need some help with a plate coral please =)...pics.

[byrself]

ok, my roomate just got a green plate coral, and it hasn't been looking great lately. his tank just seems to suck at corals. i can't even get some polyps to come out or grow in there. anyway, he just upgraded his (55 with tidepool) lighting to from 2 vhos 110w and 2 no 40w to 4 vhos for 440w. the plate came after the new lighting... anyway, he put it in my tank to see if it would respond better, and i'm not sure as to their likes and dislikes. i got it next to my brain...

will this thing eat a silverside like a brain will? i noticed it has a mouth in the center.. i may try that..
any help appreciated. :)

 

[azonic]

He looks like he's on the way out. A large majority of his tenticles seem to be missing, not just retracted.

 

[byrself]

actually, sometimes it does come all the way out. it's only about 2 or 3 weeks old in tank. it's just been like this lately. it might be still trying get settled? he has a maroon clown that was harrassing it from what i hear from the roomate, so maybe it's just spooked? i'm reaching i guess..=)

 

[rockster]

I agree with azonic. A large portion of the skeleton is already exposed. Does not look good. However, I wish you luck with it. I hope it pulls thru.

 

[falcon63]

I think a candlelight vigil is a bit late for this coral. But it probably wouldn't hurt. I think the lighting upgrade was a good idea though.

 

[wamp]

I would really look into his water conditions.. A plate coral can easily be kept under those lights.. What are his Nitrates at? Nitrites? Calcium? PH?
This is what I would look into before a lighting problem. Even under less lights I can not see it losing that much tissue so fast....

 

[nm reef]

Plate corals seem to do best in a moderate current and a wide range of lighting.....they prefer excellant water conditions that are stable. They also do well in systems with high pod populations and regular dosings of phytoplanktons. If a clown was irratating it and the water was less than perfect then those could have been the source of the origional problem. They do like a meaty direct feeding now and then......with as much tissue recession as yours has it doesn't look good for recovery. I'd suggest a moderate current for now and try to feed it a mixture of small meaty foods(mysis) mixed with phytoplankton.....and hope for the best!

 

[byrself]

that's true. his water is fine, nitrates a little high i guess 20ppm, but whats weird about it is that it always looks all white until it fluffs up. it's weird. maybe it will perk up and come out.. i already see it coming out a little more now.
i got it in moderate current now, and it's closer to my bulbs than his. i guess i'll have to wait and see in a couple days. my roomate's tank doesn't have nearly the circulation. maybe that's the prob? thanks..=)

 

[byrself]

yeah, i think you guys are right. i just noticed some torn areas, and a piece just flew around the tank. it looks like maybe the clown tore it up. i fed it a silverside, and it's not doing much with it. trying to, held on for an hour now, but can't swallow it.

 

[kris walker]

When aggitated often, a plate will not come out to photosynthesize light or eat foods. When this happens for a couple of weeks or so, it will start to decay away, which I expect is what is happening with your plate. Water probs could also be a factor, but if you have other things like an open brain and xenia that look good, I would suspect the dang fish is the problem.
Good luck,
kris

 

[byrself]

hey guys.. first answer, there are lots of fish in my roomate's tank. 11 of them.. damsels, big maroon clown, 3 gobies. etc.. i definitely think the clown was the culprit. it was looking fine a week ago.
he uses tap water for his tank. i think that's why he doesn't have much luck with his. he's hardheaded. i use bottled distilled in mine, and my tank is 10 times cleaner than his. he has less than adequate circulation also imo, with one weak a$$ powersweep for in tank movement.
it's just torn to shreads from what it looks like to me. some of its out, some is non existant. thanks for the replies.. i'll keep everybody posted...=)

 

[byrself]

here's some pics of his tank...a 55g.

 

[byrself]

 

[adrian]

Sorry to hear about your plate, this particular plate coral is not known to do well in captivity, Fungia sp. yes, but Im pretty sure what you have is Heliofungia sp. They do not ship well, and often die within a couple of weeks. Theres not much that you can do besides provide it with a suitable spot with good lighting and a slow to moderate current and hope for the best. Some corals do not appreciate a clowns interaction, it can really stress them so you might try to separate the two. HTH

 

[byrself]

yeah adrian, it was my roomate's plate originally, and since all the damage from the clown, he put it in mine, hoping it would recover. i only have one fish in my tank and it won't bother it. although, i don't think it matters in this case...it's already too far gone imo. thanks for all the help fellas.., i may get one of these myself and try it out, this one's toast i'm afraid.. <img src="graemlins//dead.gif" border="0" alt="[dead]" />