Sun coral

[jamiegrl]

Ok so i impulse bought a peice of sun coral
it was in a perfect V so i fragged it in half as suggested by the lfs
how much shade are we talking with placement?
I know I have to spot feed but how often?
Now i have PhytoMax which is mixing 1 drop w 50 gallons of water but i think that's not enough
i have a turkey baster but is blow by flow ok or do i need to get the tip of the baster directly on the tip of the polyp?
I'll post pics after work tomorrow but im curious about feeding now
Thanks!
Jamie

 

[jerthunter]

Don't worry about shade, worry about flow and being able to feed it easily. Phyto plankton is not going to be a good food source for it. It will need meaty foods like mysis shrimp or copepods.
The best way to feed it is to make a cover for it, feed each polyp and cover it up to keep your fish and other critters away.
Also, when fragging you will want to be careful not to damage the tissue but it sounds like it has already been fragged.

 

[zepplin48138]

I keep mine in med to high flow at the bottom of the tank with a little shade, They usually won't extend until late into the day and at night. I feed mine phyto water mixed with brine, small mysis, cyclopeze, and whatever else I have laying around. I change up the meaty foods throughout the week. Occasionally feed at night too. They are really cool when they are fully open.

 

[jamiegrl]

what kind of cover are we talkin about?
see my cardinal eats mysis so i have that on hand but how do they eat mysis? it's pretty big. do i like smash it up?

 

[peef]

Your sun will put the mysis into its mouth. The best way to feed is just turn off your ph so that the tank is still for like 5-10 minutes or so while you feed, and then use a small turkey baster like apparatus (I use the plastic water dropper that came with my Calcium test kit). Give each polyp 1 or 2 mysis (more wont hurt but will probably be dropped) every other day. They DO need to have some shade, they are non-photosynthetic and will be damaged by direct contact with high lights. Feed the rest of your tank at the same time that way they are distracted eating other food while you feed the suncoral. I tried the cover it up method and WOOF what a pain, GREAT idea, but to have it under an outcropping and be able to cover it without moving it everytime is impossible. I also have some, can't remember the exact name, food that is "the complete carnivorous diet" for SW Fish. I change it up and feed that everyonce in awhile just to do it. With my sun it has gone from about 15-16 heads to around 65 heads and still growing in about 3 months. Good Luck!

 

[zeke92]

shade doesn't matter. some people think that they need shade, but it;s just that theyd on't need it. they on't really care.
flow is kinda importent. i believ eis medium to strong. there is some really nice guides onlie for sun corals.
google

 

[dude23455]

They DO need to have some shade, they are non-photosynthetic and will be damaged by direct contact with high lights
This is not true. They will not be damaged by high lights. Sun corals are non photosynthetic which means they cannot benefit from light, but it does not mean they will be damaged by it.
Place your suncorals in a spot that will be easily accessible for feedings. Mine are out in the open on the sandbed.

 

[peef]

Actually if you go and do some reading up on suncorals, it is true. Not necessarily shade as in hidden from ALL light, but not in direct light! The tissue will recede and eventually die when exposed to high levels of light for long periods of time! They can bleach because they dont use the light to produce zooxanthellea, it has no need for it. Coloration is sustained by our coals through the propogation of Zoox. If a high light source over time like MH are used over these non photo synt type corals they can bleach out

 

[dude23455]

Bleaching is caused by a die-off zooanthellea. Since suncorals dont have any zooanthellea, they really cant bleach.

 

[jerthunter]

I suppose a LOT of direct light could be bad but that would need to be a TON of light, more than most of us have in our tanks. They don't NEED light and that is why they are often found in caves and overhangs, since they don't have to compete with faster growing photosynthetic corals.
The cover method works well if you have annoying shrimp or crabs that climb all over the coral during feeding. It can be anything from a cut off bottom of a 2-liter bottle to a rubbermaid container.
For food, the mysis should be fine, I highly doubt the coral would directly benefit from any phytoplankton but it may benefit indirectly.

 

[jamiegrl]

ok im having i little trouble spot feeding!
i cant seem to get the coral or eat....
watch me have bought sick stuff... again
i dont have strong lighting... standard 2 CF 36 watt lights but i found a decent ledge for them to get some shade
im using a turkey baster and mysis shrimp but they coral just doesn't seem interested in eating
any tips?

