Aussie Archohelia rediviva

[rowjimmy]

I just aquired an Aussie Archohelia coral *with CITES* ( < I don't want to get flamed here). That being said I am looking for info/input/advice from fellow keepers of this beautiful rare NPS coral.

I have been looking for this coral for some time now, and IME it hasn't been the easiest coral to obtain. They are notoriously poor shippers, and often end up DOA to suppliers. I got lucky and picked up this specimen on Diver's Den two days ago. I should get it on Tuesday.

Because of the rarity of the coral (in the U.S. at least) I'd like to do my best to provide this new specimen the best of care. So if anyone has any tips/info on this coral I would appreciate hearing about it.

From the picture you can see the coral is not in the best of shape. But it does show some promise. It shows polyp extension and that is *key* cause it can be fed, and weaned back to health IMO.

There is some coenosarc still intact through some of the colony, but it has receded in alot of spots from the picture as far as I can tell. I won't know for sure until I get the coral on Tuesday.

I've read Archohelia rediviva is a slow grower, and that is a shame cause it looks like it would be easy enough to frag. New skeletal/polyp growth is supposed to be slow from what I've read. I haven't been able to find too much info on this coral though. What about the coenosarc? If you aggressively feed it will the coenosarc grow back the way a neglected Sun Coral does?

My goal is to get the coenosarc to connect to all of the polyps...let it grow out a bit, and frag it to get it into a few more systems other then my own. The more it gets fragged and spread around to other reefkeepers the less rare it will be. Also if I ever had a tank crash I can have someone else to get a new frag from :thumbsup: Thanks in advance for any help/info you care to share on this beautiful coral.

 

[mak3mydae]

I'd love a frag Hopefully not for a leg and both arms..

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

From what I've read, daily target feeding should be enough to keep it thriving. You might want to go with twice daily target feeding. What else do you have in the tank you're putting it in? Is it going to be in light or dark?

If you really want to get it to grow, you should have it in a non-photo dedicated tank with continuous feeding. Here's a link: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-02/feature/index.php

Before his tank crashed from a prolonged power-outage, he was having amazing success. I saw the tank in person and it was pretty cool. You could see swarms of mysid shrimp buzzing around. The growth he saw in all his corals was pretty impressive.

 

[rowjimmy]

aninjaatemyshoe thanks for the info and the link (BEAUTIFUL tank...it's a shame it crashed). I do want to start a dedicated NP tank at some point in the future. For now though to answer your questions this coral will be going into my 75 gallon mixed reef.

The tank is lit by two 250w MH bulbs, but I have some areas of the tank that are shaded, and plan to put the coral in one of those spots. So it will get some indirect lighting. I don't want it to get too much lighting cause I want to get the receded areas of coenosarc to heal. I don't want it bothered by nuisance algae.

Most of the corals in my system are LPS corals and gorgonians. No SPS except for Porites associated with Christmas Tree Worms. SPS brown out in my system because of my heavy feedings/nutrients. I keep alot of filter feeders/sponges. I have some NPS corals in my tank now (Tubastrea, Dendrophyllia, Balanophyllia, NP Gorgonians) so regular feedings a couple times a day will not be a problem for me cause I already do it now. I plan to aggressively feed this coral to get it back in shape, and hopefully thrive. Thanks again for the info.

 

[rowjimmy]

I'd love a frag Hopefully not for a leg and both arms..

Tell me about it! This coral is just a little under 2", and wasn't cheap. I keep telling myself it is an early Christmas present to myself to make me feel better. I just couldn't pass up the chance when I saw it though.

Before I even think of fragging it I have to get this coral healthy again. Like I said alot of them end up DOA to suppliers....this one looks starved and needs some TLC soon to bring it back to health.

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

No problem on the info, always glad to see more people dive into the non-photo arena. The more people trying it, the more info we can get on how to be successful. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Eight]

Nice to see a fellow Archohelia owner. I purchased one of the first Archohelia colonies from liveaquaria several months ago. I wrote an article about it in Reef Hobbyist Magazine. You may want to check the article for my experience with this coral. It's a great piece, but requires a lot of work. Most importantly, feed often and keep it out of bright light.

http://www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com/archives/vol_3/issue12/index.html

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Have you still not seen much growth?

 

[Eight]

Not much growth at all to be honest. (next to none actually...) I suppose I could feed even more though.

 

[rowjimmy]

aninjaatemyshoe I'll be sure to update this thread to report any progress/failures/experiences I have with this coral.

Eight, thanks for your insight and the link to your informative article I really appreciate it. Your specimen looks very healthy and beautiful! Since these corals don't usually ship that well (from what I've read) can I ask you what the condition of your specimen was in when you first got it?

Mine looks to be in poorer health from the photo I got with alot of the coenosarc receded. Beggars can't be choosers... so I took what I could get. My hope is to at *least* get the coenosarc to reconnect. Did you have any coenosarc growth between polyps (if you indeed had any type of recession IDK???), or tissue growth at the base of the coral that you noticed? Or did you just get super lucky and get a perfect specimen?

