Cynarina lacrymalis spawning project & setup.
- Thread starter Mr_Knightley
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Mr_Knightley
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Updatorino Timorelli!
I picked up a giant green Cynarina at a local swap on Saturday,from a vendor based in NC. And I'll tell you, she is massive! After only two days, she's opened up the same size as my two biggest ones. Hoping for some good genes from her, she's got a lot of weird hues and secondary fluorescents going on that I can't wait to see pop!
In other news, four of the corals somehow grouped together like this in the valley! Not sure if snails were pushing them around or if they are doing it on their own, but I guess we'll see as I moved them all back to their spots.
The maroon one is just jiving in the corner for now, however he has company! Somehow, aiptasia got into the tank and have moved in around it's mantle. Luckily, I've seen some ads for Berghias in my local forum, so I may get a couple to take care of them.
Today also marks this system's first ever water change! I went ahead and siphoned out as much detritus as I could get, but I forgot I needed the water for another tank so big fail there. I'll have to get some more next week.
In final news, my main tank is at a point where I can begin putting my hammers and nems back in. The tank will be a Cynarina-only tank once again, and I can refocus on dialing it in.
I picked up a giant green Cynarina at a local swap on Saturday,from a vendor based in NC. And I'll tell you, she is massive! After only two days, she's opened up the same size as my two biggest ones. Hoping for some good genes from her, she's got a lot of weird hues and secondary fluorescents going on that I can't wait to see pop!
In other news, four of the corals somehow grouped together like this in the valley! Not sure if snails were pushing them around or if they are doing it on their own, but I guess we'll see as I moved them all back to their spots.
The maroon one is just jiving in the corner for now, however he has company! Somehow, aiptasia got into the tank and have moved in around it's mantle. Luckily, I've seen some ads for Berghias in my local forum, so I may get a couple to take care of them.
Today also marks this system's first ever water change! I went ahead and siphoned out as much detritus as I could get, but I forgot I needed the water for another tank so big fail there. I'll have to get some more next week.
In final news, my main tank is at a point where I can begin putting my hammers and nems back in. The tank will be a Cynarina-only tank once again, and I can refocus on dialing it in.
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Mr_Knightley
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私史上初！コハナガタサンゴ Cynarina lacrymalis (Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848)の放卵放精を確認！ | 公益財団法人 黒潮生物研究所
産卵観察が終わり、一人居残りで採ってきた卵の水換えをして水槽をたまたまみると！ついにきたーーーーー！3年前からぼちぼち水槽内観察を初めて、ついについに放卵放精の様子を観察することができました！一人ぼっちだったのが残念でしたが、世界的にも...
kuroshio.or.jp
コハナガタサンゴ Cynarina lacrymalis (Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848)の子どもたち順調に成長！ | 公益財団法人 黒潮生物研究所
7月末に紹介したコハナガタサンゴの産卵から2ヶ月ほどが経過しました。定着板に着生させた稚サンゴは、一部斃死してしまいましたが残った個体は順調に成長しています。
kuroshio.or.jp
Ok. I found another project that spawned Cynarina in captivity, way back in 2019. They seem to have used the same region for their photoperiods, so that's cool. Sadly it's all in Japanese, but auto translators work reasonably well with Japanese so I'm not too worried. Hoping to find some more info on the site about their progress, stand by.
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Mr_Knightley
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水槽内でのサンゴの産卵観察開始！ | 公益財団法人 黒潮生物研究所
6月前に梅雨入りしたものの、雨はふったりやんだりです。今年も野外でなかなか見られないサンゴの産卵観察を研究所の水槽で開始しました。昨年は初めてコハナガタサンゴが産卵したので、今年も期待大です。
kuroshio.or.jp
This is the only other reference to the experiment I could find, roughly one year later. It is unclear if the photos included are of the parents or the year-old babies.
This is really cool.
