Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana "Meat coral" lesson learned

[IridescentLily]

I've always thought this was the most beautiful coral ever and defintely planned to get one when my tank was not so new.
Unfortunately i'm now learning more about the acanthophyllia because mine is close to dying.
I didnt know the acanthophyllia deshayesiana "meat coral" needed to be spot fed.
After about two months of growing in my tank it began expelling her zooanthelae, because of bleaching from too high of light, so i put it in a more shaded area.
What i did'nt think of though is that since it was no longer getting her energy from light, it needed to be supplemented with Spot feeding. Before, we didn't feed the corals because we had such an explosion of pods that we assumed ALL the corals were eating pods. They were all eating pods, except for her.
But now we feed her everyday (regardless of how she looks now) hoping she'll revive/survive. And a lesson well learned for me. So i thought i'd pass it on figuring maybe it might help someone who
might want to have one of these beautiful animals their tank someday.

Here's how it looked when we first put it in our tank.

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ss7LBpZ7LbA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here's two pics of how it looked two months later.

Here's what it started to look like when it started declining.
In this 2 minute video that i took of my tank, just in general, i'm completely unaware that the deshayesiana was in any distress.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y181/lush-a-lot/2e5dcd65.mp4

This is what it looks like now.

We're feeding it everyday in the hopes that it will turn around in spite of my stupidity. We have a plastic container with a hole in the top so we can feed her and not have the blenny steal her food.
All isnt lost if even one person learns from my mistake.

 

[Jimmy Wright]

Thank you for your info. I hope it survives. Good Luck!

 

[HandOfGod]

Mine loves big fat krill....if it can get it down before the clownfish gets it

 

[Reef Bass]

I can feel your pain. Best wishes for recovery.

+1 for krill. Large and meaty, marine origin (beneficial fatty acids).

Very good pics with a fine camera too. You must know somebody.

 

[BlueCorn]

Very good pics with a fine camera too. You must know somebody.

Let's let photo credit fall where it's due; on April. I had nothing to do with those images, she did it all on her own. She's smart, pretty AND talented.

 

[IridescentLily]

Let's let photo credit fall where it's due; on April. I had nothing to do with those images, she did it all on her own. She's smart, pretty AND talented.

You're pretty awesome yourself ;-)

Thank you for your info. I hope it survives. Good Luck!

Thanks much.

Mine loves big fat krill....if it can get it down before the clownfish gets it

Does yours like krill, really? wow, i never even thought to feed it krill. heck thats probably high in protein too. Thanks for the tip.

I can feel your pain. Best wishes for recovery.
+1 for krill. Large and meaty, marine origin (beneficial fatty acids).

Very good pics with a fine camera too. You must know somebody.

Thanks. That krill sounds like exactly what it needs.
And yeah, about the pic, Doug is right, lol, i took the pic. I'm glad i got a decent one of her, if only to show folks how pretty these acanthophyllias CAN be, if we give 'em what they need.

 

[Sheol]

Isn't that a Scoly? I'm confused, is this a different genus?

Matthew

 

[scapes]

Isn't that a Scoly? Matthew

no it's not

 

[greech]

Hope it makes a full recovery. Experienced something similar with my scoly. Fairly long recovery but the spot feeding and covering the coral like you are to allow it to eat undisturbed helped mine great deal.

 

[organism]

That's a shame, hopefully it comes back around! I've had healthy ones do great without feeding, but once they get bleached they need a little TLC, and boy are they easy to bleach

 

[IridescentLily]

Isn't that a Scoly? I'm confused, is this a different genus?
Matthew

no it's not

Hi Matthew,
No, but you bring up a good point. This coral used to be classified as Cynarina Deshayesiana. In the local fish stores it has always been confused with a "cynarina" or a "scoly".
It was thought that the scolymia, the cynarina and the ancanthophyllia corals were the same sub-species, but have recently discovered that they are not the same. All three of these corals can look very similar when they're small.

And so until recently there were two cynarina species, the cynarina deshayesiana (sometimes called a meat coral) and the cynarina lacrymalis (red button coral)
Recently scientific community has decided to re-classify the cynarina deshayesiana as Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana. Not to be confused with Acanasthrea (Acans).

The Scoly and the Cynarina grow to a maximum of about 5 inches, whereas the Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana can reach a foot to a foot and a half.
The Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana is literally the biggest (known) single polyped stony coral.
Local fish stores still often have this as a "cynarina", "meat coral, "scoly", "button coral", and "cats eye coral".
Sorry for such a long, nerdy answer. I just love them, and It surely doesn't look like it right now but I've read up alot about them before i got one.

Hope it makes a full recovery. Experienced something similar with my scoly. Fairly long recovery but the spot feeding and covering the coral like you are to allow it to eat undisturbed helped mine great deal.

Did this way helps yours? Oh that is SO good to hear that at least it CAN sometimes be done. I appreciate the experiential support.

That's a shame, hopefully it comes back around! I've had healthy ones do great without feeding, but once they get bleached they need a little TLC, and boy are they easy to bleach

Are they easy to bleach? It sounds like you have experience with these as well. It's at least somewhat comforting to know that i wasn't as irresponsible as i felt. It's seems to be quite a different coral from any lps in that it needs a bit more gentleness in the tank, light and flow-wise.
Bless it's heart, i'll keep doing what i'm doing, and thanks so much for the advice.

