brain requirements?

[sinaloa213]

i saw this brain coral at o st. that was soooooo cool
it had red on the side with like green in the center
ive heard that they are hard to take care of
i dont know if you have to spot feed them or if they feed off of the light
anyone have any tips for these corals?

 

[bsaastad]

They do much better if spot fed, but they need light also, though not as much as the sps corals do. Also, they can be prone to infection. The skeletal structure is very sharp and it is easy to damage their flesh while handling, and then the wound gets infected. I don't think they're difficult in the sense that goniopora, or some of the more classically difficult corals are difficult -- you just need to be careful with them.

 

[fishykidd916]

is it an open brain that you are talking about because i dont they are too hard to take care of. I had one for over an year and its about 6 inches wide when it opens up. At one point the tissue receded on the section that was recieving no light for a month and surprising it has healed and grew over the exposed skeleton. i rarely spot feed them but i believe they do well under moderate lighting.

 

[wombat2]

First things first--find out what genus it is and then go from there.

 

[sinaloa213]

thnx for the help guys might just wait until im sure i can keep one for a year

 

[TCC]

I've had a red open brain coral for about a year under PC lighting. It's doing very well and grown substantially since I bought it.

I had a large green brain before that and killed it in a few months. I don't know if there's a difference in the hardiness, but I don't think they are particularly difficult.

If you spot feed occassionally it's great. Mine puffs up and is very happy for days when I spot feed it.

Be careful at O St. I won't buy coral there anymore because they won't post their prices and you get a different price it seems from each person you talk to. Having said that, it's my favorite place to buy fish. Reasonable prices and I've never bought a fish there that had health problems.

Good luck!

 

[sinaloa213]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8253002#post8253002 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TCC
I've had a red open brain coral for about a year under PC lighting. It's doing very well and grown substantially since I bought it.

I had a large green brain before that and killed it in a few months. I don't know if there's a difference in the hardiness, but I don't think they are particularly difficult.

If you spot feed occassionally it's great. Mine puffs up and is very happy for days when I spot feed it.

Be careful at O St. I won't buy coral there anymore because they won't post their prices and you get a different price it seems from each person you talk to. Having said that, it's my favorite place to buy fish. Reasonable prices and I've never bought a fish there that had health problems.

Good luck!

thats true about the prices
i also saw the same at at the coral reef shop on madison
i have mh light so might try getting one in a few months

 

[TCC]

I have a 75 gal with MH lighting and a 29 with PC. The red brain didn't do so well under the MH, so I moved it to the 29.

It was in the 29 where it really started to thrive.

Go figure.... :rollface:

 

[Fragmented]

I have 2, one green and one red and green. I have MH lighting. They both live in caves because the MH light is too strong. I target feed them once or twice a week.

 

[wombat2]

This was one I used to have.

This is after about 2 years. In this shot it's under a 96W PC about 8 inches away, 6 gallon tank. Before this it was under a 65 W PC in the same tank. Before that it was under a 250W MH, which I agree was a bit too strong. I never fed it directly, but the tank was unskimmed and fed heavily with cyclop-eeze and live baby brine.

 

[Fragmented]

Is that the one I got from you Matt? If it is, it has red now too.

I love to spot feed. It's fun to watch them react to the food.

 

[sinaloa213]

thats the biggest brain ive ever seen

what happened to it?
i wish i could straight up buy one that big

 

[duec22]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8256964#post8256964 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sinaloa213

i wish i could straight up buy one that big

Talk to John over at Yourreef. He had a pretty large orange and red one the other day. If he doesn't have what you are looking for, he might be able to look for one the next time he's down getting new stock.

 

[sinaloa213]

great idea
i think i seen the orange one ur talkin about

 

[wombat2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8256723#post8256723 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fragmented
Is that the one I got from you Matt? If it is, it has red now too.

I love to spot feed. It's fun to watch them react to the food.

Ah, I think that one was in a more recent tank. Still doing good?

 

[wombat2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8256964#post8256964 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sinaloa213
thats the biggest brain ive ever seen

what happened to it?
i wish i could straight up buy one that big

The picture is deceiving. It's a 6 gallon tank, and the clams in the background are only like 1.5" long. The skeleton was probably the size of a cell phone or so. Expanded, maybe the size of a softball.

If you want a nice big polyp with sweet colors look into a Scolymia. You'll pay a lot but they are sweet and fairly moderate to care for.

 

[Fragmented]

It has grown a lot and is doing very well. It expands to about the size of a saucer. It eats like a pig.

 

[sinaloa213]

check this one out i saw it when i went to an lfs in Los Angeles
these guys hade sooo much of these for sell in all different types of colors and sizes

they have a website also
its jeffsexoticaquarium.com