgs/softies.