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
Fun fact, in Japanese Cynarina are called Kohanagata, which roughly means "Small flower shape". Much better than 'meat coral' and 'tooth coral'.
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
Oi, it's been a good while hasn't it? Update time for sure.
A lot has happened over the past two months, some good and some bad. Sadly, I haven't given much time to the project, and thus I haven't been able to time seasonal changes as accurately as I'd like. the autumn temp drop is currently happening, and soon I will decrease the photoperiod as well to match. Current temps are at 73f.
While I wasn't paying attention, something struck my big green girl and made her really sick. I didn't have the time or space to set up a medicated tank, and thus she is no longer with us. It was just one of those slow, sad deteriorations that you can't stop. I'm very saddened by this, especially because she was my only green mother in the whole group! I will need to replace her next season for sure, but it will be interesting to see if the reds and pinks are totally inheritable too.
The worst thing is that I'm currently fighting diatoms of one type or another, and they are really driving me crazy. They are making all of the remaining coral sickly and weak, so much so that I've moved them to my main tank (with much protest) for the time being until I can figure this out. I did a 50% water change about a week ago, but within days the diatoms returned full force. Very puzzling indeed.
SO that's where I am at the moment. I will do a full range of tests to figure out the problem and hopefully correct it before they get too used to my display, which runs at 80f, and break their cycle. If that does happen, then so be it, I'll learn next time.
So those are the goings on of the tank, in order I'll attach some photos.
Before the water change, last week.
After the water change, last week.
The tank today.
Closeup of the diatoms.
The corals in the main display. I expect some bleaching, sadly.
Thank you all again for following the project, forgive me for my absence lately. Have a wonderful week and God bless!
A lot has happened over the past two months, some good and some bad. Sadly, I haven't given much time to the project, and thus I haven't been able to time seasonal changes as accurately as I'd like. the autumn temp drop is currently happening, and soon I will decrease the photoperiod as well to match. Current temps are at 73f.
While I wasn't paying attention, something struck my big green girl and made her really sick. I didn't have the time or space to set up a medicated tank, and thus she is no longer with us. It was just one of those slow, sad deteriorations that you can't stop. I'm very saddened by this, especially because she was my only green mother in the whole group! I will need to replace her next season for sure, but it will be interesting to see if the reds and pinks are totally inheritable too.
The worst thing is that I'm currently fighting diatoms of one type or another, and they are really driving me crazy. They are making all of the remaining coral sickly and weak, so much so that I've moved them to my main tank (with much protest) for the time being until I can figure this out. I did a 50% water change about a week ago, but within days the diatoms returned full force. Very puzzling indeed.
SO that's where I am at the moment. I will do a full range of tests to figure out the problem and hopefully correct it before they get too used to my display, which runs at 80f, and break their cycle. If that does happen, then so be it, I'll learn next time.
So those are the goings on of the tank, in order I'll attach some photos.
Before the water change, last week.
After the water change, last week.
The tank today.
Closeup of the diatoms.
The corals in the main display. I expect some bleaching, sadly.
Thank you all again for following the project, forgive me for my absence lately. Have a wonderful week and God bless!
Can you get a microscope and identify which diatoms? Will help with the removal. I hate those things.
Sorry about the green girl. I hope the rest bounce back when the tank is ready to have them back.
Sorry about the green girl. I hope the rest bounce back when the tank is ready to have them back.
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
Will do. I think I might have some slides at home, so I'll go look for those now.
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
I can't get pictures through my scope, but I believe the dinos that I'm suffering are Osteopsis, they're small and stationary with a coppery hue. I'll do some more research on how to eliminate them.
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
We're officially on month 11 of the project, can I get a whoop. Unfortunately, I do not expect eggs this year. Let me explain.
It all began in April of 2022, when I purchased my initial broodstock pieces at the Aquatic Expo. My lack of thought lead to me putting the corals in the tank right away, which would normally be just fine. However, one of the animals had an Aiptasia stowing away on the base, and soon after the tank became infested with aiptasia anemones. Normally I'd just get a peppermint shrimp for this, however the aips were in the pipes and in my pumps, so no amount of biological weaponry would stop them.
