Chaetomopha

CHAETOMORPHA

Chaetomorpha, Chaeto, Spaghetti Algae, or Chato is a Macro Algae that is extremely beneficial to a reef aquarium. It absorbes nitrates and phosphates from your saltwater aquarium. Keeping your parameters in check, helping your corals grow better and faster.

We sell our Chaeto for $12.00 plus $3.50 shipping for about 2 cups worth, more than you will find from anywhere else!!

Chaeto will arrive in a plastic bag with a paper towel and a small amount of water, Our Chaeto is full and Thick and extremely healthy!!

Live Chaetomorpha Chaeto Chato Marine Macro Algae Nitrate Remover.   This is one of the hardiest and most commonly used algaes. Great for introducing into marine aquariums. As a nutrient exporter, it absorbs, or feeds on dissolved organic waste. This algae thrives on fish waste, nitrates, & phosphates. This is a big contributor to maintaining a healthy aquarium system for our fish and corals. Also gives your copepods and anthropods a place to thrive and breed. This is like a natural protein skimmer and helps to purify our water. Introducing this algae is a natural way of maintaining good water quality for our corals also. This is chaetomorpha  raised grown and raised in our own marine reef system and will be hand picked at time of purchase.

Email us at Eric'smarinelife@gmail.com if you would like to purchase our Chaetomorpha we can send you an invoice right away. All shipping is done though usps with a tracking number

Vermetid Snail Pest Removal

The Vermetid Snail is a very Unwanted Saltwater Aquarium Pest, A Coral killer,  that is a stationary gastropod, often red, brown or purple in color, that has a hard shell that is cemented hard to your rocks, corals, glass, and other snail shells.

Vermetid Snails will slowly kill your corals by smothering them with the mucus webs they cast from the ends of their open tube shells, which are used to catch food and nutrients they need for survival, the webs often irritate surrounding corals, causing polyps to remain closed eventually ending in tissue loss. 

Vermetids also hurt or slowly kill corals by stealing their much needed calcium, impeding their skeletal growth! Often the Vermetids will attach their selves to a coral causing lesions that will result in tissue loss and tissue damage, eventually killing the coral if not removed.

The best practice is to manually remove the Vermetid Snail, using a razor of sorts to cut the snail from the rock, coral, or whatever it may be attached to from the base of the snail. The snail is not in the tip of the tube, its actually down in the base of the tube as you can see in the picture. 

Some aquarist will glue the tips of the snail closed, which will kill the snail, eventually starving it, but after doing this over a period of time, you will end up with unwanted nutrients in your system due to the dead creature still trapped in your tank. 

There is much controversy about different types of Fish, Dips or Treatments to kill these snails, but from most of the research I have done, I have come to the conclusion that its just best to manually remove them.

 

The New YouTube Reef Tank Build

                     The YouTube Tank Build Is Underway!!

Thanks to ARC Reef, We just Received our Reef Rock to begin the Aqua scape. Our YouTube Viewers and Subscribers will be able to voice their opinions and ideas that will allow them to have a major impact on the outcome of this build!

We will be filming the progress of this build the whole way through, our viewers will not miss anything that goes on during this build!! It is so important that we teach as many people as possible about how important the reefs in the oceans are to our planet!

We owe many thanks to ARC Reef for sponsoring us and our channel. Be sure to check out their website, For every pound of live rock they sell they plant 10 pounds back into the ocean!! So by purchasing your live rock from ARC Reef, you are helping rebuild the oceans reefs!! So far they have planted over 200,000 pounds of reef material, and they have created over 43,500 sq ft. of New Coral Reefs of the Coast of Maimi Florida, Called Heart Reef!!!

Would you like to Donate to Eric's Marine Life? We have started a Go Fund Me account and all that is donated will be used to help with buying equipment and tools for the reef tanks, corals, and supplies for the reef tanks.  We will also be using money donated to help with the YouTube Tank Build!! Because the whole Tank build process will be filmed, you will get to see everything we put in to it, and you can even be a part of the build by commenting and giving your imput on our YouTube Channel, Eric's Marine Life!!

Go Here Now To Donate To Eric's Marine Life!!

Go Here to Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel!!

Copepods and Amphipods, Facts and Breeding Tips and Tricks

Copepods are extremely important to a well balanced aquarium ecosystem, not only are they extremely beneficial, but they are also an important food source required by some species to survive.

Copepods and Amphipods are a natural part of the plankton food chain, so they will naturally occur in a saltwater aquarium. If you already have a well established tank you probably see many of the little guys on the glass of your aquarium, in the substrate and even on your rocks.

If your tank has not been going long you can easily buy them from many different online vendors. If you want to breed them like we do to ensure your population never depletes check out our YouTube video above. 

