Question on Bubble coral "babies"

[Lance M.]

Ah my first post here:

Well, I got a dying bubble coral for free from my lfs about three weeks ago. The owner was going to throw it away but I was right there so he offered it to me. The tissue all around the edges has receded at least .5 inches from the edges (that's how it was when I got it). And it hasn't gotten any worse or any better since I've had it.

I've noticed about 4 little baby bubble corals, one on each end of the septa where the tissue has receded from.

My question is, can I break off the septa with the baby coral and then super glue the little baby corals to a larger rock to possibly give each a better chance of surival on their own since the main organism is obviously not healthy. I think I can break them off without affecting the tissue of the main bubble. Would this help them?

They are all very small. o <-- a little smaller then that "o"

I would give a picture but I dont have a camera.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Welcome to Reef Central.
No need to frag or break any septa.
Quite simply keep the coral in an ideal environment and it will regenerate.

 

[Lance M.]

Well from what I understand when/if the main coral regenerates to where it was before, it will block out light for the smaller bubbles and the smaller bubbles will never grow past what they are now.

I was thinking since the tissue was so far away from the edge of the septa it would be easy to break it off without hurting the main bubble and then the little ones could grow.

 

[Coderabit2]

If you are sure the main coral is going to recover than I would break them off and try to refrag them. However, if the main coral is not going to make it, the babies will have a better chance left alone.

 

[Lance M.]

I've had the coral for about 3 weeks. It hasn't gotten any worse but I don't see any noticeable recovery (I'm guessing 3 weeks is too soon to tell). The owner of the lfs who gave me the coral said that it would most likely come back, he just didn't want to take the time and the space to bring it back.

He had it in a 210 reef tank w/ a 250 MH on each end and a 400 watt MH in the center. He said my lower light would help it recover and it should only take a couple months. It's currently in my ten gallon under 65 watt pc lighting, 50/50 bulb.

I feed a mixture of plankton three times a week. Should I directly feed it something meaty to help it along? Would it be like feeding a torch coral or anemone?