Dendrophyllia

[shrimpi]

Does anyone know anything about Dendrophyllia, "large sun coral" or many of the other names it may be called. I know many people dont have it, and it isnt usually found in the average aquarium. It is rare to find, and is usually sold at a high price, however I have also read that it is not so difficult to keep and being the same hardyness as any average LPS. Any input on that would be great.
Also, the second question about this coral is whether or not it is legal to buy or trade. I know most people originally obtained thiers from someone who down-the-line before them may have illegally brought it in from china or vietnam. Is this coral legal in the US? Is it legal to buy/trade etc?
The coral is amazing, and with my interest in sun coral, but this coral actually opening itself up throughout the day, it is definetly more desireable. Not to mention awesome to look at.
Thanks guys
Shrimpi

 

[fedukeford]

I don't know to much about them, but I do know a little. They are legal to have/buy/trade in the US, many online sites are now getting them. The more colorful ones go for $75+ a head, but some are now going for as low as $25 a head. They don't need much light at all, and do better in lower light areas. They grow pretty fast, and REALLY fast if you feed them a couple times a week. Wait for Viper to chime in, hes the rare coral pro.
Feduke

 

[shrimpi]

thanks for the reply, viper gave me some sites to check out with some awesome specimens! I just dont want to grab one and not know any major info about it, other than the usual coral 'care sheet'.
I found a really nice one red/yellow for 79.00 a head, and I have found cheaper ones not as vibrant. Id post the pic but it has the sites name watermarked across it .

 

[shrimpi]

bump

 

[triggerfre]

Actually they are one of the hardiest corals out there. One person on -- fraged his and a small piece fell off and a month or so later he had a new dendro. They eat anything. I feed mine pieces of krill, squid or any thing else that i feed.They are not illegal they are just rare because they come from Australia and have just been starting to be imported more. Roes marine world has them dor sale along with dunkens ( another jenious of the family of dendrophillia ).Captive reef also sells them. They are still pricey but are coming down in price now that they are becoming more available.

 

[shrimpi]

Ok, so I got my dendros on friday and placed them in a lower/shaded area of the tank. They are not opening ? antisocial? One will open then close... like they alternate whos turn it is to show face? lol

Are they still acclimating to my tank? is it normal for them to be kinda antisocial for the first week or so? When I put them in the tank they both opened the first day ...but now they are shy.
Is the flow to high or something? Its in a low flow area but I dunno. Roes M.W. had them under PCs and thats what lighting I have so I dont think they are suffering shock from the lights.
someone with dendro experience pls give advice. Viper? Do you keep them in a cave or what?
Shrimpi/Jessica

 

[triggerfre]

Mine are in medium flow kind of in a cave. At first mine would come out at night more. You half to feed them every day at the sametime and then they will be out all day. Try looking at it about an hour after light are out and i bet it is open. Give it some time, mine would be closed for days with out any reason.

 

[viper_930]

Some of my dendros (6 different kinds) are currently in a tank with no light, and some are in a tank less than 9" under the surface under a 150 watt halide. IMO they're impartial to the amount of lighting they get. You can try squeezing some food around them to smell like mysis or squid and that may encourage them to open within a few minutes.

 

[shrimpi]

here is what they look like today. These are the best shots I could get. They are doing much better. I have them banded to a rock temporarily to make sure they are happy then Im gonna epoxy them I guess. How else would I get them to stay put?

 

[garon]

Sorry I cant help much, but I think you mean dendrophyllia, not dendrophillia. Dendrophillia means a sexual attraction to trees.