Torch Coral

[lbannie]

I just bought a torch coral....it was beautiful! I brought it home, started to temp acclimate it, and then I had to leave suddenly. It went into my tank rather fast. when I got home, the tentacles looked like mush and slime was coming out. Now today they look like this....think there's any hope? Can the tentacles regrow? I'm so bummed

 

[neilanh]

Unfortunately, it's gone. Surprising it happened that quickly, though.

 

[lbannie]

that's what I thought....never thought I would get upset over coral.....this is my first loss ($50 too!)

 

[kingman8610]

Well, $50 isnt so much, but hey, so you paid $50 to learn a very valuable lesson... schedule time for new corals :/ but if its all the same still sad for the loss all I've ever lost is a nessarius snail, several dozen astrea starfish and a hermit, the hermit was the biggest loss though, I pulled him outta the ocean myself... but yeah, like, what is the most expensive coral anyway? and whats the cheapest? jc

 

[lbannie]

but yeah, like, what is the most expensive coral anyway? and whats the cheapest?

They range from a few dollars to HUNDREDS....depending on size, color..... not sure which kind would be the most expensive

 

[melosu58]

Yes it`s gone. It had the dreaded Brown jelly disease. Usually starts with trauma to the heads.

 

[lbannie]

When I got it the guy did expose it to air and (imo) was a bit rough with it. I had to ask him to put more water in the bag so it was totally covered with water. Could that be part of the problem? Also was the brown jelly there? (At the LFS)Or does it just appear?

 

[Hinds04]

That sucks

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Proper way to transport those things is with the stalk stuck into some styrofoam, or with 2 pieces of styrofoam rubber banded around the stalk. Then the whole thing floats upside down in your bag of water. That keeps the tissue from resting against the bag with the full weight of the skeleton going through it. Maybe I'm reading too much into your post, but it just sounds like they threw it in the bag with some water. If they did that, most likely it was on it's deathbed before it even hit your tank.

I know this doesn't help you now, but figured I'd just throw it out there for you for the next time. Wouldn't hurt to politely inquire with the management of where you bought it regarding the handling you witnessed, and the fact that it was pretty much DOA.

 

[lbannie]

Kurt- Believe it or not, it was the owner- the torch was attached to a nice large piece of LR with lots of coraline on it. still he was pretty rough with it

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Oh... OK. If it was attached already to that rock, then that would be a great way to transport it, as long as you had plenty of water to cover the coral... and then some. Torches, frogspawns, and that whole family are pretty easy to keep, but transporting them is the crux. Before you move it, you really want to get the tentacles to retract as much as you can. You want the tissue sucked up as tight against the skeleton as it can get. You also want to bag, unbag it underwater, if possible. If you can't do it underwater, then upside down is a good thing as it keeps the tissue off the sharp skeleton as much as possible. Out of water, it doesn't have any buoyant force to minimze its own weight, and the tissue can easily be cut by the skeleton.

Yeah... if it was the owner that bagged it, I guess I know how that conversation would go!