Carnation Help

[enomadra]

Hi I have included a picture of my Carnation and wanted to get some advice on things I might need to do to make it feel better.
My tank paramiters are good. This is a Coral only tank (No fish in it) and has been up for about 5 months (55 gallon tank, 50lbs live rock, 270watts of light with true Antic 03) I add 2 table spoons of Seachem reef plus and reef complete twice a week with Kent Zoo Plex and Calcium. I had read that the carnation does not need much light so I put it into one of my caves were it bloomed once then never again. I then have move it to several shady areas in the tank but it just look like a pile of silly putty. Any help would be great.
Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[enomadra]

So no one knows what the secret sause is for Carnations?

 

[bltangy]

I read they need constant food source & high current also. I feed mine every coulple of days and still only opens once in awhile.

 

[fishkiller]

Are we talking about the feared Dendronephthya? If so, take it back to the lfs if you can. It will die... from what I have learned from everybody on this board and what I have read. Beautiful corals, but impossible to keep alive longer than a few months. Worse than a Goniopora. So good luck!

 

[jmesmcm]

I feed my carnation DTs on a nightly basis. Carnations are non photosynthetic so require no light but do require frequent feedings. I feed mine DTs which I spray at it using a turkey baster on a nightly basis after the lights go out. Good luck with it.

 

[cincyreefer]

feed it lots! Good Luck!

 

[donjasper]

I notice that when I use a magnetic scraper to scrape the glass that a small whispy 'cloud' of losened algea forms. So I try and scrap a portion of my glass about once a day (and then make sure to stir up the sand with the scaper to). The idea being that all kinds of various little critters are introduced to the water column.
I've got mine in a shaded low flow area, and it seems to open up every 2nd or 3rd day. Usually at night, but very often during the day. Seems to stay open about a day before closing up for a day or so.
From what I understand they need the right sized food at the right flow rate - or else they can't grab hold of it. They also need constant feeding - that's why I do a little scraping each day.
Great article. But that link is not allowed here. Sorry!

 

[spsfreak100]

The Dendronephthya sp. is extremely difficult to keep, probably, in my opinion, the hardest coral to keep. To be honest, i've never seen/heard of someone keeping it for over 4 months. The longest i've had one was for 3 days. Know they are non photosynthic, and will need to be fed very high amounts foods.
They are primarily herbivorous (phytoplankton), and we can't provide enough of it in our tanks to sustain long. Plus, the flow speeds for proper feeding are very specific and may not be easily achieved in tanks. If the flow speed it not accurate, the Dendronephthya sp. is sure to die.
FWIW,
There's almost no chance of survival for the coral. I would return it, and possibly pick up a hardier coral. If you choose not to, then you're stuck with a coral that's sure to die.
Graham

 

[enomadra]

Wow thanks eveyone for all the great advice. I have started the turkey baster method (except with a sureng if thats how you spell it). I have decided to feed it every day to see what happens. Heck it can't hurt at this point.