Moreover, I think you may be making the (common) mistake here of painting with too broad of a brush in doing a biotope. Think "niche."

You do not need to keep such a wide range of biodiversity if you want to have a truly successful display. That is to say, you do not need to keep such a wide range of oragnisms from the biotope when that same number of organisms would not actually be found (or at least not indefinietly) in the same square meter of reef! Again... literally think "niche."

And of you want to do a patch of Caulerpa with facinating worms in and among it with tiny Ophiuroid stars throughout, etc... great. Add some sponges and call it a Caulerpa bungalow biotope.

But if you want to replicate a more accurate niche of the Caribbean biotope, then you will note that Caulerpa is rarely found in/among corals.

And of further intereest... among the many legitimate claims of baggae that Caulerpa owns up to (many noxious compounds produced... largely to reduce herbovory as Mike notes) they also produce a compound that inhibits stony coral growth. Site competition. Yeah... that would explain some things

No Caulerpa bro unless Caulerpa is the focus of the display, please.

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Anthony Calfo

As far as the niche is concerned, Eric gave me quite a bit to fill the tank with on top of my prior discussions here in your thread.  Clearly, based on past observations, my goal is not to fill the tank but rather to replicate a niche; ahead is where I currently stand on the biotope.

But looking at pictures of reefs out in the wild, I commonly see a mix of plants and corals...none of these pictures are at the reef crest however with are beloved Acroporas, but then that is not what I am trying to create...btw Anthony, I am backing off the Acropora direction...see further.

The niche is I am looking is to focus the tank more on sponge and invertebrates than most other tanks and am only looking for about less than half coral cover, with consideration of growth.  Mixed in this patch reef would be some plants and surrounding the patch reef in the sand would be some plant. 

At the moment, I am thinking of three rock mounds; 1 large mound in right side of the tank and 2 small mounds on the left; the small mounds would really be outcroppings of the large mound and thus would be grouped tight relative to the tank, possibly connected, and to be surrounded by sand. 

The large mound would be an open structure featuring a large cave and would encompass half the height of the aquarium; this mound would harbor the closed brain corals on the right and upper portions, open brain corals at the lower level and between the closed brain corals, branching gorgonians at its mid heiht around the rear & side perimeters and sponge & inverts in the cave. 

The rear small mound would be tall and columnar, maybe 3/4 of the tank height or a little taller and I may even bore the center out with a drill a little to create several 'shafts'; if this mound has any corals on it, it would only be polyps - I really want to encourage sponge and corraline growth here and am hoping that my pepperment shrimp and/or neon gobies will hang out either here and/or the in the cave...not in my control however.

The smallest mound would be in the left front and be partially under the sand with just some of the edging breaking the sand surface; this is mound will feature branching gorgonia and large polyps.

The open space between the monds is where I would place some branching Porites, mimicing Porites furcata possibly with Porites Cylindria (sp?)

I have paired down to using Favia sp. or Diploastrea sp. to simulate Montastrea sp., Lobophyllia sp. to simlate Mussa, a branching Porites sp., the large polyps Palythoa Gradis and one species of branching gorgonia still to be selected.  So as of now the tank will only involve 5 species of coral.  While this could be niched down further, I feel this is already ahead of mainstream reef tanks.  Fish will be mated pair of Cherubfish, 3 blue chromis and 5 neon gobies.  Since the cherubfish is partly herbivore, I dropped the blenny and replaced it with neon gobies; with both the neon gobies and chromis being blue, they will become the bachground fish to the Cherubs.

Now that the biotope description is out of the way, what macro algae/plants would you recommend for the rockwork and sand, and would you use 1 species for both or 2 separate species to distinguish...or no plants or macro algae at all?  I am very fond of the Shaving Brush but did not think it would work in this biotope.

Chris