Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
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- Location: Ocean Springs
Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
I picked up a very sickly looking sun coral from a friend of mine to see if i can rehabilitate it. I knew that there was some red algae on it but after further examination I have noticed an aiptasia and some small worm looking creatures that live in the skeleton. I dont want to put it in my tank and risking contaminating my tank. So my only option is setting up a quarantine tank. All i have is a 5 gal bucket to use. My question is what are the minimum requirements for a sun coral. I know they dont require light and if anything no light would help remove any unwanted algae. Do they require flow? Anything else? How often should I feed it? I dont want to overfeed with the chance of increasing ammonia. Any help would be appreciated.
- bluwtr
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- My SetUp: 55g, 70#'s lr, 40#'s ls, 10 DIY acrylic sump, in sump skimmer, 1 Jebao wp20 and 2 Koralia 1050 controlled by a Smart Wave, DIY LED's--12 RB, 10 UV's and 8 CW.
- Location: Gautier
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Re: Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
One of the issue with non-photosynthetic corals is that they require a LOT of food to live and thrive. As such they like a lot of current and not a lot of light. The high current provides them with the food they need. As far as QT'ing it, just get some Joe's Juice and zap the aptasia and as far as the worm, it is most likely a bristtle worm which is harmless. They are great detritovours.
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- Discus Member
- Posts: 165
- Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:55 pm
- My SetUp: Equipment: 225 gallon (72x30x24), 3 radion pros, 2 48" t5s (ato blue plus), 2 mp40s, full apex with ph probe, wxm module, brs gfo reactor, reef octopus nwb200, DIY ATO with Kalk in reservoir water, two micom dosers (dosing 2 part) Livestock is mostly zoas/palys and sps. I also have quite a selection of high end Lps on the sand bed.
- Location: Ocean Springs
Re: Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
Thank you for the reply. I think its too late to save this sun coral. It looks a lot worse than it did when I brought it home. I have tried to feed it several times and its not even trying to eat.
- bluwtr
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- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 12:12 pm
- My SetUp: 55g, 70#'s lr, 40#'s ls, 10 DIY acrylic sump, in sump skimmer, 1 Jebao wp20 and 2 Koralia 1050 controlled by a Smart Wave, DIY LED's--12 RB, 10 UV's and 8 CW.
- Location: Gautier
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Re: Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
Before you give up try on anothe forum and look under the NPC (non photosynthetic coral) section. Someone may be able to offer more/better advice. Don't give up yet!
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- Location: D'Iberville Mississippi
Re: Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
Something I have seen other reefers do: Cut the bottom out of a plastic coke bottle, place it over the coral and then feed the coral. This keeps the food right there around the coral instead of blowing away in the current from the power heads, giving the coral a better chance to feed.
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Re: Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
Mine will open almost 10 min after food is introduced try cutting the flow when you feed them do the "cup" thing but remember it will take them 10 or 15 min to open.
- bluwtr
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- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 12:12 pm
- My SetUp: 55g, 70#'s lr, 40#'s ls, 10 DIY acrylic sump, in sump skimmer, 1 Jebao wp20 and 2 Koralia 1050 controlled by a Smart Wave, DIY LED's--12 RB, 10 UV's and 8 CW.
- Location: Gautier
- Contact:
Re: Urgent help! Sun corals life is at stake!
Another way to get your corals to open for feeding is to squirt a small amount of food into the current and let it circulate for 10-15 minutes. After everything has "waken" up, then you can turn off all of the circulation and feed. Be mindful to not overfeed though but that goes back to the NPC's and their need for lots of food. Because they aren't photosynthetic, they have to catch all of their food. As Pete said, try to spot feed them with a home made "feeding bell". That will help minimize the amount of food put into the tank while still giving plenty to eat.
HTH
HTH