Brain shrivled

[donk]

I have a green open brain that has been doing great. Today I did my weekly 10% WC an hour later he is all deflated. It looks like you can see his skeleton breaking through. I tested my water, it is fine. Is this normal? (he has never done this before). HELP!

[chvynva916]

My open brain doesn't like water changes too much either. I would guess they're sensitive to changes in water parameters (pH, temp, etc) and in such a small tank I guess water changes bother it. Just like yours it gets to the point where it looks like the skeleton might break through. Always recovers within a few hours though.

 

On a related note, I feel my brain is a lot healthier since I started feeding it a few times a week.

[donk]

Thanks for the info. What do you feed it?

I put a little brine in every day (for the two fish ) and I see the brine land on his tenacles but he doesnt eat it.

[chvynva916]

I go to the supermarket every month or so and pick up 2-3 shrimp, 2-3 clams, some crab meat (real), 1-2 scallops, and any other miscallaneous shellfish I can find. It really doesn't matter that much...I'm not sure there is data on what foods are best but the consensus seems to be that a bigger mixture is better. Since the fish eat it too you might want to add nori (japanese seaweed you can find it in the supermarket). I mix it all as fine as I can in a food processer with a little water from my tank and then freeze it. Every few days right after lights out on my tank I fill a small plastic cup half with water and put a small pea-sized chunk of the frozen mixture in the cup to let it thaw. This I add to my tank with a turkey baster to ensure all areas of the tank get fed, but I make sure a chunk of meat roughly the size of a BB falls directly onto my brain as close to his mouth as possible (this is kind of tricky, especially since my sebae clown likes to steal it right off of the brain, and takes a minute or two). My brain moves it toward his mouth over a period of a minute or so and then "swallows" it.

 

Since the frozen mixture lasts roughly two months this is very easy and fun way to feed the tank.

 

For more reef feeding info search RC for Sanjay Joshi's article on feedin the reef tank.

[donk]

Thanks alot, I really appreciate all of your help.

It's been about 5Hrs since my WC and he is looking worse

[chvynva916]

I'd give it time. My brain sometimes just shrivels for a few hours.

[donk]

This is what he looks like.

Thanks again for your help.

[chvynva916]

Yeah, that's about the look of mine (though mine is very immature and not completely "brain" shaped yet). But the way the flesh is shrunken around the skeleton looks familier. Give it a day. You might want to try feeding it even now.

[donk]

Whew!!! He is now "puffing" up.

Thanks again

[donk]

:|