UNOFFICIAL SUN CORAL/DENDRO/RHYZO THREAD

[non-photosynt]

My input, just for fun:

Why my chili coral reminds me sun coral? and follow up.

 

I also kept the parent colony in a pico:

for maybe 4 months, until tired of twice a week full tank water changes, after feeding:

 

This is water quality after feeding:

then these corals were returned in the skimmed tank.

 

Another sun coral relative, in the big tank:

 

Feeding:

Mostly twice a week, at least once a week at hot weather, daily small feedings or every second day increase polyps budding:

this, removed from chili:

progressed to this:

 

Food:

chopped (or grated when frozen) seafood, mostly shrimp and different fish, mysis, a little of brine shrimp for a taste, Marine Cuisine, Ocean of Pacific Plankton for a big polyps, lately New Life Spectrum pellets for a fry, but frozen food is much more preferable.

 

You know about this device for localized feeding, siphonable off hat feeding version: Lunar lander. Didn't try myself, but looks very reasonable.

Edited July 1, 2008 by non-photosynt

[abe]

My input, just for fun:

dude... that's great! so your chili's polyps came out yellow? that's freakin awesome. and nice sun corals too, hopefully one day mine will extend like that.

[The Nomad]

I thought this was dead for the last 2 months I had not seen it open.

[bigstinka]

get my black sun coral on saturday, are they any harder to look after tahn the yellow ones? the yellows i have now are growing lots in the last month and the black ones seem very hard to get in the uk!

[The Nomad]

get my black sun coral on saturday, are they any harder to look after tahn the yellow ones? the yellows i have now are growing lots in the last month and the black ones seem very hard to get in the uk!

My black is weird. I got them both at the same time from the same person. The orange and pinks have done well. The black never really opened, faded, and turned mostly White. I thought it was dead and moved the skeleton by some mushrooms for easy fragging. 5 or so days ago it decided to open. The biggest difference for my tank has been regular feeding of cyclopeeze for the last few weeks. IDK.

[erich_9175]

tagging along.. might be a regular in this forum soon.. right nomad!... I think i got some baby dendros!

[The Nomad]

tagging along.. might be a regular in this forum soon.. right nomad!... I think i got some baby dendros!

Sure looks like it

[TUDIZZLE]

here are my beauties...........

 

When I first got them about 7 months ago.

 

 

about a month later

 

 

current photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feed once a week silversides and the occasional mysis

[non-photosynt]

It's a pity that the black tubastrea didn't survive. They could be separated, fragged like any other LPS, but it's too late.

 

Black sun coral:

There are two of them: Tubastrea diaphana, compact branching growth, almost black with lighter tentacles, and Tubastrea micranthus, long branches, browner, greenish tentacles, rare, and as I had read requires more flow and more frequent feeding.

 

I have only T. diaphana, starved to the tissue recession. It took almost a week to make it open for a feeding. It had to be surrounded by food for a twice longer time, then for orange and pure yellow sun corals, almost 1.5 hours. But after it started eating, no problems at all.

The tentacles are brown, not green - it's automatics of the camera playing tricks.

 

My lemon-yellow sun coral:

Does anybody know reference, where its ID could be found?

Edited July 2, 2008 by non-photosynt

[TUDIZZLE]

It's a pity that the black tubastrea didn't survive. They could be separated, fragged like any other LPS, but it's too late.

 

 

They are still plugging away behind there! They just never extend like the yellows

[non-photosynt]

Good!

It's up to you, of course, but you have an option to separate them.

 

I fragged by big colony, it recovered very well, even single polyps. No infection.

This is half of it, divided in quarters:

Edited July 2, 2008 by non-photosynt

[abe]

Good!

It's up to you, of course, but you have an option to separate them.

 

I fragged by big colony, it recovered very well, even single polyps. No infection.

This is half of it, divided in quarters:

That's cool. nice pictures everyone!

[GoingPostal]

I still don't have a pic of the sun coral open, they won't during the day yet but here's the dendro

[abe]

I still don't have a pic of the sun coral open, they won't during the day yet but here's the dendro

what is that white thing?

 

maybe we should ad rhyzo to the thread... don't have one myself though...

