Hello,
I’m new to this site and new to opae ula. I know there are certain hardy corals like GSP or soft corals that can do well in brackish tanks. Has anyone had any experience with using them in opae ula setups? I know this isn’t something that’s typically done but part of the fun is experimenting and getting a particular setup to work out adequately. Anyone with a lot of reef tank/marine experience in various hardy coral species (yes, I know sort of an oxymoron but I know GSP are very hardy) and could even surmise what may work? Thanks!
Experimenting with Coral?
Moderator: Mustafa
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Re: Experimenting with Coral?
It's worth a shot. My thought would be that you might try sort of an intermediate salinity. Opae ula are usually kept at about half of normal marine salinity, so I wonder if you might have success keeping both GSP and opae ula at about 3/4 normal marine salinity?
I've tried keeping opae ula at marine salinity by simply letting the tank evaporate until there. They don't seem to mind, except that they aren't breeding.
The main problem here isn't actually the salinity, though- it's flow. Any type of coral will require flow to really do well, particularly a high-nutrient-demand coral like GSP, and opae ula don't like flow. You might be able to get something adequate with a bubbler, set to a low bubbling so as not to disturb the shrimp, set right by the coral.
Also, nutrients. GSP needs a good amount of nutrients, which opae ula won't produce enough of. You'd want to get nitrate and phosphate test kits so you can dose those nutrients as needed.
That said, it's an interesting experiment, and I'd bet it's entirely possible. If I were trying it, I would start up a small tank with some GSP, get the GSP happy and growing, and then very slowly lower the salinity. Once I had confirmed that the GSP was indeed growing at the salinity I wanted, I'd add the opae ula. That way, if the GSP starts dying off all at once, the opae won't be present to be harmed.
I've tried keeping opae ula at marine salinity by simply letting the tank evaporate until there. They don't seem to mind, except that they aren't breeding.
The main problem here isn't actually the salinity, though- it's flow. Any type of coral will require flow to really do well, particularly a high-nutrient-demand coral like GSP, and opae ula don't like flow. You might be able to get something adequate with a bubbler, set to a low bubbling so as not to disturb the shrimp, set right by the coral.
Also, nutrients. GSP needs a good amount of nutrients, which opae ula won't produce enough of. You'd want to get nitrate and phosphate test kits so you can dose those nutrients as needed.
That said, it's an interesting experiment, and I'd bet it's entirely possible. If I were trying it, I would start up a small tank with some GSP, get the GSP happy and growing, and then very slowly lower the salinity. Once I had confirmed that the GSP was indeed growing at the salinity I wanted, I'd add the opae ula. That way, if the GSP starts dying off all at once, the opae won't be present to be harmed.
Re: Experimenting with Coral?
Excellent reply! Thank you. I plan on trying this out in the future.