New Sun Coral

[rampantmarine]

I was browsing the local aquarium clubs website and saw a sun coral for sale. I did some reading on it and decided to pick it up Sunday. He said he fed it Baby Brine shrimp and Cyclopeze. I had saw that the fella he obtained the frag from had trained it to eat mysis so that evening I fed it some mysis. It eats it up, please take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think of it's condition. I see from many photo's that the tentacles usually appear longer, The mysis sticks well to the tentacles when they are smaller, but when extended they don't stick. I plan to keep feeding it every day until I see it get bigger then will move to the display and feed every other day or so, there is no other food in the QT tank.

#1 First Feeding

#2 Half Hour After Feeding

#3 Before Lights Out

 

[Tennyson]

It's pretty good, but not great.
How did you get it to open before it was fed?

It looks ok, but it's tentacles could be more extended. I think more feedings every couple of days will help though.

 

[EllieSuz]

I fed mine chopped up mysis and prime reef every night for two weeks. At first the tentacles were not closing on the food and most of it floated away. Gradually it got stronger and started plumping up with ingested food. I now feed liberally every other night and it's doing great. Here's a photo of it almost completely open, right before feeding time:

 

[rampantmarine]

Thanks for your responses.

Tennyson, your response confirms my initial thoughts on its condition. I picked up some other frozen food (bloodworms and Mega Marine from Hikari) and I will keep its feeding up. It was only closed while it was transported. Once it was in the QT tank for a while it opened up very much like the first photo. It was hungry I guess...

EllieSuz: Thanks for the pic, I hope it gets to look like that. I will look up Prime Reef.

Any other food suggestions? I am going to feed every day and vary it's diet but feed lots of meaty food.

 

[Don-Coraleone]

very nice...

 

[amithi]

very nice..

 

[rampantmarine]

Thanks very much,

I took this after feeding it one meal and the tentacles were still out - but not as much as before feeding. It is almost looking like EllieSuz's photo - but about 3/4 as long. Getting better!

 

[bheld]

Feeding Rotifers work very well with mine if you are still looking for variety...looks good

 

[goldenmacman]

i heard that they remeber the last time they were fed and get onto a routine if you do are they that "hard" to take care of?

 

[EllieSuz]

No, I don't think they're "hard" to take care of. I enjoy the feeding process and made a feeder apparatus with a soft tip so the tentacles close around it. This way I can feed every polyp individually to be sure it's getting fed properly. I don't have a picture of it right now, but you get a syringe from the drug store used to administer meds to infants, connect a long tube (hard airline tube) to the syringe with a piece of soft airline tubing, and then put another piece of soft tube on the end. I made mine long enough so I don't have my hands in the water at feeding time.

 

[rampantmarine]

I feed mine with a dropper and after feeding the tanks fish. I do feed each polyp at least one full shrimp each day It takes about half an hour to open after dusting it with the food when feeding the tank. I like Elliesuz enjoy the process. I just wonder what those who look after the tank when I travel will think of the feeding instructions. I have a page of things for the salt tank and one lone for the tropicals. Ha Ha

 

[havingfunin08]

when you get a sun coral how often do you feed it and are they easy to keep? thanks

 

[rcgates]

I bought and acrylic tube and put it over my Sun coral to feed it, works well.

 

[rampantmarine]

nice photo rcgates!

I feed every other day for sure and try to feed each day. The feeding is freaking out my Hippo tang, so I don't like to do that. I have to come up with a tube device or "borrow" the Turkey baster.

 

[rcgates]

Thank you, that was a shot when I first got it, July 2008.

Here is a current shot, sorry for the quality, a night shot when the lights are off and with a flash isn't the best...

 

[EllieSuz]

Rampant, try making a feeder tube just for your Sun Coral. Get a syringe from the drug store of the type that is used for administering medicine to babies. Attach a length of rigid airline tube to the syringe with a piece of soft airline tubing. Then put an inch of soft airline tubing on the end of the rigid tube. My Sun closes around that tube and I give it a shot of food and move on to the next polyp. I used enough airline tubing to reach the coral without putting my hands in the water and it doesn't upset any of the fish or inverts.

 

[rampantmarine]

EllieSuz

I will try to make something like that, great idea. I will post something when I get it done. I have a couple other projects to do first then I will get on it.