Brain coral not opening

[Mikro]

I have a Red Open Brain coral I've had for about ten days. It still hase'nt opened yet. I had it on the bottom in the light. The LFS told me to move it to a spot in the shade which I did yesterday.
How long does it normally take to acclimate to a new environment?
I have 260 watts daylight and actinic lights.

 

[ri]

If tank parameters are similar (between you and LFS), the coral should be open by now.

Was it open at the LFS?
When your tank lights go out, does the coral open? Any feeder tentacles?

ri

 

[aaron23]

dont put them in the shade. put them on the sandbed they are mostly photosynthetic

 

[Monkeyfish]

Open brains (Trachyphyllia geoffroy) require low to moderate lighting and typically prefer to be placed on the sand-bed so their flesh will not be torn or irritated. They should be placed in an area of low flow to prevent them from tearing. If there is too much flow the coral will not expand/open.

On a side note - they need to be fed meaty foods (small pieces of silverside, krill, mysis shrimp) at least 2x a week to thrive.

 

[Mikro]

Are they only fed when their tentacles are out?
I have yet to see them on mine...

 

[MiddletonMark]

Have you looked for tentacles in the middle of the night, or before when the lights come on?

 

[horseflesh]

This is what it should look like when the lights are out.

http://wrongcrowd.com/gallery/nanocube/open_brain_tentacles

 

[Monkeyfish]

If you thaw out some silverside or shrimp in a cup, pour a little of the thaw water into the tank and wait a few minutes. This sometimes triggers their "ready to eat response" and they extend their "feeding tentacles".

However, I've always found that these types of corals are voracious eaters. If you put a small piece of krill or silverside directly on them they'll usually take it (tentacles out or not) though it may take several minutes for them to ingest the food.