Long Tentacle Plate - Trying to Save It

[IndyMatt]

I was in Premium Aquatics (local for me) on Friday picking up my online order and they have two plates that had/have some recession. One was white and it was pretty much gone, about 75-80% of its skeleton was showing. Another was the one I bought it was green and had a little less than 50% gone. It was $10 and I thought I would try to save it. So I took it home drip acclimated it. I also put some Kent Tech D solution in the acclimation bucket and let it sit for about 7 minutes like the bottle suggested. Then I placed it in the tank, on the sand bed under plenty of light. I have been feeding it pieces of shrimp every night and it has eaten them. Is there anything else that you guys can suggest? I can soak the shrimp in garlic oil and/or fish oil, do you think it will help? I will post a picture this afternoon. I really hope it recovers, it is beautiful!


Posted this in the Reef Discussion with no replys, so I thought I would try here.

[Sk8r]

Watch your alkalinity and ph: 8.3 is a good number for both.

[IndyMatt]

Are LTP particularly touchy to both? Or is it because it is damaged?

[IndyMatt]

[http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a270/RiverSmallie/LTP.jpg

So what do you guys think?

[duds]

my orange short tentacle plate was almost gone and it only came out at night, so i fed it at night and now it is fully recovered and is really nice, feed it often and it will be fine
Duds

[ek9vboi]

It will more then likely die on you. LTP do not fair well captive.

[RayMartini]

I'm going with Duds on this one. Hey what's up Duds!

I have learned to never give up on an animal until it is completely and undoubtedly dead. Feed it often and give it TLC and it just may come back for you. If not you gave it your best shot!

Best of luck ...

[IndyMatt]

It's tentacles have remained out ever since it has been in my tank. I have feed it at least daily since last Friday as well. Only time will tell. It hopefully will make it.

[RayMartini]

Good luck Matt. I think it'll make a comeback for you.

[duds]

whats up ray I want to get a frag of your gorgonian but its like an hour drive to your house, it will come back if you can see it taking in food that is a really good sign, it will heal up very nicely
Duds

[kramgnik]

I would try to dip the plate in an iodine based dip. That will help halt the recession.
Mark

[IndyMatt]

I dipped it in the Kent Tech D when I first got it. I think it is a Iodine based dip. I think it is starting to regrow tissue as I see small tentacles forming all around the base of the disk.

[dvmsn]

Do a search for long tentacled plate. You will find hundreds of "My plate is dying, what can I do?" threads. These guys just don't do well. I personally think that they are in the Moorish Idol, gonipora category. You will find people that keep them, but those are the exception not the rule. They should be left in the ocean. These guys are very diffrent from short tentacled plates, which I would agree are very hardy and can seem to sprout back from a coral that apears completely dead.

[IndyMatt]

This is true, I just saw it damaged and figured I would at least try to save it. I will keep you guys updated on the progress.

[dvmsn]

Sorry, I didn't mean that to sound like you were doing something wrong. I commend you trying to save it and hope that it does well for you.

[duds]

yea you did the right thing taing it from the store and trying to safe it but if that is true about them not living well in captivity then it may not work out well in the long run, you might be able to safe it now but it might do this again, well good luck for now andkeep us updated
Duds

[ACBlinky]

I've saved some pretty sorry-looking LPS, never tried a plate though. It sounds like you're doing all you can -- keep feeding it, keep the water parameters steady and cross your fingers, it might just come back for you. Best of luck.

[IndyMatt]

No problem DVSM, I didn't take it that way.

I will definitely keep you guys posted.

[cward]

I've had mine for about three years or so, but I have heard horror stories about how hard they are to keep. I don't have a recent pic of just the LTP, but here it is in my tank.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/503/30741full-tank.jpg

[IndyMatt]

Very nice plate and tank!!

[cward]

Thank you. Although my flow pushes the SSB around a bit, I do keep the LTP on sand so the flesh doesn't get torn from the jagged skeleton.

[eclecticvibe]

Matt,
Even if you should happen to lose the plate, they sometimes come back from bare skeleton. They don't always regrow but I've read several accounts of them budding daughter companies after no flesh was visible on the skeleton. I guess it's some sort of survival technique that allows them to recover after some sort of trauma.

[IndyMatt]

Jay I have heard that as well. It is actually doing very well. It is eating and is extending its tentacles. I was nervous doing my weekly water change last night. It shriveled up a little and then came right back out after the water change was done. I truly believe it is coming back.

Not to get side tracked but do you guys have any Kole tangs in stock? I know you had one a week or so ago but has since sold.

[mandrin13]

So after reading this,I think my plate has luck hen.I had a nitrate spike about 2 months ago,and about 90% of the skeloton is showing,but I've been trying to bring him back.he has stopped receading.Should I just keep feeding him?Oh,he is a short tentacle plate.

[eclecticvibe]

Definitely on the short tentacle plate keep feeding it. Just put very small meaty pieces of food or zooplankton replacements on the remaining tissue. Like the long tentacles(heliofungia), regular plates(fungia) also can sprout buds from bare skeleton.

Matt, I don't think we have any Kole's right now. There is a Tomensis tank in stock right now.

[mandrin13]

thanx,irs growing back a little.Its definetly stopped rececing.

[pixburg-reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7875384#post7875384 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eclecticvibe
Matt,
Even if you should happen to lose the plate, they sometimes come back from bare skeleton. They don't always regrow but I've read several accounts of them budding daughter companies after no flesh was visible on the skeleton. I guess it's some sort of survival technique that allows them to recover after some sort of trauma.


There is a great picture of this in Aquarium Corals, Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History on page 80 if you have the book (Eric Borneman).

There is a really good chance that it would fully recover; it really doesn't look THAT bad. I just saved a green Euphyllia divisa about two weeks ago that had 80% of the tissue gone and only a few tentacles that would still inflate. Now, it has grown back almost half of the skeleton (maybe 35 or 40%) and it's actually starting to redevelop its mouth.

Kelly

[bklynmet]

How's the plate looking these days? I'm asking because my short tentacle plate (which I didn't even knwo was a short tentacle plate until today) started showing skeleton two days ago. I've stepped up feedings and today for the first time saw 1/8" long tentacles arount the perimter. Just wondering how your's is as possibly inspiration for my situation. Thanks.

[JotaDe]

Can you give us an update, I'd like to see any changes?

[IndyMatt]

Unfortunately, the plate did not survive. I was really hoping it would pull through. It would look good and then look bad and then it had a bad stretch it never recovered from. It stopped taking food and I think that was the problem. I got the skeleton in the tank hoping new ones sprout from the skeleton.

[bklynmet]

Sorry to hear the news.

My orange plate is touch and go as well. Days that it looks good and days it does not. I've purposely stopped target feeding pellets and just indirectly feed phyto, and selcon soaked cyclopeeze through the water column on alterdate days. I think digestion was an issue with the pellets.