Fast forward to September, and here's the dilemma. If I kept on going with my temperature and photoperiod cycles, there's no way I could prevent the remaining Aiptasia from spawning as well, and the aip pips would no doubt overcome the Cynarina pips! So I decided to halt my seasonal swings and await the proper time to dismantle the tank and start over. In November discouragement took root, I started getting lazy, all the good things, and I eventually shelved the project for a few months, moving the Cynarina into my other nano tank for the time being while I waited for the right time to re-run their tank.
In that nano, in which a Fungia had begun dying a few weeks prior, all five of my remaining animals contracted some sort of wasting disease, which particularly affected my two smallest and the largest one. Another 3 months of me not paying attention and here we are, back at square -1.
The condy is a temporary addition.
As of last night, I have started treating all five (and an LTA) with a medium dose of Ciprofloxacin, which I will maintain over the next week or until the dears are looking better. In the meantime, I will be photographing their progress and filming the process of the tank reset on the main system.
Tank is set up beside my Pinguicula propagation tank.
Now comes the fun part, making a new plan.
_I'm going to install a proper krisel in-between the tank and sump to collect eggs as they flow through the system. I forgot to plan for this in the initial build.
-The center baffle in the sump also collapsed, rendering it pretty much useless until I can repair it. I have no room for a grow out area anymore so tweaks will have to be made.
-A light with better controllability will be needed, so I'm going to be swapping my Noopsyche to another tank and replacing it with an old AI Sol. This can be tweaked and reprogrammed far easier.
-I will be considering flow direction in addition to lighting and temperature to further mimic seasonal currents.
-Current rock and sand will be replaced with new dry rock & barebottom to keep the tank cleaner.
-Biological filtration in the way of filter feeding organisms will be employed to a greater degree.
I've experimented with using filter feeders to collect waste.
So thank y'all for sticking around so long. Though I may not get pips this year, I will hopefully have the framework ready for them by next spring. Expect great things in the coming year.
Have a wonderful day and God bless.
It all began in April of 2022, when I purchased my initial broodstock pieces at the Aquatic Expo. My lack of thought lead to me putting the corals in the tank right away, which would normally be just fine. However, one of the animals had an Aiptasia stowing away on the base, and soon after the tank became infested with aiptasia anemones. Normally I'd just get a peppermint shrimp for this, however the aips were in the pipes and in my pumps, so no amount of biological weaponry would stop them.
Fast forward to September, and here's the dilemma. If I kept on going with my temperature and photoperiod cycles, there's no way I could prevent the remaining Aiptasia from spawning as well, and the aip pips would no doubt overcome the Cynarina pips! So I decided to halt my seasonal swings and await the proper time to dismantle the tank and start over. In November discouragement took root, I started getting lazy, all the good things, and I eventually shelved the project for a few months, moving the Cynarina into my other nano tank for the time being while I waited for the right time to re-run their tank.
In that nano, in which a Fungia had begun dying a few weeks prior, all five of my remaining animals contracted some sort of wasting disease, which particularly affected my two smallest and the largest one. Another 3 months of me not paying attention and here we are, back at square -1.
The condy is a temporary addition.
As of last night, I have started treating all five (and an LTA) with a medium dose of Ciprofloxacin, which I will maintain over the next week or until the dears are looking better. In the meantime, I will be photographing their progress and filming the process of the tank reset on the main system.
Tank is set up beside my Pinguicula propagation tank.
Now comes the fun part, making a new plan.
_I'm going to install a proper krisel in-between the tank and sump to collect eggs as they flow through the system. I forgot to plan for this in the initial build.
-The center baffle in the sump also collapsed, rendering it pretty much useless until I can repair it. I have no room for a grow out area anymore so tweaks will have to be made.
