BRAIN CORAL HELP(Pictures)

[alextheromanian]

29G tank / 20G sump
2x65W PC Actinic 1x250W MH 14k
Remora pro skimmer

Parameters are all in check and normal.

2 clowns
1 lawnmower
2 chromis
1 yellow goby
snails...
1 pink hawaiian crab
1 electric blue hermit

Plenty of non directional flow coming from return pump and 3 koralia nanos.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/alextrusca/_MG_2831.jpg" width="800">

Heres the problem:


Recently purchased an open green brain coral not ever having
any experience with one before but decided on it because i
had read that they are faily hardy and didnt require a whole
lot of attention.

Sad thing is i dont know how to take care of it. they like sand beds but i dont have one so i tried to place it on the rockwork near the bottom in not so much light and not so much direct flow. I was also told that they love shrimp but i dont see how this hunk of rock type coral eats. it doesnt move it doesnt have tentacles and its moutch seems to just be a hole in the film(coral) that covers the hard skeleton that gives its shape.

in any case i put food on it but the food got blown off eventually by the flow. i added filter food but it didnt seem to react in any way. and today when i looked at it i have noticed that part of it has turned white on the side where it was closest to the rock. here are some pictures.


this is the second day after owneing it:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/alextrusca/IMG_2846.jpg">

this is the white spot almost in the center of the picture a bit to the left:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/alextrusca/_MG_2853.jpg">

also notice how the top of the coral is kinda flat and sticking to the skeleton so you can see those sharp ridges...the other side of it looks much more normal and inflated.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/alextrusca/_MG_2848.jpg">


so what id like to know more about is...

1) the sand bed situation seeing as how i have a bare bottom
2) the white spot
3) feeding
4) its appearance and how come it doesnt look more like a brain and more like a mushroom all flat.

can someone shed some light on this subject please id like to not kill any corals due to lack of experience in the hobby.


thank you all.

 

[davewbush]

It may be getting to much light. It doesen't have anything to do with the sand bed because a lot of people put them up in the rocks. I have two in the rocks.

The white spots are where the tissue is dying and you can see the skeleton. I have had this happen to both of mine and they have come back.

When it is doing better, the tenticals will come out at night.

IMO I would move it to the bottom under an over hang and keep very little flow on it and see if it helps.

 

[JJ21]

X2 on what davewbush said. Also it doesn't matter whether they have a sandbed I think. As long as it's a smooth relatively flat surface. On the rock they can tear their tissue when they expand.

 

[adambirk]

from my experience with brains i have never had much luck putting them on the rocks for the simple fact of when they expand there tissue rubs on the rock and they get an infection or tissue death like what you are seeing. I would move it to the bottom in patial direct light. the green openbrains like more light than the other ones so you want it to get a little direct light expecially if it is not eating any meaty foods. also i would be a little concerned about it not opening up. you might have to much flow on it and if so they wont open because they dont want there tissue to get ripped. the skelleton on my brain is about 3-4 inches and during the day it opens up to 7-8 inches and about 4 inches tall. was it opening at lfs when you bought it or did it look like a skelleton with just a little flesh on it?

 

[Gdevine]

This animal needs to be target fed. It feeds at night with lights out; you will see feeding tentacles come out if it senses food in the water. Turn off all pumps and target feed it stuff like crushed pellets, cyclops, zooplankton or finely chopped mysis...

To me, it looks like it is starving to death.

Mine is on the sand bed and I place a liter soda bottle cut in half over it and feed through the opening in the bottle, this prevents others from stealing the food. They are slow eaters so I leave it on all night and remove in the morning.

Read more here and feed this coral: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/trachyphlliidae.htm

Oh, one more thing, they like iodine and iodide as well...think Lugols.

 

[davewbush]

You have 13.1 watts of light per gallon. How are you other corals doing?

 

[alextheromanian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14662624#post14662624 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by adambirk
from my experience with brains i have never had much luck putting them on the rocks for the simple fact of when they expand there tissue rubs on the rock and they get an infection or tissue death like what you are seeing. I would move it to the bottom in patial direct light. the green openbrains like more light than the other ones so you want it to get a little direct light expecially if it is not eating any meaty foods. also i would be a little concerned about it not opening up. you might have to much flow on it and if so they wont open because they dont want there tissue to get ripped. the skelleton on my brain is about 3-4 inches and during the day it opens up to 7-8 inches and about 4 inches tall. was it opening at lfs when you bought it or did it look like a skelleton with just a little flesh on it?

thats exactly how it looked at at the LFS...i thought it was small just because it was a frag or a tiny specimen...

