Whats happening to my sun coral?

Debbiem · May 21, 2017 10:43:35 am

Hi - my sun coral looks like its peeling and some of the heads have black edges. I target feed it daily and its polyps are still extending when fed. However, I am not sure what is happening to him?

Cal and mag are a bit high - cal 500 & mag 1460. Alk 11. Nitrate 1.5ppm Phosphate 0.08.

I have just moved it to try and put it in higher flow but any other suggestions to stop it getting worse?

damienpbuckley · May 21, 2017 10:52:50 pm

Looks like it's dying off. Mine did the same and despite my best efforts it just kept going until it was gone. I don't think high Alk, Calcium & Mag would be the problem & your nutrients are pretty solid too. I'm not sure how others keep these alive - they're notoriously difficult - they need to feed more or less continuously as far as I understand it - same as dendronepthyas etc. Hopefully whose kept them successfully will chime in.

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fr499y · May 22, 2017 8:21:26 am

As said previously, they need to be target fed everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. They are hard to keep and are NPS corals

HK_Fuey · May 22, 2017 12:01:45 pm

Same happened to mine - won't be trying again

ajm83 · May 22, 2017 5:24:46 pm

Quote from: Debbiem on May 21, 2017 10:43:35 am

Hi - my sun coral looks like its peeling and some of the heads have black edges. I target feed it daily and its polyps are still extending when fed. However, I am not sure what is happening to him?

Cal and mag are a bit high - cal 500 & mag 1460. Alk 11. Nitrate 1.5ppm Phosphate 0.08.

I have just moved it to try and put it in higher flow but any other suggestions to stop it getting worse?

I know nothing about these, but I wondered, what are you feeding it?

Debbiem · May 22, 2017 5:30:29 pm

Mysis / brineshrimp / reef roids / LPS pellets - target feeding it daily. It comes out lovely at feeding time but not sure for how much longer

Mike · May 23, 2017 12:42:43 am

As said, it's dying unfortunately.

They need zero light (some won't hurt, but they're not photosynthetic, so it's pointless) and low flow.

I also tried with one but failed. So don't feel bad, just don't go there again.

Debbiem · May 23, 2017 7:41:16 am

So nothing I can do to try and save it? It's hard to feed it a lot isn't it though because it will just cause excess nutrients in the tank. Maybe I will try it again when I am retired and have the time to take it out of the tank 5 times a day to feed it! Was my favorite coral though

Gav · May 23, 2017 8:44:20 am

As a complete stab in the dark you could try supplementing a little iodine and strontium , unless you are all ready , I'm sure I read somewhere before that these are just as important as calcium for sun corals .

fr499y · May 23, 2017 8:45:54 am

thats the point with NPS tanks, low light, high nutrients ( which can still be delt with ) and plenty of food in the water colum for them to feed ( as well as 2-3 times a day ) They are hard work. Sort of coral that should be in a tank without SPS/lps really.

Mike · Jun 20, 2017 5:49:43 pm

It's a month on @Debbiem , how did you get on with it? I assume the worse, but hoping for the best...

Debbiem · Jun 20, 2017 6:14:43 pm

Hi Mike - well it's still going although it must be on borrowed time! Most heads still come out so am just continuing to target feed it for as long it continues to do so. :)

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Whats happening to my sun coral?

Whats happening to my sun coral?

Whats happening to my sun coral?

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