-A light with better controllability will be needed, so I'm going to be swapping my Noopsyche to another tank and replacing it with an old AI Sol. This can be tweaked and reprogrammed far easier.
-I will be considering flow direction in addition to lighting and temperature to further mimic seasonal currents.
-Current rock and sand will be replaced with new dry rock & barebottom to keep the tank cleaner.
-Biological filtration in the way of filter feeding organisms will be employed to a greater degree.
I've experimented with using filter feeders to collect waste.
So thank y'all for sticking around so long. Though I may not get pips this year, I will hopefully have the framework ready for them by next spring. Expect great things in the coming year.
Have a wonderful day and God bless.
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Thank you for the write up. I'm sorry the pests sidetracked the project.
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Mr_Knightley
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Thanks. Better I stopped then than after I had millions of baby aiptasia, I suppose.
Charlie the Reefer
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the write up and reporting back! I’m eagerly awaiting future updates and very excited about the work you are doing! Tough setbacks, but it seems you are determined (;
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
Day three of Cipro, and things are looking wonderful. Far less exposed mesentaries, and far more expansion. No more gaping mouths either.
This morning, each coral was encased in a sheath of greying slime, which appears to be leftovers of whatever pathogen was taking them down. I attempted to take some microscope footage of the mucous, linked below.
Cynarina Lacrymalis microbiome (Microscope footage) - YouTube
For a transcription, it appears that there is some sort of dinoflagellate in the slime, which I suspect to be dead, as it is present in the stomachs of almost every creature I found in the slime sample. Notable ones are a larval spaghetti worm, a tardigrade (not filmed), several small flatworms (not filmed), and thousands of nematodes (not filmed) and what I expect to be rotifers. Coral microbiology is absolutely nuts.
I'm preparing to film the tank teardown this week, so I suppose stay tuned.
This morning, each coral was encased in a sheath of greying slime, which appears to be leftovers of whatever pathogen was taking them down. I attempted to take some microscope footage of the mucous, linked below.
Cynarina Lacrymalis microbiome (Microscope footage) - YouTube
For a transcription, it appears that there is some sort of dinoflagellate in the slime, which I suspect to be dead, as it is present in the stomachs of almost every creature I found in the slime sample. Notable ones are a larval spaghetti worm, a tardigrade (not filmed), several small flatworms (not filmed), and thousands of nematodes (not filmed) and what I expect to be rotifers. Coral microbiology is absolutely nuts.
I'm preparing to film the tank teardown this week, so I suppose stay tuned.
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
Day four, everyone looking better than ever! More expansion, less slime, tightly shut mouths, and almost no exposed mesentaries. The corals who had exposed skeleton are now re-inflating around those regions. The only one I'm worried about is my smallest one, which I started calling Dayglow. She's almost totally retracted still, though this morning she did shed a big sheath of slime & now has a couple vesicles inflated. I supposed we'll see how she fares.
I've named them for easier ID, left to right:
Cola, Angie, Fritter, Dayglow, Big Pickle
Cola looking much better today!
Big Pickle almost filling her container!
I've named them for easier ID, left to right:
Cola, Angie, Fritter, Dayglow, Big Pickle
Cola looking much better today!
Big Pickle almost filling her container!
Charlie the Reefer
Well-Known Member
Wow, that's awesome. Are you just treating with Cipro? Nothing else? Also - if you don't mind me asking, could you explain why you are treating with Cipro? I'm trying to learn more about coral medication and understand differing approaches. Whenever things go south for me I do KFC dip. But I hate just following something and not understanding it.
Hoping things continue to heal!
Hoping things continue to heal!
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Mr_Knightley
2500 Club Member
To be honest, I wish I could give you a full list of why I use Cipro, but I only know that it's worked really well for many different people and that it fights pathogens. I'm 100% going to include it as a protocol for any new Cynarina I add to the collection!
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