Made an impulse buy, I usually don't, now I'm worried, PLEASE help!!!

[steri]

I should know better then this. I really should. I've been in this hobby now for a year. I read a lot, I educate myself a lot, and rarely do I make an impulse buy like this without knowing that what I buy will be fine. So I was at the LFS today. They had a huge sale. I got an amazingly large peace of Red Carnation Tree Coral for $37.50. I just couldn't pass it up. Rarely have I ever seen a coral as beautifully colored as this. Someone I know told me he thought it may be a tough coral to keep, but I figured the only coral I have ever lost is zoa frag once, so I figured I would be able to do whatever the coral needs for a good home.

This is the coral I got:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/...?pcatid=645&N=0

Anywho, so now, it's home, and in my tank. It has already opened up which is good, but now that I have done research about it, am very very very nervous. Can anyone give me some advice as to what I can do to help this amazingly beautiful coral live? It is in a low-medium lighted place in my tank with at least medium current, so that's good. I already have plankton that I put in the tank e/o day for the corals I have right now. I have Kenya Tree, zoas, Anthelia (sp?), Xenia, Mushrooms, Frogspawn, GSP, Toadstools and one other leather in my tank right now. The Carnation is set away from all other corals, so chemical warfare should not be an issue.

I really thought when I was in the store, "it looks like a colt/kenya tree with a lot more color. Those are easy corals to keep. I'll have no problems with this."

Please help me all. I rarely make a bad impulse buy like this, but now that I have him, I want to do everything I can to make sure he lives. I have heard they like the water to be a little bit "more dirty." Would that help him? Gosh man, an Expert Only Coral. I really feel ticked at myself. Sure my tank is stable and all, but I don't think I'm an expert.

Gosh this really is a beautiful coral, by far the most beautiful in my tank. I may be in over my head though

I feed my tank twice each day currently. I feed with Rod's Food, and suppliment with nori, zooplankton, frozen brine, and pellets. Is that a diet that help this coral do well feeding twice each day? What if I upped it to 3 times a day with the third feeding just being a small amount of zooplankton?

 

[steri]

One more question for those that know: What makes this coral so different from a Colt coral? Man I thought they were so similar.

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

They aren't photosynthetic for one. That means they derive all of their energy from feeding. The main hurdles that most have encountered with them are feeding, water flow, and water quality.

Feeding is difficult because they have rather small polyps. They need smaller zooplankton and from what I gather they don't use phyto. They also benefit more from feedings of small quantity many times per day rather than the typical surge of food all at once every other day. This is because they simply feed too slowly - they will starve in such conditions. I don't think anyone has actually determined which food works best. Therefore, it is best to feed a spectrum of smaller zooplankton food.

Providing proper water flow is difficult because they need very high flow, but laminar flow not turbulent. Do a search on gyres in advancedaquarist.com to see what I'm talking about.

Finally, the water quality issue is difficult because you'll need to maintain more or less pristine water quality. Considering the need for somewhat heavy feeding, you'll need good filtration/skimming. A good-sized refugium is probably to be recommended.

 

[LegendLand]

Dendronepthya : Carnation Coral, a non-photosynthetic filter feeder that feeds on all small micron foods in the range of 0.02 to 300 microns. it mainly consumes LIVE plankton, preserved bottle products have too low of nutritinal value to sustain this coral for even a month. no-one as of yet has been able to keep these corals long term, with the best results being within the 7 month range. i had some succes i kept one colony alive for 7 months & its frags for 5 months after it died. my other attempts were not as successful. they should be ignored by anyone that is not willing to try EVERYTHING IN THE BOOK & MORE as its going to take alot more research to keep these corals alive & growing.