Problem With Flower Pot Coral

[reefcrazy0540]

A friend of mine just bought a flower pot coral the other day. now it has a problem and i wondered if anyone could help explaine what is going on with it. the lower half of it is damaged and lookes like jelly. this morning he saw what looked like ants or termites at the base of it. He has never seen these creatures before. what should he do i wasent sure and have never seen this before so i figured maby someone on here could shed some light.

[sharkboy]

well i don't know what the creatures on the base of it is, but flower pot's are extremely difficult to take care of. I have one that receded almost an inch, but it is atill alive, and it's budding. these corals have to have perfect water conditions, or else they'll die within several months. I suggest for your friend to get reef dip. It will kill what ever those creatures are that are infesting it. tell him to get one gallon of water, and to put 2 capfuls of reef dip in it, and to let the flower pot soak in it for 10 minutes, then put the coral back in, and dump the water out. Make sure that the water with reef dip does NOT get back into your tank! Hope this helps.

[swashbuckler]

typically flower pots will succumb to some sort of starvation because they seem to do well for a few months and then just wither away and rot for no apparent reason.

there are some members here on RC that have been very successful in keeping these beautiful corals, but i guess it really boils down to one thing: luck

[JENnKerry]

They need to be fed on a regular basis. If it is brown jelly, then there's really little to no hope for it.

[Sun Devil]

Yep. Flower pot is very difficult to keep. Had a trophy 2 years ago and pristine tank parameters. Started receding about 3 months into owning it. Tried dipping it and everything. Never came around. I know of very few people that have had luck with them. Most last about1-2 years at best.