9月可能距离圣诞节可能还有很长的路要走,但是对于礁务员来说,这是第二件事。9月是珊瑚碎片交换季节的非正式开球。很快,到处都是礁石管理员的眼睛和心灵,将转向交易页面和留言板,寻找那个守门员根本无法没有的特殊作品。但是,在今年秋天,在我们对新珊瑚的新珊瑚奖中,我们已经准备好使这些新作品有最好的机会在我们的系统中蓬勃发展。
首先
讨论应该从一个问题开始:“我们要把这件作品放在哪里?”这个问题应之后同样重要:“那个地方是否给珊瑚适当的照明andwater flow?”另一个考虑因素是珊瑚是否会与新邻居相处。
Many corals use some sort of sweeping tentacles to keep space for themselves. Left unchecked, stings from these sweepers can result in coral death. Most corals will respond fine to being trimmed to keep their place in the system. This is especially true of stony corals, yet some soft corals will not respond as well, and that must be taken into consideration before purchase.
The right coral for the right spot—let’s go get it!
Not so fast, buster! Are you really willing to risk the health of your reef tank to add a piece from a system you may know little or nothing about? Pests come in so many forms that it would take a week to list them all. Coral keeping pros, such as Todd from樱桃珊瑚in Michigan, recommend a two-step process to ensure the safety of your system.
保持安全
第一步是针对珊瑚碎片的浸入处理。专业人士使用自己的杀虫剂配方,但是像我们这样的普通人可以通过购买非处方产品(例如珊瑚Rx). The nice thing about this option is that the dips come premixed and ready to use. Cherry Corals recommends dipping coral fragments according to the directions on the bottle, including both the time of exposure and rinsing afterwards.
第二步是在浸入后两到四个星期内从系统中隔离这些新碎片。太多的礁行人跳过了这个阶段,当害虫偷偷摸摸浸入浸水过程时,经常付出沉重的代价。就像隔离新鱼一样,您的新珊瑚不应与展示系统的水接触。如果您非常耐心,您甚至可以让您的碎片成长得足够长,可以分成一分为一分,为您提供展示件和非常干净的作品,以交易其他人。
So, some time before the coral swap meet, we need to buy coral dip and set up a quarantine tank complete with the right lighting. It would not hurt to also have some超级胶水on hand in the event that the fragment pops off the plug it came to you on.
预备,准备,开始!
准备工作已经完成,大型演出的日子就在手头。因此,我们的想法必须转向我们将如何将这些新宝石带回家。一种手持冷却器是一个不错的选择。挑选一个足够大的东西来容纳您的所有新作品,但足够小,可以通过拥挤的交易者过道。一两个毛巾将作为包装材料方便,以保持容器直立并泄漏。
我们还需要了解当天的温度预测。太热了,我们需要一个冷包;太酷了,我们将不得不去加热器。毛巾也将翻倍绝缘体,keeping the packs from directly touching the fragment containers.
分开思想
我们做得很好,做好准备,选择将在我们的系统中蓬勃发展的珊瑚并安全地将它们带回家。现在剩下的唯一工作是在他们的新家中抓住珊瑚的一些好照片,并吹嘘我们所有的珊瑚礁。祝你好运,愉快地交换!
图片来源:Dave Bowers