yellow polyps, whats there prob.?

[30-xtra high]

i have a rock with about 30 yellow polyps.. they are about a foot and a half away from 130watt pc's, 0.3 actinic blue, and 12,000k or somethin.. but to my point.. when i got the rock.. it had about 30 polyps that were really small.. and then the number went from 30 to 50 within a couple weeks (on the same rock), and all of a sudden.. then number has gone back down to 30 polyps, so i thought hey.. i guess there's a problem i gotta fix.. but then i noticed, the 30 polyps are really big.. they're about twice as big as they were when there was 50, so whats wrong? aparently they are healthy.. because they are growing, and yet the number is dwindling?
i am also starting to find a polyps here and there in the tank? can they move? like i found a polyp in my donut piece of liverock (as in its a circle with the middle broken out), and the polyp is actually in the hole, meaning it gets no light at all, and it is also on the complete other side of my tank from my yellow polyp rock..
in the tank i also have 15 hermits, a lawnmower blenny, a coral banded shrimp, and a Ricordia mushroom about an inch and a half.. are any of these the culprits?

 

[teen]

these guys need to be spot fed. thats why a lot of people are unsuccesful with them.

 

[fgcu14]

I found with my yellow polyps that the smaller polyps do not get the light they need do to the bigger polyps creating a shadow effect over them. Kinda like trees. I was in the same situation as you. Some will live and others will not.

 

[fgcu14]

Originally Posted by teen
these guys need to be spot fed. thats why a lot of people are unsuccesful with them.
what are you spot feeding them?

 

[fishyapol]

i had the same thing happen to me... at first i thought it was my emerald crab. but then it died and it still happen.. look for little sun dail snails...that can be your problem. how long have you had them for. i have heard that they are hard to keep and i've had mine for about a year now so good luck..

 

[dennis210]

As far as I know, most yellow polyps are the variety that is "non-photosynthetic". They must be spot fed to survive. Try the baster idea with frozen cyclops eze. That has been great for me. Also they bud out clones and the "shadowing" isn't light but food. The clone relocates in search of a better feeding position.

 

[teen]

ive never had any, but if i did i would probably try spot feeding meaty stuff like krill or chopped up seafood.

 

[30-xtra high]

Originally Posted by teen
these guys need to be spot fed. thats why a lot of people are unsuccesful with them.
i spot feed with a turkey baster 1/4 a cube of mysis shrimp, usually every polyp gets at least 1 little shrimp..

 

[teen]

Originally Posted by 30-xtra high
i spot feed with a turkey baster 1/4 a cube of mysis shrimp, usually every polyp gets at least 1 little shrimp..
idk then. maybe somethings eating them?

 

[bang guy]

Is it possible that they are getting overcrowded and bailing off the rock? If so you might be able to find one once in a while away from the rock or stuck in a corner.
There are several species of Cleaner Shrimp that eat them. I don't know if you have any.

 

[fgcu14]

I'm curious now. I have always thought that yellow polyps produced their own food. I have never spot fed any corals...on to my question. How can you tell that the corals are eating the food? It's unlikly but perhaps a video may be in line? (sorry about hi-jacking)

 

[teen]

you put the food in the polyp, it closes, it opens in several minutes and the food is either gone completely, or theres still a piece of it left and the coral has just absorbed nutrients form it.

 

[30-xtra high]

first off.. bang guy, my only shrimp is a coral banded, and the only thing i've ver seen him do is walk over the polyps every now and then.. but he doesn't touch them or anything..
2nd.. i can't post a pic.. i doubt i could figure out a video..
3rd, yellow polyps have tentacles hanging off the ends, and food sticks to them.. then if you watch.. the little tentacle with food goes into the mouth, and down the tube, and then back out and then the food has been eaten.
and bang guy.. you are correct, as i said.. i am finding polyps in the most random of spots.. sometimes they are in a cave with no light at all.. sometimes they are on liverock underneath the main piece.. but why? they seem to be completely healthy? they eat.. they are always out (opened up), if it helps.. i noticed a couple of the polyps seem to have some tentacles ripped off for some reason?

 

[bang guy]

They often bail off a rock if they are too crowded from growth or from cloning. It's normal and probably means they are doing well.

 

[30-xtra high]

oh good, i was getting worried..

 

[aztec reef]

when you buy a piece of lr with polyps it doesn't mean that they're going to stay there, they will move to a desire place to form new colonies(if thriving)

 

[30-xtra high]

well i knew that to some extent.. i thought they would go to the rocks touching it... but the rock they moved to are all the way across the tank?.. ohwell, guess i have good current :joy:

 

[oreo12]

I have them in my 55 started off with 5 now they cover a large part of a rock I never spot feed them but from time to time they catch some food and close up around it. I also have a small start in my 29 they started dieing off in there I was trying to cheat on my water changes by changing the water in my 55 and using the water i took out in my 29. Once I started using new salt water in my 29 as well they have started coming back. I also have a 75 and was just trying this method to save a buck. It did not work. My 55 just stays so spotless I though that water would still be good enough for the 29 but it was not.

 

[30-xtra high]

lol, thats what happens when you're cheap

and i don't see how they would be growing if you don't spotfeed.. but ohwell.
i hope mine spread.. but more than just one polyp next time..

 

[oreo12]

As I feed my tank that they are in last night I feed on the same side of the tank they are on. I saw a lot of food float down to them. Who spot feeds them in the ocean?