Black Sun Coral

[dendro982]

And I thought, that mine was in a bad condition!

It didn't open by itself too, had to shower it by food for 1.5 hrs, with intervals 5-10 min, until it started to open for a feeding by itself, 3 days maybe. After initial 5 days of trying to figure out how to make it open.

Lunar Lander can be used too, to reduce tank pollution. Didn't tried yet, but looks good.

After mine started to eat, I fed it daily too, then once in two days, it started to recover:

but still didn't grow as much of body, as a healthy sun coral should have. But I have it not too long, and in a hot weather feedings are reduced again..

 

[Avalon_Princess]

i haven't got anywhere near to making it open yet LOL, still just trying to give it enough food for its mouths to come to the top, right now their just hollow cylinders between feedings. It doesn't help that my puffer went on a coral rampage and destroyed a couple of the healthiest polyps, puffer has no been moved to an FO tank.

 

[RickM61]

mine isnt anywhere near that either..but it is hanging on..im setting up a little 3 gal just for it today so i can feed it more often without polluting my display tank.. all the black sun corals ive seen at the LFS dont seem to open up much either..Dendro982, so for yours is the best 1 ive seen out there..anyone else have black suns they would like to share..

Rick

 

[dendro982]

Fingers crossed, yours will feel better with time .

What else I did: when mine didn't ate for ~5 days - some tentacles were seen on some polyps, but not catching the food, as if they are too weak or not sticky - I, honestly, panicked and asked on forums. They said - keep feeding.
Then I did once container feeding, in a separate container, coral submersed in the concentrated food "soup":

It was February, co container is with heater and water flow. It was there approximately 1 hr, I didn't see it catching food, but it inflated better, showed more tentacles, and water cleared from mysis and brine shrimp. Returned back to the tank.

After was feeding all sun corals every day, with rare exceptions, squirting some fine particles onto the black coral, for maybe 1.5 hr with interval 5-10 min, turning flow on few times during feeding - it seemed, that reacted on flow better, just like pure yellow coral. Again flow off and feed.

Then tentacles couldn't keep food, used tong to apply single mysis to the mouth, then next and next. This is 24" (60 cm) deep tank, care was taken not to touch coral, but it not always could be avoided.

This took time, but only for the very few days, then is came out of lethargic state, and started to eat itself, but always opening after all other sun corals, until became feel better, within month or so.

Hope that helps.
Watch how your sun reacts and try feed it. Mine was just very slow, until recovered.

There are pages about making open and recovery of the other black sun coral, Tubastrea micrantha, link, another link .

 

[RickM61]

my fingers are crossed too..now ive just noticed a little bit of hair algae startig to grow on it so have to take care of that problem right now..these corals are rapidly becoming my favorite coral.

 

[Avalon_Princess]

Well the coral is finally beginning to react better. I'm now leaving it in a bowl floating around the tank for 1-2 hours and it seems to be eating a lot more, some polyps haven't eaten at all so I'm guessing their probably too far gone, there's a definite difference though since when i got it the polyps are getting more of a glossy black look instead of chocolate brown and the actual stems of the coral seem to have darkened a bit. The orange sun I got at the same time is still way ahead of it in regeneration but it definitely does seem to be doing better.

There's now no fish or inverts in the tank apart from corals and a few snails, so nothing to nick its food which should help, but I'll keep removing it from the tank for now until I'm seeing full extension during feeding. I'm glad I'm on school holidays though its a lot of work feeding them this way but hopefully they'll be better soon so I can just squirt food at them in the tank like I do with my other suns.

 

[RickM61]

Avalon
good luck ...looks like yours is coming around..i moved mine into a 5 gal yesterday so a can feed more often..right now i am feding 4 times a day..and have my photo period on 4 hours off 4 hours...because of heat issues..

Rick

 

[Kreeger1]

They like stronger flow then the yellow or orange types.
Erik

 

[RickM61]

yeah i have a Rio 90 in there for flow..i have a polyp extending already..as as long as there is 1 i can bring it back.

Rick

 

[Kreeger1]

yep

 

[tiff393]

I just got mine this weekend and it eats like crazy but it has a bunch of babies to are you suppose to feed the babies to or just the big ones??

 

[RickM61]

Tiff

Every polyp needs to be feed if possible...sometimes its just no possible though..

Rick

 

[tiff393]

Will try to feed some of them are just so small and others are in between the larger ones. I feed the larger ones krill but I'll have to try and feed the others brine shrimp. Mine also open when I turn the lights on and I have them in direct light and they seem to like it.

 

[RickM61]

tiff

try feeding the ones you cant get to cyclopeze or reef chile with a turkey baster..that seems to work for me..

Rick

 

[RickM61]

well sadly to say my black sun didnt make it..i tried everything it just wouldnt come back..

Rick

 

[dendro982]

A real pity. You have my sympathy.

You have only a skeleton now, not a single polyp?
:sad2:

 

[RickM61]

yes just the skeleton thats it..i can find a single polyp on it

Rick

 

[dendro982]

Then don't throw it away, give it a chance to this polyp, maybe it survives, even with no particular care. It happens.

 

[iglowce]

any pic of ur colony?

 

[RickM61]

it didnt make it..i have a small colony of orange suns that got broke off the mother colony by my tang..i glued that to the skeleton..it semms to be thriving..

Rick