Receding Trachyphyllia

[Sangogo]

I know there's a million posts on this already and I've read a large number of them, as well as Eric Borneman's book, but I seem to have a problem implementing the obvious solution.

I have a Trachyphyllia in my tank that I'm quite fond of. One day this and the Wellsophyllia start faring poorly, despite doing great for months. It took me a while to figure out that it was because the skimmer was not working correctly and it took me even longer to figure out how to fix said skimmer.

I've been trying to feed them more often to get them back into shape, just as was done in the various threads I read. The Wellsophyllia has been eating fine and is slowly getting back into shape.

I have been having problems getting the Trachyphyllia to eat, though. I've put a cap over it (made from a 1 liter plastic bottle) so that it can feed in peace, but somehow it'd just find a way to roll the food off after a few hours.

In my desperation, I tried moving it to a different spot of the tank, where it would be bothered less. It liked the new spot even less and started receding and I moved it back to its original spot where it's doing a little bit better.

However, I'm wondering how you get a receding Trachyphyllia to accept foods? It loved clams when it was healthy, but I haven't been able to get it to open its mouth to accept even live clams.

Should I be trying a different kind of food?

 

[raoul]

I had a trach that went for a while without eating. Then I tried a different food and it ate! I was very relieved.
From my POV, this seems like it would be worth a try, and if it works, it wouldn't be an expensive cure. Since my trach is eating again, it now accepts foods it didn't before.

Good luck!

 

[0p3n Brain]

I've brought one back before using Cyclopeeze. It goes nuts over it.

 

[jjmcat]

I thought a trach and a wellso were the same thing.Can you post a pic so we can see.I dont direct feed my brain so whatever they catch in the water colum is what they get.I do feed my fish reef mush so theres a little of everything in it.

 

[Sangogo]

Sorry, I guess Wellso is an outdated name, but I had read another thread describing a Wellso as having a flat base while a Trach has a conical base, which is why I used these terms.

What I am referring to when I say Trach is "Trachyphyllia geoffroyi" and Wellso is "Wellsophyllia Radiata," which now seems to be referred to as Trachyphyllia Radiata.

Here is a snippet from the web I thought was helpful:

"The Trachyphyllia Brain Coral is also referred to as a Folded Brain. It may have a flattened, folded, or figure-eight shape. There are two common species of Trachphyllia: T. geoffroyi and T. radiata. The T. radiata, which is usually more convoluted in appearance and has fused walls, was formerly called Wellsophyllia radiata, but the genus Wellsophyllia has now been eliminated. "

Since my last post, the open brain in question seems to have recovered a bit. I was out of the country for a few days, but I sprayed on some food before I went out the door into it's feeding "cap" and it has repuffed up just a bit.

 

[theop]

You probably are doing it right, but I just wanted to check:

Are you waiting until its feeder tentacles come out? They will usually come out soon after the lights go out. This is when it is most receptive to taking food.

 

[Sangogo]

For some reason, the feeder tentacles never come out on this one, which is why I have to feed it by placing food on it. Not certain why. Even when it was super puffy, it never put out feeders. No amount of coaxing put out feeder, but it would generally heat heaps as long as the food was placed on top.