Sun coral dying perhaps?

jhuntington12

New member
I had a pretty decent size sun coral feeding very regularly day and night for about 2 months. Would eat coral frenzy pellet food and lots of it. Loved it for that matter.

I happened to move it a little bit higher up, obv more light but not like enough to really think it would effect the coral...its an NPS anyway. It got good flow, etc. Water params never changed, all are within range.

I noticed for the last week it didn't open up so I took a little phyto feast in a baster and blew it gently at it and to my shock the polpys virtually disintegrated out.

umm, from like bloomingly healthy to like dead in a week? No other corals except my birdsnest started to suddenly bleach a bit but the tips remain ok. Some say that it could be po4 being reduced too quickly? I did add a UV sterilizer but cant imagine that would take its toll on these guys?

Possibly too much light on this sun coral? I moved it back to its spot and its really not that much lower and out of the light...so I am a little unsure. Ideas?
 
I had a pretty decent size sun coral feeding very regularly day and night for about 2 months. Would eat coral frenzy pellet food and lots of it. Loved it for that matter.

I happened to move it a little bit higher up, obv more light but not like enough to really think it would effect the coral...its an NPS anyway. It got good flow, etc. Water params never changed, all are within range.

I noticed for the last week it didn't open up so I took a little phyto feast in a baster and blew it gently at it and to my shock the polpys virtually disintegrated out.

umm, from like bloomingly healthy to like dead in a week? No other corals except my birdsnest started to suddenly bleach a bit but the tips remain ok. Some say that it could be po4 being reduced too quickly? I did add a UV sterilizer but cant imagine that would take its toll on these guys?

Possibly too much light on this sun coral? I moved it back to its spot and its really not that much lower and out of the light...so I am a little unsure. Ideas?

Suns don't die from excess light, in fact in the wild they occur from surface level exposed to direct sunlight. Mines have been always under the halides and eating with it turned on once they're healthy.

It could be rotten food inside of the coral, as you said they eat a lot. Being pellets I think it could be easy to form a ball inside and in a huge quantity... Be difficult to get out.
I also recommend you to give them a variety of food against just one type and a bit less quantity.

I've never had this problem, but have seen it and if not mistaken about whats happening, it's difficult to save. Let's see what others think about.


Could you post a pic of the colony to see better??


Regards
 
like I said, it took food like a monster...then I moved it up and it came out once, then never to be seen. I could literally blow out each polyps guts with one spray, that's how tender it is..

 
Its disintegrating because the flesh has rotted from the inside. This is not that uncommon if you get the occasional polyp doing this. Often its from over feeding where the food is undigested and starts to rot and cause dead tissue from the inside out.

Since you are getting it across many polyps - I think it may be the amount you are feeding generally.

Not too sure about feeding pellets - you may want to alternate that with frozen foods.

The picture you have looks like a healthy coral however.
 
how often would you say to feed?

My technique, small to moderate quantities of alternated foods each day and when the colony have long tentacles and open well then space feedings from every two days to three or four. I have very fleshy colonies of different species and they all grow. As said i knew what's that but never lived an episode in my tank, so it works pretty well.

Leave the pellets and jump to frozen foods too. Better for the coral and a cube would be enough for a colony that size, so you have a better measure of what they eat
 
Pellets are treats to a fish like a bone to a dog. Sun coral enjoy rich meaty foods. Try making something at home for them mixed with garlic and aloe.
Feed them 2-3 times a week and allow a day or two between each feeding.
Good luck
 
Pellets are treats to a fish like a bone to a dog. Sun coral enjoy rich meaty foods. Try making something at home for them mixed with garlic and aloe.
Feed them 2-3 times a week and allow a day or two between each feeding.
Good luck

they are coral pellets if that is any difference, but yeah I will def start getting them frozen stuff. I have plenty of Mysis but they just don't take as well as they do the coral frenzy.
 
they are coral pellets if that is any difference, but yeah I will def start getting them frozen stuff. I have plenty of Mysis but they just don't take as well as they do the coral frenzy.

It's just training, mysis have a harder shell more difficult to harpoon, but coral rapidly adapt to that condition reinforcing nematocysts or creating more. In a few meals you should observe they take more and easely.
 
Well, its been a week or so and now this sucker seems to be coming back to life.

Been only feeding it Mysis once every couple days. Try to get one on each head....at first it came out so slow...or what was left of it I should say. But now, even the heads that I was able to accidentally blow away with a pipet are filling in! Very happy. Thanks for the tips guys!

 
Well, its been a week or so and now this sucker seems to be coming back to life.

Been only feeding it Mysis once every couple days. Try to get one on each head....at first it came out so slow...or what was left of it I should say. But now, even the heads that I was able to accidentally blow away with a pipet are filling in! Very happy. Thanks for the tips guys!


Glad to see it's doing well! Keep working on it and enjoy!
 
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