Symphyllia Wilsoni Care

[bfam4t6]

Hey Guys,

I just ordered my first Symphyllia Wilsoni which will arrive this week, and I'm wondering how those of you who've already had success caring for them have done so. I'm assuming that they're very similar to other Aussie corals such as Acans, Scolys, and Wellsos, which I already have plenty of experience successfully caring for. But, I'd rather ask and know than guess and find out the hard way.

Specifically, I'd like to know

1. In general, what kind of lighting do they prefer? High? Medium? Low?

2. Has anybody had success keeping one under PC lighting for an extended period of time?

3. How much flow do they like?

4. How often and what do you feed yours?

I appreciate any and all useful information!

 

[bfam4t6]

C'mon guys! I know I can't be the only person whose ever had a wilsoni.

I'd even appreciate your stories of killing one. Coral death is undoubtedly always a shame, but hearing about such events could potentially help me avoid a similar problem.

Also, has anybody else heard or read that they like cooler water?

Again, I appreciate all input!

 

[Jeff000]

I don't know what it is even, so no help at all. But I would love to see a picture.

 

[bfam4t6]

They're very cool looking! They look like a mix between a regular symphyllia and acan lords.
http://*******.com/2009/01/29/australia-day-symphyllia-wilsoni-desktop-background/

*edit
Well, apparently I'm not allowed to provide a link. You can either add r33fbuilders (spelled with "e" instead of 3) before the .com above, or just google it.

 

[All Delight]

Here is one I had, it was a decent size piece when I got it, maybe 3" x 2". I keep it in med light under 150 mh, but it slowly would receed. It was receeding about 1/4" every month. I tried treating it with tropic marine pro coral cure, but it keep receeding. I moved it to lower light, eventually all the way down to my sand bed. Still keeping receeding, then finally I put it in the back of my tank on the sand and basically it doesn't get any direct light, it's completely in the shade but not in darkness. And it's doing just fine. Not receeding anymore and the colors are good. It eventually receeded all the way down to 1.5" x 1", but I love that piece. Bummer thatn it's not in a prime spot for viewing. These are some recent pics.

 

[bfam4t6]

That's an awesome piece!

So, it seems to me like one of these might actually do well under PC lights. I have two tanks with good T5 fixtures, but they're both pretty full. I think I'll try the PCs at first, at least to acclimate it to my salt. I'm sorry that you had to experience tissue recession, but I'm glad that you shared that info with me.

At what temperature do you keep your water? I've read peoples' suggestions stating that wilsonis will not do well in typical reef temperature water based on the water temperature where wilsonis are collected in the ocean. But, I haven't been able to find any solid info that's more specific. For instance, I haven't been able to find anything that says "At 78F+ you can expect tissue recession, but any temp under 77F should be okay." For all I know, 75F could be too warm. While this would definitely be a bummer which would require me to rethink my plans for my nearly empty 41 gallon with the PC lighting, I would gladly lower my heater's thermostat to accommodate such a unique piece. Right now, all of my tanks thermostats are set to 78F, and I rarely see any of them above 80F in the summer. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again for the info and pictures All Delight! You really do have a stunning piece! Judging by the wysiwyg photo for my frag that should arrive this Wednesday, I think mine will be less than half of the size of yours. So, I probably wont have a whole lot of wiggle room when it comes to mistakes and recession.

 

[Rockster2599]

I got one, it likes subdued light and indirect flow. Mine is in a corner of my tank outside the focus of my spotlight and directly under my vortech. I havent read about them favouring colder water temps.

 

[bfam4t6]

I got one, it likes subdued light and indirect flow. Mine is in a corner of my tank outside the focus of my spotlight and directly under my vortech. I havent read about them favouring colder water temps.

That is awesome news! May I ask what temperatures your tank typically swings between? My swing is about 78-80.5F

 

[Rockster2599]

My tank doesnt really swing by more than 1 degree as Im open top with LEDs. My tank is a little colder than yours though at about 75F.

 

[bighappybuddha]

One of my faves...

One of my faves...

This one came in bright pink with orange in between the coralites...then bleached out heavy duty for a few months and over the last six months has just developed the craziest, coolest colors. Medium flow, down...heavy feeding!

 

[All Delight]

That's an awesome piece!

So, it seems to me like one of these might actually do well under PC lights. I have two tanks with good T5 fixtures, but they're both pretty full. I think I'll try the PCs at first, at least to acclimate it to my salt. I'm sorry that you had to experience tissue recession, but I'm glad that you shared that info with me.