I'm discouraged that you have not seen much growth at all since you aquired your specimen (with your reply to aninjaatemyshoe). Your specimen is in far better health then what I will be dealing with tomorrow.....looks like I have my work cut out for me.

 

[Eight]

I have seen a tiny bit of recession at a few of the tips. The recession was aggravated by some light algae growth.

I moved the coral back under a lower light area and the coral seems to be much happier.

I am not sure if I've seen tissue regrowth between polyps. I suspect it should be possible with heavy/appropriate feeding and excellent water quality. Overall, if there has been any growth it has been very small and not significantly noticeable.

 

[rowjimmy]

Eight...I'll be sure to place this coral in a spot with low light. I have a few areas picked out already. Final placement will depend on the shape of the coral and rock it is growing on (won't know till I get it). Fitting (glue gel) to the best possible rock that forms to the coral best for shade/flow.

I will post pics of this specimen when I get it to document the original condition of the coral when I receive it. This way I will be able to have a reference point on if the coral continues to decline/maintains/or shows new growth.

I can't wait to get this coral....so I can start feeding it already!

 

[SanJuan]

Congrads rowjimmy on the purchase!
I would like to see some pictures once you get it.
I bet after a couple of weeks of daily feedings it will look fuller than in the picture.

I have experienced growth of polyps but in strange places, like
underneath the base of the coral, like in every direction, strange stuff.
Now there is no top or bottom to it.

 

[emilio c]

Wow I have never heard of this coral, it is nice.

 

[rowjimmy]

Well the Archohelia arrived today. It is in worse shape then I thought now that I can actually see it for myself in the "flesh"....or I should say what's left of the "flesh".

This coral must have taken a beatin' from its travels from Australia to my aquarium, and it definately shows. It has some light nuisance algae already growing on it (which I'm not happy about). The majority of coenosarc on this coral is gone. Very few polyps are connected to each other. On a positive note the coral had full polyp extension from all the living polyps when I took it out of the shipping box....before acclimation.

The condition of it almost reminds me of a Black Branching Sun Coral (Tubastrea sp.) where you often see alot of the coenosarc receded and just the polyps alive. I'm dealing with pretty much the same situation here with this coral. I've seen Black Branching Sun Corals make a comeback from this state with aggressive feedings. I'm just hoping Archohelia is similar if it is fed well. Again the info on this coral is very limited, so I just don't know.

This is definately going to be a challenge to get this coral back to health (if it's even possible now looking at the condition of it). But I'm not one to walk away from a challenge, and plan to do my best to get it healthy again. I'll be sure to update this thread with any new info/success/failures. Wish me luck guys...I'm gonna need it!

Here are the pics I promised of the Archohelia rediviva as soon as I got it (so I would have a reference point on the condition of the coral). Pics taken are of the coral in a specimen container not in my aquarium. Lighting is natural light (not aquarium light), and the flash in a pic or two is from a simple Cannon point and shoot digital camera:

 

[rowjimmy]

Congrads rowjimmy on the purchase!
I would like to see some pictures once you get it.
I bet after a couple of weeks of daily feedings it will look fuller than in the picture.

I have experienced growth of polyps but in strange places, like
underneath the base of the coral, like in every direction, strange stuff.
Now there is no top or bottom to it.

Thanks SanJuan...nice pic! I hope you are right!

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

I wish you the best of luck man. It seems like this is a particularly fussy coral. Keep it completely out of the light and feed as frequently as possible.

Have you heard of or considered using a frozen food drip? I'm working on this for my own tank. The concept is real simple. Basically, you place frozen food in a tube with a tapering bottom (such as a syringe or centrifuge tube) and suspend it over the tank. As the food thaws, it drips into the tank. Depending on how you set it up, you could have it dripping over a long time. With this in place, you could place the coral right where the food will drip in the tank and have it feeding continually throughout the day.

 

[SanJuan]

Blast that guy with cyclopeeze once or twice a day and in no time the polyps will return to the openings that are currently missing.

and as aninjaatemyshoe said keep it in complete darkness if possible, if you have a sump, keep it in the darkest region, keep it there until that algae disappears or keep it there indefinitely.

oh, and also keep it away from the heater, it prefers cooler water.

It looks like a very nice cut, it should be blooming in no time.

 

[uhuru]

I agree, start with cyclopleeze, this seems to work for me with corals that are too weak to capture other foods... keep the water clean with the heavy feedings. Best of luck.

 

[rowjimmy]

aninjaatemyshoe, thanks for the well wishes. I have no experience using a frozen food drip. I do have the luxury of living where I work (not always a luxury trust me). So I can hand feed my corals/spot feed several times a day, and do so already.

SanJuan/uhuru....thanks for the advice....I've been doing just that. As you can see from the pictures of the specimen in my aquarium. The areas of "pink" you see are the polyps stuffed with "cyclop-eeze". They were starving and are eating everything I throw at them! Ignore my Hawkfish he is such a ham when I break out my camera.