Some new corals

Ryan AC · Sep 12, 2013 5:37:32 pm

Been buying a few corals lately as I've finally got a Venturi pump coming for my skimmer tomorrow, I ordered the red devil one from allpondsolutions (bought an atman that had no venturi, impossible to find one and no refund but it'll make a better, quieter return pump anyway) and things have been going pretty well without even running a skimmer for a couple of months which is giving me a little confidence boost

.

Once I've got my skimmer running I'll make a tank thread.

So today I bought:
GSP frag
Purple mushy with stringy white bits
Plate coral
Tube anemone

Monday I bought:
Candy canes
Green acans
Green/pink platygyra
Fruit loop zoas
Bali safecracker zoas
Lime zoas
Solar eclipse zoas
Choc chip mushy
Leopard mushy
Purple zoas (disappeared atm/blown away)

Some others either from frag tank or somewhere I can't remember:
Silver xenia (dissapeared)
Finger leather (disappeared atm/blown away)
Daisy coral
Fire and ice zoas
Red mushy
Probably near on 10 other types of zoas
Grape coral
Frogspawn coral

Some I've got coming:
3 head hammer coral
3 head Duncan coral

I think that's about it, here's some pics of how it's looking atm, you can see if you can spot some a they're all pretty small atm

, I'm trying to find a home for my urchin now as well as he's doing my head in eating my xenias and Daisy's plus knocking frags about and demolishing purple corraline, think it's best he goes.

I'll get a tank thread up soon just thought I'd share some pics.

Ryan AC · Sep 12, 2013 5:40:31 pm

I've moved some stuff around as well so some things are sulking a little atm. I really need to get some blue light for the tank as well.

Mike · Sep 12, 2013 8:49:22 pm

You'll have to update your profile with all those new corals! :tongue:

How long have you had the fungia plate? It's skeleton looks a little exposed, I can't tell if it's algae growing on it's pure white skeleton, or the colour of its flesh.

I like the zoas bottom right, I love zoas on odd shaped rock.

Ryan AC · Sep 12, 2013 11:30:48 pm

Yh will do, once I've sorted the skimmer tomorrow and changed over the return pumps I'll get some better pics for a tank thread and do my profile, going to take a while.

I got the fungia today it was in a tank of corals for £20 some I'd say were dead, some taken over by algae and some ok, this was one of the better ones I thought, there was 2 plate corals this one which had its tentacles out a little bit and another inflated one with no tentacles out and quite a bit of algae on it with a hermit crab cleaning it I didn't really know which one to choose but thought this one looked healthier, hopefully I can feed it and it'll get better. You just reminded me to put a micro hermit on it to clean it up, the one in the shop was doing a careful job of it.

Yh I like that piece of zoas, for £30 I got 6 colours off of it in one nice clump and it's really hardy and grows well.

Ryan AC · Sep 13, 2013 8:25:44 am

Think you've got a good point about too much skeleton showing. Aren't the tentacles supposed to come out when lights are off? They haven't and I've tried feeding but there's nothing to take it, I should've gone for the inflated one and let the algae clear shouldn't I.

Mike · Sep 13, 2013 8:55:03 am

If it's skeleton is exposed around the edge, it'll never recover, it can't. It'd be the same as our bones showing, being exposed to the air, you couldn't just heal over it.

The tentacles should be about 5~12mm long and should be there pretty much all the time. At night, it might inflate right up like a bun, and if any skeleton is exposed then, then you know those are the exposed bits.

If no food is sticking to it, let alone rising up to it's mouth, then it's not looking good, but give it a chance and study it's behaviour...

Here's a video of mine feeding, so you can see how the food should rise up and disappear into it's mouth.

Ryan AC · Sep 13, 2013 11:57:59 am

It feels like just a skeleton no flesh, I think I've been sold a tiny colourful piece of expensive LR :/

I'm sure the tentacles were all out in the shop though. They also had big ones some about three times the size they were selling for 30 but the colours weren't as nice and they all looked just the same like the skeleton was exposed. Thanks I've watched that vid before it's great, I thought the ridges on all fungias were stony though not fleshy

didn't realise.

I might ring them and say I'll keep it if they give me the goni half price or I'll take it back and get the goni. I've read they can spawn new ones or something if left in the tanks for about 6mnths.

Mike · Sep 13, 2013 12:18:08 pm

Quote from: Ryan AC on Sep 13, 2013 11:57:59 am

It feels like just a skeleton no flesh. I thought the ridges on all fungias were stony though not fleshy didn't realise.

