Candy Cane and Sun Coral

MMM33732 · #1 12/09/2007, 01:05 PM

What do candy cane corals like as far as lighting and flow?
How about sun corals? I know they don't like much light (under a ledge is usually good), but what about flow?

cichlid nutz · #2 12/09/2007, 02:17 PM

Candy canes are pretty adaptive to light as long as you don't scorch them when purchased. Flow is moderate as with most LPS. Sun corals don't matter about light as they have no zooanthellae (sp) anyway and you will need to spot feed or remove and feed in a seperate container. They light a good bit of flow but will typically need to be "trained" to come out in daytime.

MMM33732 · #3 12/09/2007, 04:33 PM

How do you go about "training" them to open during the day? Try to feed them during the day instead of at night when the they are open?

MMM33732 · #4 12/13/2007, 01:59 PM

I have the flow on my candy cane to where you cant feel it with your hand, but you can see the polyps jiggle about from the current. I put it in 3 days ago, and today I can see one of the polyps has some skeleton showing through. Is the flow too much too little, or could it be something else?

thecichlidpleco · #5 12/13/2007, 02:36 PM

My candy canes were first fine with lots of flow, then they shrank, then needed more light then less light, now more flow and more light. It took a while for me to figure out where they need to be, but high flow and light is best.

MMM33732 · #6 12/13/2007, 04:28 PM

So high flow is good then? High light as well?

thecichlidpleco · #7 12/13/2007, 04:43 PM

yep, start low and play around, and sun corals would prefer a good amount of flow to catch food, even though you will most likely have to manually feed.

MMM33732 · #8 12/13/2007, 09:40 PM

I moved the candy cane out of the medium flow area into a low/no flow area and its feeding tentacles came out within a few minutes. I take that as a good sign?

thecichlidpleco · #9 12/13/2007, 09:44 PM

Good sign, you got a nice one. Mine did that initially back in August when I got them, then they went downhill, but you are good if they stay puffed out and want to feed.

MMM33732 · #10 12/14/2007, 06:48 PM

Do you know, is it alright to have it sitting on a rock so that the bottom polyps touch the bottom rock and bear some weight, or does it have to be suspended from its skeleton area on the base?

thecichlidpleco · #11 12/14/2007, 07:57 PM

If you are talking about the sun polyps, any area that doesnt recieve food or is under pressure, such as the bottom of the base will recede, you cannot have a perfectly formed ball of sun polyps.

MMM33732 · #12 12/14/2007, 08:23 PM

Sorry, no, not the sun coral, I was talking about the candy cane.