Green coral ID and question

[peachie98]

I got this coral with my tank from my LFS...I'm thinking it's a type of brain...but don't know much about it?
It used to have little think hair-like things that stuck out in about 2-3 places, but now in those places is stuff that almost looks like green algae clumps there (maybe attached to the feeder hairs?). I guess I'd like to know what it is, and how to tell if it's healthy or not?
I know it's still alive because it's actually increased in size a little, and when I move anything around and it moves, when I re-position it a ton of slimy crap is emitted into the tank and it takes hours to clear up.
Sorry the pics aren't too good.
I'm not sure how to add photos...I tried to attach them, hopefully that worked?

 

[perfectdark]

It does look like a type of brain, although im not sure which. It also looks kinda jammed in where its at. There doesnt appear to be much room for it to open up and inflate. What type of lighting is it under? And IMO I would place it down on an nice open spot in your sand bed. The slime it lets off is basically its defense to you touching it. Leaving oils and anything else you have on your hands it doesnt like so it basically slimes it off. Its common and nothing you should worry about.

 

[peachie98]

It is in the corner at the moment so you're right, it is kinda jammed in at the moment...it's so odd shaped I haven't found a spot for it yet where it will stay put (it's very curved..and every time I try to re-arrange the live rock the rock falls and it does too). When I bought this tank it was already set up in the LFS...but on the way home all the rock and such kindof fell out of place and I have yet after 3+ months been able to arrange things where they look good and look natural.
I have the stock lighting in a BioCube8 (2 bulbs..one blue and one daylight, 18watts).

 

[paintballer768]

I dont know much about brains, but I looked at the pictures that SWF.com has up, and it looks closest to the Lime Green Favites. Not 100% sure, but hope maybe itll help.
You are going to want to consider upgrading those lights too. LFS had it in there probably to make it look nice, and if it took a turn for the worse they could just put it back under MHs at any time and have it do fine.
P.S. Did you get this from Mark's Ark or a different store?

 

[peachie98]

Mark's Ark....he set it up for a customer who backed out, so they had it for a few months on their counter for sale.
All the other stores around here I've had back luck with sick fish (if you look at some of my recent threads I had a bad bout with ich or something like it...and I bought the newest fish who I think brought it into my tank at another LFS besides Mark's).
Any other stores you would recommend? Any good or bad you've had with Mark's?
I'm just getting back into saltwater and have this biocube as my first fun with reef stuff (my 40 gallon is FOWLR...which is the sick tank right now).
Do they sell an upgrade light(s) that go right into the stock lid for the B8's?
Thanks!

 

[paintballer768]

Last time I went to Marks Ark was when I was setting up this tank, the place was kinda messy because I guess they moved recently? Anyways the coral seemed a bit cramped in the tank they had it all in. I cant say for sure because it was a few months ago, but the tank was very long, and it seemed like maybe corals were very close to each other. If I remember correctly, they had a gorgonian that was partially in the sand. So I dont really use them too much, though thats the only thing I can really say about them.
I use Barrier Reef down in Boca, but thats going to be a long drive for you. They generally have everything I need. Im not sure about Marks, but Barrier Reef can sometimes be one of those places that will sell you things you dont necessarily need that moment too.

 

[peachie98]

Hmmm...I remember a few years ago when I had my tank set up I went down to your area to a really nice SW store with a lot of corals and fish...might be where you go. It wasn't too bad of a drive, just gotta plan it ahead of time.
The one thing I've found with Mark's is that they will sell you anything and the employees aren't always that knowlegable. I was a dummy who bought a mandarin and they knew the tank(s) I had and how long they were set up...noone told me it wasn't a good idea and it would starve. Unfortunately by the time I found this board it was really skinny and did end up passing. I mentioned this to them and they still didn't act as though the 8 gallon was too small! Oh well....
I'm glad I found this board as it has helped me realize all my stupid mistakes (like the mandarin and not having a QT tank). At least I can learn from them and hopefully not harm any more of my fish!
On a side note...I did move the green thing to the center of the tank now towards the lights...one of the filament things popped out so it seems happier there.

 

[paintballer768]

Everyones been a dummy at one point when you go to the LFS to buy your tank, and you end up leaving with like 4 damsels and a filter thats like 2 fold what you need

Yea that means its starting to open up, as slowly as its going to take. Before you go into Marks or any of the LFS's, I always look up what I can about the piece I want to get. Its always kind of fun to go in there and attempt to buy it, and when they tell you something that contradicts whats actually true about it, they get really careful about what they say afterwards. Im sure you can find a thread about the usual corals on here anyways if you look in the right places. Hopefully it will open up more. If you need to, you can take a big tupperware container and fill it up with your tank water, put some of your corals in there (the ones that arent attached to your rocks at least), and arrange the rocks without needing to worry about them for a bit.