about bubble corals

[lafish]

Hey...I had some questions for peeps who have bubbles...What kind of flow do you have on them?...it says medium all over...but I have mine in a very mild area. Also, how long do your guys' stay "full"...all day?...I've had mine for a while and it seems to stay out really full (you can't see any of the "mouth" and the bubbles are big) for about 7 hours and then get smaller (start to see its "mouth, more deflated looking bubbles) for the rest of the day..is this a problem (even if it is consistent)? Anybody w/ one, I'd really appreciate your experiences...

 

[db]

I've had two over the last couple years and I have kept them in both low and moderate flow. If your bubbles are as extended as you discribe your flow sounds just right. As far as feeding them goes you don't have to wait to see the mouth. I usually feed mine when I feed my tank. Usually the feelers will come out and you just put a piece of food up next to the bubbles and it will grab it. The bubble will take the food to it's mouth. Hope some of this helps.

 

[lafish]

that helps a lot!...thanks....but should I be concerned about it "retreating"/delating a few hours before lights out?

 

[db]

My bubble coral deflates before lights out as well. It doesn't shrink down all the way to the skeleton but does loose some size. I wouldn't worry. As long as it is open during the day it is healthy.

 

[jja]

I have never directly fed my bubble any food. It seems to catch enough when I feed the fish. I have had it about 3 years now and it has gone from about 3-4 inches accross to 10-11 inches accross. I barely have room for it now I cant imagine if I intentionally fed it!

 

[rwhite]

How long have you had the bubble, LA? Could it still just be getting used to tank conditions? Ours more or less did the same thing, its only been in for a couple weeks. Fed it some mysis a couple times (once each week) and it now appears to be larger than when purchased. It seems to know when the end of the day is coming now and begins to deflate before lights out.

 

[lafish]

Thanks for everything DB....I feel better...and w/ regard to my jja's bubble growing...I'd kill myself if it grew to 10-11 inches...it would take over everything...the only thing to do now is prevent it from growing by not feeding it (lol)...and encouraging it to smoke to stunt its growth....jk

 

[lafish]

rhwite...yeah I've had the guy for about a month....and have spot fed a few times a week...and it is noticeably bigger than when purchased...It comes out near full when the acintics are on (almost immediately)...gets very full w/in an hour....stays that way for about 6 more hours...and then begins to deflate (not close up) a bit until lights out...maybe its gotten the light it needed at that point...who knows?....I wish it would stay full all day...quite cool when it is...

 

[rwhite]

A distinct possibility, the research I've done indicates that if the bubble is in a lower light area/tank, the bubbles may become larger and vice versa. So that may also apply, but not completely sure, as I said we've only had ours for about 2 weeks.

 

[ty_05_f]

When my lights go out mine starts to deflate and let out it's tentacles.

 

[lafish]

oddly enough...I put a slightly more (indirect) current on the coral today...and it stayed out two hours longer...interesting little science experiment