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Can this sun coral be saved?


Newstead

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Chumps R Me - saw it at LFS, someone had turned it back in after evidently starving it. I offered to try to save it. So far after 1 week no response to my trying to feed it mysis shrimp in dark, pumps off, after basting it with coral gumbo. Any hope?

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It doesn't look too far gone to me... tissue isn't receding or tearing, polyps visibly have mouths. They just can be weirdly stubborn that way.

 

Try feeding it in a small Tupperware container or a Lee's hang-on specimen container filled with tank water for 15-20 minutes with a mix of finely chopped foods (and a lot of it). That way you won't turn your tank into soup and at the same time you make it easy for the sun coral to get some nourishment.

 

Anyone want to weigh in on whether this should be done after lights-out versus trying to "train" the coral into opening during viewable times?

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It doesn't look too far gone to me... tissue isn't receding or tearing, polyps visibly have mouths. They just can be weirdly stubborn that way.

 

Try feeding it in a small Tupperware container or a Lee's hang-on specimen container filled with tank water for 15-20 minutes with a mix of finely chopped foods (and a lot of it). That way you won't turn your tank into soup and at the same time you make it easy for the sun coral to get some nourishment.

 

Anyone want to weigh in on whether this should be done after lights-out versus trying to "train" the coral into opening during viewable times?

Other than it looking really pissed, I don't think it looks unhealthy at all.
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Thanks for the encouragement and ideas! Am moving it to a tupoerware container I can lift it in and out of tank with for feeding. The yellow flesh does look like it is flaking but hopefully some TLC will set it tight. I just wish I could find some cyclopeeze - from what I have read people have had good success getting them to open with that.

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Mine has looked worse than that for a year now. All but two heads dies and I had to put it in a container full of reefroids and mysis to get a feeding response

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Bulkrate, the tip about tupperware was brilliant. Finally got a response from it when I took it out, flooded the bowl with coral gumbo then added mysis. Almost every head puffed up. One hour after putting it back in tank I finally saw tentacles just beginning to show. Thanks again for the help, all.

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I can't claim credit for the method... it's been posted in other areas here & on other prominent reefing sites + also bandied about in couple of LFS I frequent. However, I have first hand experience with using it on a few almost-too-far-gone corals and anemones and had a decent success rate - you'd be surprised how well these things can bounce back once a steady source of nutrition's available.

 

After a couple weeks you should be able to forgo feeding in the container to a more normal broadcast approach & try to train it into opening more during the "day" cycle of your lighting. Just pick a time you;d like to have it be open, mince up a bunch of food really, really fine, shut off the powerheads & baste a small cloud of the food such that it hovers around the sun coral for a while. More likely than not it'll get the hint & start opening at more regular & random times when the lights are on.

 

Nonetheless, I'm glad it's working for you - that follow-up pic is much improved!

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Appreciate it all - been teading up on the different methods of feeding them, but the tub method is working well for it so will stay with it as you said for a while. Hope I can pist a pic of it completely healthy before too long

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  • 2 weeks later...

That actually looks like a real nice sun coral. Feeding them can be a PITA but I think they are worth it. One of my favorite corals that I have had in the past.

 

Keep up the great work on it!

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Thanks ... here is a recent pic. What a difference!

 

WOW! Huge difference. Still using a tupperware or are you trying to feed it in-tank?

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Timely reply, Harryjsinger. You are now tapped for my next question ;-). I took the Little Prince, as the sun coral is now aptly named, out of its tupperware for a couple of days for looks, but had so much mysis and cyclops get away from my feeding with coral baster that I saw an increase in nitrates and even had some cyano syart, no matter how I tried to suck up the leftovers. Even tried the bottle top over it. Sooooo ... I bought a modded up Fluval spec 5 from someone on NR and spent today cleaning it out and getting ready to set it up. I am thinking I will do bare bottom for 2 reasons - read sun corals do not like to be on sand and to make cleanup easier. Thinking I will run live rock and perhaps some sexy shrimp who would appreciate the daily feedings? Keeping my pretty much stock fluval 5 for quarantine.

 

Ideas welcome for the little prince's new tank!!!

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Timely reply, Harryjsinger. You are now tapped for my next question ;-). I took the Little Prince, as the sun coral is now aptly named, out of its tupperware for a couple of days for looks, but had so much mysis and cyclops get away from my feeding with coral baster that I saw an increase in nitrates and even had some cyano syart, no matter how I tried to suck up the leftovers. Even tried the bottle top over it. Sooooo ... I bought a modded up Fluval spec 5 from someone on NR and spent today cleaning it out and getting ready to set it up. I am thinking I will do bare bottom for 2 reasons - read sun corals do not like to be on sand and to make cleanup easier. Thinking I will run live rock and perhaps some sexy shrimp who would appreciate the daily feedings? Keeping my pretty much stock fluval 5 for quarantine.

 

Ideas welcome for the little prince's new tank!!!

 

Hmmm... Might be pretty tough to keep little prince in a 5g since the amount of food necessary.

You might be better off training it to open during the day and have a faster trading response

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Get a plastic soda bottle and remove the lid. Cut the top off so you have about 4 inches of straight side. Attach a stiff rod to the top of the cut-off bottle. Now, using the rod, put the bottle over the sun coral. Squirt the food into the bottle through the lid opening. This will contain the food around the coral while it feeds.

https://youtu.be/7KIEnBuSA7k

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Thakns, Harry. I did try the bottle top but still had lots of mysis left around the bottom when I removed it, probably due to my innate clutziness. Was thinking that in the 5 gallon I could siphon out the extra easier with a bb and do more frequent water changes when needed...

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They can take some mighty big pieces of mysis shrimp. Get the zoomed stainless steel feeder tongs. You can actually directly place a mysis onto each head and guarantee zero waste once you get it trained too pen at certain times.

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