Chili coral problems
 

I have added a chili coral to a tank with many softies including leather that are thriving. I have tried various placements for the chili but it does not seem to be doing well.

what is the key to success with this. I have read that it is easy to keep.

They are nonphotosynthetic and VERY hard to keep alive. It will probably die, but try feeding phyto it may help.

They are hard to keep - I would like to find a person, for whom they are easy and ask about keeping practices, really.

Have 4 kinds of them myself, the worst part is that they close for a months, without opening polyps for a feeding. It shouldn't be dormancy - seems, it's only for cold water species.

What you may try:
place it in the dark place, in good flow for removing settling detritus from the skin, upside down or not - some of mine disagree to be upside down. They most likely open in the dark, or it their habitual time (some of mine do that at 3 pm in unlit tank, some - night and the earliest morning. Invariably closing after light is on, even 18W PC at 6-7").
If and when are open - feed, repeatedly, for prolonged periods.

Food - zooplankton and good quality artificial substitutes (Fauna Marin, Reef Roids - Rotifeast (or something like that), Golden Pearls, Oyster eggs, rotifers, cyclops, decapsulated brine shrimp eggs, ZoPlan, finest particles after blending seafood).

Depending on size of the mouthes of your particular chili (you may try macro mode digital camera, or Optivisor, or +4 reading glasses from dollar store, to see what size of food you will need). I would vote for mix of different particles, 150-600 micron. Cyclop eeze is up to 800 micron, only for big-polyped kind.

Here you can see devoured Cyclop-eeze:
[IMG]http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Soft%20corals/chili1fragDec16.jpg[/IMG]
here - ZoPlan and smallest mysis particles, less visible:
[IMG]http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Soft%20corals/chili1fragDec16Zoplan.jpg[/IMG]
Cyclop-eeze will be way too big for this miniature kind:
[IMG]http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Soft%20corals/chili3Dec9.jpg[/IMG]

Let polyps get several pieces of food, few to several times a day.

If your get dormant - move it in dark windy(flow) place in the tank, and don't give up. It may open 4-5 months later, skinnier, but alive. Watch for irritation by bristle worms.

Good luck!
And if you find or notice yourself anything about their better keeping - post for all of us, OK?

Chili coral
 

I appreciate the input on this. I will keep you posted if I have success.
I have many other corals that are thriving and the chili coral has been the most difficult to work with.

I still see people selling these as beginners corals!!

thanks
Bryan

They are sold to beginners, because it takes a lot to kill them off. When I got back into the hobby like 6-7 years ago I got one and it survived for 2 years through a motor meltdown that wiped out everything and it finally got taken out by a big magnesium drop.

I think they are one of the most disappointing corals because they are so good looking but are nocturnal so there isn't a lot of enjoyment time.

Yeah, takes a lot to kill them IF they get acclimated to captivity AND you can constantly feed them. I think you were lucky, definitely NOT a beginner's coral. I think they sell them to beginners because they don't know better than not to buy them. Mushrooms and zoos= beginner corals, not chili. I stand by my original statement.

Relax, guys, nobody is figthing with you :)
Each of us stands by own statement, and prefers to believe own eyes, that another one's words :D (I'm not picking fight).

The chili is my first coral, and we (this coral and I ;) ) are in the hobby since Febr 2006 - definitely beginners.
Still trying to find experts, doing better and willing to share their experience, tricks and observations (how to, not "do not"). If I'm mistaken - be good, share your experience with community! Every interesting detail counts.

[B]Mushrooms[/B] for beginners (still do not picking fight, just illustrating from my beginners experience): they are one of not easy corals for me. A lot of them melted at arrival, even with proper acclimation, and in the tank with normal parameters, where other corals were doing perfectly well.
Green hairy - melted, only one left, and even this - after moving to another tank. Red - do not grow much, and fully open only in high light. And I counted on them, as on lowest light corals!

LPS were much easier for me - they restored from badly damaged conditions, with trachyphillia being the only exception. Would I accept the word of other about "beginners, graduating to LPS". Would, but cautiously ;)
BTW, sps are the easiest so far, only the same wattage MH adds coloration.
From beginners point of view I would name them the beginners corals :D Seriously.

Still do not picking the fight :p
Back to the chili coral: the big one looks really good in the no light tank, even in the daytime, if this is basement or darker northern room:
[IMG]http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Diodogorgia%20gorgonian/Jun28_07side.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Diodogorgia%20gorgonian/Jun28_07.jpg[/IMG]
Pardon the mess.
The oldest one - vertical one, on the left:
[IMG]http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Diodogorgia%20gorgonian/Jun22_07.jpg[/IMG]
Word of caution: do not mount it upside down, at least not in family or living room. You know, what I'm talking about - it was stressful, and the best way to break desire to keep chilis.

BTW, yesterday checked the web again for a chili - some are keeping it on twice a week target feedings, on a couple of guys cleaned the settled detritus by new toothbrush - it helped to stop hibernation.

Best of luck for all of us!

dendro said the food requirements correct, ive kept mine for over 2 years now, back when i only had phyto & cyclop-eeze, theres alot of new & better foods on the market now, flow needs to be strong, SPS style..also keep the light low, PC actinic only..no MH..

Dendro hit almost everything right..im not going any further into detail or upload pics of my chili over the years..lol..just do what the people who have had success say & not the people who say its a beginner coral..because ITS NOT !