PHOTOS: THESE SNAILS ARE CLEANING MACHINES!

PHOTOS: DAY 17

PHOTOS: PRETTY GREEN PIPE ORGAN CORAL + SOME ITTY BITTY DUSTERS

LIVEAQUARIA.COM ON PIPE ORGAN CORAL:

Pipe Organ Coral

(Tubipora musica)

QUICK STATS Care Level: Moderate Temperament: Peaceful Lighting: Moderate to High Waterflow: Medium Placement: All Water Conditions: 72-78° F, sg 1.023-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, dKH 8-12 Color Form: Tan Supplements: Iodine, Trace Elements Origin: Fiji, Tonga The Pipe Organ Coral is a soft coral, but is often referred to as a hard coral because of its red calcareous skeleton. Its common names may also include Organ Pipe Coral, or Daisy Coral. When its polyps are open, it is often confused with the star polyps or clove polyps because of their similar appearance. These corals do have the advantage over the other similar looking soft corals in that they will not spread across the rocks and crowd out other species.

Its behavior is peaceful because it lacks sweeper tentacles, and is safe to place near other peaceful corals. It will require a moderate to high light level combined with a medium to strong water movement within the aquarium. It is fragile, however, so it should not be positioned in currents which could displace or damage it. For continued good health, it will also require the addition of calcium, iodine, strontium, and other trace elements to the water.

The symbiotic algae zooxanthellae hosted within its body provides the majority of its nutritional requirements through photosynthesis. It can also be fed additional food such as phyto and zooplankton or baby brine shrimp.

PHOTOS: ITTY BITTY CONGREGATION OF ZOOS

LIVEAQUARIA.COM ON COLONY POLYPS: 

Colony Polyp, Super Colored (Zoanthus sp.)  QUICK STATS Care Level: Easy Temperament: Semi-aggressive Lighting: Moderate to High Waterflow: Medium Placement: Middle to Top Water Conditions: 72-78° F, sg 1.023-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, dKH 8-12 Color Form: Orange, Red, Yellow Supplements: Iodine, Trace Elements Origin: Indonesia Family: Zoanthidae

The Zoanthus Colony Polyp Corals are also referred to as Sea Mats, or Button Polyps. Their most common color is green, but are also found in other bright colors, such as orange. They are colonial animals with multiple individual polyps attached to a piece of live rock. Pictured above are the two common forms of the super colored colony polyps and the coloration that you will receive will depend on availability. These polyps have the ability to sting other polyps or corals. While the sting is not strong, they are semi-aggressive and need to have space between their colony and any neighbors since they tend to crowd them out. They are easy to maintain, making them a good choice for beginner reef aquarists. They require a high light level combined with a medium water movement within the aquarium. For continued good health, they will also require the addition of iodine and other trace elements to the water. They will reproduce easily in the reef aquarium by budding (splitting off a portion of their base or mouth), which will increase the size of their colony. They contain the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae which provide almost all of their nutritional requirements. Especially if the lighting is not optimal, they should be fed micro-plankton or baby brine shrimp. It is common to receive a rock that is not completely covered in polyps. However, under the right conditions, they will quickly spread across this and surrounding rocks in the aquarium.

PHOTOS: CLEANER SHRIMP

PETSOLUTIONS.COM ON CLEANER SHRIMP AKA SCARLET SKUNK SHRIMP:

Cleaner Shrimp 

Scientific Name
Diet	Carnivore; scavenger, parasites
Alt Common Name	Red Stripe Skunk Shrimp
Family	Hippolytidae
Origin	Bali
Aquarist Level	Intermediate
Reef Safe	Yes
Coloration	Red with White markings
Disposition	Territorial
Hardiness	Very
Mature Size	2 inches
Reproduction Method	Female carries eggs on abdomen
Sexual Dimorphism
Venomous	No

Notes:  Shrimp from the genus Lysmata are useful in the aquarium as all purpose cleaners.  They are an effective defense against parasites such as ich, because it is their nature to remove external parasites from tank mates.  Cleaner shrimp are also expert scavengers, keeping the aquarium free of detritus.  This species must molt in order to grow.  Generally at night, it will lay on its back and exit its exoskeleton.  A new exoskeleton is excreted and will harden over a period of several hours.  The animal is vulnerable at this time and should not be disturbed.  Proper iodine levels assist with successful molting.

PHOTOS: MARGARITA SNAILS

PETSOLUTIONS.COM ON MARGARITA SNAILS:

Margarita Snail

Scientific Name	Margarites pupillus
Diet	Herbivore; filamentous algae, diatoms, cyanobacteria
Alt Common Name	Top and Turbo Snail
Family	Trochacea
Origin	Caribbean
Aquarist Level	Novice
Reef Safe	Yes
Coloration	White to Tan
Disposition	Peaceful
Hardiness	Very
Mature Size	2 inches
Reproduction Method	Gamete Release
Sexual Dimorphism	None
Venomous	No

Notes: This snail spends most of its time on the live rock or on the glass eating the various types of algae it comes across. Margarita snails are popular algae control animals in the marine aquarium. If they remove all of the micro algae from the aquarium, supplemental feeding is required. Dried or fresh seaweed is recommended. We recommend 1 top snail per 2 gallons of aquarium volume.

PHOTOS: LITTLE HERMIT CRABS

PETSOLUTIONS.COM ON LITTLE BLUE LEGGED HERMIT CRABS:

Blue Leg Reef Hermit Crab

Scientific Name	Clibanarius tricolor
Diet	Omnivore; Micro Algae, Scavenger
Alt Common Name	Dwarf Blue and Equal Handed Hermit Crab
Family	Diogenidae
Origin	Caribbean
Aquarist Level	Novice
Reef Safe	Yes
Coloration	Blue and Red
Disposition	Peaceful †
Hardiness	Very
Mature Size	1 inch
Reproduction Method	Unknown
Sexual Dimorphism	Not visible
Venomous	No

Recommended Supplements

Notes:  This species must molt in order to grow.  Generally at night, it will leave its shell home, lay on its back, and exit its exoskeleton.  A new exoskeleton is excreted and will harden over a period of several hours.  The animal is vulnerable at this time and should not be disturbed.  Proper iodine levels assist with successful molting.

† This species has been reported to become aggressive when underfed.  If natural micro algae levels are low, supplement the crab's diet with dried seaweed.

PHOTOS: YAY! CORAL PROP TOOLS!

PHOTOS: DAY 16

PHOTOS: YAY! T5'S ARE HERE!