Brackish Water Corals

[mlawson]

Just out of curiousity, does anyone know if there are any corals that live
in Brackish water conditions, whether that be their natural habitat or just
their tolerance for those conditions.

Thanks

Mike

 

[nmonks]

Yes, there are a few corals that live in mangroves, including hard corals. They encrust the prop roots. I'm not sure what their range of salinity tolerance is, but probably fairly modest. There are also some that live on the substrate and others that live in seagrass meadows (though these latter are usually normal marine environments with slight to no salinity variation). Soft corals in brackish water are a bit more diverse than hard corals, but there's not that many of either compared with their marine relatives.

There's an exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium that has corals in a brackish aquarium, but I have no idea if it is actually running at brackish or marine salinities. Possibly worth writing and asking?

http/wetwebfotos.com/Home?actionRequest=...iew&ID=2755

Even knowing which species are involved, this information isn't terribly useful, because there is little to no chance of retailers offering corals with accurate Latin names that would allow you to choose suitable species.

Cheers, Neale

 

[dizzied]

I was looking into brackish inverts a few months back and there are some brackish corals, anemones and sponges. There's even some freshwater sponges I've heard. Few of them are actually found in the aquarium trade though.

 

[nmonks]

There are LOTS of freshwater sponges. I believe several genera of cichlids, for example, have adapted to eat them in one or other of the African lakes. There are freshwater bryozoans, too. There are also a few freshwater jellyfish. But yes, few of these things get traded. But finding examples yourself isn't difficult if you know where to look. The thing is, a lot of them just look like goo. Compared with their marine relatives, the freshwater sponges and bryozoans are not at all colourful.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Opcn]

There are a lot of fresh water sponges, but they are all small and ugly.

I took a look at the link you put up nmonks, I see what looks to be a zoanthus species of some sort, And a couple of mushrooms, The look a bit like ricordea but I doubt any one would do that with such an expensive coral, Maybe its a rhodactus Mushroom.

 

[dizzied]

Geez Neale, is there anything you don't know?

 

[nmonks]

Yep. How to cook rice without it turning into floury pulpy white stuff. Any tips?

Cheers, Neale

Geez Neale, is there anything you don't know?

 

[smudger72]

Yep. How to cook rice without it turning into floury pulpy white stuff. Any tips?

Cheers, Neale


Yeh don't cook it so long Neale

 

[mlawson]

I was looking into brackish inverts a few months back and there are some brackish corals, anemones and sponges. There's even some freshwater sponges I've heard. Few of them are actually found in the aquarium trade though.

I've definitely heard of some sponges in Lake Baikal ( the oldest lake in the world in Siberia) and even in the Amazon.

 

[AMS]

Sponges can be found in any type of water at any temperature. Porifera is a very diverse phylum. There are even some brackish anemones, but these are usually temperate species.

The corals on the other hand, are not brackish. The Shedd Aquarium may claim they are brackish, but they are not. No corals are brackish, period (At least not after the Jurassic period). The Shedd aquarium may keep the SG at 1.022 and consider it "brackish" but hardy corals like the zoa's pictured will handle this salinity fine.

 

[nmonks]

Interesting. There certainly are corals in mangroves, but as I said above, their tolerance for salinity changes is likely to be small. SG 1.022 is 90% seawater, at 25C, which sounds about right. Not all mangroves are in brackish water, though all are periodically exposed to freshwater influences (e.g. rainfall) to a far greater degree than offshore reefs. I'd expect there are corals able to tolerate ~SG 1.020, which is 80% seawater. Whether you call this "brackish" depends on how you define it I suppose. Technically it is, but I personally don't consider a brackish water aquarium anything at or above SG 1.018.

Cheers, Neale

The corals on the other hand, are not brackish. The Shedd Aquarium may claim they are brackish, but they are not. No corals are brackish, period (At least not after the Jurassic period). The Shedd aquarium may keep the SG at 1.022 and consider it "brackish" but hardy corals like the zoa's pictured will handle this salinity fine.

 

[AMS]

Agreed that some soft corals grow within mangroves, however, these mangroves probably aren't estuarine and don't have much (if any) fluctuation in salinity.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Yep. How to cook rice without it turning into floury pulpy white stuff. Any tips?

Cheers, Neale

Geez Neale, is there anything you don't know?

1--buy a rice cooker.
2--read the manual.
3--follow the instructions.

although i suppose step 3 would first require all the testosterone to be sucked from your body

 

[BiffMalawi]

Choose good rice, Basmati.
Put rice in a pot.
Fill with water until double volume of rice.
3/4 heat say 7-8 out of ten.
Boil until water is gone.
Dump into strainer.
Fill pot with cold water and pour over rice.
Let drain. Do not shake in strainer or rice will get mushy.

Add yummy curry.

Invite Biff over for dinner.

 

[nmonks]

OK, I get the cooking part. But there are some things I see others do, but some people don't. So which is right?

1. Do I wash the rice?
2. Do I pre-soak the rice before cooking?
3. Do I put a towel over the pot to keep the steam in?
4. Do I add salt and/or oil?

I've seen all of these being done by people who get it right. But doesn't seem to help me!

Cheers, Neale