Carnation is dying

[aeroreefs]

Hi,guys.
Is it really difficult for newbie like me to keep Carnation,or couli flower well?
My Carnation seems to be dying since putting into reef tank last week.
Water parameters are as follows;
nitrate 5
dkh 10
ca 450
ph 8.1-8.3
sal 1.023
temp. 82-84
Is there any ways to keep it well.
And what is food for it?
From a book, plankton is said to be its major food,if then, how can it be taken?
TIA

 

[Anonymous]

According to Borneman: "All members of Dendronephthya are extraordinarily difficult to keep, and all but the most experienced and dedicated aquarists should resist purchasing them."

[ August 02, 2001: Message edited by: yancey ]

 

[Anonymous]

It may be possible to save it. It will take a lot of work. First you must get some DT's phytoplankton, then a couple times a day you need to take the coral out of the tank and feed it in its own area, perhaps a large pyrex bowl. Let the coral feed in the phyto for about 10 minutes and put it back in the tank. If I am correct, it needs to be mounted upside down. It is usually found in the shade.
Please research any animal you get before buying. The key to a successful tank is knowledge before hand. It will save you and the animal a lot of grief.
If anyone sees something wrong with what I said, please correct me.

 

[Lunchbucket]

i am w/ steve about feeding a lot and hanging upside down is right i believe

steve great job man! glad you didn't get all huffy and flame him. glad to see people can be nice to a newbie that maybe made a bad choice.

later
Lunchbucket

 

[Anonymous]

Plus provide plenty of current. I think the hanging upside down and being in the shade may be helpful in the long run but not critical. In nature they are frequently found right side up and in the sun. Lots of phytoplankton, lots of current.

 

[aeroreefs]

Let me know how to get a plankton.
Is it possible?
Are carnation,coco worm and something like that impossible to be kept in reef tank without plankton?

TIA

 

[chinese101]

I have a carnation living in my tank for almost 4 months now. It was so beautiful in the store that I gotta have it. Little do I know that it was so hard to keep until I hit the internet and do some research on it. The upside down position is very critical. I think if the coral is found upside down before collection, it will only live in that position. I tried putting mine rightside up twice and see it dying. Putting it upside down immeditately put it back in good health again. I put it right next to my powersweep power head, which it got a lot of current. The first 3 months, I was feeding it Kent PhytoPlex and Micro.Vert alternatively every other day. Since last week, I added DT to the mix. A lower tank temperture may also help. I used to keep my tank at 82 degree. Couple months ago, my drug crazed roommate attacked me with a knife and I had to stay away from the house for 3 days before the cops came and arrested him. (Man, I wish they would shoot all drug dealers here as in China, we will have a lot less problem in our society.) When I came home, everything was turned off. My tank temperture dropped way off the scale, but the carnation was so happy it expanded to 4 times its size. I guess it may be due to the lower temp. or the higher nutrine in the water. So I started to keep my tank at 78 degree. It has been fine since then.

 

[Goldmoon]

Hi, If you mean where to get live DT phytoplankton here is a link :
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PA&Product_Code=DT-375&Category_Code=DTfood2

It is Premium aquatics. This should get you directly to the bottle. Good luck.

There must be other websites you could get it from but this is the one that comes to my mind.