Mine doesn't open as well as all of yours. It's tentacles are quite short. I'm assuming they'll grow as I keep feeding him. I'll get a picture later today when the water clears a bit. I just did a water change on that tank so pictures aren't going to be the greatest. It's primarily orange with 7 black heads all mingled through it.
caring for a sun coral
- Thread starter Ajilon
- Start date
Very interesting, something new comes each time for seemingly single and simple species Tubastrea 
Ajilon: still post pictures, later is OK. I had never seen this kind, curious.
As for short tentacles, give it a couple of months: this is not species-specific, but depends on the feeding of the coral.
If I didn't yet overflood you with pictures and you can bear more, here is the same coral in the first days:
and half of year later:
and and again:
first days:
and few months later:
Another orange sun was acquired recently, not much changes so far.
I'm trying to check their possibilities and limits of tolerance
Ajilon: still post pictures, later is OK. I had never seen this kind, curious.
As for short tentacles, give it a couple of months: this is not species-specific, but depends on the feeding of the coral.
If I didn't yet overflood you with pictures and you can bear more, here is the same coral in the first days:
and half of year later:
and and again:
first days:
and few months later:
Another orange sun was acquired recently, not much changes so far.
I'm trying to check their possibilities and limits of tolerance
mollymonticello
Member
I've got an orange and black one, also. Check my avatar. I've had it about a year now? The black polyps have come back from near death. I have little baby orange and black ones pop up all over the tank all the time. It's pretty neat.
I feed mine every single day. Sometimes I go away for the weekend, but other than that, they are fed every day. I feed a mixture of cyclops, small mysis (big ones are hard to digest for sun corals), rotifers, and roe eggs. They like the cyclops and mysis best. Mine is "trained" to come out at the same time every night. But at first, I had to "dust" it with a little food once every few minutes until it opened. Each polyp is its own animal, so I feed every single one, every single day. I love my sun corals
Here's a pic of one of the baby ones
<img src="http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5632/img3158ia8.jpg">
I also run my lights at night instead of during the day. I have always done that to help with heat, because I keep Syngnathids. My lights turn on at 5 pm and turn off at 1 am. That way there is still a period of complete darkness.
I feed mine every single day. Sometimes I go away for the weekend, but other than that, they are fed every day. I feed a mixture of cyclops, small mysis (big ones are hard to digest for sun corals), rotifers, and roe eggs. They like the cyclops and mysis best. Mine is "trained" to come out at the same time every night. But at first, I had to "dust" it with a little food once every few minutes until it opened. Each polyp is its own animal, so I feed every single one, every single day. I love my sun corals
Here's a pic of one of the baby ones
<img src="http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5632/img3158ia8.jpg">
I also run my lights at night instead of during the day. I have always done that to help with heat, because I keep Syngnathids. My lights turn on at 5 pm and turn off at 1 am. That way there is still a period of complete darkness.
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I understand, that Ajilon's sun coral has bright orange and black colors on the same coral...
The black sun baby: is it T. diaphana or T. micrantha? It's a beauty.
I recently bought T. diaphana to see how it will be doing. It was much slower in starting to open for a feeding, then all my yellow and orange suns. But after starting, there were no problems at all.
How yours behaved, comparing one to another?
How much time it took for the black sun coral to recover and appearance of the babies?
Ajilon, I hope that you will not consider this as hitchhiking your thread
. But if you do - please tell.
The black sun baby: is it T. diaphana or T. micrantha? It's a beauty.
I recently bought T. diaphana to see how it will be doing. It was much slower in starting to open for a feeding, then all my yellow and orange suns. But after starting, there were no problems at all.
How yours behaved, comparing one to another?
How much time it took for the black sun coral to recover and appearance of the babies?