To the touch, even a healthy one full of flesh will feel like raw skeleton, but you'll see a "skirt" of flesh go right to the bottom. If it's "skirt" lifts, then it's receding.

Quote from: Ryan AC on Sep 13, 2013 11:57:59 am

I've read they can spawn new ones or something if left in the tanks for about 6mnths.

Yeah, I know, I'm hoping mine does, but so far no luck for me.

Apparently putting them on rockwork rather than substrate can trigger this, but that's not recommended at all, if it moves (as they can and do) then it could fall into another coral or just flat on it's face, it has no way of righting itself.

Here's two pictures of healthy ones, see the "skirt" of flesh that goes right to the bottom? Then the bottom picture is of one that's receding, the bare skeleton is exposed. They'll all feel like bare skeleton, but they're not, only the bottom one is showing it's skeleton, it'll be pure white to begin with, then it'll darken as everything pure white does in a tank...

Mike · Sep 13, 2013 12:20:28 pm

Also, if it does die, don't take it out of the tank, they can apparently bud off children long after they're stone dead...

Read this: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=939675

Ryan AC · Sep 13, 2013 12:55:41 pm

Yh that's what I meant about leaving it for around 6 months and it could make new ones, if it died.

To be honest I can't really tell much difference apart from the healthier ones look nice and plump and the one showing the skeleton has much thinner, sharper ridges compared to the healthy ones rounder ridges if that makes sense. I think I see what you mean about the skirt though, like you can see the flesh hanging off the edges rather than the skeleton one which you can't

Mike · Sep 13, 2013 1:18:27 pm

Yep,

You might notice it inflate at night. Mine inflates right up into a hamburger size, really way up past the skeleton, skeleton nowhere to be seen, goes really knobbly.

That's also how they stop themselves being buried or covered in substrate. If any lands on them, they'll inflate and convulse to shake off the stuff...

Ryan AC · Sep 13, 2013 1:35:02 pm

I haven't noticed it do anything at all yet, hasnt moved, no tentacles, no inflation and I tried feeding it softly around its mouth and it just seemed to get caught on the skeleton and nothing happened. It's certainly not healthy is it and I doubt theirs any chance it could inflate as well as that pic, that's clear.

So contacted the shop and he said if it's still got colour then it's not dead as it still has its zooanthellae, I didn't realise they had zooanthellae in them and he said they're not all fleshy some are boney. I think they just don't know what they're talking about and probably haven't seen a proper healthy one, either way doesn't look like I'm going to be able to return it but they did say I can have the goni for £25 but also said it's not pink it's a green one but certainly looked pink to me and nothing like ash's green one, now I'm wondering if it's supposed to be green then has it just lost a load of colour from losing its zooanthellae as I know they have that and on it's last legs or are they just that stupid they can't tell the difference between pink and green. It looked nice and healthy to me, all the buds were wide open and all the flesh was nice and swollen a bit and clean but I don't know now, might have to get a pic of it before I buy it.

Mike · Sep 13, 2013 1:39:34 pm

Very few corals don't have zooxanthallae, that's the algae within their tissue which gathers light and turns it into food. Gorgonians, sun corals, etc are a few examples that don't. (and your tube anemone, although not a coral)

Fungia plates are no different, they get most of their nutrition from light. He's right if it's still got colour, it's flesh hasn't receded, as the skeleton is pure white. Your issue is, your fungia plate's flesh is the same colour as a pure white skeleton that's gone a bit brown with algae.

"Fleshy or boney" isn't a classification. Some are long tentacled, some have short tentacles, but all have a ridge based skeleton which protects their flesh, which sinks down between the vanes of the skeleton. When the flesh inflates, it'll go up and beyond the skeleton.

Try sprinkling some substrate on it gently, turn your flow off/down, and film it time lapse on your phone. You'll be able to see it moving, and only the fleshy parts will move, any that's receded won't move obviously...

Ryan AC · Sep 13, 2013 1:43:13 pm

Ok thanks I understand, that's what I thought they're not boney or fleshy but all just the same except you get short and long tentacled. I was wondering if the flow might be too much, I'll turn both PH's to 50% and sprinkle some sand on it and see what happens, I'll look for a time lapse app for phone.

Thanks, Ryan.

Mike · Sep 13, 2013 1:48:47 pm

Try not to get any in it's mouth if it's gaping slightly, as it'll have more trouble getting rid of that.

Some new corals

Some new corals

Some new corals

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