How fast can Sun Coral thrive?

[NanoCube-boy]

Hi there, I wonder how fast can Sun coral develope? Like how fast the can spread over a 6x5inches rock and grow to a mature polyp?

[Olliereefer]

Quite a long time depending on how much you feed them!!!

[NanoCube-boy]

Well I feed them a lot of food, like 1 and 1/4 cube of food, or 3/4 of cube every other day. It does really on calcium too right? My Calcium are at 480-504ppm and Akalinity is at 10-12dKh. I do Supplement my tank weekly with 5ml of Mag. and Iodine.

[Hormigaquatica]

Tubastrea grow slowly- less than a horizontal inch per year if I remember right. But, if it is healthy and happy, it can also 'reproduce' and you will wind up with small satellite colonies around the tank.
Keep the water quality in excellent shape (tough to do with heavy feeding, so stay with it) and the polyps well fed and hopefully youll get some spread in there.

[NanoCube-boy]

Thanks man. Yea, it's a little tough feeding them, but inorder to achieve healthy a colony, I must give them what they want. When they fully cover the rock, I will get what i want.

I feed rich frozen mysis and cyclop-eez. Mysis shrimp are very meat, great for them. Cyclop-eez are back up feeding food, sometimes certain baby polyps need small enrich food to grow, and it's best for them eat what they fit in their mouth. Other big guys get their food shared with other livestock, so making sure they get full meal, I feed them cyclop-eez as well. I mix both 1/2 mysis and 1/4 cyclop-eez cubes together and feed them with turkey baster.

What do you guys feed your Tubs.?

[blackheart]

mine ate my arm!!!!

[dippin61]

mine went from 15 heads, to 150+, in about 2 years.

mine were fed every other day, 5-10 mysis each head.

each head needs to be fed individually. The heads do not share feedings.

and just feeding the water column with cubes, wont give the sun coral enough food. they need to be target fed, meaty foods to thrive.

[NanoCube-boy]

Blackheart, how often do you feed your sun coral? How much do you feed it?

[NanoCube-boy]

Dippin61, Ya, I do target fed with a baster.

[blackheart]

i feed mine about once or twice a week mysis and try and dust it with cyclopeeze when i feed my micros. It has propigated and i have tons of tiny colonies growing all over the tank that are very hard to target feed. I do feed one of them and i cant really tell a difference between that one and any other. Just my .02
PS:remember that they really like water motion so make sure they have some.

good luck

[ShiftNation]

The newest issue of coral magazine has an article with a hobbiest who feeds hers everyday and they constantly produce gametes . She explains how to collect them and get them to settle on a new substrate . Its a great article and Ive never seen so much tubastrea in one tank . But she reiterates its the daily feedings that spur the growth and coax the coral into reproducing . She also stated the flow is also very important to the health of the main colony , but even more so in making the gametes choose where they will settle . Wrong flow and they wont settle at all .

[NanoCube-boy]

What is GAMETES?

Blackheart, I try feeding once a week, but it show signs of dying, Iono why. I fed every polyps with a baster. So i have to feed every other day to thrive. As for water flow, I try feeding with my pump on and it would get blown away. So I usually just turn off the pump and feed them. After I'm done, I turn the pump back on.

[sufunk]

Originally posted by dippin61
mine went from 15 heads, to 150+, in about 2 years.

mine were fed every other day, 5-10 mysis each head.

each head needs to be fed individually. The heads do not share feedings.

and just feeding the water column with cubes, wont give the sun coral enough food. they need to be target fed, meaty foods to thrive.

Actually, i have seen Borneman quoted in other threads saying that in his experience each polyp does not need to be fed. As long as the entire coral is fed properly, each head will receive what it needs. I would have to agree with this IME. My sun has at least 100 heads and i have never fed every single polyp, way too difficult. I cover with a bowl and feed the entire coral and it has done great and sprouted even more new heads in the last 15 months.

[NanoCube-boy]

Fed in a bowl? How?

[blackheart]

If your coral is new to your tank and was just bought from a pet store it could be near starvation. It is a shame but most store do not have the time for proper up keep of a coral like this they are very tough to get health but once they are they do very well. Right now i could feed mine in a huricane and it would not drop the food. If yours is having trouble holding on to the food then it is having problems making neumaticytes. these are what the coral uses to catch food. youmust show your coral extra sensitivity right now by feeding every time it is out. I know it sounds a bit extream. also you will have to do water changes to your tank to get rid of excess ammonia produced by the increase in food in your tank. But if you want you coral to thrive you must feed it often for at least the first 6-8 weeks you have it. you will know when it is healthy. you will see much fuller polyp extention and you coral will grab and hang onto food better. When your coral is looking good like the one in the above picture. then you can start to slow your feedings down.

It sound like a lot but it is well worth it.

PS: gametes are the "spores" given off by the mother colony to form baby sister colonies

Good luck

[sufunk]

Originally posted by NanoCube-boy
Fed in a bowl? How?

Super target had a ton of little turrperware bowls. I found one that is about 4"x4"x4" and drilled a hole in the top and each side. I put it over the sun before feeding and then thaw out a little homemade food in a shotglass of tankwater and feed with a syringe. This way, the sun can eat for as long as it wants and nothing in the tank will bother it or steal food. Also helps to keep the food in 1 place and not pread all over the tank ruining your water quality. After a few hours, i take the bowl off and let my shrimp and fish finish any leftovers.

Works great and would HIGHLY recommend this method.

[NanoCube-boy]

I see. How much should I slow down to?

[blackheart]

you should slow down gradually to twice a week.

the feeding bowl also works but dont i dont recommend doing it in the sand or........... well you will see do it on a rock. matter of fact i dont recommend putting this coral on the sand at all.and you will have to keep some of your fish away from the coral while its eating. But when it becomes strong it will be able to fend for itself. My fish, shrimp, serpent star, snails, and everything else dont mess with mine anymore because it has quite a sting to it. Nothing that you will feel of course but a strong sting to the fish and such.

so anyway hope this helps, and keep the questions coming


good luck

[NanoCube-boy]

How come it's bad in the sand? Alot of people say that, don't put Sun on the sand. Why?

[NanoCube-boy]

How come it's bad in the sand? Alot of people say that, don't put Sun on the sand. Why?

[blackheart]

the skin of th coral cant get the water motion it needs to live so it dies and cause recession. Which leads to more and more till its gone

[NanoCube-boy]

Really? Wow, i never knew that, but why does the skin need water flow?

[sufunk]

Placement really depends on the size and shape of your sun. Mine is on the sand and does great because the polyps dont ever touch the sand. I make sure that the sand doesnt build around it and that the sun doesnt sink any. You definitely dont want any heads in the sand as it will smother them. I have read and seen firsthand that the polyps have a very difficult time releasing the sand.

That being said, if you can find a small flat rock to put it on or keep its polyps out of the sand somehow, it makes it much easier to feed with a bowl over it. Being on a rock makes it very difficult to keep other things from getting in the bowl, especially my starfish since you cant get a tight seal like pushing the bowl into the sand.

[blackheart]

but when you pull the bowl up out of the sand it will shoot sand everywhere and you will end up with sand in your polyps anyway.

[sufunk]

That only happens when you just yank the bowl out. If you are careful, gentle and slowly turn the bowl as you pull up, No sand shoots up or near the polyps. It can be a pain but a little finesse and it works great.

It is interesting how my nassarius seem to know just when im going to feed and get themselves in just the perfect spot so that they end up under the bowl and not outside it.