At what temperature do you keep your water? I've read peoples' suggestions stating that wilsonis will not do well in typical reef temperature water based on the water temperature where wilsonis are collected in the ocean. But, I haven't been able to find any solid info that's more specific. For instance, I haven't been able to find anything that says "At 78F+ you can expect tissue recession, but any temp under 77F should be okay." For all I know, 75F could be too warm. While this would definitely be a bummer which would require me to rethink my plans for my nearly empty 41 gallon with the PC lighting, I would gladly lower my heater's thermostat to accommodate such a unique piece. Right now, all of my tanks thermostats are set to 78F, and I rarely see any of them above 80F in the summer. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again for the info and pictures All Delight! You really do have a stunning piece! Judging by the wysiwyg photo for my frag that should arrive this Wednesday, I think mine will be less than half of the size of yours. So, I probably wont have a whole lot of wiggle room when it comes to mistakes and recession.

My tank runs between 76 and 78

 

[All Delight]

Thats an awesome piece buddha!

 

[bighappybuddha]

Thats an awesome piece buddha!

Thanks!

 

[bfam4t6]

Awesome piece Buddha! I would love to get one with those colors!! What kind of lights are you keeping it under?

Thanks for answering my temp question All Delight. It has help put my mind at ease that mine will be okay in my tank. Mine too runs between 76-78F.

So, I got the piece overnighted to me this past Wednesday, 12/12/12, in good condition, and it immediately accepted food. I just gave it two or three whole mysis. I have it in the back corner of my bed of my 24" deep under PC lights. I actually think I'm going to try moving it up a few inches later tonight. I could see the skeleton pushing against the tissue upon arrival, but it swelled up nicely within a few hours of being in my tank. However, the past two days it does not seem to have swelled quite as large. I'm glad you included your heavy feeding comment, Buddha, because I'm now going to go home tonight and give this thing a big feast. Between increasing feeding and slightly increasing the light, I'm thinking this piece will do just fine.

Thank you all again for all of your help and input!! Keep sharing your pictures or any other information that might help fill the gap when it comes to good information about Wilsoni care. I'm at work now, but I'll try to get some picture uploaded at some point today.

 

[bfam4t6]

Here we go

This was right out of the shipping bag.

It accepted mysis immediately.

I'm working on building a T5 fixture for this tank which I'm guessing will help draw out more color.

 

[Reef Bass]

Dont wish to be a downer but I've never seen stony corals survive long term on the bottom of a 24" tank lit with a PC fixture.

 

[bfam4t6]

Yeah, right now I'm just monitoring everything closely and spot feeding roughly every other day. If anything starts to go south I have two other tanks that I can relocate things to. As a matter of fact, the Wilsoni is actually looking better. It's expanding nicely, and the center colors surrounding the mouths seem to be brightening. I'll update with pictures when I think the changes are capturable with my cheap camera.


I actually have T5 ballasts, bulbs, and reflectors already attached to a piece of plywood, and this will replace the temporary PC lighting. But, I want the canopy to match the tank, and the tank has curved glass along with aluminum trim. I'm having trouble finding a strip of aluminum long enough to achieve what I want, and I still can't dedicate myself to a particular design. I just have too many ideas!

 

[bfam4t6]

I wanted to update this for anyone else who may be interested in keeping a Wilsoni. Mine is doing great!

I did finally replace the PC lighting with a good ATI Sunpower fixture. It's running 3-Blue Plus, 1-Purple Plus, 1-Aquablue Special, and 1-Actinic. The Wilsoni has been in the same spot on the sandbed of a 24" deep tank. My light is about 9-10" from the surface of the water. The new lighting seems to be bringing out the colors better, especially the subtle green hues.

As for flow, the Wilsoni is kept in a very low flow corner. You'll notice lots of cyano in the photos, and along with the 6 month young age of the tank, I attribute this partially to the low flow in that area. The Wilsoni doesn't seem to mind, and has been inflating happily in that spot with no noticed inconsistensies or changes.

I do feed the Wilsoni regularly. I switch it up between frozen mysis, a frozen meaty blend, and some high quality coral pellets. I typically feed 2-3 times per week. I'm sure the coral would eat daily if I fed it that often, but I don't want to make the cyano any worse than it already is by increasing the nutrients.

Anyways, I hope that somebody interested in keeping one of these unique and impressive corals finds this information helpful! Feel free to ask me any questions. I will try to remember to update again in a few months after there is some noticeable growth.

 

[All Delight]

wow man looks like you have that wilsoni nice and fat, and those colors are looking very very nice under those t5's. keep up the great work. That's a great looking coral.

 

[saltwatertanker]

wilsoni

wilsoni

Are these wilsoni's?