Its not to hard to breed pods, just get a 10 galloon tank, have your salinity at around 1.023, temperature around 78 Degrees F, and add chaeto, they love to breed in the stuff, we even added a small amount of substrate and rubble from our live rocks, then some pinky's filter floss from our sump, they were already breeding in it in the sump so we simply transferred it over. We add phytoplankton til the water has a green tint, when the water begins to clear after a few days you just add more, giving the little guys plenty to eat. We also added a small amount of fish flakes or pellets just to ensure we have enough for them to eat. We add fresh Chaeto to their tank and only keep the lights on the pod tank about 2-4 hrs a day. To transfer our pods we will take a small bit of the water, pick up the chaeto and shake it out giving us several hundred at a time, sometimes we will use our Pod Condo, video below, it makes transferring pods extremely easy. Water Changes are very important when breeding pods, you don't want your parameters to get to crazy, and they always breed better right after a water change. 

Be sure to check out our YouTube channel, Eric's Marine Life , Like Share and Subscribe!!

The Frogspawn Coral

The Frogspawn Coral is a LPS Coral, Euphyllia Divisa, and is sometimes called a wall coral, Grape Coral, Honey Coral, Honey Coral Wall, and even a Octopus Coral.

The Frogspawn Coral does best when placed on the bottom half of your tank, with low water flow and moderate to high lighting.  Make sure you keep some distance between this and other corals since it has sweeper tentacles and my sting nearby corals, you can have the Frogspawn coral close to his brother, the Hammer Coral, they get along pretty good and will not harm one another, but its cousin the Torch Coral needs to be a good distance from both of these guys since they will harm one another. The Branches of this coral are not connected so therefore if one branch is hurt or dead it will not affect the other branch. The frogspawn coral is not recommended for beginners as it can be quite difficult to handle for starters. 

The Frogspawn Coral produces its food via photosynthesis. It will also accept meaty foods such as raw shrimp, Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp and silverside when placed near the oral opening. The Frogspawn Coral will grow rapidly in a marine aquarium if the tank parameters are perfect.  Adding Calcium and other trace elements to the water is important to maintain this corals good health!

• SCIENTIFIC NAME:                         Euphyllia Divisa
• CARE LEVEL:                                    Moderate
• TEMPERAMENT:                            Aggressive
• DIET:                                                 Phytoplankton, Meaty foods
• LIGHTING:                                       Moderate to Intense
• WATER FLOW:                                Moderate
• PLACEMENT:                                   Bottom Half
• TEMPERATURE:                            72  -  78 Degrees F
• PH:                                                     8.2  -  8.4
• SG:                                                    1.022  -  1.025
• DKH:                                                 8  -  12
• CALCIUM:                                      350  -  420
• MAGNESIUM:                               1200  -  1350

Check out Eric's Marine Life on YouTube and be sure to subscribe to get notifications on the latest videos

The Doughnut Coral Information

The Doughnut Coral is a LPS Coral, Acanthophylia sp., and is also known as the Meat Coral. 

The Doughnut Coral does best if placed on the bottom half of your tank, with low water flow and moderate lighting. Make sure you keep some distance between this and other corals since it can double its size when it expands. The Doughnut Coral can grow up to 12" in an aquarium if properly maintained. They will be very easy to keep as long as they get enough space for it to grow. This coral would be an excellent choice for beginners to expert aquarist!

The Doughnut Coral produces food through photosynthesis but will also except meaty foods as well when it is placed near the oral opening.  Adding Calcium and other trace elements to your water is extremely important for growth of this coral. 

• SCIENTIFIC NAME:              Acanthophylia Sp.
• CARE LEVEL:                        Moderate
• TEMPERMENT:                     Semi-Aggressive
• DIET:                                        Phytoplankton, meaty foods
• LIGHTING:                          Moderate
• WATER FLOW:                   Low
• PLACEMENT:                       Bottom Half
• TEMPERATURE:                 72  -  78 Degrees F
• PH:                                          8.2  -  8.4
• SG:                                        1.022  -  1.025
• DKH:                                     8  -  12
• CALCIUM:                       350 - 420
• MAGNESIUM:                1200 - 1350

The Bubble Coral

The Bubble Coral is a LPS Coral, Physogyra sp. 

Other names include... Bubble Pearl Coral, Pearl Grape Coral, Small Bubble Coral, and Pearleye.

Placement of The Bubble Coral is best on the bottom half of the tank, with low to mild water flow and moderate lighting.   Make sure you keep some distance between this and other corals because it tends to be aggressive and may sting other corals if nearby.  The Bubble Coral may sting aquarist as well if it is disturbed while its tentacles are open so be careful when handling it.  This coral requires careful handling and is only recommended for intermediate or expert aquarist.

The Bubble Coral gets most of its nutrients through photosynthesis.  It will also filter feed upon marine foods such as zooplankton, raw shrimp, Mysis shrimp and meaty bits of silverdale.  Adding Calcium and other trace elements to the water is necessary for proper growth of this coral.

