Why do my sun corals look like this?

[Jiggz]

ive had them about for about two months. when i first got them the polyps were all out and for the first two weeks i had them, i fed them daily. i took them out and put them in a different bucket when i fed them. the past few days i tried feeding them in the tank because i came to think that moving them in and out of the tank was stressing them out. any thoughts?

 

[gfk]

thats how they look when their feeders arent out... atleast thats what ive been told

 

[Jiggz]

im just concerned that they arent getting any food. should i take them out n try to feed them in a bowl or should i let them be and try to feed them in the tank?

 

[tapper of spines]

In the wild they feed at night. Have you tried feeding them at night?

TOS

 

[Freed]

What's your normal procedure when you feed them please? In detail? I know you say you have taken them out and put them in a bowl but how long does it take for them to open up to feed? Do you squirt the food juice at them and wait for them to open up or do you just squirt food at them right away and hope for the best?

 

[Jiggz]

ive tried feeding them at night and some of them fully open and some dont. when i fed them inside the bowl i would squirt juice and wait like 10mins and they would start to open a little and then i would add the mysis in. then about another 30mins all their polyps would be out then i just squirt food in each polyp. it usally takes about an hour or a hour n half to feed them in the bowl.

 

[Opcn]

You could culture seripous mysis with that kind of time and have every one in your tank quite well fed. You do not have to feed them at night, infact its better if you feed them during the day, so long as they are not under heavy lighting they will not get burnt being out in the day and they will use the lighting as a cue to open for you, and you can vue them. In the wild most sun corals get fed at night, but it depends on the microcrustaceans in there area, some eat mostly copapods, which are not noctournal like mysis shrimp.

 

[marcel leroux]

Just keep them in a shady area, when your dawn,dusk lights come on squirt a little food in your tank. Within minutes they will open up and then target feed them. Dont keep moving them.

 

[Jiggz]

does each head have to be fed? im still debating whether or not if i should feed them in the tank or out in the bowl because in the bowl its easy to feed each indvidual head.

 

[Freed]

I'd say keep feeding them in the bowl if you know that they are taking in the food and eating it. Unless you see the tissue redeeding after you have been feeding them for a while I would say it's definitely not hurting them.

 

[XeniaMania]

They appear nipply erect..

 

[Dawn B]

Your Sun corals look fine.

Feeding is an easy thing for these guys, although labor intensive. You can feed anytime of day, just feed at the same time of day. This way tThey will become trained and open up at feeding time in anticipation of chow.

I have found the surest way to ensure most polyps get fed is to place a feeding dome over them (i.e. the top of a 2 litre bottle of soda - large enough to cover them comfortably and have enough room for the food to float around). You can then squirt the food in the opening of the dome. They will quickly catch on that food is in the water, and begin to open up.

At first I would leave the dome on for 15 minutes or more, while all polyps opened up. I would occassional squirt some water in to get loose food moving around so the polyps can grab it.

Within about 1 week, they knew when it was feeding time, and would begin extending their polyps. At that point feeding time was reduced to around 5 minutes, because polyps were ready and waiting.

I always try to put in just enough food so most everyone gets fed. If there is excess, I take longer and continue to blow the food around until most every polpyp catches some. They don't all have to eat each time. If you feed regularly, they will all get enough over time.

As for food, I find mysis shrimp to be popular. I purchase Hikari, because it's clean, the shrimp are intact and a nice size, don't break apart, as well as being convenient in the blister packs. I have alos found cyclopeze to be very popular. I sometimes do a mix of both.

Sun corals like a brisk current, and they really don't care about light or dark from what I have observed. I don't keep them in very strong light, but they certainly don't seem to mind being out in the open at all.

Melev has a very nice overview of sun corals on his website at http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0604/suncoral.html.

Good luck and enjoy! db