Help with softies........

[Agoyo]

Hi bro and sis out there...... i am now having a FOWLR and planning to add in more corals especially soft corals in the future but very slowly (probably about a month or two from now....., so just want to ask in advance some queries.. any help will be greatly appreciated....

i am now planning to keep some soft corals like zoos and zooanthids as well as xenia.... i am just wondering wether i can keep soft corals at temperature between 28-30 degrees celcius? if yes which are the ones that i can keep?

currently, i have few fishes in my tank

2 anthias

3 damsels

1 bicolor angelfish

1 purpleback dottyback

if i were to add in soft corals, can i add them at the presence of these fishes? or anyone of them dangerous to the softies?

any kind of nutrition that i need to add in in order to grow the softies quickly and healthily? (eg calcium, iodide, strontium etc)

I feel like making a soft coral garden out of my tank....

in advance.......

[Just me]

i try......first, we need to know your lights. what are they FL, PL, T5 or MH. cos you FOWLR and so don't need strong lights but if you wan corals, you might need stronger lights of at least PL.

bro, xenia is only for experts. i tried and failed.

yes you can add them in the presence of fishes. from your list, should be a problem except for that bi-colour angel. he might just nib on the corals.

[Agoyo]

i am now using 2 white fluorescent light and one of them is 12000 kelvin light and the other one is just a normal marine aquarium light..... both rated at 18 watts. as well as one blue light, planning to upgrade to actinic when making the coral tank later......

any way to stop the bicolor angel from nibbing at the softies when i introduced them later?

[cityofangels]

It is nearly impossible to "train" an angel not to nip at corals. Most angels are not reef-safe and are known to nip at fleshy LPS corals. Well, of course there are exceptions. I have seen reefers who manage to keep angels in a reef tank.

[Just me]

yeah, the only one i heard of is flame angel. they seldom nib on corals. at leats mine doesn't

FL may be not be enough for corals. you might wan to consider upgrading.

[Dazza]

well angels with corals is heng sway one lah... i hv kept majestic, flame, bicolor with mushrooms, soft corals, bubbles n hammers in the past with no nipping at all. Now hv a pymy angel in my reef tank n no prob oso... didnt even nip at my coco n tub eworms.... heng sway lah

[FuEl]

Leather corals and mushies are the easier softies to keep at that temperature range. Xenia tend to crash sooner or later at such temperatures, and they are more demanding in terms of water parameters. FL is enough for softies, at least you can be assured they won't bleach that easily under them. Just have some blue spectrum in your lights if not your softies will all look brown sooner or later.

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...15&hl=nano&st=0

That's my first tank running on 4 FL tubes. Ok for softies IMO.

[Agoyo]

hi all, for the reply and suggestions, i really appreciate them ......

FL may be not be enough for corals. you might wan to consider upgrading.

bro Just me, i would like to know if T5 lighting will be enough to support the rearing of soft corals? if yes i will upgrade to that.

well angels with corals is heng sway one lah

hmmmm....... maybe bro Dazza is right, depends on luck, but i do not know mine..... maybe got to try first

another queries is that what is the temperature required for softies to grow relatively well? without a chiller, is there any possibilities of rearing the softies?

then, i would like to know a suggested list of soft corals that can be reared with the temperature between 28-30 deg celcius. and what is the required nutrition that they need? (eg iodide, calcium, etc.....) if possible, the price that they are normally sold at LFS......? dun want to get chopped.........

Bro FuEl, do you use a chiller for the softies tank?

keep the reply coming, in advance.....

[Just me]

bro, don't need a chiller for softies. temp around 28 to 30 is good. of course lower is better. ha ha

T5 is very good enough for softies.

for starters, try zoos, mushroom, leather. sold at LFS at about 5 to 10 bucks.

bought these at S$5

[Agoyo]

heheheh...... nice zoos bro Just me

how much is the price of the zoo? where you normally buy?

T5 is very good enough for softies

hmmmm.... ok then i will try to save up to buy the T5..... hehehe.......

Is it enough to add in calcium and iodide for the softies to grow well and survive?

[FuEl]

Nah..chillers for a softy tank is a waste of $ IMO. As long as temperatures are kept around 28 degrees and below it should be fine.