Ajilon, I hope that you will not consider this as hitchhiking your thread
. But if you do - please tell.
mollymonticello
Member
I wish I would have documented when everything happened, but I didn't. Maybe about 6 months after I got it, I started to see babies. I actually saw the black babies first. My black polyps are a little healthier and open better, faster, and more often than the orange. But I think that is because I spoil them. I'm more careful with the black polyps, for sure, and feed them more food. I can see a definite difference. As of today, though, there are more orange babies spread about the tank than black ones. Or maybe I just can't see the black ones. I'm not sure which species my sun corals are. What are the differences between T. micrantha and T. diaphana? I've always believed it to be T. micrantha because the place I got it from carries that species.
These are older pictures, excuse the algae. I will scrape algae off the glass and try for a better one soon.
<img src="http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/332/suncoralscb5.jpg">
<img src="http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1669/img3184ci1.jpg">
I bet Ajilon has two seperate species that have randombly colonized the same rock, or the orange ones are overgrowing the black ones.
These are older pictures, excuse the algae. I will scrape algae off the glass and try for a better one soon.
<img src="http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/332/suncoralscb5.jpg">
<img src="http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1669/img3184ci1.jpg">
I bet Ajilon has two seperate species that have randombly colonized the same rock, or the orange ones are overgrowing the black ones.
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yeah it's more or less 2 separate species on the same rock but they're intermingled. Theres black polyps scattered throughout. I promise I'll get a picture some time later this afternoon. We spent ALL day yesterday moving a 125g into the house and setting up. In fact, we're still setting up. I need to get the plumbing to my liking and the calcium reactor online, though I may wait a day or 2 before I do that so the system can clear out some.
I misunderstood, sorry
I already seen that combo (orange and T. diaphana).
Tubastrea micrantha has longer branches, is browner and has greenish tentacles, rare and more sensitive, than Tubastrea diaphana, that has low compact branching growth, almost black, with lighter brownish tentacles.
Thanks, I hope that my black one will recover well and also will start to spawn.
I already seen that combo (orange and T. diaphana).
Tubastrea micrantha has longer branches, is browner and has greenish tentacles, rare and more sensitive, than Tubastrea diaphana, that has low compact branching growth, almost black, with lighter brownish tentacles.
Thanks, I hope that my black one will recover well and also will start to spawn.
mollymonticello
Member
Dendro, thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure mine is T. micrantha, then. That is what the store said it was, also. The body almost looks red in bright light while the tentacles are always greenish. I'm glad it's doing so well. I counted its polyps last night and it has just about 50% more polyps than last year. I'm not sure if that is good growth or not. But I am happy that most of the tissue that receded before I bought it has been recovered. Well, it's actually time to feed it right now
Good luck with your new tank, Ajilon.
Good luck with your new tank, Ajilon.
mollymonticello:
If I may to ask - for the benefit of the people, who asked me about the same, but for pale orange sun coral - when you can, post please:
1. Where larvae settled (LR only or on other surfaces too and what other kinds of surfaces were available for the planula at the same time, but wasn't preferred). For knowing better larvae settlement clues.
2. What caused spawning, in your opinion: daily feedings, particular food, or turning flow off, as Ameya noticed.
3. What allowed larvae to settle in your tank, not just disappear. I had read assumption, that it's the skimmer removes the floating planula.
May be a separate thread about larvae settlement preferences for a Tubastrea corals will be more easily findable, it's up to you. I could add data for my sun, others may join too. Just an idea.
And for me:
My black sun coral (T. diaphana), starved to the tissue recession, was very slow to open, 5 days or so, comparing to all other suns. Has fastest regeneration so far after mechanical tissue damage.
Did you notice something particular like this about T. micrantha, or about interaction of the two different suns in so close proximity?
I prefer to be prepared just in case, if I will be able to acquire it.
Ajilon, if you don't mind, same comparative information about your corals, OK? Starving for knowledge: hundreds of people are keeping these corals and usually only feeding comes into discussion.
If I may to ask - for the benefit of the people, who asked me about the same, but for pale orange sun coral - when you can, post please:
1. Where larvae settled (LR only or on other surfaces too and what other kinds of surfaces were available for the planula at the same time, but wasn't preferred). For knowing better larvae settlement clues.
