Fox Coral

nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Wanted to try out a new idea for the forum...thought we might pic a particular coral and see what everybody has to either say or show about it for a few days.
First up is a fox coral/ridge coral...Nemenzophyllia turbida
Below are a few recent pics of the one I've kept in my reef for a couple of months now.


The information I have is that this a fairly hardy coral that requires low to moderate lighting...low current...and is slightly aggressive. Mine does well in a moderate current under a combination of 4x65 watts of 10k PC's & 2x110 watts of actinic VHO's. Mine is placed towards the top of my reef but sort of sheltered from direct light. Feeding is basically from the water colume and it doesn't seem to respond to attempts at direct feeding.
Below are a few pics of different specimans I've seen from other reefkeepers. Feel free to add vital info on this coral and/or post pics of your own...I just thought it'd be informational to pic a different coral each week and see what ya'all had to offer.

 
plum70rt

plum70rt

Active Member
very good idea:) here is my fox, sort of shaped in a line rather than round, I have it mid tank, med flow, has gotten bigger than this will take a more recent photo tommorrow, this is about 1 month ago, looks great under actinics:)
 
nightshiftman

nightshiftman

Member
i like the fox coral very much. i just never liked the ones around by me. they are always too big or just ridiculously over priced. but i do like them alot.
 
plum70rt

plum70rt

Active Member
what do you consider overpriced? Im curious because it seems prices differ from state to state, I paid 45.00 for that one I consider it med 8inchs long , 3 inches wide, I have seen large ones for 80.00 does this sound like a good price?
 
nightshiftman

nightshiftman

Member
i've seen them up to 125 dollors.:eek: and they weren't even all that big. maybe 5-6 inches. although they seemed like top notch coral though. the stores that i shop are a little up there anyway, but i figure that's the price you pay for quality livestock.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Prices vary around here...for a med size speciman you'll pay $35-$50 easy...plus they are not always in the best condition. I looked for close to a year before I found one I'd risk...most of the local LFS had them but they would have signs of tissue damage/recession. The one I have was about 6" in length and in good shape...if memory serves I paid $45 for it locally.
 
ags

ags

Member
I paid $30 for mine and it was 6 inches long but was shaped like an "S" so if it could be fully extended probably 9 inches. Beautiful florescent yellow-green, looked amazing under atinics. Hardy coral that soon became the center piece of my tank........until I was cleaning one day and a piece of LR fell on top of it and my pearl bubble. Fox never recovered (RIP), fortunately the pearl did.
I tried feeding it brine shrimp and silversides when feeding some of my other corals but like NM Reef said it did not take. I dose with DTs and along with the light seemed sufficient. Had it for appx. 5 months total and once I ugraded my light noticed good signs of growth (at least up till I murdered it).
Ordered a new one late last week. Should be in today (through LFS). Great Coral!
 
sgt__york

sgt__york

Member
2 questions on these kinda corals - as the FOX is on my list of getting as well...
1) AQUIRING CORALS: do you guyz trust ordering them online as compared to LFS??? I must admit - we have 3 LFS's that specialize in saltwater fish - and they almost ALWAYS have tissue regression and signs of not being in the best condition. My impression from the very FEW things i've gotten online - things are a bit 'smaller' than i'd expect for the price - BUT they seem to be in good condition. Is this the norm? or are there other generalities (good advice) in ordering (buying) such corals?
2) WATER COLUMN FEEDING: I've heard this expressiona couple of times. What does this refer to?? Personally i want to stay away from corals that are "DEPENDANT" upon spot feeding - i prefer filter feeders and photosynthethic feeders. If they will take a little some extra - cool - but don't really want a lot that DEPEND on the feeding. I've heard ppl refer to water column feeding a few times - is this feeding that is put in DIRECTLY above the coral (in a colume)? or just food that is put in the tank (diluted into the system)?? Waht other forms of feeding do most ppl do for corals? (ie, photoplankton - i've heard a lot of ppl talk about LIVE vs the Kent concentrate bottles, etc) Can someone illuminate me more on coral feeding? (ps: plz define abbreviations at least once for me :) ex - what is DT)? :)
 
