Sun coral help (alix?)

matt b

matt b

Active Member
I got my sun coral a few days ago and it looked GREAT at the lfs so I got it but I have had it for 3 days and it has yet to eat and the polyps will come out somewhat and then close soon after. I try putting food on him while hes closed trying to get him open but nothing. Whats the best way to get him open? And please dont ask what are my water readings cause I am not a noob
 
nls82580

nls82580

Member
dont worry it takes them a little while to adjust. It took me 2 weeks to get mine to open ... try either turning off your powerheads or putting a top of a 2liter bottle over him .. do this every other day at the same time he will come around try at night when the lights go off i feed mine right after my 10k lights go off and only my acntic are on
 
matt b

matt b

Active Member
Originally Posted by nls82580
http:///forum/post/2582159
dont worry it takes them a little while to adjust. It took me 2 weeks to get mine to open ... try either turning off your powerheads or putting a top of a 2liter bottle over him .. do this every other day at the same time he will come around try at night when the lights go off i feed mine right after my 10k lights go off and only my acntic are on
Ok, I was not sure how long they could go without food. Thanks. I was told that you can train them to open at the same time every day so thats what I have been trying to do.
 
nls82580

nls82580

Member
its better to do it at night as they are nocturnal but mine stays out almost all the time now ill post a pic
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
that thing looks super healthy, give it a few days. if it still doesnt open check for algae growth on it and use a very soft bristled toothbrush to gently clean it off. im battling cyano right now so i have to do it every couple days & my sun wont open unless i do. keep baiting the water, whenever i feed my fish the sun opens instantly.
just curious, what do you keep your temp? suns are found in deeper water so if youre one to keep your tank warm (i know you run halides, right?) the sun may be a little uncomfortable. when my tank gets really warm (like 80-82) the sun doesnt open as much. so i try to keep it around 79F.
i really hope it opens soon because i want a pic!
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
Originally Posted by nls82580
http:///forum/post/2582168
they can handle a few weeks
i wouldnt go that long though, i was gone for a week once & it had to go without food & i noticed some tissue recession. the white skeleton was showing around the edges, it was definately new.
 
nls82580

nls82580

Member

this is one that split from the orginal colony was going to look into a possible trade with it but its growing so quickly and dropping lil ones in my tank so im keeping it for a bit

here is mine orginal colony after 2 weeks

i love this pic srry i couldnt resist

and here is a pic of the whole tank
 
nls82580

nls82580

Member
i wouldnt go that long though, i was gone for a week once & it had to go without food & i noticed some tissue recession. the white skeleton was showing around the edges, it was definately new [unquote]
yeah i wouldnt not offer it food always offer it food when i got mine it wasnt open but i saw it taking in food.. never starve it ... I guess what i meant to say is they might not open for a few weeks not dont feed it
 
matt b

matt b

Active Member
Originally Posted by alix2.0
http:///forum/post/2582172
that thing looks super healthy, give it a few days. if it still doesnt open check for algae growth on it and use a very soft bristled toothbrush to gently clean it off. im battling cyano right now so i have to do it every couple days & my sun wont open unless i do. keep baiting the water, whenever i feed my fish the sun opens instantly.
just curious, what do you keep your temp? suns are found in deeper water so if youre one to keep your tank warm (i know you run halides, right?) the sun may be a little uncomfortable. when my tank gets really warm (like 80-82) the sun doesnt open as much. so i try to keep it around 79F.
i really hope it opens soon because i want a pic!

I keep my tank at 79. I do not run halides I run VHO. Dose it matter if hes in a cave or in the light as long as he gets flow?
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
Originally Posted by MaTT B
http:///forum/post/2582191
I keep my tank at 79. I do not run halides I run VHO. Dose it matter if hes in a cave or in the light as long as he gets flow?
ok, i knew you keep SPS so i wasnt 100% sure. yeah its better if theyre in a cave. they can get "burnt".
edit// having said that, i dont keep mine in a cave, but it is at the bottom of my tank, and i only have PC's.
 
nls82580

nls82580

Member
ill be honest one of mine is in a cave and the smaller colony is on my live rock and both have been fine for over a year in fact the smaller colony as i said has dropped a few babies.. and no its not dropping off all the heads are still there but there are lil ones popping up on my other rocks and they open right up too
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
PC lighting may just disorient the coral a little, but long term exposure to strong VHO/MH lighting will "burn" the coral. I would recommend also keeping an eye on how much stuff settles on the coral between the polyps. If debris stays there for too long, the tissue will die there and its just more of a chance of algae to overtake the colony. Too long is like 4-5 days in my case.
And it will take anywhere around the timeframe of a week for it to open, dont be alarmed. Also, you may want to check it 1-2 hrs after the lights go out, as theyre nocturnal corals.
 
mx#28

mx#28

Active Member
I have a lot of luck using cycopleeze to entice them to come out. Then you can feed them large prey like mysis, etc.
Sun corals occur in many places on the reef, including right near the surface in full light and are quite hardy in a variety of situations in the aquarium - they just have to be feed - A LOT.
 
rcdrift

rcdrift

Member
I posted a similar question a few weeks ago. Mine didnt open full for nearly 2 weeks and I started to get worried. Then on night about 30 minutes after the light went out it opened up to this

That pic was taken that night. Every night sence then it just open larger and larger. The polyps are starting to extend farther and farther too.
I feed mine a full cube of frozen mysis every night in 2 feedings. I spo feed each head, let it digest when it re opens I feed it again. I also turn off all water flow till it re opens.
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
get some raw shrimp and squeeze the juice into the water over the polyps (with the pumps off). Itll entice them and not pollute your water as much as cyclops.
When they come out use a turkey baster or similar to squirt mysis or other small cut meats into thier tentacles. I keep mine in a moderate to high flow area to prevent accumulation of crud (as stated earlier). Just switch off the movement for grub time :)
Good luck
Jess
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top