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and thriving.
We
We have familiarized live rock.
In
In tank 72, to do.
Recently, Dr. Reynolds taught us how to frag corals, a crucial part of our project which we will ultimately use to propagate different corals from our tank. We thought that we would be fraging the Nepthea, but instead we fragged the E. parancora, or the hammer branch coral, into three pieces and then placed the pieces back into our tank. Overall, this month has been a learning experience for the both of us. Neither of us knew anything about corals, or maintaining a tank, but hopefully by the end of this project we will be successful marine aquarists!

DECEMBER
marine life.
JANUARY
We came back from Winter Break on January 7th after being gone for two weeks. Over the break, our hammer branch corals had grown a great deal, especially their tentacles. The hammer branch coral, or HBC as week like to call it, placed in the middle-front of our tank on a live rock is the one that has grown the most while also repelling the invasive brown anemone. Yet, the HBC placed on the far right of our tank on live rock covered in a plethora of brown anemone has not nearly grown as much as the one in the center of the tank. This coral fragment on the far right's base has been completely over-taken with the brown anemone. Due to this, we have observed that this certain HBC is not doing its job to combat the anemone. Its tentacles are not stinging the brown anemone like the one in the center is, yet we are not sure why this happened. In addition to the hammer branch corals in our tanks, the Euphyllid in our tank has grown and done its job repelling the anemone. Although its tentacles have grown, many times when we are checking on our tank its tentacles are completely retracted. Right before the break, we introduced a small frag of mushroom coral on one of the live rocks covered in brown anemone in our tank, and it has continuously succeeded in eliminating the brown anemone from that certain area as it has grown. Within the next few months, we plan to introduce some more mushroom corals into our tank as it has done the best job in combatting the anemone thus far.

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The Fragmentation of Nephthea (1) and Propagation of Euphyllia parancora (1) in Tank 72
In tank 72 an unidentified brown anemone has overtaken the tank by occupying most of the available space. Although there is an abundance of Nephthea, it has not been able to outcompete this anemone effectively. By fragmenting the Nephthea, more available space will be created for the propagation of Euphyllia paradivisa. The E. paradivisa has the potential and ability to harm and outcompete the anemone (through use of its long sweeping tentacles) and ultimately thrive in tank 72 (1).
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I. Introduction
Nephthea is categorized as a soft coral, meaning that it lacks the hard limestone skeleton that is present in hard corals (2). Rather, its skeleton is formed by a supporting “stem” that consist of fleshy tissue that is reinforced by many microscopic calcareous particles, known as sclerites (2). The sclerites (usually irregular, spindle, or caterpillar-like) do not project when the polyp is closed (3). Most soft corals have spicules, while others release toxins through their outreaching tentacles in order to defend themselves from predators (3). Nephthea is no different, this genus is one of the more toxic genera of soft corals in regards to their chemical defenses (1). This genus produces some of the most diverse and unusually compounds of all soft corals (1). Beside the toxicity of Nephthea, like most soft corals it is able to grow rapidly because it does not form a calcium carbonate skeleton (2). Although Nephthea has many techniques in order to combat other corals, it appears that the unidentified brown anemone in tank 72 has grown immune to these techniques, so it is now necessary that a new aggressive coral is introduced.
By introducing an aggressive hard coral, it might combat the overgrowth of the unidentified brown anemone. Corals must arm themselves to fend off anyone else who wants to live where they live, use their light and take their flow of food; by introducing Euphyllia parancora it’s aggressive tendencies will fend off the unidentified anemone (4). E. parancora is a phaceloid branching coral with T-shaped or anchor-shaped polyp tips that extend from the end of each branch (1).
E. paradivisa is categorized as a large polyp stony, or LPS, (4). LPS differ from SPS (small polyp stony) because, for some unknown reason, their sting is more deadly (4). LPS sting is delivered mainly by long sweeper tentacles that mobilise on demand, and stretch much further than standard polyps (4). These tentacles are long and flowing and usually extend fully during the day and especially at night; making them major threats during the evening (1). After anemones, LPS corals have the most powerful stings of aquarium corals and the most aggressive tendencies, making them major competitors on the reef (4). Few corals and anemones can survive an aggressive attack implemented by the corals from this genus (1).
In order to allow E. parancora expand rapidly they should be placed in areas of the tank where the multiple parameters of water flow, lighting, and passing food sources are optimal (1). E. paradivisa, in contrast to Nephthea, has not yet grown in tank 72, so the unidentified brown anemone is not immune to this coral’s defenses; this will allow the E. parancora to outcompete the anemone.
II. Questions
1. When the Nephthea is propagated, and placed in other tanks, will its methods of competition fair better than in tank 72?
2. What will be the brown anemone’s way to defend itself against the E. parancora, if at all possible?
3. Will the E. parancora use growth, toxins, or both to outcompete the anemone(6)?
4. Has the unidentified brown anemone become immune to the Nephthea toxins(7)?
5. In addition to a new and combative coral, what other biological or chemical controls can be added to tank 72 to challenge the brown anemone’s growth?
III. Hypothesis
By first fragmenting the Nephthea from tank 72, the later introduction and propagation of E. parancora will outcompete the unidentified brown anemone for space.
IV. Design of Research
In order to successfully propagate Nephthea from tank 72, proper fragging techniques will be used which will better help the introduction of such corals into another tank. E. parancora will be introduced to the tank to outcompete the overgrowth of the invasive brown anemone. Coral growth will be measured by using a ruler and an Expo marker to draw tick marks in order to record the heights on the tank. Measurements will also be taken of the recession of the brown anemone.
V. Schedule
Observations will be recorded daily in the afternoon throughout every week on a sheet of paper outlining such observations. These daily observations include temperature, salinity, and pH in addition to general observations about tank 72 and the project thus far. In order to determine how much the corals have grown, Expo marker will be used to draw lines on the tank to measure the growth both daily and weekly. The fragmenting techniques and the frequency of such will be taught and found out in tutorial. Expo marker will also be used in order to record the recession of the brown anemone; this observation will be taken both daily and weekly for optimum results(8).
VI. Supplies and Equipment (5)
· 72 gallon tank
· Sump
· Chiller
· Power heads
· Hydrometer
· Temperature gauge
· pH test kit
· Expo marker
· Ruler
· Water change kit
· Protein skimmer
· Propagating tools
· Fragging tools
· Coral plugs
· Seashells or live rock
· Glue or putty

