Opinions on care for a torch coral??

[azocean709]

did some research on um.....but everything is differant. bought a torch coral today. pretty lil sucker. would like to kow everyones opinion on how to care for it....The way YOU do. I see its pretty self explanitory, but everyones experiences are differant. and I would like to know those experiences. Also I have a couple of hitch-hikers that came in on a fat chunk of LR that i don't know what they are and are not on the Hitch hiker ID ....they are and oval shape...1/2 inch long, and about a 1/4 across. they are cone shaped.<shell> and they move around very slowly. almost like some kind of snail or something. the shells are kind of ridged...not smooth. I saw some at the LFS today that where really big, but the owner didn't know what they where either. Any guesses?? dam i wish i had a good camera....

 

[dadummy]

hello there,
we have a torch coral, was our first, had under PC light , now under VHO, both lights seem to be fine. Keep the torch up in the top half of the tank with good water movement. at coral feeding time the torch gets a good squirt with the turkey baster of whatever the special is on the menue. very easy coral, didn't know that the torch will sting other corals until recently.
as far as the hitchhiker, maybe keyhole limpet?

 

[azocean709]

that looks like the lil hitch hiker.!!! I have now noticed i have 4 of them. They move so slowly! lol as far as the lighting on my tank i have 2, 175 wat MH for the torch, and 2 , 80 watt actinics. I was just curious really as to what it eats..I have various zoos and yellow polyps, green leather, a brain....I feed all them guys mysis shrimp with a syringe. hopefully it will eat the same. thanks for the reply.

 

[dadummy]

the limpets are cool, I have a few, they cruise around then park in the same spot. when we bought the torch the LFS said phytoplex. i mix phytoplex ,mysis, cyclpeeze, green algae?, sardine, shrimp, brine shrimp,coralife smorgasboard, yesterdays leftovers and what ever else is laying around.
grate it frozen, leave some big chunks and push the rest through a strainer.
however, the torch did just as well on phytoplex alone. when it was in the 36 gallon , would put a couple of teaspoonsof phyto in the tank with the filter off and powerheads on for fifteen minutes or so. I believe the torch gets most of it's energy from the light, although it does need food.
hope you enjoy yours as much as we have ours.

 

[rappa]

I just jammed it into a rock in the lower section of my tank under 1 - 150 watt MH and 2 - 65 watt PC's. It thrives. I don't feed it anything other than light. The tank gets oyster eggs and phyto once or twice a week but that's it. It is a great and easy (IMO) coral to care for...

 

[promisetbg]

All LPS should be fed.

 

[azocean709]

I feed my yellow polyps and brown zoos Mysis shrimp, and my yellow gargonian phyto or zooplex. I reckon i will feed ol torch the same. Question....the zoos, and the polyps you can see them actually take the food in. Im lookin at the top of this torch and i don't see any kind of mouth. just the little tentical lookin things. the gargonians i have i remove from the tank into a bowl to feed it the phyto. <put it in my tank once and turned everything green> should i feed this torch the same way? or just let it catch free floating food in the tank, or like was said up top , a turkey baster?

 

[promisetbg]

There is a mouth down in the tentacles. It will not benefit directly from phytoplankton.It should be fed meaty fare.I find that chunks of food are readily taken by mine.I only feed them once or twice a week. Silversides,clams,krill,shrimp,squid are all good possible foods.

 

[azocean709]

Originally Posted by promisetbg
There is a mouth down in the tentacles. It will not benefit directly from phytoplankton.It should be fed meaty fare.I find that chunks of food are readily taken by mine.I only feed them once or twice a week. Silversides,clams,krill,shrimp,squid are all good possible foods.
thanks promisetbg. I fed it just a little while ago..<small shrimp peices> and it readily ate. I saw the little mouths. My reef is finally starting to come together. The torch is a very nice addition, I'm glad i got it.

 

[promisetbg]

Wow..Fernandina huh? Beautiful beach and great shrimp available there.

Is yours a brown or green one? I have one of each..I really like the way they resemble anemones..but don't move around like them.And you are very welcome.

 

[azocean709]

yeah I like the beach here....wish the water was a lil more clear like the keys though. The torch is a green one. the LFS had brown onesalso, but im trying to get more various colors in the tank. I am slowly building my corals...I started with the easier ones, which are. yellow polyps, purple shrooms, and some zoos...which all of those need a hair cut..lol...then i got a yellow gargonian, a green finger leather.<fragged that a couple weeks ago> Then upgraded lights to MH's and got a long tentical plate. I've heard it was hard to care for, but i find it rather easy. Just keep the water in perfect condition. I have a Rose Bubbletip anemone and his little buddy, a 3 inch tomato clown. then i got a hammer coral. I like that one too. LFS has a couple of maxima clams...they look very good...one is green and the other blue. I might buy those next week. gotta see exacty how to feed um though. i hear that calcium and very good lighting is a must. which my calcium stays at 475, alk 4.4 meg/l and 8.4 ph.<finally got that Kalk drip tuned in.> but my lights i don't know if they are strong enough...they are 2, 175 watt, 10,000 K ushio <mogul base> tank is 20" deep. I don't know if that will be enough light for them . my plate does good on the bottom. One of these days I will go get a good camera and show my tank off. You near to Fernandina? Big car show this weekend if ya like old , rare and vintage cars....ol john travolta and nicholas cage brought their cars too. It cost 45 bucks to get in, but well worth it.....especially when your a redneck like me and pull up to these million dollar cars in a 76 ,jaked up Chevy blazer covered in mud...HAHAHA . ya tend to get looked at funny by all them rich boys...LMAO

 

[promisetbg]

LOL..now Nick cage I would have made the trip to see.

I am in orlando. It sounds ok on the lighting for the clam,but I don't recommend them to tanks under a year in age.It's really best to wait on certain corals,inverts and even some fish. You will be much happier with the outcome. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[babyb]

i had a torch and it was awsome. my dom dam would get in it all the time. one time i was doing a water change and i was watching the hose in the tank but i glanced at the bucket and i saw little blackish things floating in the bucket and i said "what the crap is that" i looked back up and i actidentily set the tube on the torch and was sucking it out of the tank. thank god He is on my side and it lived. it was a little mutated, it had on the yellow ends another torch tentical. its tenticals were like 6 inches because of the double tenticals. good luck with yours

 

[mudplayerx]

Make sure that if you have metal halide, you keep the torch coral at the bottom and not directly under one of the bulbs. They tend to not tolerate direct metal halide well at all.

 

[washowi]

I do nothing for it and it keeps growing and budding. It sweepers kill everything around it. I personally hate the thing. I kept it 6 inches away from everything but within a month, that wasn't far enough.
If nothing in your tank- ok. It's cool towatch the sweepers looking for stuff. But if you have coral near it. The coral is a goner.