But the reason I got 50l is that I cant leave the store without getting some new things for my tank. This week I decided to stay away from the fish tanks and look into corals. After looking at their display tanks for the last 3 weeks and doing some research, I decided that a few mushroom corals, a leather coral and possibly some pulsing corals would be good starters for my tank. Also, they have very good visual appeal and can withstand a beginners mistakes.
The one difficult thing about buying them, is where exactly to place them! Some like moderate water flow, while others prefer a strong water flow. Some require moderate lighting, whiles others strong lighting. Placement is everything. While these are hardy, poor water quality and placement will result in their deaths. And with their deaths, you may find some fish following them. So to say that I found this daunting, may be an understatement.
Where did I place them? With the help of my wife, i think we have managed to find suitable places for all the corals. The leather coral is at the bottom of the tank with direct light on him. Also, there should be a good direct flow from the water jet for him to be happy. The other reason for keeping him low in the tank is the fact the can grow very big and block out a lot of light in the tank. The Pulsing polyps are in a part of the tank, where the water flow is circulating back to the jet and right on the other side. Therefore the water flow is moderate and hopefully they will have time to pulse (they wont pulse if the current is to strong for them).
Lastly, I couldn't find mushrooms, so I went for white spot star polyps These are really pretty, especially under the blue lights as their tips have a luminous green in them. These require moderate to high water flow and lighting. I have place these close to the intake of the water jet,, so they can get a good flow rate as well as being positioned very high in the tank for high lighting levels.
Unfortunately, while looking at the coral tanks, I saw a pair of white rayed shrimp gobies Also know as clown or Yasha hase gobies) that were irresistible So they came home with us as well. Unfortunately, there are no photos of these guys as we haven't seen them since we introduced them into our tank. They are known to be very shy when first being introduced into the tank and take up to a month before begin seen again. They are also known tank jumpers that require a lid to ensure they stay inside the tank. You can pair these up with a pistol shrimp. For now, I dont think I am going to do that as I bought a pair of these gobies. I worry that I may need a pair of pistol shrimps to satisfy both their needs and that may cause some heartache down the line. Lets hope these guys prefer each others company instead. I bought some clear tubing and have made 3 burrows in the tank in the hope that the gobies use these as a home.
