Need Info/Imput on my Botton Polyps

[Catspa]

Ok, i don't have much experience with corals, so i decided to start with some Green Button Polyps, and now i just have a couple of questions that i'm hoping someone can help me with.

 

First of all, i'm wondering how much light do they like?

I've seen info adivsing between low to high is ok, but my question is, what is optimal?

 

Currently i'm screening out about 20-30% of my light in an attempt to aclimate it (store's lighting looked much dimmer then mine). Is this ok? and if so how long should i take with the aclimation process? (r we talking a couple of days? a week? or a couple of weeks? or a months or more?)

 

Lastly, as an experiment, i exposed it to the full intensity of my lights, and came back an hour later, and the buttons were full extended, way more then usual - to the extent that they were almost bulbus in nature - never seem them do that before (mine or otherwise) what does this mean - did they like the full intensity or not?

 

any imput is appreciated!

 

 

29 G Blowfront. 110 watt of 50/50 PC sitting right above  the water (sealed), 301 PH, Fluval 403...etc.....

[Carinya]

Acclimating it over a week or so is a good idea if you suspect significant light differences between your tank & the store.

 

I had always understood that most button polyps do well in low to mid light.  I had also heard that (for instance) really brightly colored mushroom require more light than the plain brownish ones, so perhaps your Green Polyps require (or like) slightly more light than the average run-of-the-mill brown polyps I had.

 

Fully-extended corals are happy corals.  It sounds like your liked the light.

 

Good luck,

Carinya

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Mine seem to do ok wherever I place them, but like it best close to the light.

Tasha

[Catspa]

thxs for the quick replies

 

Ok, sounds good so far. Oh, just to clairify, when i said my polyps got "bulbus" when i exposed them to the full intensity of my lights, i mean they went from there usually open dish/flower shape, to a round shape, like a marble or ballon.  They actually swelled up and went round on me as in like a ball, not like a flat dish type shape.... is this normal? bad? good? cause they don't look like that in the pics i see or at the stores.

 

So i should take ruffly a week or so to aclimate the coral to the light? is this the same for most types of corals or does it depend?

 

Thanks

[Carinya]

Button Polyps will ball up like that sometimes.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, per se.  Mine would do it when they caught something in their little tentacles & they were pulling it inward.  In your case, either you didn't leave them in the new position long enough for them to "settle down" or else they didn't like that much light.

 

I've always heard that light acclimation for most corals would take somewhere between a week & two weeks, depending on how the coral is looking.  Presumably there are always exceptions to this rule (the o-so-sensitive and rare coral) but since we're just talking about button polyps here I think a week would do.  Just start 'em out at the bottom of the tank.  Move them upwards a little each day.  If you put them too high up & it's too much light, you should be able to see from how happy they look.

 

Good luck with them.

Carinya

[Toyfreek]

I have zooanthid polyps under 400W MH right near the top of the tank and they are swell. heres a pic.

[Catspa]

I'm a bit confused, Carinya you said its not a bad thing necessarly, then seem to sugest in my case it is...

I was thinking that if they weren't feeling good they wouldn't expand, they would retract. hence isin't crazy expansion good... at least this was my hope. but don't really mater at the moment because i haven't seen them doing that lately.. but they are also not looking great either...but this could just be because they are still aclimating (i hope)

 

p.s. my buttons appear to be the ones that are attached to each other, versus the ones that a separate from each other... any thoughts or comments on this...ie u know the type, the diff, care level diff....etc..

 

thanks!

 

Nice pic toyfreek!