Bubble Coral

[dansemacabre]

It's not really sick...he's just not coming out much. He was beautiful in the pet store, no dead tissues, fully developed bubbles. He went through a 1-1.5 hour drip acclimation. He's in an area of moderate flow off to the side of a 250w MH. (He was under MH is the lfs too). Well, I've had him for 2 days, and while I know it's not a long time for him to adjust, he's not bringing out many bubbles in the day. His little sweepers come out at night, but he's not fully expanding his bubbles. I'm a little worried about him. I don't want to move him, but I'm wondering if he wants lower flow, lower light, or what? He's abt. middle of tank.

pH - 8.2, Ammonia - 0, Nitrite - 0, Nitrates - < 2ppm

Everything else (snails, shrimp, clowns, gobies, ricordia) is doing great. I'm just wondering if there's anything more my bubble needs? Thanks.

 

[MT79]

IME, they like LOW flow. Their tissue is fairly delicate, so opening up in mod-high flow presents a risk of tearing, therefore they don't open as much.

 

[steve-s]

LFS are also notorious for letting their bulbs go too long before changing them. Light shock could still be an issue. Bubbles do not like intense light as a rule so if you have not already, be sure it is as low in the tank as possible and well away from nearby corals.

Cheers
Steve

 

[dansemacabre]

It is is a little crevice about 1" above sand level. The base of the rock it is on is touching the sand. This is the new location, and he seems to be slowly opening more bubbles. He's in low flow, but will still get food passed by. He's partially under an overhang, so he receives shaded light from the MH. I'm gonna throw some screen under the bulb to diminish it some more. Looks better now, but I'll keep you posted. Thanks for the replies!

 

[melosu58]

Low water flow and moderate light is what I use on my bubble. Make sure you feed him some brine shrimp also. Also some Kent Coral vite would help. It perked mine up. Good Luck

 

[dansemacabre]

That was several months ago. He's nearly doubled in size, and I feed him a whole silverside every few weeks. He devours it, and is looking much much better.

 

[melosu58]

That`s good News Good Luck