Care of Large Polyp Non-Photosynthetic Corals - Page 3

lgtentacle · 04/09/2011, 12:01 PM

There's a trick that you can do to get the corals to open and stay that way for longer periods during the day. When you first get the corals, they are only used to night feeding. Put a small amount of food in the tank for your fish during your dusk light dimming mode. The frozen carnivore version of the ocean nutrition foods worked well for me. The corals will smell the food and open up (as already noted in the tupperware method). If you are thawing the frozen cubes in water, then using a turkey baster or similar feeding device, you can spray the leftover thawing water near the corals since it also has the smell from the frozen food. After a little while (10-30 minutes), target feed the coral. Slowly over time (months) feed the fish a bit earlier each day (a few minutes) with small amounts of food and vary the target feeding time on the coral (feed some heads a little while after feeding the fish and others awhile later, but don't be consistent on which ones get feed early. Mix it up.). After several months of doing this, I was able to get the corals to open about five hours earlier than my normal dusk lighting period and the corals would stay open the whole evening (I usually didn't get home from work until 6:00 and the lights are on until 11:30). Once the corals get used to being feed early they seemed to consistently open early and stay open even without target feeding them directly after feeding the fish. If you have fish that require more frequent feedings (like anthias), then this process is much easier since you would normally feed frequent, small amounts to the tank anyway. Anyway, this always worked well for me.

Chyendra · 04/21/2011, 10:12 PM

Thanks for the sticky! This gives me new hope that I might see my sun coral during the day. I'm going to work on transitioning it over.

Is there a "best" food choice for sun corals? I feed mysis, cyclopeeze, and rods all which my sun coral seems to like. I also have some phytoplankton (DTs and Marine Snow) and I'm wondering if they would benefit from target feedings of phytoplankton?

Paradiddle7 · 04/22/2011, 02:46 PM

What's the largest piece of meat you can feed to most LPS and specifically sun coral? Is a whole silverside too big?

JCeballos27 · 10/02/2011, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stunreefer

Great shots pan!

Out of curiosity, how long did it take for the dye to come out?

Great job on the recovery of that coral too.

Hey, just wanted to say thank you for starting this thread. I have a dendro that wasn't opening up... In fact, it hadn't opened in FOUR days! I tried everything you said and guess what??? ... IT WORKED!!!! I wasn't feeding it correctly and my parameters were a little off. I adjusted the parameters and put it in a Tupperware and put a cube of mysis in with it... 25 minutes later it was opened up! I checked after 15 minutes but it wasn't enough time in my case... but 10 minutes after that we had an open, hungry dendro!

coralkait · 01/24/2012, 11:13 PM

thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge. I read up on here and other sources and finally purchased my first dendros.

Maaka · 02/23/2012, 10:34 AM

My GF recently brought home a dendro for me from the lfs and it doesn't look so good and after reading this i realized i have been neglecting it's needs. So just a few questions.

When doing the tupperware method should it been done at night or in the dark or does it matter?

And if i post a picture would someone be able to tell if it is still savable or if its gone for good?

gemini aquarius(t) · 03/28/2012, 01:05 AM

I read on LiveAquaria that all of the tubastrea sp. need to be handled from the bottom. Is this true? Why?

username in use · 03/28/2012, 05:26 AM

I've held them from the polyp area (retracted) when I had to get a small frag into a crack in the rock. I think the concern is probably tearing the flesh with the skeleton underneath it. As long as you are gentle I don't think there is any real differences with other LPS corals. Just like you wouldn't pick up a frogspawn by one of its tentacles.

Singlefin · 02/05/2013, 12:42 AM

I just picked up and orange piece. Can i dip it In coralRx or Bayer? I don't have any revive. Thanks.

Singlefin · 02/05/2013, 12:56 AM

This is it.

SantaMonica · 03/02/2013, 10:55 AM

I hope this one lived. And the blue one from several post up, too.

Someone should make a specialized desktop dendro/sun nano tank (not for fish), with specialized gyre flow and high continuous feeding capability, so I don't have to build my own

stunreefer · 03/02/2013, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Singlefin

I just picked up and orange piece. Can i dip it In coralRx or Bayer? I don't have any revive. Thanks.

