Corals Which Need No Light...

[CAC]

Hi, i was wondering, if i got a tank, with only normal tubes, with no real coral potential, (without putting in other lights) then could i have things like feather dusters, macro algea and sun corals etc???
Im presumeing i could, but would they be very hard to keep?
I know that the sun coral would be, because each head needs to be fed separately, but what about the feather dusters??? Are they easy??

Thanks alot, Mikey

 

[Lynden]

There are many non-photosynthetic corals out there, and you are right that they can be difficult to keep.

But many are very beautiful. The most beautiful coral of them all (in my opinion), Dendronepthea, is non-photosynthetic. They are relatively inexpensive, but they are widely considered to be the most difficult coral in the world to keep alive in the aquarium. They flourish in the wild (there are huge fields of Dendronepthea in the wild), but to be kept in the aqaurium, they need to be fed almost constantly. It's a shame, too, they really are beautiful.

There are many other invertebrates that do not require intense light. These include Sponges, Feather Duster Worms, and Tube Anemones, all of which are beautiful (but deadly in the case of the Tube Anemone) and relatively easy to keep. A deep water tank is quite possible, and a nice change from the typical reef tank.

-Lynden

 

[Mr Miagi]

Macro-alage does need light though, it does photosynthesise. You could try some mushrooms, IME they do well anywhere in the tank. Some of mine actually move themselves underneath caves. Keep away from blue stripped shrooms, as they require a little more light, but normal types are fairly forgiving when it comes to light.

 

[CAC]

Cool, thanks for the info guys

Mikey