Help with Green Plate Coral (please)

dpsa98

Premium Member
I have only 1 coral in my tank soo far . Ive had him for just under a week and mostly hes really green and healthy looking with quite a few of the little hairs sticking out of him. My question is I have about half of him under the shade of some LR and the other half open to the 175W MH lightinig. The half under the shade looks healthy and the other half looks faded and the little hairs arer shorter and not as active. Should I try and shade the whole thing , is the 175W MH light too much for that coral? The person at my LFS where I got the coral told me that they require lots of light but I'm thinking that the shade might be better for him.

Thank You,
Dave
 
my tank is just over 2 months old. The coral is located in the center of the tank on the sand near my LR part of the LR shades about half of the plate coral.
110010Plate_Coral.jpg
 
sorry it took me soo long to respond. I just got home from work and was able to check my replies.

Thank you
 
Don't worry too much about the tentacles pulling in. They want a lot of light and will tolerate moderate flow. I have my orange short-tentacled plate directly beneath an mh 250 at 20", and it took a few days coming out. Get a frozen shrimp, dice it and, with the pump off, lower it and squeeze the juice out directly over its center. Then let a few bits of shrimp rest on its center.

You may have to do this a few days running to get a response. Eventually it will start opening its mouth and sweeping the shrimp in.

It's my personal opinion the thing is like a fusion reactor: it eats everything, including bubble algae: I've seen it go in, but never come out. Garlic sinking pellets. Shrimp. Cyclopeeze. Fish poo. Eventually, given enough food, it will stay extended all the time with big fat tentacles. Don't worry about moving it now: if it wants more light, it will move toward the light. They're one stony that can reposition itself.
 
I do think they require lots of food? At least mine does, it eats like a pig, and it's not happy if I don't feed it.
 
Also! check these things:
alk = 8.3-11
calcium = 400-430
temp 80
salinity 1.024-6.
Stonies aren't too cranky, but their water has to give them enough calcium and be at an alkalinity that doesn't burn them.
 
I got this liquid from my LFS calld reef solution they said thats all they need to be fed is this liquid every other day just half cap dipped in the water flow. When I feed him the shrimp how long do I keep the power heads off for and do I place the small pieces just right on top of the green in the center?
 
I just happened to have a piece of frozen shrimp that I ended up never using from cycling my tank and I diced it up nice and small mixed it with a small amount of water and put a small bit in a turkey baster and placed it directly on top of him I have the power heads off for now and I will see what happens.
My water tests seem pretty good. I do need to get a alkalinity tester but I have everything else....Whoooo I did not know they eat like that while im typeing this message his mouth oppened up and he has the pieces of shrimp in ....thats awesome.....Thank you for that tip ...how often do I feed him? sorry I got off track..
Salinity 1.024
PH 8.0
amonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
calcium 450
not sure about alkalinity I will purchase a alkalinity test tomorrow.
water temp 80
Im going to do my first water change this weekend 20% I think. I am using ro water from my LFS for my water changes and for evap. I use salt free distilled water.
 
:) I'm very glad! Sometimes it takes days! Yours must be in excellent condition---

That nitrate is a bit high. Try to get that down. A water change would definitely help that matter. Corals don't like nitrate and they really, really don't like ammonia. Calcium reading is very good. Your alk is particularly important too; it's like an acid bath for them if that drops below 8.3. You can be as high as 11, but I prefer the middle of that range. Kent Super Buffer can raise alk. I use Kent Turbo Calcium for the calcium. If you ever find cal and alk won't stabilize, check magnesium. If your alk is about 8.3, that's pretty well what your ph will be, and that's a good reading.

Plates are reputed to be difficult. But if they're happy, they're happy.

Ever see 'Little Shop of Horrors'? I call mine Audrey, after the omnivorous plant.

I've found very little it won't eat...garlic-laced Formula One sinking pellets, fish poo, you name it. If it gets near the edge of the plate, it's plate-food. I love these corals.

Frequency: just remember what you put into your tank is IN your tank, even if it goes into something's belly, and don't overdo it. You still have bioload to consider. I save the really high protein hits for about once a week, and just let Audrey catch fish-pellets on most days. ;) She's grown from a flat, barren plate to something approximating a Pillsbury biscuit in a month and a half. Give your plate all the room it wants. Even with cyclopeeze she waves her tentacles about and gathers a fair collection of bits that go into the mouth.
 
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