 

[alextheromanian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14662763#post14662763 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davewbush
You have 13.1 watts of light per gallon. How are you other corals doing?

star polips are great...clam is always open...zoos love it i had to frag them xenia grows slowly but surely coraline is also pretty good. torch coral is lower but 90% of the time open

 

[alextheromanian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14662738#post14662738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gdevine
This animal needs to be target fed. It feeds at night with lights out; you will see feeding tentacles come out if it senses food in the water. Turn off all pumps and target feed it stuff like crushed pellets, cyclops, zooplankton or finely chopped mysis...

To me, it looks like it is starving to death.

Mine is on the sand bed and I place a liter soda bottle cut in half over it and feed through the opening in the bottle, this prevents others from stealing the food. They are slow eaters so I leave it on all night and remove in the morning.

Read more here and feed this coral: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/trachyphlliidae.htm

Oh, one more thing, they like iodine and iodide as well...think Lugols.

i havent seen tentacles at night ive walked past it on more than one occasion 3-4 hours after lights out

 

[davewbush]

If this is how it looked at the LFS, it is going to need some TLC. I have had mine this far in the whole before and they have come back. As I said before, I would put it at the bottom under and over hang for now, with little flow.

I have pics of mine in the LPS fourm under Big brain Pics. I have had it for 5 years and never target feed. This is just me though. One day I might try but as of now I dose photoplanton once a week and coral excel once a week. I have done this for the last five years and all my corals have done fine.

 

[alextheromanian]

does TLC stand for tender love and care because youre glorious.


i guess im gonna have to baby this thing it was kinda expensive...not caring would be like handing out money to sranges in return for nothing.

 

[davewbush]

What does glorious mean in NY. I hope its not what i think. If so, it doesen't bother me because I'm married, to a women. You never no in CA.

 

[alextheromanian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14662909#post14662909 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davewbush
What does glorious mean in NY. I hope its not what i think. If so, it doesen't bother me because I'm married, to a women. You never no in CA.

Hahahah glorious is a synonim cool. Don't worry I have a knockout girlfriend I don't swing that way either rofl not that I have anything against that or anything. I'd say NY-CA are about at the same level when it comes to stuff like that we don't reaaly have a separate lingo from you

 

[davewbush]

I must be getting old. I'm not up on the lingo.

I once was in Hollywood at a show. When I went to the bathroom there was a guy at the urinal pulling up his dress going. I was on his his turf so what could I say. I'm not that old, but wish I was young again.

 

[luther1200]

If you try to target feed it again, turn off all the power heads and just spray some mysis at it with a turkey baster. You can either put something over it like stated above or just watch it and stop anything from stealing the food from it. I have gotten coral in rough shape from the lfs before and usually it can be brought back to good health fairly easy. Good luck.

 

[hoosierpat]

That's a wellsophyllia, not a trachyphyllia like most of the corals that are commonly called brain corals. Trachs get much more fleshy than wellsos. As for care, you should probably give it a little shade for the time being. Maybe tuck it under that arch you have. Absolutely do not try and force feed it. When it is healthy and happy it will extend it's feeding tentacles to eat. The wellsos are a little more tricky to keep and tend to come into the LFS a little beat up for some reason. Brain corals are pretty resilient corals. I've had ones that have been close to death due to fish picking on them and not opened for months that have come back. These corals were also never target fed and have at least doubled in size every year.

 

[hoosierpat]

Also, go get some colored sticks (sps)! You have the equipment to keep it, skip the GSP and Xenia and get serious

 

[jbird0420]

One of my brains looked like that a few months back. I just keep feeding it daily, until it recovered. Come to find out it got that way cause its food was being stolen by Lrg Bristleworms.

 

[Juruense]

If you can bring that back to health it is going to look really great!

 

[Gdevine]

Wellsophyllia and Trachyphyllia are one in the same. There was thought for the longest time that there was difference between these animals (based on color and where they were found as in depth) but now this is not the case. In fact, it was always thought that these animals ONLY lived on the substrate but that also has been disproved. Do your research on these animals.

I love brains and Favias as well; feed this animal as stated and you will have a beautiful piece for many years to come.