Scleronephthya - how to?

[dendro982]

I would like to ask keepers of Scleronephthya to help the rest of us, by sharing tips and observations, what to do and what not to do. Basically, what can one try to accommodate scleronephthya in the tank, what worked and what - not (for you).

Will really appreciate it.

I'm keeping non-photosynthetic invertebrates: Christmas tree worms, gorgonians, chilis, scleros. The last are doing not so good, as all others.
Twice tried dendros, but they melted in days, this is not even starvation.

Anyway, scleros are different from the rest of bunch:

1 - they do not hold for a long, if they are tight closed, without feeding, losing body fullness quite fast;

2 - they will open even from this half-melted state, when placed in another tank: water chemistry, the fact of changes, or from being placed in the windy place - can't be sure.

Windy place - the place with the flow, slightly springing the corals, or close to it. Top flow for frogspawn and hammer, and the blood shrimps will leave such place. Significantly less, than for creating "grass under the wind" effect on green star polyps.

It can be open place, top of mountain ridge, or a tunnel, siding the main flow route. After dropping in the declining unattached scero in such place, it attached itself within 2 days, half-melted (tight closed to a blob for a while) - too, and opened to feed.

3 - they do not like being glued (at least mine, the pink one and the orange one), but attach themselves fast.

I had read about successful gluing - post details please, from choice of the placement in the tank to had sclero some debris at the base, or pure and clean soft tissue only, and what kind of sclero - may be it matters.

4. They do not tolerate few hours of being exposed to the air: at least my pink baby didn't, when the tank lost may be 10-15 gal at Christmas night to the wandering turbo (my fault, I know).

5. Treatment by Melafix and Pimafix was not good, but with not consistent results:
- the 1.5 years holding (but not growing) pink baby sclero closed and melted away, forever;
- the half-melted (tightly closed for a while) intense orange sclero, without yellow, shed film and opened. Not for long, after finishing treatment - closed again, and later unattached and was lost during cleaning;
- the yellowish-orange one closed only just right after changes, but opened again. Still alive now.

6. May be coincidence - the closed one unattached itself after a 1.5-2.5 month of being on magnetic frag mount.

7. The good part: still opened after rapid alkalinity change - from 6 to 10 dKH (I know, I know, should test before water change ).

8. Bare bottom system with some detritus was appreciated, sterile - not.

9. The last, what comes in mind - may be some pigmented food will be necessary. My yellowish-orange, when started open for a feeding after being closed for a may be months in inappropriate flow, become leggy (elongated) and pale. May be because of elongation, may be - needs pigmented food, who knows. Have the same situation with chili, and it has the pigmented food - Cyclop-Eeze.

If I'll think of anything else - will add later.

Please - your input.

P.S. Using widely available supplies (food and anything else) will be especially appreciated, some of us are working low key.