sgt__york

sgt__york

Member
PS: Reef, u said they are "fairly aggressive"?? How so?? I assume they do not move. Are there other ways of being 'aggressive' otehr than "touching/stinging" and "chemical warfare - releasing toxins"?? the fox doesn't have tentacles from what i can see - so are you saying it releases toxins? IF SO, what does it affect? how far should other types of corals be kept away? What corals are safe to be close to it???
Just more questions to address - when dealing w/some of these corals. I'd find this info highly useful :) Might save a coral :) hehehe
 
plum70rt

plum70rt

Active Member
as for agression I have not seen a problem with my a peaceful coral,its not to close to anythingthat can reach and touch it, I use Dts too, as far as I can tell Dts is the company name, what it is live Phytoplankton which is a natural food for many reef and sand dwelling invertebrates,,fan worms,
sea appples,clams,tunicates,many corals,and zooplankton, works very well for me, here is a recent pic of my fox
 
ags

ags

Member
I think when people say a coral feeds from the water column is that it is a filter feeder (like feeding DTs Live Marine Phytoplankton). I could be wrong but since I have started hanging out on this board that is what I have gathered it to mean. If I am wrong someone please correct me.
I too have made an effort to stay away from corals that rely soley on me feeding them. Seems like too much work to me and I already feel like I spend a great amount of time on my tank (no complaints). But what I have learned is those that will accept meaty foods (bubble corals, etc) seem to be healthier specimens with the occasional feedings. They also seem to grow fastier. I never fed my pearl bubble but started to after a piece of LR damaged it. I truly the believe the addition of meaty foods is what saved it. Could be wrong there too but that is my take.
 
debbers

debbers

Member
I think this is a GREAT idea!! Fox is one of the corals I've been researching, so this is just what I needed! Now, can I give you my "wish list" so you can post info. on all the others I'm looking into? J/K!! :D
I saw a post a while back and someone had this GORGEOUS white fox coral. Can't remember now... maybe he/she will post a pic again.
~D~
 
justinx

justinx

Active Member
I too think that this is a great idea, as it can help fellow reefers out with coral care and requirements. I have a fox coral, but i think that the tissue is starting to recede a little. I hope that it heals itself. I had mine in high light, medium high current and then i moved it to a somewhat shady spot with low to moderate current. it looks a little better now, but no sign of growth or regeneration. Hope it lives because i like this one a lot.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Wow...ya'all certainly have some very nice looking corals. I had no idea this would go over so well....now I'm glad I decided to feature a "Coral of the Week".
Just to answer a few questions:
By "feeding from the water column" I mean that it gets what it needs from a combination of lighting and whatever it can get from the water itself....I have a large refugium system that provides pods and assorted other creatures in my system...plus I add Dt's Phytoplankton on a regular basis.
The aggression of the fox is rated as low so I don't worry much about my fox causing any problems and as a general rule I try to provide a few inches minimum between LPS type corals.....more space for some of the aggressive ones like my torch and bubble....both of them can inflict some serious damage.
I prefer to purchase my corals local(for me thats normally 110 miles one way)...I like to be able to observe and evaluate each coral prior to getting them...but thats just me. Lots of folks are pleased with purchasing corals on-line. When I was looking for a fox several I saw had signs of tissue recession and that can be indication of a coral in decline. Several experiencied reefers suggested that its best to avoid a fox coral that has tissue recession because its nearly always fatal. It took a few months to find one I liked...and I'm glad I waited.
Now.....what coral should we feature next week.......:cool:
 
saltyrich

saltyrich

Active Member
Fox's are great. they are hardy enless something falls on them or they fall over. This will definately quickly promote tissue recession. They usually don't recover well from this. Make sure that you anchor them well.
 
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