Corky Sea Finger (Briareum asbestinum)

Corky Sea Finger Briareum asbestinum
Name	Corky Sea Finger
Name Lat.	Briareum asbestinum
Family	Briareidae
Family lat.	Briareidae
Order	Soft Corals
Order lat.	Alcyonacea
Origin	Western Atlantic
Diet	Autotrophic, planktivore
pH	8.1-8.4
Hardness	6-10 °KH
Lighting	Medium - high
Current	Moderate - strong
Behavior	Peaceful
Keeping	Colony
Care Level	Easy
Life Span	N/A
Protection	No
Metric Units
Size	< 60 cm
Temperature	22-27 °C
Salinity	33-36 ‰
Aquarium	180 l
US Units
Size	< 24"
Temperature	72-81 °F
Salinity	1.020-1.025 sg
Aquarium	50 gal

Distribution and habitat

The range of Briareum asbestinum is the tropical western Atlantic, where it occurs from Florida  through the Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico. They live mostly on inner reefs and in the shallow waters of well-circulated lagoons, often forming large colonies.

Maintenance

They should be positioned in the middle or upper area, in a location with medium to high light intensity and moderate to strong, alternating current

Only high-calcium, heavy metal-free substrates should be used as substrate. Filters, skimmers and heaters are necessary to ensure water quality, as well as pumps to simulate tides, swells and bottom currents. It is recommended that live stones be used to set up the aquarium. The bacteria living in the porous stones act as a biological filter. The lighting must correspond to the species-appropriate day-night rhythm of the animals

Salinity: 33-36 ‰	pH value: 8.1-8.4
Carbonate hardness: 6-10 °KH	Nitrate content: 2-8 mg/l
calcium content: 400-450 mg/l	Nitrite content: 0.0-0.05 mg/l
Magnesium content: 1.250-1.350 mg/l	phosphate content: 0.01-0.1 mg/l

Regular addition of trace elements, especially iodine, is recommended. For salinity, an average value should be aimed for, which may only vary slightly by +/- 0.5 ‰. Ammonia and ammonium must not be measurable. Special attention shall be paid to consistently good water quality and water values.

Diet

Zooxanthellae, which are unicellular symbiotic algae, live in their tissue and provide them with assimilation products of their photosynthesis (high light requirement). The zooxanthellae promote growth and provide additional food to the plankton and small particles collected from the water current. In addition to the food produced in the aquarium during fish feeding (mysis, krill, artemia, etc.), commercial food for lower animals in the form of phyto- and zooplankton, frozen or liquid, should be offered regularly

Regular and varied feeding promotes health and increases resistance.

Behaviour and compatibility

They live in colonies, their growth is branched and creeping and they can be well socialized with fish that do not consider them food. A sufficient distance must be kept to other corals in order not to restrict their growth and to avoid nettling.

Reproduction and breeding

Their asexual reproduction occurs through the formation of daughter colonies (budding). In the aquarium it can be propagated well by fragmentation (cutting off parts of tissue). The fragment is fixed on a piece of living rock, to which it grows firmly after a few weeks.

Important

The additional illumination with actinic light (short-wave, violet-blue light) is very beneficial for their growth (zooxanthellae).

For the necessary uniform supply of calcium carbonate and magnesium, a calcium reactor and a magnesium metering pump are recommended.

If different species are kept together, care should be taken to ensure that fish and invertebrates match each other in terms of water quality and temperature requirements, as well as their social behavior, and that the setup meets the ecological needs of all species kept together. Newly introduced animals must be acclimated slowly to the water in the aquarium.

Further literature can be found in your pet store.

References

Text: petdata; Image: petdata

Source: KNOP (2013): Lexikon der Meeresaquaristik, Natur und Tier Verlag; ENGELMANN & LANGE (Hrsg.) 2011: Zootierhaltung - Tiere in menschlicher Obhut: Wirbellose, Verlag Harri Deutsch