African Starfish

Sold Out - $ 49.99

How to Care for African Starfish

written by Dave Burr

A good choice for a peaceful community aquarium, but not for a reef aquarium. The African Starfish may eat corals, clams, sponges, anemones and ornamental invertebrates. It is one of the easier starfish to keep and can do very well in established aquariums when provided with live rock and live sand to forage through. Maintaining proper pH, Ca, Alk, & Mg levels is important for starfish.

Predators: Triggers and puffers may pick on African Starfish. More than one individual may be kept in larger aquariums of 80 gallons or more.

Feeding: Provide the African Starfish with bits of meaty foods such as chopped shrimp, clams, or silversides. It will also scavenge the aquarium for bits of food missed by the fish.

Acclimation: Take the time to do a drip acclimation with any starfish as they do not tolerate rapid changes in water chemistry very well.

Care Level: Moderate
Reef Compatible: Not good in reef aquariums
Diet: Carnivore
Range: Indonesia, Africa, Maldives
Family: Oreasteridae
Water Conditions: 75-80° F; sg 1.024-1.026 (1.025 is ideal); pH 8.1-8.4 Ca 420-440 ppm, Alk 8-9.5 dKH, Mg 1260-1350, Nitrates <10ppm, Phosphates < .10ppm

Water Chemistry: It is important that proper calcium (420-440 ppm), alkalinity (8-9.5 dkh - run it 7-8 if you are carbon dosing) , and magnesium levels (1260-1350 ppm) are maintained. Raising magnesium levels gradually up to 1400-1600 ppm can help to combat algae outbreaks, just keep CA and Alk in line as you raise the Mg. Nitrates should be below 10 ppm and phosphates should be below .10 ppm. We recommend doing a water change when Nitrate levels rise to 10 ppm. It is important to replace your phosphate media when phosphates rise to .10 ppm. Media Reactors make the most efficient use of your phosphate media by fluidizing it.

Dosing: Vivid Aquariums uses and recommends dosing pumps to automate the dosing of additives and keep your levels more constant. A dosing pump can alleviate the chore of manually dosing your aquarium with Ca, Alk, & Mg 2,3, or 4 times per week and will benefit your aquarium by keeping your levels constant through frequent small additions of Ca, Alk, & Mg. Our tanks all progressed when we switched from 3 manual dosings per week to 70 automatic dosings per week and we got a lot more work done.

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Assorted Beginner Acan Coral Frag Pack

$ 94.99

How to Care for Acanthanastrea Lordhowensis Coral

written by Dave Burr

Acan Lord is easy to keep and grows well in most reef aquariums. They are a great choice for adding a splash of color to lower flow, lower light areas of your reef aquarium. Each polyp is approximately 1-1.5 cm across. Baby polyps will grow around the base of established polyps. Acan Lords are great beginner corals.

Placement: Mount the Acan Lord using IC gel glue, or putty, on an exposed rock or ledge in the lower two- thirds of the aquarium where they will receive moderate currents and low to moderate lighting. Leave 2-3" around this coral as it has tentacles that can sting nearby corals at night.

Feeding: Although symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae hosted within them supply some of their nutritional requirements through photosynthesis they do benefit from supplemental feedings of Oyster-Feast, mysis shrimp, or finely chopped meaty foods.

Lighting & Flow Requirements: Acan Lord Coral requires moderate water flow and low to moderate lighting (PAR 120-250). T5's, Metal Halides, or LED's can all grow Acan Lord Corals when the proper PAR levels are provided. We recommend a 14-20K color spectrum for best coloration.

