do plate corals have anything on the bottom of them?

areze · #1 07/30/2007, 05:51 PM

is their mouth on the bottom by chance? trying to figure out why mine is looking near death after only a few days in the tank.

wondering if its the epoxy I used to hold it down...

fishyz · #2 07/30/2007, 06:37 PM

Mine has a hard base or "plate" on the bottom of it, and the mouth on the top. Did you place it on the sandbed or on/near live rock? Their tenticles are sensitive and rip very easily, thats why the sand is the best place for them. Whats your water quility? What type of lighting does the tank have? Is the plate coral near a high or low flow area? Also, what fish do you have in the tank?(sorry about all the questions

areze · #3 07/30/2007, 07:03 PM

its on starboard bare bottom, secured with a little glob of reef safe epoxy under the center of it. no rocks near by.

foxface rabbit fish, lawnmower blenny, and clown fish, none Ive seen go near it.

2x250w MH, one of them more or less right over it; no obstruction of the light.

Pmolan · #4 07/30/2007, 07:03 PM

I never had one successfully on the rock. In the sand however they thrive.

areze · #5 07/30/2007, 07:28 PM

hmmm so no sand might be the complication then?

thatd be a bummer. if the epoxy isnt the cause I cant do much, I guess just wait and see if it adjusts or dies

Ritten · #6 07/30/2007, 07:31 PM

My understanding is that they need to be able to move across the sand bed.

PJSEA · #7 07/30/2007, 07:37 PM

The plate coral should be placed on a substrate, not a solid bottom. They can be fed thru thier mouths which is on the top.
Here's a link to one site with info:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fungiidae.htm

areze · #8 07/30/2007, 07:43 PM

thats a real bummer

out of curiosity, this need for sand does not carry over to other "typical" bottom dwelling corals, like open brains and such does it?

wrott · #9 07/30/2007, 07:44 PM

Do you have a photo? I would not have glued it to anything. I believe they will thrive on any substrate--at LFS, they are kept on eggcrate.
Mine is very,very hardy---don't give up on it--even if it looks dead, it can start producing baby plate corals after months of looking dead. Leave it in the tank--low flow.

XSiVE · #10 07/30/2007, 07:51 PM

I have a small plate the size of a quarter.. on rocks, or off the substrate it wont expand any of its flesh, once on the substrate(aragonite sand) the transformation is amazing.

Pmolan · #11 07/30/2007, 08:10 PM

You can drop a piece of shrimp on the mouth, he'll thank you.

areze · #12 07/30/2007, 08:52 PM

tiny chunk of frozen shrimp? he is getting pretty fair flow right now, not alot, but enough that without the epoxy he was pushed across the tank. should I try to sit him somewhere that the flow is so low he cant get pushed?

XSiVE · #13 07/30/2007, 10:15 PM

yeah a plate should be in just enough flow to occasionally catch something to feed on. if you had to epoxy it down then you're going to want to move it to a place with a LOT less flow.

here's a vid of mine when i thought it had a little too much flow, it's about the size of a quarter, but growing nicely... I've since re-arranged some things in the tank and moved it to an area of even lower flow.

http://www.ryanensminger.com/gallery...eCoralFlow.wmv