Please Help, Sun Coral, Dead? - Page 2

llamart · #26 01/31/2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jfoster33702
Perhaps a better question here is whether or not this coral is appropriate for such a small tank where there might be problems getting food to it without poluting?

On that note, if you want to donate it to a larger tank, let me know. Im in St. Petersburg and can give you some trouble free mushrooms.

I agree, but then again other people mentioned the same thing in this string

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=754304

Kind of frustrating...

Freed · #27 01/31/2006, 01:35 PM

It didn't lose its tentacles. Like I said earlier, BE PATIENT, it may take a while. It WILL send out its feeding tentacles after a few days or even a couple weeks. Just keep trying and yes you can place the food right on its mouth and it will take it in eventually. Don't keep it out of the tank too long if you continue to try to feed it this way, it may get cold.

Cutiewitbooty · #28 01/31/2006, 01:47 PM

Thanks freed, i'll just give it time, i just don't want it to starve while i wait for it to finally open up.

As for the comments about it only being a 10 gal, it's really not that that having to fed it so much is the problem, it's just that it wont eat at at all, because it's not opening up, so all the food doesn't get eaten. I did go out and buy some more hermits to help with that. I also squirt some on it a couple times a day, but i don't feel comfortable putting almost a wole cube of mysis in my tank (like i did in the container, which caused it kinda opened) I know my system can handle feeding a sun, but right now it is a little difficult seeing as it isn't opening normally. My system is about 22 gal so it's alittle better than a normal 10 gal

Jfoster33702 · #29 01/31/2006, 02:49 PM

Thats what I was getting at actually. Just a couple points:

1 - irritating the coral by moving it all the time will make it not want to open. I know there are "tricks" that involve doing this, but patience should allow you to feed them AND not have to move them out of your tank to do so.

2 - Overfeeding a small tank can be bad - you seem to be aware of this. However, you have a huge skimmer, right?

3 - Crabs poop too.

I would just try a LITTLE juice/food on them at the same time each night (dont touch the coral itself), and eventually it will open.

I have nothing against small tanks - my first was a 15 and it did quite well.

Travis L. Stevens · #30 01/31/2006, 02:53 PM

Cutie, I understand the concern for overfeeding and small tanks. I really would just use common sense and feed a little until it can open up to take larger amounts. My Black Sun Coral stands a good 7"-8" tall and it is in a 29g.

lpkirby · #31 01/31/2006, 03:30 PM

Amber just give it some time, Mine took almost 5 days to come out and now only comes out when my sunset lights comeon and during the night. It is growing like crazy and keeping me busy. I have about 10 new polyps. Here is a picture.
Not open much here

Now open

Cutiewitbooty · #32 01/31/2006, 04:38 PM

wow i can't wait untill mine starts looking like that. Awesome job, glad yours is so healthy and willing to open for you lol Oh yeah and i do have a huge skimmer (for a 10 gal anyways) it's for a 75 gal i think, it's to big to fit under my stand so i have to buy a new one lol

Cutiewitbooty · #33 02/04/2006, 01:04 AM

Ok well I thought i would give you guys and update. The sun still wouldn't open for anything in the tank, so i took it out and fed it in the container up untill yesterday. The sun actually got to the point where as soon as i sat it in the container it would start to open a little, guess it knew food was comming

The tentacles were staying really small so i had to hold the peices of shrimp on the mouth untill it could grab them and start to suck them down. Here is a pic of what it was looking like open up untill 2 days ago, when it was geting used to the smell of mysis, as a food source.

Well yesterday was the first day it actually come out in my tank and still looked like the above picture, but hey it finally came out in the tank!!! I can target feed the sun really easily with the turkey baster in the tank (better than i can in the container actually) so was extreamly happy. Well tonight was a big improvement, it really come out alot all the tentacles totally came out when i put a little mysis in the tank, so the whole coral ate like 1/2 cube

But it was sooo awesome having it actually be able to grab ahold of it's food lol Here is a pic from tonight, it's doing so good now wahooo

Freed · #34 02/04/2006, 01:07 AM

What did I tell you?

Cutiewitbooty · #35 02/04/2006, 01:16 AM

yeah i know, but i had to keep feeding it, so it would get used to the mysis, didn't want the poor thing to starve lol

I figured that you were right, it was just weird, because i couldn't see where the tentacles were at all. Do you think it will actually get the longer fuller tentacles like some of the other suns i have seen or will it probally stay like it is now?

tkeracer619 · #36 02/04/2006, 01:34 AM

Its gonna grow over time. SW can surprise the heck outta you with its magic.

melev · #37 02/04/2006, 03:02 AM

Amber, you are on the right track now. If you have any more questions, just let me know. I've been keeping suncorals for the past 1.5 - 2 years. Here's a picture I recently took of one polyp, late night after the lights were off.

When your coral is fully happy in your tank, its tentacles should look like this. The pictures posted above on this page are heading that direction, but they aren't open all the way - yet.

