AndrewT Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I have had my acans in the sand for about 7 months or so now. Within that time period they have barely grown at all. All parameters are great. In fact everything but the acans seem to be growing great. I moved them up today to about mid tank. Im running two 400w halides and two t5s what do you guys think is this too much light for them or will they be okay? also my lights are mounted about a foot above my water dunno if that makes any differnce??? Any imput is valued thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 From what I have read, Acans are pretty slow growers to begin with. Are you feeding them at all? What is your calcium level at? I wouldn't move them too far up from mid level. From what you have described of your lighting it should be more than adequate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewT Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 calcium is great.... its actualy kinda high i think. 460 i believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 calcium is great.... its actualy kinda high i think. 460 i believe Hmm, what about feeding? I have heard that giving them some mysis from time to time can help them grow faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewT Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 i used reef roids for a while... they never seem to hang on to mysis when i feed them. What else could i spot feed them? cyclopese maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 You might try the feeding, but as Derek says, and I've also confirmed with a coral commercial propagator, they just don't grow very fast. I have about 4 small colonies with the same issue. That is why you don't see aquacultured acans, they are all wild caught. They just don't grow fast enough to make them commercially feasible. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 i used reef roids for a while... they never seem to hang on to mysis when i feed them. What else could i spot feed them? cyclopese maybe? You may try to turn off the pumps them spot feed with brine. That'd be small enough for them to grab onto and wouldn't attract the clean up crew too quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewT Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 sounds good ill try thr brine and see if thatll help any. thank you guys for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJMasta Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Don't know if you're already doing it, but feed them at night. I've also heard spot feeding them brine works, but their feeder tentacles come out at night, so I can only assume they'd eat more readily then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 When my acans have their polyps out I can take a piece of krill and use my tongs to feed them, I just hold it so that it barely touches the polyps and in a second or two it grabs on. My acans can swallow a large piece of krill in just a minute or so. I actually have to keep my skunk cleaner shrimp from stealing it. They started growing much faster after I started feeding them this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Important things to know when keeping acans. 1. They do not grow fast at all. But if you spot feed EACH mouth they will grow faster. I typically feed my acans about once every two weeks and I do so after the lights have gone out or early in the morning when it's still dark outside. Make sure to leave the pumps off for about 30 minutes or so. 2. Keep your MG levels up above 1200, anything lower than this will stop all growth and cause tissue loss if levels are long for a long period of time. 3. Acans like shade. Unlike SPS acans will "color" up better if kept in the shade. My acan garden gets in-direct light reflected off the side glass panel and they are very happy. I have moved a few up before and in a matter of days they turned brown. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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