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This month we began our project in tank 72. It all began at the start of this year, when we decided to develop a project where we would frag, propagate and remove, and introduce corals in our tank. Over the course of the month of October, we have observed and researched the different organisms of our tank, the 72 gallon tank. We have researched the organisms, and we have also become familiar with the different variables which make our tank healthy and able to function through checking our tank daily. Keeping up with daily observations has been a struggle for almost everyone because of the fact that we have to check our tank everyday, but, like anything else, we are responsible for this tank and must make sure that everything in the tank is healthy and thriving.
We have familiarized ourselves with tank 72 through checking the temperature on the temperature gauge, salinity using the hydrometer, and pH using the pH test kit. These measurements have varied throughout the month: temperature from 75 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit, salinity from 1.0215 to 1.025 specific gravity, and pH from 8.2 to 8.4. We have found that the temperature of our tank has been quite diverse, what we believe is a result of the room it is in. This fluctuation in temperature has also affected the other measurements. After becoming familiar with the measurements of the tank, we began doing our research on which organisms call tank 72 their home. The following species are what we have found thus far: Montipora capricornis, Nepthea, Euphyllia parancora for the corals; Lemon Peel Tang, and 2 Banggai cardinalfish for the fish; and an unknown brown anemone which is taking over much of the live rock.
In tank 72, there is a plethora of Nepthea which we want to propagate and remove from our tank in order to make room for a possible new coral. Another issue in the tank is the overgrowth of the brown anemone which we have found to be currently outcompeting the other organisms for space. In order to limit this unknown and invasive brown anemone which we cannot find any research about, we are going to attempt to introduce a new hard coral into the tank to see if it will be able to overtake the brown anemone which none of the corals currently in the tank seem to be able to do.
Recently, Dr. Reynolds taught us how to frag corals, a crucial part of our project which we will ultimately use to propagate different corals from our tank. We thought that we would be fraging the Nepthea, but instead we fragged the E. parancora, or the hammer branch coral, into three pieces and then placed the pieces back into our tank. Overall, this month has been a learning experience for the both of us. Neither of us knew anything about corals, or maintaining a tank, but hopefully by the end of this project we will be successful marine aquarists!

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Our 72 gallon tank, as of November 30, 2012
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The Banggai cardinal fish (who was sick) remaining in his corner and our hammer branch (euphyllid) coral additions on the live rock

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.