 

[jessica47421]

someone on here told me to feed it at the same time every day untill it gets in a pattern and it works, i feed mine every other day now but in the beginning i fed it every day at 6p and now it opens every day around 6. they also said to cut the bottom off of a pop bottle and place it over the coral and just shot some mysis in there and it will land on the polyps and it will eat it, now i dont even use the cover though i just place the medicine dropper right down to it and out comes a few mysis and it eats them right up...

also mine is kinda under a ledge but does get some light and doing well it is even growed some too.

 

[jamiegrl]

how long did it take for the polyps to come out? I see the tips of the yellow but they aren't blossoming which is making the feeding a little difficult haha
uh i wish this was easier
Thanks all for your help!

 

[bronco300]

i like feeding cyclopeeze because its very small and so it can stay in the tube of it even though they aren't open....at first they may not come out completely...just give it time and constant feeds three times a week or so and he will eventually starting coming out even when you put your hand in the tank, thats how mine is: i shut off all powerheads and water movement...squirt some cyclopeeze around them then give them a few minutes to open up and then squirt it at the again to make sure they get some after they're open
i don't do the whole bottle end over the polyps because it never works for me, my nassarius snails just go under it

 

[nls82580]

i bought mine almost 3 weeks ago he was eating but not coming fully out 2 nights ago he decided to come fully out now everynight hes coming out it can take a lil while sometimes and considering you fragged it not too long after getting it it might be a little more stressed than usual hope this helps

 

[jamiegrl]

yea i need to stop taking the advice of LFS. The are a bunch of tiny young polyps right in the crack and she said by fragging it those polyps and grow so i did and i def think it's stressed.
nice... LFS 10, Jamie 0

 

[nls82580]

mine has 2 possible pieces that can be fragged but im giving it a lil time to let them grow a lil more but they are growing fast considering its only been 3 weeks . me i take the advise of my lfs but then research a lil myself so i know what im looking at bought a carnation a few weeks ago that they said needed high lighting haha knew better have had my other one for a year only bought a second to save the poor thing from certain death

 

[jessica47421]

Originally Posted by jamiegrl
how long did it take for the polyps to come out? I see the tips of the yellow but they aren't blossoming which is making the feeding a little difficult haha
uh i wish this was easier
Thanks all for your help!
when i first got it, it took a couple of days to come out.........good luck.

 

[topfins-mj]

I just got my coral two weeks ago. I placed it under my center shade at the top for easy access.
What I did to make the polyps come out for food is to use a cut out coke bottle and to squirt some cyclopeeze over the closed coral. I wait for three mintues and you will start to see the craters swell up. Walk away and return five minutes later. You will see all the polyps come out. Then, you can spot feed with your baster. By now I feed it 3 times a week in the morning and the ipolyps are out all day. I feed with the fish schedule every other day or so.
I started to see some growth. Mine was kind of hurt when I first got it.
I have not yet fed it Mysis but I will probaly add that to its diet soon.

 

[h2ocrazy]

Good luck with yours I recently bought mine 5 days ago and I was able to feed mine the first night I had it. I fed it 1 cube of brine shrimp for the first 3 nights and skipped last night. Last night I purchased cyclopeeze and will feed that with the brine shrimp tonight and also start to change it's feeding schedule to every other night. From what I have researched most of the advice you have gotten is pretty good. I also turn off my power heads when feeding I just like to make sure I feed them properly. I coaxed mine to come out and eat by using a syringe(the type used with aptasia killer) and I place a brine shrimps on some of the polyps and then just wait till they come out before I resume feeding. It is also good to have a regular feeding schedule I feed mine everyday at 8pm before lights out. The first 2 days it took me about an hour to feed, from the advice I got they should eventually open at a certain time expecting food. At which point turning off the power heads may not be necessary since the polyps can trap food as it flows onto them.Feeding can be reduced to twice a week, but no significant growth will happen. I have also read that it is not rare to be able to feed up to 3 cubes of food to them. The lighting seems to not be a high factor in their care, but I would not place them under MH. Also do not place on sand, if the polyps get buried they will die and so will any tissue under sand. Here is a pic of mine the first night feeding on brine: