I came home last night and saw that my open brain coral has lost about half of its flesh. my water is good and everything else is thriving. when i first bought it a couple of weeks ago i thought it would look good on top of some rocks, but just recently read that they should be out of the direct light. when it started to bleach out i put it on the sand, but now its half way gone. its now under some rocks so its not in the direct light. any thought of why it is dieing? is 4 65w pc lights too much for a brain? is there any way to revive it? please help!!
HELP! IM LOSING MY BRAIN
- Thread starter BBReef
- Start date
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michealprater
Aquarium Advice Addict
I would leave it on the bottom and hope for the best. The zooanthane in its skin has probably been damaged and that is a major source of food for the coral.
ReefLady
Aquarium Advice FINatic
If a coral is stressed/bleached, it will need to be fed actual meaty foods, as it cannot "feed" via it's symbiotic algae (Zooxanthellae). It will also need to be kept in a shaded/indirectly lit area while it recovers.
Trying feeding it small pieces of any raw seafood (scallops, clams, oysters, etc.) soaked in a good marine vitamin (Selcon, or Zoe are both good). The best time to feed an Open Brain is later in the day/evening. Just gently tuck the food into it's "folds".
You don't have any dwarf angels that are picking at the coral, do you?
Here's a good article to read:
>>The Tragedy of Artificially Colored Live Corals<< -- yes, I realize the article is about dyed corals - but in the article, there is good information on how to bring these corals to recovery. Since dyed corals have lost their symbiotic algae, their care should be similar to what your coral requires.
Another good article: >>Acclimating Photosynthetic Reef Invertebrates to Captive Lighting<<
One more, specific to care of the Open Brain coral:
>>Open-Brain, Rose Coral, Family Trachyphylliidae<<
HTH!
Trying feeding it small pieces of any raw seafood (scallops, clams, oysters, etc.) soaked in a good marine vitamin (Selcon, or Zoe are both good). The best time to feed an Open Brain is later in the day/evening. Just gently tuck the food into it's "folds".
You don't have any dwarf angels that are picking at the coral, do you?
Here's a good article to read:
>>The Tragedy of Artificially Colored Live Corals<< -- yes, I realize the article is about dyed corals - but in the article, there is good information on how to bring these corals to recovery. Since dyed corals have lost their symbiotic algae, their care should be similar to what your coral requires.
Another good article: >>Acclimating Photosynthetic Reef Invertebrates to Captive Lighting<<
One more, specific to care of the Open Brain coral:
>>Open-Brain, Rose Coral, Family Trachyphylliidae<<
HTH!
ReefLady
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Best of luck ... keep us posted!
