impact of Dendronephthya Divaricata on SPS

[designsonline.co.uk]

Hi Im interested to know if anyone is sure of the impact that Dendronephthya Divaricata would have (if any) if kept in the same tank as a mostly sps and LPS set up?

I understand that leathers etc give off a lot of mucas and chemicals that can stunt and cause problems with colouration etc... (Which is why I sold them all off a while ago)

But there doesnt seem to be the same problem with zoanthids and I wondered about Dendronephthya Divaricata, as it is a lovely brightly coloured coral and would add a bit of variety to the tank...

Does anyone have experience with these being kept together?

Joe:thanks:

[KeithM]

IIRC Dendronepthyas don't have any stinging cells so should not be a problem...however..the food required to keep dendros will more than likely turn your SPS brown (or kill them)... they also have very different flow requirements...

[designsonline.co.uk]

Why do they require target feeding? in an established reef will there not already be enough for them to eat? I do skim heavily, but in no way keep an ultra low nutrition system...
Joe

[Lucky Eddie]

IIRC from Claude's talk at the STM open day last year, Dendros feed on the SPS mucus..........and the Fauna Marin food used for Dendros mimics Acro slime !

So, you may be doing the Dendros a favour by keeping them in a SPS dominated tank.

MIght be worth giving Wavey a pm to confirm tho Joe, cos I might have got it all wrong !!!!!!!!

[designsonline.co.uk]

Thanks for that, that is good news...

Joe

[Reefworks]

You will need to feed Dendro's constantly, there has still been little success keeping them long term and as they don't posses zoxxanthellae then the amount you would need to feed them will cause knock on effects to other things in your tank.
hth

[designsonline.co.uk]

I dont mind giving it a got as long as the Dendronephthya dont actually do anything that will harm my SPS or LPS, I can see if the hard corals will naturally produce enough food for them...

Joe

[cajen]

I can see if the hard corals will naturally produce enough food for them...
Joe

:cry: Sorry, Joe, don't think that's going to happen: as said they need large amounts of food just to keep them alive, never mind about growing. The bioload on your tank will inevitably have an effect on the SPS.

[wavey]

Dendros, in the wild do feed on the SPS slime and naturaly live amongst SPS colonies, even on the reef crest.

Problem in the home tank will be feeding. Its now possible to keep dendros alive and growing, yes the FM UltraPac is effectively coral slime, to this you would add other foods.

The problem comes with how much you need to feed. For the dendros, you really cant overfeed, this leads to higher than ideal organic waste for the SPS. To mix the two, you would probably need a skimmer rated at 20 or 30 times tank volume to keep the organics at a level that wouldnt damage/kill your SPS, plus ULNS system and daily 5-10% water changes, if not more.

Keep the two separate and you will have success.

[Social D]

I know this isnt long term yet but i have a dendro in a cave with around 30 sps in the tank it's not the highly colourful dendro just a plain old brown one but non the less it's growing and thriving after 4 months in the tank.
I have a overpowered skimmer aswell, If you do fancy one try hanging it just above the sand so it's gets a constant supply of nutrients also target feed it with coral food, i use coral vibrance and coral frenzy.
Still waiting for it to shrivel up and die ... but touch wood it hasnt yet
I was told that if one gets past 2 to 3 weeks your doing well but thats just one persons view on it.

[designsonline.co.uk]

Sigster, that is interesting thanks for that...
Can you tell me what is your feeding routine, how much and how often...
and what is your bio load like (how many fish in what sized tank) ?

Joe

[KeithM]

I know this isnt long term yet but i have a dendro in a cave with around 30 sps in the tank it's not the highly colourful dendro just a plain old brown one but non the less it's growing and thriving after 4 months in the tank.
I have a overpowered skimmer aswell, If you do fancy one try hanging it just above the sand so it's gets a constant supply of nutrients also target feed it with coral food, i use coral vibrance and coral frenzy.
Still waiting for it to shrivel up and die ... but touch wood it hasnt yet
I was told that if one gets past 2 to 3 weeks your doing well but thats just one persons view on it.

Chances are that your coral is not a dendronepthya and does contain some zoox...

[wavey]

Dendros dont actually hang upside down in nature, the grow upright inbetween SPS heads.

If it has 'spikes' of a calcerous material, then it is a dendro, the animal uses these to help it capture the SPS slime, which is almost exclusively there diet, they dont really adsorb/absorb any nutrients.

If it does not have these spikes, then its a sclero of sorts, which is a cave dweller and can live upside down/sideways whatever, these appear to be able to take in liquid nutrients, along with particles they have captured.

Will try and find some pics of the two.

[Ross1]

Dendros dont actually hang upside down in nature, the grow upright inbetween SPS heads.

If it has 'spikes' of a calcerous material, then it is a dendro, the animal uses these to help it capture the SPS slime, which is almost exclusively there diet, they dont really adsorb/absorb any nutrients.

If it does not have these spikes, then its a sclero of sorts, which is a cave dweller and can live upside down/sideways whatever, these appear to be able to take in liquid nutrients, along with particles they have captured.

Will try and find some pics of the two.


I've cant remember ever seeing dendros growing in between sps heads? Or anywhere near the reef crest,they have always been deeper than 10 metres.

Have you got any photos?

[Social D]

I feed it 3 times a week the bioload is small with only 10 fish (100 g system)....Here's a picture of it dendro or not?

http://www.internationalreefers.com/files/mini_dendroo_294.jpg

[wavey]

Certainly looks like one. Does it have the calcerous 'spikes' or rigid looking parts on it?

Scleros live deeper, these tend to be the pink or orange ones we see around a lot at the moment. These dont have the calcerous spikes/rods and frequently expell all their internal water, only to re-inflate.

I will find some close up shots from somewhere....

[Social D]

yeh just looked on the main body it has ... kinda like microscopic hairs , white in colour, it does deflate and inflate most days tho, i guess this is normal, it was given to me as a dendro so i reckon it must be one.

[SCOOB]

i believe they are called 'spicules' :)

[designsonline.co.uk]

That is interesting because I have recently placed an order with an online coral shop for some pink Dentros and some orange dendros, I wonder if they are actually Scleros? If so would these still be ok to mix with SPS and do they contain any kind of stinging cells etc... Would they be easier to keep feeding wise?

Joe

Edit: Also I guess if they are from deeper water they wont need quite so much in the way of light? Will they be ok at the bottom of the tank (2.5 - 3ft deep) if there is a lot of live rock and it has twin 250 halides over it?

Do Scleros contain Zooanthellae?

[wavey]

Spicules, thats it, damn your to clever scoob!

If they come in pink and orange, but they are scleros. In which case anywher in tha tank is fine! 100% filter feeders, but they look best upside down in caves or overhangs as this is where yo find the majority of them in the wild.

To feed, use an amino acid (ours is UltraMin S) this will promote the feeding response, then, daily if possible, feed a phyto/particulate feed for filter feeders close by and over the coral.