open brain not looking well

[shinny]

I got a brain (besides the one in my head) about a month ago. I think i had it too low in the sand, if that is possible. The flesh receeded a little. I was gone the next weekend and my rock anemone moved and I think it stung a small portion of the flesh. I think these things combined with the fact that it was moved into a new tank. Now the mouth is pretty wide open and not looking good. I thought that they liked very low flow and low light and placed in a sand bed. Please help if you have an suggestions. I have tried to feed it at night when the lights are off but it doesn't seem to be eating now. Thanks. I will try to get a picture if that will help.

 

[shinny]

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[shinny]

when it was new

when it was new

new

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[simonf]

Shinny,
Some questions:

What kind of lighting do you have? How far from the lights is the brain?

What are your water params?

What other live stock do you have in the tank? Some fish and shrimp will bother/take food from open brains.

How often did you feed it in the past?

When you say you tried to feed it but it didn't seem to be eating what exactly do you mean? How long after lights out did you wait? Did its tentacles come out?

Was the decline in its health sudden or gradual?

While they don't like high flow they need enough flow to keep substrate off of them.

 

[shinny]

250 MH Lights are about 8 inches from water. Brain is at bottom, about 20 inches from top of water.

Sal. .22 (just checked it, it was .24. I haven't checked it in a while. Salt creep from evaporation must have dropped it down. I am getting it up slowly. That definitly didn't help the problem)
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
Amonia 0
Calcium 420

have hermits, cleaner shrimp, coral banded shrimp, I used a cut off top of a 2 liter when I fed. I waited about an hour after lights went out. Didn't see tenticles. Next time I waited 2 hours. I did not see the tenticles come out when I fed but I didn't look either. How long after lights go out should the tenticles be out?

I fed it about once a week.

Decline was/ is gradual

I have it in low flow

 

[simonf]

A few thoughts

Your lighting may be a little strong for it,red ones are supposed to come from lower light areas. So maybe try moving it to lower light/partial shade. This maybe why its not inflating.

Try to get the salinity and nitrates in check.

Also if you haven't lately try doing a water change. Other Aquariusts have suggested that iodine is important for them.

Shrimp are known to steal food from them I would just keep an eye on them when you feed the brain.

My open brain usually opens up 30-45min after lights out. Also a good time to check for tentacles/feed is in the morning before your lights turn on.

When I got a bit slack on feeding, because of nutrient issues, mine stopped opening up even at night. What I did was take it out and put it in a Tupperware container with some frozen mysis. Letting the mysis melt in the water with the brain maybe important since the 'juice' seems to get corals to open up. Using the container also allows you to let the coral 'soak' in it for longer and at higher concentrations than you normally would without fouling your tank. Mine opened up on the second night but if yours may take more than one night. Also I tend to feed mysis, formula 2, and cyclopeeze every 2 or 3 days.


From what I've read open brains can come back from almost nothing so yours is far from lost.

Simon

 

[shinny]

they can come back from about nothing eh. Mine is almost to the nothing stage. Did you leave it in the tubberware all night? You didn't leave it for 2 days did you? I might try that tonight, nothing to lose. Thanks.

 

[reefgeek84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7049389#post7049389 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by simonf
A few thoughts

Your lighting may be a little strong for it,red ones are supposed to come from lower light areas. So maybe try moving it to lower light/partial shade. This maybe why its not inflating.

Try to get the salinity and nitrates in check.

Also if you haven't lately try doing a water change. Other Aquariusts have suggested that iodine is important for them.

Shrimp are known to steal food from them I would just keep an eye on them when you feed the brain.

My open brain usually opens up 30-45min after lights out. Also a good time to check for tentacles/feed is in the morning before your lights turn on.

When I got a bit slack on feeding, because of nutrient issues, mine stopped opening up even at night. What I did was take it out and put it in a Tupperware container with some frozen mysis. Letting the mysis melt in the water with the brain maybe important since the 'juice' seems to get corals to open up. Using the container also allows you to let the coral 'soak' in it for longer and at higher concentrations than you normally would without fouling your tank. Mine opened up on the second night but if yours may take more than one night. Also I tend to feed mysis, formula 2, and cyclopeeze every 2 or 3 days.


From what I've read open brains can come back from almost nothing so yours is far from lost.

Simon

I agree with everything, except the iodine, I never dose it and have heard that you can throw alot of other things off in the tank if you does to much.

 

[simonf]

reefgeek84,
I agree I wouldn't dose iodine either, though people do just test a lot when doing so because it can be quite toxic and lead to algae blooms. That's why I suggested water changes to get iodine and any other trace element back to normal.

Shinny,
I only left it in the Tupperware for an hour or two. Be sure to keep an eye on water temp.

 

[shinny]

yea, I figured only about an hour or so. I did that last night with no success. The brain was a lot worse than I thought. I mean there is no "guts" left inside his mouth. I think it is a goner. I might try to feed it agian tonight. Thanks for the help. I am going to put it into a lot lower light than it is now but I don't know.