Dead and Alive

[clown-lover]

Was wondering if people could post pictures of corals that are healthy and the same kind of coral that's not healthy or even dead.
I was walking through my LFS and thinking...how do I know if these corals are healthy or not if I don't know what a dead coral looks like.
I know with the obvious soft corals if they aren't extended or if they look limp etc...but I was thinking more of the stony corals.

 

[meowzer]

The thing is YOU need to know what a healthy coral looks like
I Suggest if you want to get into corals of various types, buy the book "Aquarium Corals..Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History" It is by Eric H. Borneman and is an excellent book to have
ALSO...just browsing this site will help you see a lot of healthy....and not so healthy items

 

[clown-lover]

Lol I have that book!!!
I guess I'm looking for pictures of dead corals compared to live ones because I haven't seen the differences...in stony ones...and don't know what to watch out for when buying corals from the LFS

 

[xcali1985]

Most of the time its actually easy to tell.
Most corals grow up ward towards light. If its limp its either stressed or dying.
If you see lots of color loss it may be a sign also. Although there are corals like elegance corals that have a ti-dye look.
If you see bone or flesh of the coral looks torn or pulling away from its base, etc. I would leave that alone unless you are taking on a reclamation project.
I bought purple candy canes that were being burnt under mHs, got a full colony for under 35$ (20+ heads) it will take a while but im hoping since they are pretty hardy corals I will have success.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Clown-Lover
http:///forum/post/3277727
Lol I have that book!!!
I guess I'm looking for pictures of dead corals compared to live ones because I haven't seen the differences...in stony ones...and don't know what to watch out for when buying corals from the LFS

Skeletons show on LPS coral and the flesh recedes. Does that help?

 

[jstdv8]

other than my digitata the slowly faded from purple to white i could always tell when my corals were needing something. mine are mostly softies though so its probably easier. if it looks sick it probably is