2. What caused spawning, in your opinion: daily feedings, particular food, or turning flow off, as Ameya noticed.
3. What allowed larvae to settle in your tank, not just disappear. I had read assumption, that it's the skimmer removes the floating planula.
May be a separate thread about larvae settlement preferences for a Tubastrea corals will be more easily findable, it's up to you. I could add data for my sun, others may join too. Just an idea.
And for me:
My black sun coral (T. diaphana), starved to the tissue recession, was very slow to open, 5 days or so, comparing to all other suns. Has fastest regeneration so far after mechanical tissue damage.
Did you notice something particular like this about T. micrantha, or about interaction of the two different suns in so close proximity?
I prefer to be prepared just in case, if I will be able to acquire it.
Ajilon, if you don't mind, same comparative information about your corals, OK? Starving for knowledge: hundreds of people are keeping these corals and usually only feeding comes into discussion.
mollymonticello
Member
1. Where larvae settled (LR only or on other surfaces too and what other kinds of surfaces were available for the planula at the same time, but wasn't preferred). For knowing better larvae settlement clues.
That is a really good question. The planulae settled in a lot of places in the tank, but only the ones on my Tonga branching rock in relative darkness survived. There were a few on my aquacultured live rock about half way down the tank, receiving some light. They did not survive.
2. What caused spawning, in your opinion: daily feedings, particular food, or turning flow off, as Ameya noticed.
I strongly believe that heavy feedings make my sun corals spawn. I have pretty good flow in my tank, a Korlia 1 and a Koralia 2, a refugium, and a Filstar XP3. Over all, I have more than 25 times turnover.
3. What allowed larvae to settle in your tank, not just disappear. I had read assumption, that it's the skimmer removes the floating planula.
I haven't thought much about that. It just kind of happened. I am still seeing new babies appear with some frequency. I should get a skimmer and see if that stops them from appearing.
You should check out project DIBS, they have a thread dedicated to spawning sun corals. I don't think anyone's solved the mystery yet, but it's an interesting topic.
That is a really good question. The planulae settled in a lot of places in the tank, but only the ones on my Tonga branching rock in relative darkness survived. There were a few on my aquacultured live rock about half way down the tank, receiving some light. They did not survive.
2. What caused spawning, in your opinion: daily feedings, particular food, or turning flow off, as Ameya noticed.
I strongly believe that heavy feedings make my sun corals spawn. I have pretty good flow in my tank, a Korlia 1 and a Koralia 2, a refugium, and a Filstar XP3. Over all, I have more than 25 times turnover.
3. What allowed larvae to settle in your tank, not just disappear. I had read assumption, that it's the skimmer removes the floating planula.
I haven't thought much about that. It just kind of happened. I am still seeing new babies appear with some frequency. I should get a skimmer and see if that stops them from appearing.
You should check out project DIBS, they have a thread dedicated to spawning sun corals. I don't think anyone's solved the mystery yet, but it's an interesting topic.
Thank you, very interesting for comparison and should be helpful for future tubastrea breeders.
What thread you are referring to? I just checked, they moved to a new server and maybe it was lost. I found one thread with Umm, fish's sun babies (T. coccinea) and everything else is a references.
The good part is that we have information from breeders (intentional or not, not important
) about reproduction of Tubastrea micrantha (yours and evilervin), T. diaphana (Daniela Stettler and some others), T. coccinea (Umm, fish and others) and T. faulkneri (I believe that mine is it, others had it reproducing too).
Only I don't recall seeing the lemon-yellow sun coral reproduction threads...
What thread you are referring to? I just checked, they moved to a new server and maybe it was lost. I found one thread with Umm, fish's sun babies (T. coccinea) and everything else is a references.
The good part is that we have information from breeders (intentional or not, not important
) about reproduction of Tubastrea micrantha (yours and evilervin), T. diaphana (Daniela Stettler and some others), T. coccinea (Umm, fish and others) and T. faulkneri (I believe that mine is it, others had it reproducing too).Only I don't recall seeing the lemon-yellow sun coral reproduction threads...
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