This past month was a learning experience for us. We had some problems develop in our tank that were extremely worrisome, such as a Banggai cardinal fish getting bladder disease, as well as the lights going out in our tank (which threw the temperature off for a few days). The Banggai cardinal fish began swimming erratically at the beginning of this month. It would swim sideways up towards the power head, and just float. We were extremely worried, Bryony Berry (who is investigating Banggai cardinal fish behavior) informed us that the Banggai cardinal fish had a bladder disease that would soon go away with treatment. At the beginning of the month there was also a power outage that ultimately caused the temperature in our tank to drop by a few degrees; luckily this drop did not cause any noticeable change in our corals and anemones.
During November, we spent time watching the behavior of the hammer branch coral towards the brown unidentified anemone. We hypothesized that the brown anemone had grown immune to the stinging cells of the nepthea, so by introducing hammer branch coral it would successfully combat the growth of the anemone. Last month we fragmented three pieces of hammer branch coral and introduced them into our tank, so this month we monitored the relationship between the hammer branch and the anemone. Over the last three weeks there has been no growth of the hammer branch corals, but they have been using their tentacles. The hammer branch coral uses its tentacles to sting, and ultimately kill its prey. When observing this coral, at some times its tentacles have been fully extended, yet at others they have been completely retracted. Although its tentacles have been extended and stinging the anemone, we have yet to see the anemone receding around the frags. We believe that by placing these frags closer to the lamp that they might be able to grow more efficiently. By placing them closer to the light they will absorb more light and will be able to catch more food by being closer to the surface. We plan to move these corals next week, and watch their development until Christmas break.
During November, we spent time watching the behavior of the hammer branch coral towards the brown unidentified anemone. We hypothesized that the brown anemone had grown immune to the stinging cells of the nepthea, so by introducing hammer branch coral it would successfully combat the growth of the anemone. Last month we fragmented three pieces of hammer branch coral and introduced them into our tank, so this month we monitored the relationship between the hammer branch and the anemone. Over the last three weeks there has been no growth of the hammer branch corals, but they have been using their tentacles. The hammer branch coral uses its tentacles to sting, and ultimately kill its prey. When observing this coral, at some times its tentacles have been fully extended, yet at others they have been completely retracted. Although its tentacles have been extended and stinging the anemone, we have yet to see the anemone receding around the frags. We believe that by placing these frags closer to the lamp that they might be able to grow more efficiently. By placing them closer to the light they will absorb more light and will be able to catch more food by being closer to the surface. We plan to move these corals next week, and watch their development until Christmas break.