My LTP pic

[RyanM]

Here is another pic. 1/2 hour after feeding. All pumps started again. Took a while to catch it just right with the tenticals blowing around but got a pic of it gorged on mysid.

here is a super closeup

If the focus was better these would be some nice pitures

 

[Dave VG]

Pics look good to me. And so does the coral. Very nice Ryan

 

[RyanM]

Thanks Dave, and that you to Gary. I have a new found interest in it. Not sure why. Guess I really never stoped and REALLY took a hard look at it. Its super close to the front of my tank so I can really see it clearly even with my horid eye sight. That in it self is a huge draw of my attention being able to see it up close. Many more hours a week will be spent staring into it and with that can only mean better care given to it.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

nice pix and I think you're on the right track, Ryan :thumbsup:

 

[RyanM]

Fed my LTP a small piece of silverside today. I cant believe a stoney coral that eats out of your hand. It truly is just like an anemone. I feed it the same way I do my bubble tip. Wasted no time in grabbing it and stuffing it in its mouth. I find it very hard to believe that this species is hard to keep. It eats anything its given. My only thought as to its lack of long servival is it may get sick easy. As far as it eating it does that with no problem at all.

 

[SPS20]

I have had a I]Heliofungia[/I] for almost 6 mo. now in my 20L, so far, so good. They need soft sand, bright light, lots of food, slow flow, minimal pestering by CUC. Those conditions can be a PITA to acheive in a tank with SPS in it.

Make sure you feed the hell out of it. I really think that is key with LT plates.

Here's a few pics of mine:

 

[RyanM]

Very nice. Thanks for showing the pics.

After doing some reading I believe the problems with them comes from the fact that they are a single solitary polyp. I really dont think they are any weaker than any other but being the only one if it gets hurt or damaged the whole coral is lost. The loss of a polyp on a sps or most other lps causes little damage and the colony keeps going. You can keep them for decades by fraging the colony when they get to big, get to close to another or get sick. However, its only a matter of time before the LTP grows into another coral or gets damaged from somthing. Just a clown fish getting to close could kill it. From what I see its a very easy coral to keep as long as you protect it from it self and the rest of its tank mates. Its days are numbered tho Im afraid.

 

[fatrip]

interesting, so they can not be fraged? do they split and reproduce?

 

[RyanM]

No, as far I can tell they can not be fraged but Yes they do reproduce. They grow tiny off shoots of them selves on the underside and that can be split off or alowd to fall off and float away.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

SPS20 and RyanM- how are your Heliofungia doing?

 

[RyanM]

Mines doing good. He is growing and seems fine where he is. They can inflate and float around if they dont like the spot they are in and so far he stays put. Nothing bothers it and I keep a close eye on it to make sure. I have a small pepermint shrimp that lives right around the corner from it. Every time I feed it the shrimp has to come out and investigate. I have started to slip the shrimp a silverside tail first and he takes it and retreats to his hole while I give the LTP its dinner. I say they dont seem to me to be a hard coral to keep but I guess you could say they are hard to keep if you believe they need to be fed and I do believe they need to be protected. So I guess that puts them in the hard to keep catagory. I dont believe them to be a weak coral tho. They just have to be protected from injury. Id say they are pretty hardy from what Ive seen. I woke to find a small frag of one of my sps's had been knocked off or draged off and placed by my maroon clown. I swear he does it deliberatly just to make me mad. The ltp won the battle. The sps was killed where it had touched it. Had it fallen right on top of it Im not sure what would happen but I do my best to make sure that doesnt happen again.