Help Plate Coral

D

dameon

New member
Hello Everyone :bum:

I have a Green Plate Coral with long tenticals. Now when it was happy the tenticals where very long, But since it has fallen a few times on it's face, while i was at work it seems to be very bruised and dieing.
Is there anything i can do to help nurse this poor creature back to health? :(
I've been trying to put brine in it's mouth and all over the few tenticals that still are bearly inflated, but do they absorb through the tenticals or no?
Another question is where in the tank should these guys go? like i was told lots of light and meduim flow.???

PLEASE HELP IF NOT FOR ME FOR THE CORAL!!!:confused:
 
If it's a long tentacle fungia those usually do not do well in captivity. The only thing you can do is let it heal naturally. The only way they can get food is through their mouth (aside from the zoox, of course). I would make sure nothing bothers it and that it doesn't fall again. How did it fall anyway? These are usually found in the sand bed and can move around if they don't like where they are at. It's best to place it on a rock not far up from the sand so if it decides to move it won't hurt itself. If it stays on the bare sand the flesh can get damaged. Medium flow is fine.

Hope this helps.
 
well when i brought it home of course i only knew what the people at the LFS had told me and my mother was bugging me to get it. "it's so cool and loves how they sway in the water" she would say so that's why i got it with no onfo about it!! STUPID!! I know!!!
Anyways so i had put it near the top of my tank and it didn't like it there so it swelled up and fell to it's near death or yet to die.
 
Just put it in the sand and leave it alone! I have several plate look in my gall, they are all in the sand except the mother colonie where alll the plate are still attached to the rock.
 
Not to hijack the thread...but i too am have some difficultywith my green long tentacle plate coral. The first couple of day thething would expand unbelievably. Lately though is hasn't in the past week. I don't see any signs of tissue recession, but just want to now how concerned I just be? Thanks for the help
 
When the infalte they are positioning them selfs, thats how they move. Allow a good amount of sand substraight around your plate to allow it move till it get comfortable. They look pretty cool when they do inflate over 10x there skeleton size.:)
 
Heliofungia should be kept on the sandbed away from any rocks as to minimize the chances of it injuring its delicate tissue on nearby rocks. Don't place them on the rock as they ARE capable of mobility, and may fall. Also keep it away from any other corals to prevent any warfare between them.
I feed my heliofungia mysis once a week, and it takes it readily. Just place it over the mouth of the coral and let it do it's thing; however don't put too much food on it and let the excess food rot.
In terms of lighting, I believe they prefer moderate lighting, and medium flow. I am keeping mine under PC's and it seems to be doing okay so far. It's good to have moderate flow over it to ensure all the tentacles get light and to keep any debris from accumulating on it.
I think the best thing for any coral on the path to recovery is the best water conditions you can provide.
 
my plate coral i think has taken a turn for the worse. Its tentacles are all deflated and its mouth has been open for over 24hrs. Any advice? I dont have any pics but its hasnt been inflating for almost a week now. Please advise!
 
Sweetrav18, although it's not unusual for it's mouth to be open for that long. It's also usually the first sign of death. NOW, don't get excited it's not the end of the world yet! Try target feeding it small ripped open or chopped chunks of silver slides. Just drop it on it's mouth and let the coral take it from there.

I have six different color morphs of plate corals, and the only way I am able to keep them alive is to feed them. Other people may have some luck with other methods, but once a week works for me.

Now, It can take up to a half hour or more for it to move it and eat it. And sometimes it takes longer, so be patient. Good Luck!
 
Presto,

Thanks for the advice. I will try this when I get home. It everything fails when should I remove it? It still doesn't show any signs of tissue recession?
 
They are sandbed creatures, and 'walk' when unhappy. They can rip themselves badly if placed on rock.

Don't remove it even if it dies: this species can regenerate from the plate itself under the right conditions. But probably it's a goner. The short-tentacle plates are difficult enough, but the long-tentacles are pretty well expert-only.

Resist suggestions from the sidelines re purchases. Hard to, I know, but boy, can you get into trouble that way. Go home and research here or google, or ask the fish store if you can look at their fish or corals book on the spot, so you can read about them before you buy. Most fish stores have a good manual under the counter, because they have to research on what comes in.
 
I also had a very, very healthy long-tenticle plate coral, which is now almost completely dead. One day it was healthy and fully expanded, and the next day it was white and dead on one side and the other just barely hanging on. I did not move or disturb it at all. All of my other lps corals are doing great, but I just don't know what happened to this one.
 
I've got another one on the opposite side of the tank that resembles what you are talking about. Kinda like a leather coral in some ways. Can be very temperamental. Just goes through these phases, but always bounces right back. Go figure.

fungia_pink.jpg
 
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Not really. It can move, but it's always in the same spot when I wake up.
 
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I just lost my LT plate. Was doing great for over 6 months. The clowns hosted it about 1 month ago and they were just too much for it. It was my favorite coral without question and was easily a half basketball sized when fully puffed up (click my red house for pic) and ate a small whole silverside no problem. It's stopped inflating, and slowly the tissue receeded on the skeleton. Final straw was when they buried the plate under sand. Put the plate in the back of the tank, but within 5mins, 3 hermits were cleaning it...
 
The book "Aquarium Corals" by Eric Borneman is a must have for everyone. It talks about all the different corals and the care requirements. I'd suggest people get that book so they can check up on certain corals they may have impulsed bought and then asking on RC if they have more questions unanswered.
 
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