Flower Pot Coral Question And Others

Yep, good luck with the carnation. They're considered "expert" level to maintain.

 

Hmmm, I'm looking around at a lot of sites list it as "expert", like you said.
The guy at the LFS specifically pointed it out as an "Easier one".

Not crazy light demands, and just phytoplankton.

I guess we'll see what happens. It's really cool looking.

 

Being a NPS coral it does well in shaded areas of the tank. And it is listed as expert on Liveaquaria.com under their NPS section. It will most likely seem to do ok but slowly starve to death over a number of months and shrink up.

 

So in order to not have that happen...?
Just feed it? Or is there something that only "Experts" know?

 

Typically your water quality will suffer from the frequent feedings needed to keep this coral alive long term. The Expert rating is because they are kept in specialized systems by people that cater to the corals nutritional needs.

 

To expand on Corailline's point, they eat a LOT more food and a LOT more flow that most people think. They also require a LOT more filtration than people realize. You have to feed, remove the waste, feed, remove the waste. If you remove too much waste too fast, you will starve the coral. If you don't remove enough waste quick enough, you'll have massive nitrates which will kill the coral. Knowing how to strike that balance is why they are considered "expert" corals.

Additionally, you were told wrong. They don't eat just phytoplankton. They require a steady feeding of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and bacterioplankton. Most people who keep them keep them in NPS (Non-PhotoSynthetic) only tanks that have food dosed all day long via a dosing pump.

 

Interesting... Well this might be going back to the store then