Sun coral
- Thread starter m1rodrig
- Start date
uel
Member
I love mine. You have to train it to open when feeding. It will open on its own a few minutes after you feed the fish. I have used a turkey baster and I place brine shrimp right on the polyps. I have heard they are hard to keep, but I am not having any problems with mine. It will open up at any time. They can be placed in any lighting, because they don't get their food from photosynthesis (sp). Once you have it trained to open during the daylight hours, it will be easy to keep. Yes, they are beautiful.
rockster
Member
These are beautiful corals. Do not need lighting, mostly open at night to feed but can be trained to open at daytime if they sense food is nearby. They need to be target-fed. They love anything meaty. Bright orange color stands out from the rest. Mine actually spawned. They were spewing out tear-drop shaped orange thingies that were wriggling about the size of a sesame seed (a bit smaller), unfortunately eaten by my fishes.
striker
Member
I just ordered one for saturday delivery and IMO they are very beautiful even when closed. Special care is needed for these corals and feeding with dropper is recommended when polyps are open during the evening. As with most corals they need to be handled with care by picking it up and placing it without touching the polyps. They are considered hardy by most but because of the special feeding methods they require more attention.
susiepan
Member
I have two Sun or Torch Corals (orange in color)
and I love mine....Be VERY careful to ONLY handle these by the rock they are attached to...oils and stuff on your hands can kill the individual piece that it might touch...
Also I had one of mine placed abour halfway up the tank, and the other in the sandbed, and the one placed half way up the tank, within two days *burnt*..in that three of the individual torch pcs died/turned white...from too much light...mine still come out at night, but they also come out when I filter Feed and when I feed brine...and YES they are worth it IMO, and are very pretty....
~Susie
and I love mine....Be VERY careful to ONLY handle these by the rock they are attached to...oils and stuff on your hands can kill the individual piece that it might touch...
Also I had one of mine placed abour halfway up the tank, and the other in the sandbed, and the one placed half way up the tank, within two days *burnt*..in that three of the individual torch pcs died/turned white...from too much light...mine still come out at night, but they also come out when I filter Feed and when I feed brine...and YES they are worth it IMO, and are very pretty....
~Susie
royce
Member
How long can these types of corals go without feeding, such as when you are on vacation? I have a very responsible neighbor who takes care of my tank & cat when we go away, but I would hate to over-burden him. He is always worried about over feeding so last year I bought an automatic feeder. I feel bad about limiting the fish to flake only for 10 days, but it used to be all they ever got. Don't know what I'm going to do when he goes off to college next year!
m1rodrig
Member
Susie what kind of lighting do you have?I have 36 w pc smartlite on a 15 g.I'm not sure if this will be enough light for the elegance.That is why I am still researching to make sure I have enough light,I'd hate to put him in only to kill him plus I have read they need room as they can sting other corals,Do you feed your elegance.
kris walker
Active Member
Royce,
I feed mine usually 4 or 5 days a week. I don't think it is important to feed every polyp individually. They are colonial, and so when one polyp eats, all benefit. You could probably get away with once every few days, but I would make sure you give a lot when you do feed.
Sun corals are really neat. I'm so happy I got one, although it took nearly a week for all the polypys to come out and eat.
kris
I feed mine usually 4 or 5 days a week. I don't think it is important to feed every polyp individually. They are colonial, and so when one polyp eats, all benefit. You could probably get away with once every few days, but I would make sure you give a lot when you do feed.
Sun corals are really neat. I'm so happy I got one, although it took nearly a week for all the polypys to come out and eat.
kris
susiepan
Member
M1,
Sorry, didnt catch this post till tonight,
Yes, I feed mine filter feeder food...and the first one I bought will actually take tiny pcs of krill, or shrimp pcs,right from my hand and I have never been stung, they also do not move around the tank, so unless something goes to IT to "bother it, I wouldnt worry about it stinging stuff..
I feed my corals etc, about 4-5 times a week..and I use the target method...So far the filter feeders are all happy as a clam..(pun intended)
~Susie
Sorry, didnt catch this post till tonight,
Yes, I feed mine filter feeder food...and the first one I bought will actually take tiny pcs of krill, or shrimp pcs,right from my hand and I have never been stung, they also do not move around the tank, so unless something goes to IT to "bother it, I wouldnt worry about it stinging stuff..
I feed my corals etc, about 4-5 times a week..and I use the target method...So far the filter feeders are all happy as a clam..(pun intended)
~Susie
m1rodrig
Member
Well I got me a sun coral and a bubble coral for fathers day.I've been waiting for a while but it was worth it the bubble coral opened up within the hour of being in the tank.I think I will have to wait for the sun coral to start opening and from what i've read this may take a week or two so I can start feeding it,will DT's phytoplankton be enough for the sun coral or do I really need to direct feed it?I am so excited I will post pics soon.
rockster
Member
Congrats on your new pets. You do not really have to wait 1 week to feed the sun corals. Yes, you need to target-feed them to ensure they're getting their share. Phytoplanktons are fine, try stimulating them now, get a turkey baster (I use a 50 cc syringe, it's easier to manipulate) and gently squirt some phytos on the colony. You will notice that they will plump up and open to a magnificent orange polyps! I feed mine finely blended table shrimps...they love it.
I feed mine finely blended table shrimps...they love it.
boogerbooger
Member
what i do is..once you get them,,,let them stay in the main aquarium for a while..then later..take them out of the main aquarium into a bucket with the same water..float some food on the top of the water to get them attracted..once they are all out i feed them frozen brine shrimp in an eye dropper..every single one.. do this for a week or until they start coming out in 5 mins once they know food is near..then do it in the main aquarium..
the first day they took about an hour.. next day they took about 20mins...
the main concern is that you have to put effort into this coral..
the first day they took about an hour.. next day they took about 20mins...
the main concern is that you have to put effort into this coral..
m1rodrig
Member
Well I took it and put it in a container with some of the tank water and put a cube of brine shrimp in there,I kept circulating the water with the turkey baster and after a while they plumped up,even though they did not come out all the way I did see tips of the yellow polyps,I am so excited,I'll try again tommorrow and see if they come out more.Thanks for the tips.