• SCIENTIFIC NAME:                 Physogyra sp.
• CARE LEVEL:                            Easy
• TEMPERAMENT:                      Aggressive
• DIET:                                            Phytoplankton, zooplankton, Meaty foods
• LIGHTING:                                 Moderate
• WATER FLOW:                         Low to Moderate
• PLACEMENT:                            Bottom half
• TEMPERATURE:                       72 - 78 Degrees F
• PH                                                  8.2 - 8.4
• SG:                                                 1.022 - 1.025
• DKH:                                             8 - 12

Check out Eric's Marine Life On YouTube for educational Videos about the Saltwater Hobby!!

Brain Coral Information

The Brain Coral is relatively easy to maintain and is an excellent choice for beginner aquarists to experts!

The Brain Coral is found throughout the Indian Ocean. Other Common names may include... Closed Brain Coral, Pineapple Coral, Star Coral, Worm Coral, Moon Coral, and Honeycomb Coral.

The Brain Coral is Carnivorous in its feeding habits and will filter feed on foods such as Mysis Shrimp, copepods, zooplankton, phytoplankton, brine shrimp and other meaty foods.  Adding Calcium and Magnesium supplements is important to help this coral grow. 

The Brain Coral is best placed anywhere with mild water flow and moderate lighting. Keeping distance between the Brain Coral and Other corals is very important because it has sweeper tentacles which can sting other corals at night, causing tissue damage to neighboring corals.

• SCIENTIFIC NAME:         Favites sp.
• CARE LEVEL:                   Easy
• TEMPERAMENT:             Aggressive
• DIET:                                   Phytoplankton, Meaty foods
• LIGHTING:                        Moderate
• WATER FLOW:                Moderate
• PLACEMENT:                   Anywhere
• TEMPERATURE:             72 - 78 Degrees F
• PH:                                       8.2 - 8.4
• SG:                                       1.022- 1.025
• DKH:                                   8 - 12

Be sure to check out our YOUTUBE CHANNEL and subscribe!!

Alveopora Coral Information

The Alveopora Coral can be quite hard to maintain so its best recommended for experienced aquarist. 

The Alveopora Coral gets its nutrition through photosynthesis. It will also filter feed upon baby brine shrimp, copepods and zooplankton. 

The Alveopora Coral is best placed at the bottom half of your tank, with medium to low water flow. This coral needs moderate lighting, and the use of actinic lighting is preferred since it will highlight this corals natural beauty. The Alveopora is a territorial coral and will sting other species within its reach so be sure to leave 2-3 inches of distance between it and other corals to keep others from getting harmed.  

The Alveopora Coral is found through out the Indian Ocean. Other Common names may include Alveopora Branching Flower Pot Coral, Yoo Stone Coral, Alveopora Ball Coral, Alveopora Sunflower Coral and The Alveopora Daisy Coral.

• SCIENTIFIC NAME:       Alveopora Catalai 
• CARE LEVEL:                  Moderate
• TEMPERAMENT:            Semi-Aggressive
• DIET:                                  Phytoplankton, Brine Shrimp, Copepods
• LIGHTING:                       Moderate
• WATER FLOW:               Low
• PLACEMENT:                  Bottom
• TEMPERATURE:            72-78 Degrees F
• PH:                                      1.022-1.025
• SG:                                      8-12
• DKH:

Saltwater Clean Up Crew and the Algae they help with

Saltwater Clean up Crews and what types of Algae they help with...

Since the 1980s the phrase "clean up crew" has been used by aquarist and hobbyist, and is used to refer to various small invertebrates used in keeping a reef aquarium clear of pest algae.

The 3 most popular are blue legged hermit crabs, turinaria snails and emerald crabs. Then you have scarlet hermit crabs, limpets, peppermint shrimp, brittle stars, copepods, arthropods, astrea snails, bumble bee snails, nassarius snails, nerite snails, turbo snails, drawf snails, margarita snails, skunk shrimp, sea urchins, and other sea stars.

Different types of marine animals are used for different types of algae, you can use Cerates, Nerites and blue legged hermits to help with Cyano, which is basically a red slimy mess which is long and stringy, and is brownish and sometimes a powdery mess on your aquarium glass and rocks.

You can use ceriths, nerites, astreas, turbos, limpets, chitons and amphipods to help with film algae, which is a micro algae that covers the aquarium glass like a dust.

Blue legged Hermits, Scarlet hermit crabs, turbo snails, limpets, and chitons are the kind of crew you need for long hair algae, which is pretty easy to id, Its usually caused from to much nitrates and phosphates.

Diatoms usually occur after a saltwater tank cycles and is caused from sand or rock or something plastically has recently been added to the tank, ceriths, nerites and chitins are usually the best guys for this job.

Green bubble algae looks like tiny bubbles all over your rock and grows incredibly fast, it can dominate a tank in a month if not taken care of. You will need Emerald crabs for this job. Juvenile emerald crabs are a little better, the smaller the better, so they can really grab hold of the algae without bursting the bubbles. You don't want this algae to spread all over your tank.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL BY CLICKING HERE