Duncan retracting

[Taqpol]

I recently purchased a single head of duncanopsammia (With two new heads already growing at the base!) about three weeks ago. Everything was going great (Except I don't know where to put it, stupid 20 gallon nano running out of space), until it started retracting its tentacles and closing up for hours at a time. I have three ideas as to what may have happened, but I wanted to get confirmation from here or other ideas to make sure that my newest coral is healthy.

This one would **** me off the most, right when it started closing up I had just moved a coral beauty angelfish from QT to the DT. So far the angel has been great and hasn't touched a single coral, but what if he had a taste for duncans? My fears have been slightly assuaged as I watched the duncan open and then fully close without any interaction with the coral beauty, but still a possibility.

Second, duncans are a low light coral and it is sort of in a temporary higher light location on the sand bed. I didn't think duncans were particularly sensitive to high light (like some favias are), just that they didn't need the light as much as they get more energy from feeding. Would moving the coral under an overhang help?

Lastly, I fed some frozen mysis last night and it has stayed open for over 16 hours. Do duncans close up if they are not getting fed enough?

Any thing I've missed or should know about this species?

 

[Taqpol]

Bump for the afternoon crowd. Should I repost this in the LPS thread?

 

[Guygettnby]

duncans are pigs and are always willing to eat. if you keep moving it then that may be the problem, sometimes it take awhile after being move to get used to the new spot it is in.

the angel might be nipping at it, but without you catching it in the act i wouldnt do anything about it just yet. mine retract whenever my clowns brush up against them.

 

[Brickyardpub]

I bought a 3 head frag for roughly 45 -50 bucks about 4 months ago. Since then, it has spread to 4 big heads ( .25 or bigger ) each with 3 heads roughly the size of a nickel under them... spreading like weeds. They are about 3 inches up from sand under a 6 bulb t-5 fixture in my 75 gal display. It's not scortching 400 watt Halides, but definitely not low light.

I feed my LPS coral polyps once sometimes twice a week by hand as well.... which probably attributed to their explosive growth. In reference to the shrinking, mine do it as well... at least 2-3 times a day , everyday... so don't worry too much. They've even gone from the largest head being almost 3 inches across full blown to tiny retracted nubs, not even able to see any tentacle in a matter of minutes too... so from my experience this is normal. I think they behave somewhat like Anemone's in the fact that they expel their waste on a daily basis through their mouths and in doing so shrink up and look all deflated.

I generally feed them small chopped chunks of shrimp and scallop when I feed my Torch, Favias and Hammers, which they seem to love. I also recently streamlined my operation with an auto top off system that doses Kalk as make up over the last few months. As my parameters and salinity have become very consistant in doing so, the coloration of my Duncans and LPS have definitely improved and the growth has taken off exponentially, something to think about doing if you don't dose Kalk, Calcium, Alk, and Mag already you may want to look into it. Cheers and best of luck, these guys are definitely some of my favorite corals!!

 

[Taqpol]

Thank you Brickyardpub, that was a very informative post!

Unfortunately I have heard everything from placing them directly under MH's to no light, so I'm going to bump this one more time for the afternoon crowd. (They also seem to be doing better now, don't know what got into them...)

 

[Taqpol]

I lied, one more bump.

 

[will16]

My duncans close up for days at a time every now and then. Not sure why but they do. As a matter of fact, doing it right now. Been closed for past 2 days and just opening again tonight. Still growing fast and no problems. At first I fed them quite often, then I kind of gave up and haven't target fed them for about 5 months. Still growing and budding new heads.

Good luck

 

[sonapl]

I am gunna tag along here as the duncan we have hardly ever opens. It has been in the tank for nearly a year. The cleaner shrimp used to raid it, but the shrimp died several months ago and it still doesn't open much. I have PC lights so that is maybe it.

 

[sonapl]

Also I feed the tank just about an hour before lights out, so I think ours may open at night. Is this the wrong line of thinking?

 

[PVChick12]

Hm, I had never heard of Duncan's until I bought a frag at a swap 2 months ago. I have mine under direct MH lighting and they are thriving, they never close up. So I doubt if its the "high" lighting you speak of bothering them... I also feed mine by hand almost everyday. I feed each polyp separately, and +1 on that they are PIGS. They are also very sensitive to touch though (close RIGHT when I stick the food to ts mouth), so even if the CB is not nipping it, it could just be swimming up against it (sorry not to flame, but isnt 20 kind of small for a CB...?) And sonapl I feed mine just before lights out as well, I don't think there is anything wrong with that....

 

[Brickyardpub]

for what its worth.... here's some before and after shots of mine... went from 3 heads initally to 15 i counted yesterday when closed in 5 months....

open....

and 12 hours later.....

 

[Taqpol]

Yeah my duncan is doing much better. I even just moved him around in the tank while rearrangind stuff and it stayed open! As it stands now the duncan seems to close up (randomly) once or twice for a little under an hour and then will stay open the rest of the day. From all the responses I've been getting I'm just going to say that this is normal.

Yeah, 20 is small for a CB, my only saving grace is he is pretty small right now too. As soon as i can get all my FW fish sold I will start cycling their 38 gallon tank and move my existing reef over there. Then in Jun when I get my new apartment I will be upgrading to or 75 or 90 or maybe even a 125.