Chili coral question?

[emmitt]

Ok, 2 months ago i bought a chili coral. I know they dont usually live but it was a nice small piece, cheap, and my wife was dying for it. Id put in a mix of DT's phyto and oyster eggs. Every night late and every morning, i could see all of its polyps out. VERY COOL by the way, but during the day it would be all slumped over. For the last 5 weeks, i havent seen the polyps fully extended even once no matter when i look. I figured it was dying but it has grown to almost double the size and is always full and inflated and looks great??? Is it just feeding when i dont see it? does anyone who has one know when they feed or have their polyps extended?? Is this normal?

 

[uberlink]

They like the dark, and they like to be hung upside down from a cave. Can you hang it upside down in a shaded part of your live rock? I had the same problem you're having, but since I hung it and arranged things to give it shade, it's polyps have been out almost constantly.

 

[mrdc]

They don't need light and polyps won't come out if it's getting too much light. Mine is tucked deep into my cave. It sucks because you really can't enjoy it's color during the day.

 

[emmitt]

Hes not upside down but he is getting no light at all

 

[uberlink]

If you can hang him, it may well help his health. I had mine set upright in a cave, and he kept kinda shrinking and his polyps would seldom extend. Once I hung him, he really expanded in size and his polyps are out most of the time. Liquefy some mysis shrimp or other healthy chow in your blender with some tank water. Squirt a bit of that over him using a turkey baster when his polyps are extended a couple times a day. Chilis need quite a bit of food because they don't get anything from the light, as do most other corals. They're a bit hard to keep for that reason.