TIP OF THE WEEK Reef Detritus You might not want to blow this one off, or should you? Zoanthids are unique in that they inherently create a large amount of surface area for waste to accumulate. Looking down at a large colony of closed polyps, you're essentially seeing a carpet, and we all know how quickly carpets can trap dirt. The dark and cramped space between the polyps is often overlooked, and therefore can turn into a pathogen-infested wasteland when neglected. We recommend a light 'dusting' once per week to prevent the accumulation of detritus. This is easily achieved with a few well-placed turkey baster squirts. If a colony is particularly large and can be removed from the aquarium, a vigorous shake in a bucket of saltwater can achieve the same result without heavily clouding the tank. While removing detritus, take care not to redistribute the material onto adjacent zoanthid colonies. We've found that reef aquariums with vigorous flow and adequate detritivorous invertebrates need less attention paid to detritus removal. However, if this maintenance is completely ignored, you are essentially playing 'Russian Roulette' in the sense that a zoanthid colony could be harboring decaying waste and/or a bacterial infection. Happy squirting! ARCHIVE |
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