dodgerblue
Member
Just bought these 2 corals but didn't think to ask the guy for the names.
ID New Coral
- Thread starter dodgerblue
- Start date
yosemite sam
Active Member
The first one looks like some kind of Favites sp. brain coral. The second one is a Tubastrea sp., aka a sun coral. Keep in mind that they are non-photosynthetic, so you'll need to feed it to keep it alive.
mkzimms
Member
its never said enough... do research before purchasing tank inhabitants. Your sun coral needs special care that you may not be able/willing to provide. it will require hand feeding usually twice a day. mysis shrimp or other small chopped meaty foods soaked in a vitamin supplement like selcon.
spanko
Active Member
Originally Posted by mkzimms
http:///forum/post/3049022
It will require hand feeding usually twice a day. mysis shrimp or other small chopped meaty foods soaked in a vitamin supplement like selcon.
This is a little misleading. Here is a quote from Eric Borneman;
"In terms of aquarium care, specimens should be positioned in areas of consistent water flow that will bring them available food when expanded. Aquariums employing strong foam fractionation that rapidly remove any "reef snow" planktonic elements should take note of the following: the key to success with Tubastrea is regular feeding. These corals will usually recede and waste away, cup by cup, unless provided with regular food sources. Once Tubastrea begins to recede, hair algae can gain an easy foothold on the porous skeleton and cause further erosion of tissue. Feeding is best accomplished with the use of a syringe. I attach a piece of rigid airline tubing to reach all the individual polyps, and then carefully blow a cloud of food over the entire colony. I feed my colonies 5cc of frozen vitamin soaked food every other night. It is possible for these corals to exist on less food, especially if each polyps is carefully fed, yet a lack of food is not in the best interest of these corals. If kept "fat and happy," Tubastrea retains a swollen look to its polyps, the skeleton becomes somewhat obscured, and the polyp tissue and coenosteum adopts a more pastel shade of orange. Furthermore, healthy Tubastrea will soon begin to bud new polyps around the colony, many times releasing them to settle throughout the tank. Brine shrimp, mysis shrimp and other frozen preparations are all valuable food sources to the corals. Soaking foods in a vitamin supplement seems to enhance the ability of the corals to bud."
So while not quite as demanding as mkzimms portrayed, this is still a critter that needs more specialized care to thrive. As mkzimms said please do some upfront research here, in books etc on critters you wish to add in the future. Good luck with your sun coral, they are beautiful when well cared for. Check out the article on Melevsreef on suncoral, tubastrea for some good stuff!!
http:///forum/post/3049022
It will require hand feeding usually twice a day. mysis shrimp or other small chopped meaty foods soaked in a vitamin supplement like selcon.
This is a little misleading. Here is a quote from Eric Borneman;
"In terms of aquarium care, specimens should be positioned in areas of consistent water flow that will bring them available food when expanded. Aquariums employing strong foam fractionation that rapidly remove any "reef snow" planktonic elements should take note of the following: the key to success with Tubastrea is regular feeding. These corals will usually recede and waste away, cup by cup, unless provided with regular food sources. Once Tubastrea begins to recede, hair algae can gain an easy foothold on the porous skeleton and cause further erosion of tissue. Feeding is best accomplished with the use of a syringe. I attach a piece of rigid airline tubing to reach all the individual polyps, and then carefully blow a cloud of food over the entire colony. I feed my colonies 5cc of frozen vitamin soaked food every other night. It is possible for these corals to exist on less food, especially if each polyps is carefully fed, yet a lack of food is not in the best interest of these corals. If kept "fat and happy," Tubastrea retains a swollen look to its polyps, the skeleton becomes somewhat obscured, and the polyp tissue and coenosteum adopts a more pastel shade of orange. Furthermore, healthy Tubastrea will soon begin to bud new polyps around the colony, many times releasing them to settle throughout the tank. Brine shrimp, mysis shrimp and other frozen preparations are all valuable food sources to the corals. Soaking foods in a vitamin supplement seems to enhance the ability of the corals to bud."
So while not quite as demanding as mkzimms portrayed, this is still a critter that needs more specialized care to thrive. As mkzimms said please do some upfront research here, in books etc on critters you wish to add in the future. Good luck with your sun coral, they are beautiful when well cared for. Check out the article on Melevsreef on suncoral, tubastrea for some good stuff!!
yosemite sam
Active Member
You don't need to feed it twice a day, but you will need to feed it a couple of times a week.
dodgerblue
Member
Thanks for the info guys. My lfs told me that I didn't have to spot feed but I guess it couldn't hurt. Do I spot feed both or just the sun coral? Does anyone know the name of this sun coral and brain?
spanko
Active Member
Originally Posted by DodgerBlue
http:///forum/post/3049094
Thanks for the info guys. My lfs told me that I didn't have to spot feed but I guess it couldn't hurt. Do I spot feed both or just the sun coral? Does anyone know the name of this sun coral and brain?
No, it will hurt if you do not spot feed it. It is a non-photosynthetic coral and must be fed to stay alive. It will glean some food from the water column when you feed the fish but not enough to sustain it.
You can spot feed the other but not necessary. It will grow faster probably with some spot feeding once a week or so.
The sun coral is (Tubastrea faulkneri) orange sun coral.
I believe the brain is a Favia sp.
http:///forum/post/3049094
Thanks for the info guys. My lfs told me that I didn't have to spot feed but I guess it couldn't hurt. Do I spot feed both or just the sun coral? Does anyone know the name of this sun coral and brain?
No, it will hurt if you do not spot feed it. It is a non-photosynthetic coral and must be fed to stay alive. It will glean some food from the water column when you feed the fish but not enough to sustain it.
You can spot feed the other but not necessary. It will grow faster probably with some spot feeding once a week or so.
The sun coral is (Tubastrea faulkneri) orange sun coral.
I believe the brain is a Favia sp.
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3049517
No, it will hurt if you do not spot feed it. It is a non-photosynthetic coral and must be fed to stay alive. It will glean some food from the water column when you feed the fish but not enough to sustain it.
You can spot feed the other but not necessary. It will grow faster probably with some spot feeding once a week or so.
The sun coral is (Tubastrea faulkneri) orange sun coral.
I believe the brain is a Favia sp.
I am disagreeing with my good friend Henry on the brain. I think it’s a Favites sp.(moon coral ) due to its shared coralite walls
http:///forum/post/3049517
No, it will hurt if you do not spot feed it. It is a non-photosynthetic coral and must be fed to stay alive. It will glean some food from the water column when you feed the fish but not enough to sustain it.
You can spot feed the other but not necessary. It will grow faster probably with some spot feeding once a week or so.
The sun coral is (Tubastrea faulkneri) orange sun coral.
I believe the brain is a Favia sp.
I am disagreeing with my good friend Henry on the brain. I think it’s a Favites sp.(moon coral ) due to its shared coralite walls