 

[AGYDAL]

My green guy seems happier when he's near a rock sort of shielding it against flow. I know you have to have it out to cover it because it's weak; maybe as it starts to recover move it a little closer to the rocks? Mine also really likes Selcon Soaked mysis.

Good luck they're really cool corals, very active for a blob

 

[klepto]

Sorry for such a long, nerdy answer. I just love them...

I'm appreciating the depth of the answer.

 

[Sheol]

OK, that makes sense. And it does look a lot like what I see sold as Cyarina sp. corals around here. But it grows bigger, apparently.
Not that it matters, all three would be welcomed by my Angels with open fins. And mouths, alas..

Matthew

 

[victor escobar]

to add to the taxonomic controversy you can also look at blastomussa beyerbanky and acanthastrea maxima.

 

[organism]

Are they easy to bleach? It sounds like you have experience with these as well. It's at least somewhat comforting to know that i wasn't as irresponsible as i felt. It's seems to be quite a different coral from any lps in that it needs a bit more gentleness in the tank, light and flow-wise.

Yup, sometimes I feel like if you sneeze on them they bleach. Every time my tank went over 82 or my lights got stuck on a bit mine would bleach and take a few months to come back, while everything else in the tank would be fine

 

[Sheol]

Delicate then? Well, I have to avoid them anyway, because of my angels but if I ever were in position to get one, this info would be very, very helpful..

Matthew

 

[bz350]

thank you for the information. these corals are beautiful. do you have any information on there reporduction?

 

[IridescentLily]

My green guy seems happier when he's near a rock sort of shielding it against flow. I know you have to have it out to cover it because it's weak; maybe as it starts to recover move it a little closer to the rocks? Mine also really likes Selcon Soaked mysis.

Good luck they're really cool corals, very active for a blob

Yes. I think you're right, nearer to the entrance of the "cave" or half in and half out of the cave would've been a better place. That way it's kinda nestled more near rock like you said, and not all out in the open by itself getting all the flow that richoets off the front glass (yikes).

I'm appreciating the depth of the answer.

Thanks much.

OK, that makes sense. And it does look a lot like what I see sold as Cyarina sp. corals around here. But it grows bigger, apparently.
Not that it matters, all three would be welcomed by my Angels with open fins. And mouths, alas..

Matthew

Yes indeed, lol, it would be like Christmas morning to the angel species.

to add to the taxonomic controversy you can also look at blastomussa beyerbanky and acanthastrea maxima.

Yep, absolutely. Makes one's head spin :spin1:

Yup, sometimes I feel like if you sneeze on them they bleach. Every time my tank went over 82 or my lights got stuck on a bit mine would bleach and take a few months to come back, while everything else in the tank would be fine

That's EXACTLY what happened to mine.
We left to Sacramento one week. We left the house air conditioner on specifically so the tank wouldn't get too hot. When we returned we looked the tank temp in the early afternoon and it was 84. We saw that our new pink hammer was decomposed. So we knew then that the temp must have been outrageous while we were gone.
Everything else in the tank was fine, and we were grateful we only had the one loss.
Then, a day or two later, just like you said, the Acanthophyllia started a rapid decline of bleaching and tissue retraction. It began by expelling it's zooanthellae like crazy. I thought the bleaching was from the light, so i put it in the cave in a way more shaded area. Well, that was fine, but it wasn't the light. It had been growing and thriving in the semi-strong light it was under. It was the hEAT. It didn't start expelling until the heat went up.
(since then we have a way to keep the tank temp constant within one degree.)

Delicate then? Well, I have to avoid them anyway, because of my angels but if I ever were in position to get one, this info would be very, very helpful..
Matthew

Sort of, although they are pretty hearty by all acounts. Mine grew, and thrived in strong light and high flow, and made it through temps that the hammer couldn't survive. But alas, it was that one thing (heat) that pushed it over the edge).

thank you for the information. these corals are beautiful. do you have any information on there reporduction?

You're welcome. You have a good question. I don't know alot about their reproduction. I would venture to guess that they reproduce by spawning, like sps and (some) other lps. That's the only thing that makes any sense to me, cuz they couldn't bud off like zoas or encrust like acans or favia, nor grow additonal polyps like other stuff. So id' guess spawning. Now you've got me curious.

And unfortunately you guys it didn't make it. We had to take it out today ( i didn't want to) because it had declined to the point of starting the decay process.

 

[AGYDAL]

This is how I have mine, sheltered from direct flow by the rock without directly touching it, to keep the polyp from "chafing".
<a href=http://s1131.photobucket.com/albums/m547/AGYDAL/?action=view&current=2011-07-17164046-1.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m547/AGYDAL/2011-07-17164046-1.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

If you look at the sand line in the front you can tell sorta where my flow patterns go.
<a href=http://s1131.photobucket.com/albums/m547/AGYDAL/?action=view&current=2011-06-18164522.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m547/AGYDAL/2011-06-18164522.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

Info for when yours gets back on its feet (ummm feet?...hmmm, tentacles? ) I run LEDs and it seems to really like the fairly direct amount of light its getting.

Sorry if these photos are oddly sized, I'm on my phone pulling them from a memory card and mobile photobucketing them.