lost cause?

[lopeyc]

I'm wondering if there's any chance this faded green brain (?) will come back.
I'd say about only a quarter of the circles are still green.

 

[lopeyc]

i inherited this one in bad shape too -- can those empty polyps get filled back in?
also, can you i.d.?

 

[lopeyc]

... and what does he like?
I discovered him stuck in the shadow of a rock, but it didn't seem to have hurt him -- maybe he doesn't like light?

 

[jarvis]

The first pic it might suposed to be green and purple. I cant really tell from the picture. Does it expand at night?
second from the looks of it I would guess it to be some type of tubipora, I think it has a good chance of recovering
third one is sponge, put it back in the dark.
Also what kinda lighting do you have?

 

[lopeyc]

I'll put the sponge back down in the shade.
The brain looks like a hard fossil, except that some of the circles are green, as if painted with some glow-in-the-dark radioactive paint. And I don't think it does any expanding or shrinking -- it's mostly calcified.
I'm running a metal halide. I must admit I don't know the wattage. Will try to figure that out...
Thanks again for the help.

 

[attml]

I have seen balled up Carnation Coral that looks similar to that last pic as well?

 

[reefraff]

I have a coral like your first one (Fivia I think) I thought was dead. I left it in the tank cause I though I would see what happens and after increasing my lighting it started budding out all over, smaller polyps over larger dead ones. Mine is green centers with brown rings.
Good Luck

 

[waterdog]

I don't know about the rest of you, but that first picture looks like a blastmosa to me, not a brain.
But either way, I would hang in there. Try spot feeding it and giving it good light and it should come back, unless there is some kind of bacterial infections. I have had great luck with both brains and blastmosa. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[lopeyc]

I did a little housecleaning today. And I feel a little big guilty about it...
One of my hallmarks as a gardener is that I always find sick plants a challenge -- I can hardly ever bring myself to throw them out. Having inherited some of these under-the-weather corals I didn't, at first, consider giving up on them just because they're b*tt ugly.
However, my tank is small, and I got ruthless today. I threw out the polyps (pic #2), moved the green one to a less prominant position and put him on probaton, and also removed this big, slug-like grey, ugly soft invert that always looked dead -- and I was worried if it did die, I wouldn't know it and it would give me an ammonia spike.
It didn't feel good putting these living things in a trash can though, just like it is hard to give up on a plant. Now I'm worried I'll pay karmically!

 

[lopeyc]

waterdog: how and what should I spot feed? I'm not real big on having to pander to each individual in the tank...
i thought the guy i bought the tank from said it was green brain, but I have to admit I'm not sure.
I just found a good book on non-fish, though, and that's my next self-education.

 

[lopeyc]

Originally posted by attml
I have seen balled up Carnation Coral that looks similar to that last pic as well?
He doesn't stretch up and down like my somewhat similar pink coral, if that's what you mean. He does change from pale red to rich red, depending on what I imagine to be his comfort level...
Not sure he's a sponge, though.

 

[waterdog]

Eagle, spot feed the so-called brain and put him in good light. You may not want to pander to your corals, but if they are dying that is what they need if you ever want them back. I have "saved" many corals from my LFS that they insisted were already dead and they had thrown them in with the puffers and even in their copper tanks. I was able to bring so many of them back that they refused to give me anymore, thinking that they could do the same thing. The reason they always failed is because they didn't have the time to deal with the coral individually and "pander" it. It really doesn't take that much more time. Just in your normal feedings be sure to feed that one specifically and an extra amount. Most of the time it will come back good as new.
That pink thing could possibly be a dying Chili coral. At night go in and look at him. If he has tiny little polipy looking thingys on him then he is a chili. If not, he probably is just a sponge. If it turns out to be a chili, spot feed him too whenever you see his polyps out. It will usually be at night.
Great, behind learning from other people's mistakes, reading is the best learning tool. Good luck with those guys and keep us posted as to how they do.

 

[lopeyc]

...and I realize "pander" is a harsh word. I want to do what it takes.
I still don't know WHAT I should be spot feeding him. I feed my fish pellets and that's all I put in the tank.
Um, did you call me "eagle"?

 

[waterdog]

Sorry lopeyc, still had another thread in my head. when you asked what you should be feeding I thought you meant what object in your tank. Sorry. I feed my corals frozen mysis shrimp or frozen plankton. At least for the LPS corals, like your blastmosa/brain. For something like a chili, if that is what it is, and other corals that are filter feeders I squirt DTs phytoplankton. you can use other kinds of phytoplankton too, I just think that DT works the best. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I have not had good luck with chilis. I find them very hard and and both of the ones I had died. They are very high maintenance.

 

[clarkiiboi]

Did your second pic looks like mine (I thought it looked similar if not the same)? Why did you throw it out? I didn't know what mine was either, research lead to daisey polyps---an easy investment to care for.