Care Level: Easy 
Lighting Requirements: Low to moderate (PAR 120-250) 
Water Flow: Low to moderate 
Aggressiveness: Peaceful 
Range: Australia 
Family: Mussidae 
Water Conditions: 75-80° F; sg 1.024-1.026 (1.025 is ideal); pH 8.1-8.4 Ca 420-440 ppm, Alk 8-9.5 dKH, Mg 1260-1350, Nitrates <10ppm, Phosphates, < .10ppm

Water Chemistry: It is important that proper calcium (420-440 ppm), alkalinity (8-9.5 dkh - run it 7-8 if you are carbon dosing) , and magnesium levels (1260-1350 ppm) are maintained. Raising magnesium levels gradually up to 1400-1600 ppm can help to combat algae outbreaks, just keep CA and Alk in line as you raise the Mg. Nitrates should be below 10 ppm and phosphates should be below .10 ppm. We recommend doing a water change when Nitrate levels rise to 10 ppm. It is important to replace your phosphate media when phosphates rise to .10 ppm. Media Reactors make the most efficient use of your phosphate media by fluidizing it.

Dosing: Vivid Aquariums uses and recommends dosing pumps to automate the dosing of additives and keep your levels more constant. A dosing pump can alleviate the chore of manually dosing your aquarium with Ca, Alk, & Mg 2,3, or 4 times per week and will benefit your aquarium by keeping your levels constant through frequent small additions of Ca, Alk, & Mg. Our tanks all progressed when we switched from 3 manual dosings per week to 70 automatic dosings per week and we got a lot more work done.

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Assorted Chalice Coral Frag Pack

$ 119.99

How to Care for Chalice Coral Frags

written by Dave Burr

The corals in our assorted Chalice frag pack are easy to keep and grow well in most reef aquariums. They are a great choice for adding a splash of color to lower flow, lower light areas of your reef aquarium.

Placement: Mount the chalice corals using IC gel glue, or putty, on an exposed rock in the lower half of the aquarium where it will receive moderate flow and indirect light.

Feeding: Vivid Aquariums recommends feeding Chalice Corals with Oyster-Feast, Roti-Feast, and/or cyclopeeze. Target feeding gets the corals fed using less food while keeping your nitrates and phosphates lower.

Tentacles: Echinophyllia & Chalice Corals have sweeper tentacles that come out at night so leave several inches between them and surrounding corals. 

Lighting & Flow Requirements:
Chalice requires moderate water flow and low to moderate lighting (PAR 80-250) to maintain its color. T5's, Metal Halides, or LED's can all grow Echinophyllia & Chalice Corals when the proper PAR levels are provided. We recommend a 14-20K color spectrum for best coloration.

Care Level: Moderate
Lighting Requirements: Low to moderate (PAR 80-250)
Water Flow: Moderate
Aggressiveness: Semi-aggressive
Range: Indo Pacific, Grown in California
Family: Assorted
Water Conditions: 75-80° F; sg 1.024-1.026 (1.025 is ideal); pH 8.1-8.4 Ca 420-440 ppm, Alk 8-9.5 dKH, Mg 1260-1350, Nitrates <10ppm, Phosphates, < .10ppm

Water Chemistry: It is important that proper calcium (420-440 ppm), alkalinity (8-9.5 dkh - run it 7-8 if you are carbon dosing) , and magnesium levels (1260-1350 ppm) are maintained. Raising magnesium levels gradually up to 1400-1600 ppm can help to combat algae outbreaks, just keep CA and Alk in line as you raise the Mg. Nitrates should be below 10 ppm and phosphates should be below .10 ppm. We recommend doing a water change when Nitrate levels rise to 10 ppm. It is important to replace your phosphate media when phosphates rise to .10 ppm. Media Reactors make the most efficient use of your phosphate media by fluidizing it.

Dosing: Vivid Aquariums uses and recommends dosing pumps to automate the dosing of additives and keep your levels more constant. A dosing pump can alleviate the chore of manually dosing your aquarium with Ca, Alk, & Mg 2,3, or 4 times per week and will benefit your aquarium by keeping your levels constant through frequent small additions of Ca, Alk, & Mg. Our tanks all progressed when we switched from 3 manual dosings per week to 70 automatic dosings per week and we got a lot more work done.

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