Cutiewitbooty · #38 02/04/2006, 09:42 AM

wow beautiful sun

Hopefully mine will look like that one day. Thanks for the support it's nice to know that it's starting to improve. It took alot of work getting to it finally open in my tank at all, so i'm really happy. It's literly looking better everyday. I was cerious and wanted your openion on something, was it the right thing to been taking it out to feed for the first week? It seemed like it didn't know what mysis was because it wouldn't open for it. but when i put it in the container it was relizing what it actually was, and learning to open for it. A few people told me it was just going to stress it and leave it alone, but it seems to have helped. whats you openion on doing that?

melev · #39 02/04/2006, 12:32 PM

Hi Amber,

As the coral becomes more comfortable in your tank, it will extend more and more, typically all night long while the lights are off.

Since you have it in a small tank, taking it out to feed will avoid polluting your small water volume, and prevent issues like cyano bacteria. If you can place this coral on a piece of rock, you could lift the rock with its coral out of the tank for feeding without it feeling anything.

I feed it in my tank, with all the pumps off for 30 minutes, maybe 60 at most. I read that you had it in the bowl for several hours, which is too long. Odds are the water cooled off quite a bit sitting in a bowl, and there was no circulation. Using a turkey baster, you could create some flow to get some of the fallen food back into suspension, I supoose. The coral will learn when it is time to eat, and respond relatively quickly. Once it knows it is feeding time, you can feed it every 5 minutes during a 15 minute period.

If you'll go to my site and click on Hidden Treasure, scroll down to Articles and Reviews to read everything I've amassed about Suncorals.

Cutiewitbooty · #40 02/04/2006, 06:49 PM

oh ok, i'll look at that

The only time it was left in the container for a few hours was the first time i did it, then it learned to come out and eat after that so it was in the container for a max of 30 min or so. Now i can feed it in the tank because it will actually grab ahold of the food so it wont float away and pollute the tank. The sun starts opening now about 2 hours before the lights turn off to be fed

I'll defently take a look at thoes articles, thanks!!

finneganswake · #41 02/04/2006, 06:57 PM

I'm about ready to leave work so I haven't had time to read every line of this post, so someone may have covered this already, but IMO if you aren't getting good polyp expansion with this coral, you really need better flow. Sun corals need MAJOR waterflow to thrive, so I'd look into this. It really helped mine when I stuck it a couple of inches away from a powerhead.

Cutiewitbooty · #42 02/04/2006, 07:19 PM

i do have over 30x turnover in my tank, i would think that might be enough

Freed · #43 02/04/2006, 07:53 PM

Sun corals are normally found in caves and under outcroppings in the wild as far as I know, which isn't much, but strong flow isn't one of the things that I have known sun corals to be associated with.

Cutiewitbooty · #44 02/10/2006, 06:05 PM

Thought I would give some updated pics. Still doesn't look like Melev's though, i'm thinking it might be a differnt species or something? Its looking so good though and it eats like a pig. I wonder if you can make a coral obese? It eats ALOT almost a whole cube of mysis every day...........my prams are still good though, so i guess i'll keep doing it lol My crabs are learning that the sun coral means food though so i fling them across the tank with the baster during feeding time. It's kinda a love hate relationship, because i need to to clean up the mess i make when feeding it. Here are a couple pics, as you can see the big crab in this pic looks guilty, plus he's to big to be flung

melev · #45 02/10/2006, 06:20 PM

Your suncoral looks good. Give it a few more weeks, and check on it around 3 am to see how it looks. It will be very much like mine.

Cutiewitbooty · #46 02/10/2006, 06:56 PM

probally the tentacles streach out longer during the night then, maybe thats why yours are more clear? I saw on your site that you feed yours 2 cubes every feeding, i know mine can eat alot, do you think you can feed then too much?

melev · #47 02/10/2006, 07:35 PM

I have a larger tank so two cubes is nothing. You must be very careful in your tank because the water volume is far less. Every time you put food in the water, you are increasing the waste factor.

Cutiewitbooty · #48 02/10/2006, 08:03 PM

all the food gets eaten though, but i guess that does create more poo

I also have some media in the overflow to catch any uneaten food if there is any and my really big skimmer takes out a bunch of gunk all the time. I guess i'll just feed as much as i can without making my prams bad. I'm also upgrading to a little bigger tank so that should help a little anyways :P

chirocato · #49 02/10/2006, 10:42 PM

Man those things are awesome...I want one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sb1227 · #50 02/11/2006, 12:37 AM

I think you did just the right thing, Amber. Occasionally, depending on stress or how long it's been since it's been fed, it takes a little "jump start" to get Tubastreas going. I have had my colony for over 3 years and had to do the same thing. I fed it in a bowl until it was too big, making sure to put the bowl in the water first so I didn't expose the coral to the air, and occasionally added water to keep the temps stable. Mine is now 4 or 5 times the size it was and quite happy. After it gets used to the feeding schedule and begins growing you will be fine feeding it every other day or so. You'll be amazed how much they grow with regular feedings and good water flow! Sounds like you have plenty of common sense, and are willing to do what it takes to make your Tubastrea happy. Good luck!