Fox in trouble (pic)

[Malifluous]

Ive had this fox for about 9 months. It has not grown. The last few months it does not open up. It appears shrunken and pinched. I have 2 39 wat t5's (1 atinic and 1 blue plus). is it getting too much flow? The hammer in the pic is far away from it. Thankj\s in advance

 

[Aquarist007]

fox coral does the best on the substrate in a low flowing ,protected space by itself--ideal would be in a quiet corner of your tank.

 

[sunfish11]

fox coral does the best on the substrate in a low flowing ,protected space by itself--ideal would be in a quiet corner of your tank.

I would question this advice the same way I would question the standard bubble coral advise. I see that these corals die a lot. What they need is high nutrients, good light, and good flow. Don't stick them under 400 MH 2 inches from the surface, but don't hide them in the shade of a tank that only has 78 watts of light to begin with either. With flow, don't blow their polyps off, but make sure they are moving. Use indirect crosscurents and random flow.

When I kept it in low light, low, flow tank it didn't die but it didn't grow either. When I moved it into my 210 with MH light, good skimming, heavy feeding, and 40 X turnover it grew like a weed. When the polyps is fully extended they are waving around in the flow. It is also not in the substrate. Nor, have been the few other really large ones that I have seen. What I would like to do is get a few more specimens and really test this theory out a little better. I have never target fed this coral or seen it eat anything. I am not sure if it is absorbing what it needs or eating very small particles, or just is sustained by light. I will buy a couple more really small ones and see what happens.

Here is mine.

I have been told lately by several industry experts that this coral has a dismal survival rate these days.

Lisa

 

[Malifluous]

capn_hylinur and Lisa
Thanks for your insights. I had the fox in a low light/low flow coeber of the tank for 6 months. It was not on the substrate. I moved it to the new location u see in the pic. This morning , it has open up better than before. Im not sure if this is beacause o f the low light levels during the morning or cos my tunze 60325 died again and cause low flow in all the tank. Time will tell....

 

[Aquarist007]

Lisa not to argue with your success because it is obvious but I may have been misinformed by my LFS--LOL

my fox coral is now where near as beautiful as your

here is an example right here of misconception:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=467

this is why I like this site--it brings out misconceptions.

 

[Aquarist007]

Lisa---how about posting a few more pictures of your coral and tank.

 

[fishyz]

I have foxcoral which has been doing quite well in my 90g. I do not have a skimmer on my tank, I just do frequent water changes. I have 260watts of pc lighting and it is under low-medium flow. It is also placed on my live rock, not on the sandbed.