Sun Coral Q's

[Tennyson]

Thanks again, I'm working on bring it back to good health.

But about the earlier question, I found a baby!!! Yesturday when I was cleaning the tank, I saw it drifting around and caught it. I never set up your method, cuz I never had time.
So I caught it with a baster, and I had no netting so I just cut up my net, and kinda tied it up in there, it's sticking to it, and is flowing in the flow, is this a good method?

It kind of looks like your pic, with only one in a tighter net space

 

[dendro982]

It's planula, it should - if survives - attach itself to substrate. When it becomes a single polyp with skeleton, in 2-3 months it may be detached and glued to the rock. But is could be damaged or drowned in super glue in process. Cutting off piece of mesh and gluing mesh to the rock is safer.

Good luck!

 

[Tennyson]

Thanks. But I'm unclear on this, I should wait two or three months before gluing the *planula to rock? Is that how long it takes to attach itself to netting?

 

[dendro982]

These are ~9 days old (9 days since the chili was placed in sun's pico):

They could be removed by fingernail or dull knife, but there is high risk to damage them. I would give them a time to grow - as the single polyps on this photo:

the multiple polyps colony is difficult to remove, unless the underlying rock is soft and part of it could be cut of together with colony.

You will see when planula stops floating up in the bag. Baby can be moved in the place with better flow - shallow plastic cup, covered by bridal veil material.

Detritus settle there, sun coral incorporates in the base of its body - these were easier to flue, just as soft corals, that attached itself to the sand in the similar cup. Less risk for the coral.


Or, after it attaches to the mesh, cut it with piece of mesh and glue by the mesh. Baby sun will be not in contact with the glue.

 

[Tennyson]

Just an update on the suncoral, its doing much better and I think I've discovered the problem.

I would overfeed many of the polyps (that would open) and as a result, they would throw it up. Then it would sit in between the heads and rot, which I'm guessing is the cause for the poor health of that section of the suncoral.

So I've been feeding less so that the polyps don't throw up, and they have been looking much better. and the section that wouldn't open is now slowly recovering.