Long term survivability for long tentacle plates?

[ahullsb]

Sorry I don't know the scientific name for them. My LFS has one that looks quite amazing. Purple and green, and it doesn't "appear" to be a dye job. But I have bought corals before that I found out later were a lost cause in the aquarium hobby. (Carnation tree, etc.) Do these corals have a decent shot of living in our tanks?

 

[thecichlidpleco]

They can get quite large so it can be assumed they can live for a long time, also dont let the carnation get you down, someone took advantage of you.

 

[cloak]

Had this one for a little over two years.

Husbandry maybe...

 

[ahullsb]

That I guess it what I'm trying to figure out. It appears everyone keeps them on a sandbed, which I can do. My tank is 18 inches high and I have 2 150 watt halides and 4 t5 actinics for lighting. Other than that, they just need to be fed periodically?

 

[cloak]

I'll feed that one a piece of shrimp from the market maybe once every two weeks. If I didn't feed it for a month, I'm not sure it would really affect it.

Had this short for almost 5 years.

Husbandry maybe...

Can't seem to keep xenia. Go figure.

 

[ahullsb]

Well they sound like they are do-able. The one I am looking at is about the size of a cd. It is very brightly colored as I mentioned. But they want 90 bucks for it. Does that sound reasonable? That is why I was checking. I don't want to spend that much on something that won't live. But if they aren't any more difficult than other corals, I think it would be worth it.

 

[RandyO]

In my experience, Long tentacle Plate corals(Heliofungia sp.) have a poor track record in captivity. I've heard of very few surviving past the year mark.

Short tentacle plate corals(Fungia) like the second pic in this thread do very well in captivity.

 

[Echidna09]

We got one in recently about the same size as the one you are looking at that is bright yellow and green with tanish tentacles. I would buy it if I had a tank for it. We have it for $70, which I thought was a good deal for that piece. I was expecting ~100.

 

[m2434]

They should be okay if...

1) Need to be on sand, any rocky substrate will slowly damage them and in this case, they tend to only live a year or so at the most.

2) Unlike other LPS corals, they are only 70-80% photosynthetic and should be fed ~twice a week.

I have two short plate corals and the flow tends to send some food their way when I feed... I watch and make sure they catch some, otherwise I feed them manually occasionally.

 

[ssavader]

STPC

STPC

I agree w/ RandyO. Long-Tenticled Plate Corals (Heliofungio actiniformis) have a poor track record and "cloak" is to be congradulated for his success. Short- Tenticled PC (Fungia sp.) have a much better survivability. If you are new to the hobby, or your tank is not "stable", then perhaps the STPL would be better to start with.