helio not feeding???

[litlepig11]

i have a helio fungia plate coral that i got 5 days ago. in is in my substrate (thick crused coral) and seems happy there it has not moved much. it is well inflated and its arms move about, color seems good. i know its a filter feeder, it has a large mouth, that i was told if i hold shimp above it would eat. i have had no luck in feeding him. i am using frozen cubed shrimp that i let thaw in a bit of water and hold it down there for him till my arm aches, his mouth dosent even open. what should he/me being doing???? anyone else have one of these????
thanks

here are some photos both about 30 mins after the vhos are on, mh not on yet, looking at him now hes even more open and flowing. tank parmteris are normal.

nm forget the photo

 

[Hormigaquatica]

Its not unusual for a heliofungia to take a few days, or even a couple weeks, to really settle in to a tank, so I wouldnt be really concerned about it yet. The easiest thing to do for now would be to let a decent amount of small, meaty foods float around his area (mysis or live brine is good for this) just to try and stimulate the feeding response again. Its probably been a while since it last had a meal offered to it, so will take a while to 'remember' what to do. Just be patient with it, and watch that all your other water quality parameters, etc, are in good shape.

 

[porky]

I agree, don't worry about trying to "force" feed it for now, put some food in the water colum and it will react and eat when it is ready.
Sometimes a little phyto is a good way to entice them to start feeding...
These corals have a notoriously poor track record in our tanks.
Make sure nothing is touching the flesh as it expands as it is easily damaged. And like Hormig. said keep those water params near ideal.
I've never had any luck with this coral and after a couple of them have decided that is probably a coral that I may not ever be able to keep. Shame too because they are so cool!
Good luck with it, you're gonna need it!

 

[litlepig11]

the problem i have w/that is that the food floats up the the top enless i hold it down. will it use its little arms to put it in its mouth or will the mouth just grab it?

 

[porky]

The tips of those tentacle s/b sticky. It will use those tentacles to grab food out the water column and pull it down toward the mouth.
Here is an old pic of mines feeding

 

[litlepig11]

what is phyto? so i got this guy cause someone said they are eaiser to keep then a bubble tip aneme, what do you think, i sorta wish id gone w/the aneme even though i cant spell it

 

[porky]

IME, heloifungia are one of THE most difficult corals to keep.
Whoever told you that, either does not know helio or intentionally misled you
If your tank is "anenome safe", they are pretty hardy critters.
Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that live in the ocean.
Phyto Info

 

[Hormigaquatica]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9181967#post9181967 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by litlepig11
the problem i have w/that is that the food floats up the the top enless i hold it down. will it use its little arms to put it in its mouth or will the mouth just grab it?

If it is hungry, it will grab the food and pull it down to its mouth. Live brine shrimp work particulary well for this since they swim around rather than floating up to the top like frozen food can, so its constantly in the water column for the coral to grab as it gets hungry.

 

[cward]

I've had mine for 3 years or so and I usually never feed it. The tissue around the bottom is very delicate, and when it get's damaged they usually get an infection that kills it.

 

[TOURKID]

man, i always considered my fungi the most healthiest/easiest coral in my tank. eats constantly, always happy... I actually have another one on my 'coral list' when my new tank is ready. i have an orange, going to look for a purple

Mine ate from day one.. but it did come from phishys so i guess it was pretty well taken care of b4 i got it

 

[TOURKID]

oh, forgot i was going to add my pic. i found it eatting a molt the other day. thought it looked cool, had a hard time getting the best pic tho

 

[cward]

That is the easier type of fungia to keep. I was referring to Heliofungia actiniformis.

 

[szwab]

what are you feeding it? freeze dried food (assuming this since you say the food floats to the top? try something meaty a piece of shrimp, frozen (thawed) prepared food. or silversides.
Most likely it is still acclimating to your tank and should perk up in a few days.

 

[RokleM]

Mine loves mysis. I just shoot a half dozen or so at it, and within a few minutes it moves them all to it's mouth.

 

[litlepig11]

great thanks for all the help, ill give it a little while then try feeding it again, i guess i was just worried it would starve...by the way mine is the same has yours cward

 

[litlepig11]

hey cward, what sort of things would damage it, i know that fine sand would, mine is on coursely crused corel, and i gave him lots of space from the rock, i guess could a hermit or snail hurt him? and you said you dont feed him often, about how often do you feed...and how do you go about it?...just drop it in there.....

 

[cward]

I used to target feed it with silver sides once or twice a week, but haven't done that in over a year. I'm sure it captures food when I feed the fish.
Since I have an SPS tank, I have to make sure that no coral fragments get stuck underneath the fungia.