Chalice? advice?

[luvzz2play]

Ok... So i've got a new tank that was set up in late august and late september i added some live rock. October 1 I found this on a rock and didn't know what was going on and thought it was some fungus or something. Later I was told it was a chalice trying to regenerate. So here is a picture from Oct 1 followed by a picture taken today. help, advice, anything would be appreciated as I know nothing about corals and very little about saltwater as i'm new

oct 1 picture

Nov 15 pictures

 

[greech]

Yep, that is a chalice of some kind. All you can do is keep your water parameters in check and if the opportunity presents itself (feeders extended), give it some meaty food like mysis shrimp. Each of those little humps is a mouth (or what is typically referred to as an "eye"). Feeders are typically extended at night but if food sits on a coral long enough, you will sometimes get a feeding response.

How long has it been in that location in the tank and does it look better, worse, or about the same since that time?

It looks like some of the tissue is turning white which suggests that it might be getting too much light and should be moved down and possibly shaded temporarily.

 

[luvzz2play]

thx... the first time i noticed it was Oct 1 and that is the first picture. the second and third picture are from today. like i said, i'm a noob but to me it looks better. yes?

i have kept it in the same spot since day one. i have a 75g and it is about half way up. T5 x 6 lighting. just a cheap one that came with 3 actinics a 10k and 2 12k lights.

I've been using red sea pro salt and have a red sea test kit for mg and ca as well as an api testing other parameters. my last check from sunday was

kH 9.8
Mg 1440
Ca 420

speaking of feeders.... there is like a small circular transparent feather type duster or something that i see extend and retract from one of the humps and from another i see more of like a fan type structure extend and retract and just had assumed that those were some "other" thing

 

[greech]

Those levels are about perfect. You should not be concerned with dosing or doing anything to tweak those levels. Just keep a regular water change schedule.

After looking at the before/after pics, I do think it looks better so I would leave it right where it is. It has a long way to recover fully but I think you stand a good chance of having a nice coral in the end.

While your chalice likely will not end up looking exactly like this, this does seem to be the same or similar species...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Live-Coral-...267?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e746c24e3

 

[luvzz2play]

thanks... i wonder if the red and green skeleton are indicative of the color it may once again get. As far as placement, I did some research and from what i gathered many say most chalice do better at lower levels in the tank while some may be ok higher up. I've been afraid to move mine out of fear figuring that it is getting better so why mess with it. the other side of the coin is that it may do even better lower in the tank. hhmmmm..

what about water flow? i've got a maxijet 900 pro that kind of blows across the front of it. feeding? frozen mysis?

as far as mysis go, i've added a mysis/copepod kit from inland aquatics and had ordered another from floridapets (i think it was them) as i wanted to try to establish those in my tank. like i said it is pretty new and i've got nassarius snails, a couple of bumblebee, 2 turbo, 2 margarita, a few nerites, some small hermits, an emerald crab and a sally lightfoot ( was trying to catch to remove but she is crafty) and also 2 zoa frags that were given to me

 

[greech]

I would be inclined to leave it where it is, at least for a little while.

They don't like a ton of flow but again, it doesn't seem to be having an issue where it is. I probably wouldn't change anything unless the coral is directly in front of the PH. If you feel flow is an issue, redirect the PH instead of moving the coral.

Yes, frozen mysis. Look at the coral a couple of hours after the lights go out and see if you can see any feeder tentacles extending around the mouths. If so, it should be fairly easy to squirt some mysis near them so the coral can grab hold. If you wnat to try and feed it now, kill the pumps in the tank and squirt the mysis on it and see if you get a response. You may have to fend off the hermits and possibly the nass snails .

 

[luvzz2play]

yes, i think i see what is a tentacle coming out of one of the peaks right there in the center. the little featherduster looking thing comes out of hole just to the left a bit.

don't have any frozen mysis so i guess that is on the list of things to get

thx for looking and your advice. any idea what kind of time frame we are looking here? a year?

 

[luvzz2play]

there are 3 distinctly different looking feeder things on it... this first one is the lower right side and they come out in a circular patter and is fairly rigid.

while this one is the raised mound in the center and more like a fan

the 3rd one is small, transparent, circular and sits very low while the first 2 extend out a bit but i haven't seen it in today

 

[luvzz2play]

ok.. i found a picture of the 3rd one taken a couple of weeks ago.

you can see it to the left of the center mound

 

[greech]

The last one is definitely a feather duster, I think the second is also some type of fan worm and the first I think is some kind of macro algae.

6 months to a year probably but I would probably frag off the healthy sections once the coral gains it color back and is in a little better condition.

 

[luvzz2play]

the first one i don't think is algae as it will extend out and withdraw into the hole there...

 

[luvzz2play]

ok, so i have heard about corals extending sweeper tentacles. Can someone post pics of a chalice extending pics showing these tentacles and it feeding? i would greatly appreciate it.