[GoingPostal]

what is that white thing?

 

maybe we should ad rhyzo to the thread... don't have one myself though...

 

Yeah, rhizo, should be included, very close to the family.

Edited July 4, 2008 by GoingPostal

[bluegrizzlies1]

How many times a week should I feed my sun coral.

 

I have it in a 12 gallon is 2 times a week fine to feed it or should it be more ?

 

Im not really looking for it to grow a lot because it is in a smaller tank.

[GoingPostal]

How many times a week should I feed my sun coral.

 

I have it in a 12 gallon is 2 times a week fine to feed it or should it be more ?

 

Im not really looking for it to grow a lot because it is in a smaller tank.

 

 

I've heard of people feeding them 2x a week but they could probably use more, I'd do every other day but maybe see how they do if you step down feedings.

[non-photosynt]

Twice a week will be OK, this is my normal frequency of feeding for 2 years already.

 

By the way, all my photos are made during daytime

[abe]

Twice a week will be OK, this is my normal frequency of feeding for 2 years already.

 

By the way, all my photos are made during daytime

me too.

 

pictures is too hard to take at night, lol

[iNano]

how do you train a sun coral to be open all day?

Edited July 5, 2008 by iNano

[EnjoiFish]

Here's the frag I used to have:

 

 

When I ever I got from the LFS, most of its polyps were dead (or at least appeared to be). It never opened during the day unless it was kept in the shade. I usually fed it frozen cyclops, mysis, or brine 20 minutes after lights out. I got a little more than half of the frag to recover before I lost it completely to a massive algae bloom.

[abe]

how do you train a sun coral to be open all day?

for me, i just alternate feedings between day and night, or if possible both times. and every once in a while throw in a random feeding in the middle of the day. that's how it worked for me.

[non-photosynt]

how do you train a sun coral to be open all day?

All mine do not respond to the training at all, and open after adding food in the water, within maybe 15 min. The only problem with opening is when they were open and just closed, then they open very unwillingly. But they are ready to open again after 1-2 hrs after closing.

 

In the evening, within 1 hr before the lights are off, all suns are starting to open at their best - much more than during the day.

 

I had read, that feeding in the same time was described as training.

 

EnjoiFish:

Can you post photo at different angle, to see the shape of colony? Do you have some information about identification?

 

I have the similar looking coral and just wondering if they are the same:

flattened wide colony shape, branching, small polyps. Were fluorescent-orange-pink in the store, maybe dyed, hard to say. Looking for identification and more info on it. So far Cladopsammia gracilis (Dendrophylliidae) was the closest assumption. They exist in pink and orange morphs (or species).

 

Does anybody have pure yellow (no orange), lemon yellow sun corals, branching and not? Any information about what they are?

 

Another question: who has adult peppermint shrimps with tubastrea, did they try to tear tentacles off at night? I was looking for aiptasia control, and found that they may mix tubastrea with aiptasia and harass it to decline. Just curious.

[abe]

Another question: who has adult peppermint shrimps with tubastrea, did they try to tear tentacles off at night? I was looking for aiptasia control, and found that they may mix tubastrea with aiptasia and harass it to decline. Just curious.

i have two adult pep shrimps with tubastreas. i never have any problems with them trying to tear of tentacles, and my tubastreas are now open almost all day long. i let my pep shrimps eat aipstasia along with fish pellets to keep them from growing a taste for other things.

 

 

oh, and your sun coral looks like a branching sun coral.

Edited July 10, 2008 by abe

[HankB]

This thread has lain dormant for months. I guess dendros are so mid summer.

 

Well... We may be late to the party as we just picked up a 2 headed frag at a local swap this weekend.

 

Each polyp has opened at some point at least a little. When I get them both trained to open at the same time, I'll follow up with pictures.

 

I've tried feeding with mysis and cyclop-eze. They opened and ate some mysis but seemed to ignore the cyclop-eze. I'm guessing the provider fed mysis and that's what they're used to. I also plan to feed Rod's carnivore formula and have a go with some frozen brine shrimp.

 

So, feel free to update your sun/dendro pix and provide tips for a dendro noob.

 

thanks,

hank