star polyp problem

[saltn00b]

all
i purchased my first little strip of star polyps last weekend , and it is the first coral i have ever had that does not want to open up. its been over a week now. how long will they stay closed before attempting to open? how long till they, and what will they look like when its all dead?
any suggestions ? i tried moving it closer to the light, different flow areas , nothing.
i accidentally screwed up the acclimation process, and dripped for only an hour
water is all good , except my trates are a little bit high, at the tail end of a slight problem i had. they are around 15-20.
temp 78 ish
:help:

 

[lazarus]

i got same problem...was told by one user it took 10 days to open. another said "smell it and see if it smells like saltwater"
at least my other coral opened..so its not me! i am still waiting...

 

[sagxman]

Don't move them around too much. Moving them will keep them stressed and take even longer to open. Just make sure they are not in stagnant water, they like to move around a bit in the flow. When GSP start to die, they will start to disintegrate and kind of flake off the rock. As long as you can still see the purple mat, they should be alive.

 

[saltn00b]

cool, they are very light and get knocked off every where i put them by snails , should i rubber band them ?

 

[alyssia]

You can glue them. They do get stressed from being moved, everytime I move mine they stay closed for a couple of days. When I first got them they didn't open for over two weeks.

 

[hardcrab67]

Had mine now for a couple months. It was a frag about 2"x 3" patch. I place it in front, high on a figi rock, only about a foot from a seio 1100 (pointed at the glass
, not the polyp). Dark purple rubber mat when close, about a week to two before it settled in. Now growing onto main rock with lavender mat and small poylps. :jumping:

 

[saltn00b]

hmm what is the best type glue? i really have been looking for a good glue for corals -> rock and rock-> rock. that is safe etc . etc.

 

[stanlalee]

if any coral doens't care what glue its star polyps. I used super glue gel (dollar store variety). The matt doesn't seem to care.
[physically] small polyped star polyp frags are too sensitive to being handled by snails, fish, crabs ect. I had a 2" round frag and it never did well because everyday something would walk over it or land on it. that would keep it closed for half the day. Finally I just bought a full polyped 5" rock and it isn't really affected at all by other livestock. the polyps seem long enough where it isn't able to or just doesn't desire to retract them so readily like smaller frags and polyps. I think small frags (with small short polyps that easily retract) are best left for tanks and frag tanks where they wont be bothered or moved much at all.

 

[darknes]

If the mat is just floating around, I would definitely glue it to a rock. Take a rock out of the water and dry it off, and then take the mat out, and dry off the bottom side (they can survive for a while outside of water, so don't worry. Just dab some superglue gel onto the rock, and press the mat down. Let it dry for a minute, and place it in an area of decent flow. They should then open in a few days to a week.
If they've been moving around, they're not going to open.

 

[shiby1510]

What everyone else said... Plus it can take a few months for these guys to fully open up.

 

[saltn00b]

so all of you guys just use generic super glue? that stuff isnt toxic? im scared to use it lol

 

[milomlo]

I personally can never get super glue to work. Whatever I glue mushrooms, leather, zoas, all come off. I can not get super glue to work at all. I try drying the rock and the item but still nothing. Pretty much about 5 min of being in the water the frags have come off. I end up using rubber bands.
Any tips on getting the glue to stick? Will a rubber band work for this star polyp. I will be getting some soon so just curious for future reference.

 

[chipmaker]

Super glue IMHO only works ok when its applied to a frag of live rock, not the actual stem of a shroom or polyp.
Your green star polyps shoul dbe fine if they were open when you bought them, there is no reason they wil not open now., They do like some flow over them. 10 days 2 weeks is not uncomon for them to staty closed up. Mine will from time to time, close up for a week or more, then go through a sort of growth spurt........Its like they are resting and putting all their energies into growth when they open back up. A water change would not hurt in getting that nitrate level down either....

 

[saltn00b]

i did another 20 gal change sunday night and just like they heard you guys talking when i come last night a few of them were popping out im sure once they are settled they will all open !
woot
thanks all

 

[shiby1510]

I've had better success putting the super glue on the rock first and then placing the piece on top... This is because super glue heats up and if you don't do it fast it will burn the coral tissue and can injure or kill it... Therefore, when putting it on the rock first you can have a little more time instead of gluing the coral and then placing... this takes too much time... as soon as you glue it, make sure you immediately put it back in the water because like I said it can burn the coral if you do not. :happyfish

 

[milomlo]

I've done that. can't ever get the glue to stick
Thanks though

 

[shiby1510]

Try using one of those cans that have air in them to dry off the rock... Maybe try a different glue aswell.

 

[saltn00b]

but all of these glues arent toxic? i find that hard to believe

 

[akhuneteru]

I tried glue first too and gave up. Instead, I put a rubber band around mine. Not too tight, but just enough to keep it on the rock. After about a week I took the rubber band off and the stars stayed. Don't be too worried if there is nothing were the rubber band was, because that will fill in. These star polyps spread really fast. I have had them for about 2 months and they have already doubled in size.

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by milomlo
I personally can never get super glue to work. Whatever I glue mushrooms, leather, zoas, all come off.
superglue probably wont work on mushrooms or any soft coral that slimes alot when handled. I had no problems with glueing zoo's however. only tried it once though. green star matt glues pretty easily. The key it to keep it out of water just enough but not too long (supposedly it heats up a little as it dry's).