Kryptonite Candy Cane: how to help?

[Hextall]

I bought a blue and kryptonite Candy cane about three weeks ago. The blue one has done really well. It was already on a plug when I bought it from a local seller.

The kryptonite one... not so much. He broke off three heads for me, and the haven't really extended since getting it. The blue one will extend its tentacles to feed, but the kryptonite one won't. It looks like one of the three heads puffs out during the day, and I can see the mouth every once in a while.

I'm not sure what to do with it. I don't think its dead, but it hasn't gotten any worse or better in three weeks. I've moved it twice to try and make it happy to no avail. it's in a medium light, medium flow right now.

parameters are all good (29 g biocube with PC lighting):
ammonia/nitrite/nitrate = 0
calcium = 460
alkalinity = 8
Mg = ? (I'm getting a Mg test tomorrow)
PO4 <0.25 (I have a API test kit, which doesn't really have that fine resolution)

Here's a couple of pictures:
Either the day or the day after I bought it (9/18/11)

Tonight

I really don't know what to do with it. How would I know it's dead? when all the tissue is gone (it's still plenty bright, but just not much tissue).

Any suggestions?

thanks

 

[TRENT_G]

It looks alive to me. Maybe just not happy. I would leave it alone. Put it in place and leave it their. It was stressed from being fragged then introduced to a new tank and now moved every day or so. Just find a place and leave it their. Candy canes are pretty hardy and accepting of most light and flow. Good luck!

 

[ReeferBill]

I had problems with my Neon candy canes in the beginning because they are easily damaged when moving them from one spot to another and when I glued it into a hole in a top rock in the middle of my tank it started to sprout new heads and now is growing and expanding !

 

[ReeferBill]

One time I bought a hammer and when it was fragged at the store the frag fell out of the guys hand and landed in the bottom of the tank . I should have bought the one that was still in his hand because the one that dropped died soon after. Another time I got an open brain coral and it fell to the floor of my truck , off of the seat while driving home , when I hit the brakes too hard. It died from the shock soon after also.

 

[Hextall]

Thanks guys... It has been in this spot for a couple weeks but I will just be patient with it.

How will I know when it is truly dead?

 

[aragonite55]

It will all be the same color from the base to the tip, and you will be able to see the septa.

 

[rjmayes34]

you will know when its dead when their is no more color/flesh to it. They are pretty hardy imo. They will do well in high light, low light, Medium flow, low flow. Put it somewhere and dont mess with it for a little bit and it should open right up. Its not dead yet so their a good chance it wont die!

 

[Hextall]

So I haven't touched it in 6 weeks... here's tonight's picture (a little out of focus and unbalanced due to the brightness I think).

I had moved the coral up just a little bit on the same rock as it came lose just before the picture in the original post. Since the OP, the back head died, so I broke it off.

It doesn't seem to be getting any worse or better. I'm at a bit of a loss what, if anything, I can do.

parameters are basically the same as the OP (alk = 9, ca = 480... still no magnesium test kit). I have about a dozen other corals that are all doing fine (some older, some younger than kryptonite cc). I did just do a 3 days lights out to battle cyano, but the day I turned the lights out friday morning the kryptonite looked the same as the picture.

Any suggestions or just stay the course and hope for the best?

 

[DashTrash400]

For what its worth here's my two cents. I bought a cheap frag from this local shop. I was told that instead of buying some expensive dip you could just dip it in ro for about a minute. Long story short it was a bad idea at least the minute part. Mine looked worse than yours and basically lost all of its color. What i did and what I would do would be to shade it and feed it nightly. Brine mysis etc. That's what worked for me and now it looks great, nice and puffed up again. I also couldn't see tenticles or the mouth. Just use a coke bottle to shield it from other fish or slow and be patient. It should eat even if it doesn't appear to have a mouth or extent its feelers.

 

[ilyad]

When I got my candy cane it was in pretty bad shape too, the good thing about these guys is that they are pretty hardy... the best way to feed these guys while they are recovering and getting their tentacles back was to use "oyster feast." I turn off the lights and any pumps and jets, then get some oyster feed into a pipet and over the coral slowly release some (make sure it doesnt come out in clumps, but more of a mist, the best way is to shake the pipet up and down and let the feed kinda "fall out" sometimes pressing a little to help it out). That way the coral can absorb some of the nutrients without being drowned in the food. Leave the water flow off for about 15-20 minutes and that will allow the coral to feed, then pop the jets back on... When I did that to my coral, the heads that I have really got a lot of its flesh, color and tentacles back... here are the before and after pictures This is about a 2 week difference

Before

After

Mine is still getting its tentacles out and only last night really extended them from one of the polyps.

Also, like everyone said, let these guys be, feed them with the oyster feast and make sure your water is good, they should still recover.

Good Luck!!!

 

[ilyad]

Also, dont break off the dead heads, that only stresses the coral and when the tissue starts growing back, it'll just "seed" the bare heads and recover quicker, it wont have to grow the actual head again

 

[boosted chemist]

at nighttime (2 hours after lights out) try feeding it. Mine puts out alot of tenicles and i started with a abused three head frag that after a year is around 20 full heads.