My first Coral/BTA updates

[MYTY1705]

Just had to share this with ya'll. My RBTA that I addded Tuesday has finally moved to a location that I can see him from the front of the tank. Also my two clowns have started to notice him as well. I saw the larger (maybe femle don't know yet) nuzzle the tentacles a few times. Hopefuly this will continue and they will move in to their home.

Black tube update!!! All polyps fully extend at about 7-8 pm each night ready for it's food. Using cyclopeeze for right now. The black is still receeding and seeing more of the skeleton but it has slowed dramatically!!!! Hope thi will reverse. Can I expect to see the entire skeleton covered in black again or will it only stay where it is and not receed anymore??? Still can't find much info on them. But atleast it is still alive after one week!!!

Hairy mushroom are growing at an astounding rate!!! They are now about 3 inches across. They came to the tank only 1/2" I know they can extend out but this much?? Or is this actual growth from getting fed and proper lighting?

 

[Phyl]

My mushrooms extend to about 3x their "deflated" size every day. I would think that what your seeing is the normal expansion. True growth seems to (IME) happen much slower than that. When they retract at night do they go back to roughly the size you put them into the tank at? I think if you compared their retracted size it would be a better indicator of growth.

Congrats on the black tube opening more (did I miss the pictures?!). My yellow didn't have any recession when I got it so I don't know for sure, but I do know that a goni and SPS will grow back over dead skeleton during regrowth (easier to add skin then form skeleton?) but then again they aren't "separate animals" as the sun polyps are.

Did you do anything to encourage your BTA? Mine is still happy behind the tank. I tried feeding it last night but I can't really tell if I'm hitting it or not since I can't feed and see it at the same time! I think it might like the spot it is in because it is able to escape my clown by going between rocks so I haven't really tried to move it yet. How often does your BTA retract? I see mine do this what seems like fairly often, but I'm not sure how often it is normal for it to happen.

 

[MYTY1705]

No no pics yet, can't remeber to take the camera home!! Will get the soon i promise. Yes I did do something to move my BTA. I moved to rock he was attached to to the side of the tank from the center. He moved for a day to the back again, but after that he moved to the top of the rock. I guess the flow and lighting was good enough for him.
Thanks for the info on your sun. I talked to the LFS and he said that he has never seen sun regrow over skeleton. But they grow extremely slow. All polyps are extending for their nightly feeding. He said that was the best info to tell him the sun was doing well and will probably make a full recovery.

 

[MYTY1705]

Oh yeah the BTA retracts twice a day so far. Once after tank feeding for about 20 minutes and then after 10k lights out. He also moves behind the rock after 10k lights are out. Then when actinic comes on it the morning he moves back to the top of the rock. WEIRD!!!

The mushroons are about 2 times (a little larger than a nickel) the size retracted from what I put them in the tank (dime). They may not have been getting enough light though. They were under some other corals in the frag tanks.