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SantaMonica

Someone should make a specialized desktop dendro/sun nano tank

Not quite desktop, but nano...

SantaMonica · 03/03/2013, 11:09 AM

Yep that's perfect for kicking up as many food particles as possible from the bottom and circulating them around. Nice dramatic effect too with the dark bottom.

Zack420 · 03/04/2013, 12:46 PM

What about gorgonians?

karenvas2 · 04/09/2013, 08:16 AM

Awesome thread and pic. Thanks or all the info.

richardhao · 05/03/2013, 07:22 AM

great thread. I have a sun coral, i think its a dendro, i notice that when its hungry their tentacles are extended and thin, but after eating their tentacles became short and stubby or fat. does it mean it doesnt want to eat already?

stunreefer · 05/29/2013, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zack420

What about gorgonians?

What about them? This thread is not regarding Gorgonians of any kind...

Quote:

Originally Posted by richardhao

i notice that when its hungry their tentacles are extended and thin, but after eating their tentacles became short and stubby or fat. does it mean it doesnt want to eat already?

Not necessarily. Could be "full", could be being picked at by something, etc. Keep an eye on it and stay on top of feeding.

SantaMonica · 11/22/2013, 09:26 PM

Anyone know if a rotating feeder could be used to feed LPS sized foods?

DBLeite · 11/27/2013, 02:51 PM

thank you for the tutorial, my dendros need some help

stunreefer · 12/04/2013, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SantaMonica

Anyone know if a rotating feeder could be used to feed LPS sized foods?

I've used an Eheim auto feeder that dumped into a feeding ring, which allowed the food to sink as opposed to float. If you have a slow return feed most of the food will be eaten by corals prior to heading into drain.

Kharn · 04/25/2014, 02:32 AM

Is there anything else beyond Tubastreas that are Large Polyp NPS ?

I was hoping to find a list in the thread :P

Green_fishy · 04/28/2014, 11:25 PM

Sure, balanophyllia, dendrophyllia, cladopsammia, rhizotrochus.

Ariel110G · 05/13/2014, 01:42 PM

I feed it every other day

ArmyGreens · 06/26/2014, 02:42 PM

What about diseases, bacteria and or pest, what are their respective precursor to look for?

stunreefer · 07/01/2014, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmyGreens

What about diseases, bacteria and or pest, what are their respective precursor to look for?

As with any coral these are a real threat to NPC as well. I recommend dipping (I mainly use Revive and Prazipro), scrubbing base with toothbrush, followed by QT for inspection. There are predators that feed exclusively on various NPC. Ultimate Reef dot net has some pictures in a Tubastrea specific thread you can search for (cannot link it here).

As with some LPS there are also little tiny crabs that can hitch hike on the coral. I've seen them hide within the mouth of various LP NPC which will irritate the heck out of them and likely cause death over time. Most dips will drive the crabs out, or kill them.

04/09/2011, 12:01 PM	#51
lgtentacle Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Bothell, WA Posts: 68	There's a trick that you can do to get the corals to open and stay that way for longer periods during the day. When you first get the corals, they are only used to night feeding. Put a small amount of food in the tank for your fish during your dusk light dimming mode. The frozen carnivore version of the ocean nutrition foods worked well for me. The corals will smell the food and open up (as already noted in the tupperware method). If you are thawing the frozen cubes in water, then using a turkey baster or similar feeding device, you can spray the leftover thawing water near the corals since it also has the smell from the frozen food. After a little while (10-30 minutes), target feed the coral. Slowly over time (months) feed the fish a bit earlier each day (a few minutes) with small amounts of food and vary the target feeding time on the coral (feed some heads a little while after feeding the fish and others awhile later, but don't be consistent on which ones get feed early. Mix it up.). After several months of doing this, I was able to get the corals to open about five hours earlier than my normal dusk lighting period and the corals would stay open the whole evening (I usually didn't get home from work until 6:00 and the lights are on until 11:30). Once the corals get used to being feed early they seemed to consistently open early and stay open even without target feeding them directly after feeding the fish. If you have fish that require more frequent feedings (like anthias), then this process is much easier since you would normally feed frequent, small amounts to the tank anyway. Anyway, this always worked well for me. __________________ Teasing cats with non-accessible fishy snacks for over 12 years! In the process of re-wiring my new house for my next tank (hopefully a 300 gallon mixed reef). Current Tank Info: Currently a 125g fresh, but I'll be switching back to salt soon! (once I get the funds...<cry>)

