Dendrophylliacs: Roe's vs. Fraggle

[sirrus6]

I attempted to post this thread in the Vendor's forum, but I do not yet meet the required RC post count, so I could not. Perhaps a moderator will switch it to that forum, if appropriate:

I purchased a 4-polyp colony of a coral advertised as ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œdendrophylliaââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ from Roesââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s Marine World, see below. The polyps never opened during the tankââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s light period, but they did open during darkness. I feed them mysid shrimp after lights out 2 or 3 times per week. They have not obviously grown nor have they deteriorated in the 5 months that I have kept them. I then bought a single polyp of a coral also claimed to be dendrophyllia from Fraggle Reef (below). Miguel at Fraggle Reef indicated that this polyp remains open under lighting, and this claim turned out to be true in my tank as well. This polyp extended its feeding tentacles almost immediately after acclimation, and they remain out during the tankââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s light period. It readily eats mysid shrimp.
These corals do not look the same (hard to tell from the pictures). The Roeââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s version has a cylindrical and relatively stiff outer casing, and the feeding tentacles are relatively thin and quite numerous. The Fraggle version is conical in shape, and seems to have a relatively more elastic body wall that expands upon feeding. The Roeââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s coral does not expand or otherwise change its shape upon ingestion of food. In addition, the Fraggle dendrophyllia has thicker and relatively fewer feeding tentacles.

Both corals cost essentially the same (per polyp).

I do not know the species, or even the genus (dendrophyllia or tubastrea ?), of either specimen, although a comparison with species identified in the thread

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...rpage=25&highlight=dendrophyllia&pagenumber=1

does help refine the possibilities.


So, the lesson that I learned: The coral sold as a dendrophyllia by Fraggle Reef exhibits the typical feeding behavior (during the light period) described by other aquarists for this genus, whereas the Roeââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s version does not.

Fraggle Reef dendro, lights on

Roe's Marine World dendro, lights on

Roe's Marine World dendro, after lights out, with flash

 

[sirrus6]

oops, Fraggle Reef dendro pic did not come out!

oops, Fraggle Reef dendro pic did not come out!

Fraggle Reef dendro

 

[DJ88©]

[moved]

 

[joe18]

They kinda look the same, but i always trust fraggle reef over other places, especially roes marine!
its probebly an issue of which one is just plaine healthier and obviously miguels dendros are healthier and more "livley" so to speak.
i just dont trust Roes Marine....
fraggle reef is great!

 

[JenDub]

Have you tried feeding them squid? They need to be trained to say out during the day and the best way is to feed a lot of squid. They tend to say out more when their bellies are stuffed.

No doubt, if you asked me who I'd rather deal with it's Miguel all the way. He's a standup guy

 

[REEF-DADDY]

I have to say the fraggle reef piece looks more like my Dendro. That being said mine will come out at night only if not feed regularly or stressed. When this would happen I'll feed when the lights first come on and then start pushing it back into the day until the coral is re-trained.

 

[sirrus6]

Thanks JenDub

Thanks JenDub

Squid could indeed be the solution. I merely swabbed a small piece of fresh squid over the closed mouth during the tank lighting period, and the feeding tentacles appeared with 10 min. It was a squid feast for all! I never saw any more than a hint of tentacle extension when mysis shrimp were used under similar circumstances. Unfortunately, I have a harlequin tusk who agressively fought for the squid, so I still have some challenges in implementing this feeding plan, but the preliminary results are encouraging! I can't use a feeding cage due to the configuration of the rocks around the dendros.

 

[gflat65]

Cut a 20 oz plastic bottle top off and invert it over the polyps and feed through the opening. Works for me on acans and micros, etc.

 

[WendyMc]

sirrus, they both look like dendros to me, but I think the difference between the 2 is that Miguel's must have been captive propagated, & Roe's was wild. Does this sound right?

I'm chiming in because I ordered from Roe's, & my 2 polyp guy never did open much. I lost 1 polyp in the move & the other did a bail out...still alive & eating, but doesn't have a skeleton to hide in anymore.

However, my 3 polyp from roe's opened very large & acted like a dendro. Both were wild, but my 2 polyp was cut before shipping, I don't know how long before, but it was obviously much more stressed.

 

[DonavonsReef]

I ordered 3 polyps from Roes (THEY NEVER OPENED) I know of 4 other people who ordered those crappy dendros & there's never opened either. :furious:

 

[DonavonsReef]

I picked these up last week, they opened within 10min of being in the tank.

 

[WendyMc]

sweet, did you get them locally? Were they captive propagated or wild?

 

[DonavonsReef]

Those came from Anthony at Aquadesignz.

 

[WendyMc]

Nice!

 

[sirrus6]

8 months later.....

8 months later.....

Eight months ago, I started this thread with the hope on increasing my knowledge of dendro husbandry. Thanks to all that responded. Below I update my progress on this topic through pictures. Overall, the dendros eat during the day (3 x a week) but do not keep their tentacles out much beyond a hour or so after feeding. They do extend them after dark. So, mixed success; they are still alive, and the presence of "babies" suggests that they are doing well, but there is some tissue recession at the highest points, and they do not expose their tentacles when the tank lights are on. I have not seen any of my fish picking on them. The cluster of four polyps was purchased from Roes', and the two single polyps came from Fraggle.

The dendros in repose.

The dendros having lunch.

The dendros 1 hr after lunch.

The dendros at night, with flash

Ken

 

[paininthewrasse]

Dendros are just like sun corals right, closed during the day, open at night. Need feedings like sun corals etc?

They're very nice when open but if they stay closed all day long and only open up at night it seems pointless to me..

 

[musty baby]

My tank is usually more interesting to look at when the lights are off anyway. Even the fuzzy sticks have their polyps extended further.

And paininthewrasse, most of these non-photosynthetic corals open at night because that's when food is most available to them in their natural habitats. If you feed during the day and keep feeding during the day many will respond by being open during the day.

 

[Vamp1975]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8622992#post8622992 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by paininthewrasse
Dendros are just like sun corals right, closed during the day, open at night. Need feedings like sun corals etc?

They're very nice when open but if they stay closed all day long and only open up at night it seems pointless to me..

Dendro's actually stay open most of the time sun corals don't

If they pull in during the day they might be getting too much light.

I also agree with Jen on the squid, it's a favorite of all the inhabitants of my tanks from corals to fish.

 

["Umm fish?"]

ryansholl is correct. Most of the night feeders can be trained to stay open all day by frequent, small feedings. I feed small feedings 6-8 times/day (basically every time the tubastrea start to close up).

A good introduction to the family, for those who might not have seen it:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dendrophylliidae.htm

 

[DarkXerox]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8626391#post8626391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Vamp1975
Dendro's actually stay open most of the time sun corals don't

If they pull in during the day they might be getting too much light.

I also agree with Jen on the squid, it's a favorite of all the inhabitants of my tanks from corals to fish.

That is really interesting, I have to try that. I've been feeding mainly cyclopeeze and mysis and really haven't had any growth on mine in about a year.