healing a dendro ...

[Greyson]

Hey guys,

I finally got my hands on some dendros after years of trying to get some. The guy i got them from was not taking care of his tank very well and was gettin rid of stuff cheap. So there is two heads one larger head and a smaller head. the larger head is kind of receding where its at the edge of the skeleton on the actual head. the baby is good. The guy didnt feed them for over a month, when i placed them in my tank yesterday they were both fully open and looking happy. I didn't have any mysis or anything on hand so i gave them some chopped table shrimp. they were looking good all night until the morning. in the afternoon the larger head was half open the whole day, and i can see the receding part a bit more. Im worried that it will get worse, but i fed them both frozen mysis twice. They are eating incredibly well though even though the large head is partially open. Will feeding it heal it back up ? will i be able to keep the large head from dying ? and if i can how many feedings should i give it to help it recover ??

 

[spidermonk10]

With the dendro feeding is a must if it will eat, feed it, mine loves scallops. while the recoup twice small feedings is good till its all open then Id go once a day then go every other day. The dendro I have was just microscopic rescue and now is 32 heads in a 240g

 

[Greyson]

With the dendro feeding is a must if it will eat, feed it, mine loves scallops. while the recoup twice small feedings is good till its all open then Id go once a day then go every other day. The dendro I have was just microscopic rescue and now is 32 heads in a 240g

awesome.. im feeding it 1-2 times a day so far .. but mostly 2 and its looking alot better now.. i just want the tissue on the outside to grow a little more. How often do they pop new heads?

 

[Tweaked]

I have been nursing back a frag with three heads for almost 18 months. Still hasn't regained its skin or any new heads. The PE is great and eats all day, but regrowth seems to be a long wait. GL

 

[noy]

what kind of dendros are these?

Are they the ones with the big heads - fistula's (aka fathead, firecracker, orange cup suns) or the branching ones (arbuscula)?

I am going to guess they are fistulas because there are CITES export permits for those right now.

If they are fistulas then they grow by encrusting the rockwork they are on and then spouting heads which grow into full tubes. The individual heads will also spout new heads. They tend to grow faster so you should see tissue restoration probably in a month or so. You probably won't see any new heads until the tissue has been fully restored and there is a bit of tissue growth at the base.

If they are arbusculas then they need a bit of time to restore the tissue. The heads should have a bright orange epidermis (skin) growing to the base. I find these take a bit time before you start seeing new heads. Often the main head will close for a few days and you will see new heads begin to spout across from each other. These corals have a more substantial Calcium carbonate skeleton so the growth isn't as quick.

Feeding them daily is probably good enough.

Fistulas are very prone to head rot - where they ingest too much food which then starts to rot before its fully digested (in a coral sense) and gain bacteria growth - which then rots the head. I would be careful with heavier foods (like chopped shrimp and scallops). Mysis or brine is fine.

 

[Greyson]

dendro

these are the ones i have, i have been feeding them 1-2 times a day and i am seeing the tissue starting to come back on them. The smaller head is 100% healed and the larger head is about 90% healed since i got them not long ago. I been feeding them mysis and they inhale them.I also notice the color has gotten better since this picture and more tentacles also.

 

[Azar]

Nice , good job man. I love mine I don't feed mine every day, instead I do it 3-4 times a week.

 

[noy]

those are fistulas (Eguchipsammia fistula)

you are on the right track you should start seeing tissue growth at the base.

 

[Greyson]

thanks for the input.

i have had alot of tissue growing , and the bigger head is looking really good. the smaller head actually looks like it may sprout a new head soon. here is update..


dendro

funny how the little one is always closed when i take pics of it lol