03/28/2012, 01:05 AM	#57
gemini aquarius(t) Always Learning Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 5,099	I read on LiveAquaria that all of the tubastrea sp. need to be handled from the bottom. Is this true? Why? __________________ -Xavier Blue Thumb Aquatix @BTAquatix

03/28/2012, 05:26 AM	#58
username in use Sciencing Daily Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6,560	I've held them from the polyp area (retracted) when I had to get a small frag into a crack in the rock. I think the concern is probably tearing the flesh with the skeleton underneath it. As long as you are gentle I don't think there is any real differences with other LPS corals. Just like you wouldn't pick up a frogspawn by one of its tentacles. __________________ Joshua "With fronds like these, who needs anemones?" - Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: multiple nano's sprinkled around the house

03/02/2013, 10:55 AM	#61
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	I hope this one lived. And the blue one from several post up, too. Someone should make a specialized desktop dendro/sun nano tank (not for fish), with specialized gyre flow and high continuous feeding capability, so I don't have to build my own __________________ Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843

04/09/2013, 08:16 AM	#65
karenvas2 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: NJ Posts: 112	Wow Awesome thread and pic. Thanks or all the info.

04/21/2011, 10:12 PM	#52
Chyendra Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 242	Thanks for the sticky! This gives me new hope that I might see my sun coral during the day. I'm going to work on transitioning it over. Is there a "best" food choice for sun corals? I feed mysis, cyclopeeze, and rods all which my sun coral seems to like. I also have some phytoplankton (DTs and Marine Snow) and I'm wondering if they would benefit from target feedings of phytoplankton?

04/22/2011, 02:46 PM	#53
Paradiddle7 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Amherst Posts: 797	What's the largest piece of meat you can feed to most LPS and specifically sun coral? Is a whole silverside too big?

01/24/2012, 11:13 PM	#55
coralkait Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mesa/Tempe border Posts: 18	thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge. I read up on here and other sources and finally purchased my first dendros.

02/23/2012, 10:34 AM	#56
Maaka Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Lima, Ohio Posts: 329	My GF recently brought home a dendro for me from the lfs and it doesn't look so good and after reading this i realized i have been neglecting it's needs. So just a few questions. When doing the tupperware method should it been done at night or in the dark or does it matter? And if i post a picture would someone be able to tell if it is still savable or if its gone for good?

02/05/2013, 12:42 AM	#59
Singlefin Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 96	I just picked up and orange piece. Can i dip it In coralRx or Bayer? I don't have any revive. Thanks.

02/05/2013, 12:56 AM	#60
Singlefin Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 96	This is it.

03/03/2013, 11:09 AM	#63
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	Yep that's perfect for kicking up as many food particles as possible from the bottom and circulating them around. Nice dramatic effect too with the dark bottom.

03/04/2013, 12:46 PM	#64
Zack420 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 9	What about gorgonians?

05/03/2013, 07:22 AM	#66
richardhao Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 66	great thread. I have a sun coral, i think its a dendro, i notice that when its hungry their tentacles are extended and thin, but after eating their tentacles became short and stubby or fat. does it mean it doesnt want to eat already?

11/22/2013, 09:26 PM	#68
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	Anyone know if a rotating feeder could be used to feed LPS sized foods? __________________ Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843

11/27/2013, 02:51 PM	#69
DBLeite Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 50	thank you for the tutorial, my dendros need some help

04/25/2014, 02:32 AM	#71
Kharn MANTISMAN Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Gonodak Posts: 4,003	Is there anything else beyond Tubastreas that are Large Polyp NPS ? I was hoping to find a list in the thread :P __________________ The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in their control and not the other way around, nature has an order, a power to restore balance...I believe he is that power.

04/28/2014, 11:25 PM	#72
Green_fishy Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Europe, Poland, Silesia Posts: 136	Sure, balanophyllia, dendrophyllia, cladopsammia, rhizotrochus.

06/26/2014, 02:42 PM	#74
ArmyGreens Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: NorCal Posts: 85	What about diseases, bacteria and or pest, what are their respective precursor to look for?