Questions about 3 of my Corals

[hyosafi]

Hi guys, I posted an update about my tank with full tank shots in this post here:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=819961#819961

My questions pertain to a 3 of the corals I've got.
__________________________________________

#1

First off, can someone please tell me what the heck this thing is called?

I bought this from one of our Local LFS's because I simply loved the shape of the thing. Very odd. Anyhow, the problem is that it will look like that above picture 3 or 4 days in a row, in then for the next 3 or 4 days, it will look like this:

Sometimes it looks even more collapsed than that. I can't figure out what the problem. Like I said, for several days in a row it will look like the first pic, and then for several days in a row it will look like the second. It keeps going back and forth like that. Is placement the issue, lighting?
_________________________________________

#2

My second questions is about this guy on the left. He USED TO look like that, but now he looks more like this:

Basically, it doesn't come out as much and it has developed these redish marks all over. I thought maybe too much light was the issue and I moved it to a lower spot in the tank but that didn't seem to fix the issue. It still opens up every day but not nearly as far out as it used to. Also, can someone please identify this as well?
__________________________________________

#3

Question #3 is about my cauliflower. See how it is half open and half not? I thought corals were supposed to like light. These little guys don't seem to enjoy it at all. During the day, when my lights are out, it usually looks like the above picture, or it is ALL closed. When the lights are off howerver (early morning with ambient light), it is ALL open. I don't have that many shaded areas in my tank so I'm not exactly sure what to do with this.

______________________________________________

#4

This is called a leather right? Whatever it is called, it has gotten huge since I got him. My questions is about his size. The thing seems to be collapsing under its own weight. The piece of rock it is on is not very large and it is sort of leaning forward. I'm not exactly sure what to do here.

Here is another shot:

The branches just sort of fill whatever spot they can. Is this okay? Do I need to find a big open spot, cause if so I might be in trouble as there are not very many of those with the aquascaping in my tank.
____________________________________________

Tank Details are under MYINFO. Water quality is excellent and tested often. Also, I feed with DTs, cyclopeeze and some other greenish stuff that I bought with they cyclopeeze (comes in a pump bottle).

Thanks guys!

 

[melosu58]

Moving this to the ID forum.

 

[melosu58]

No. 1 is some type of leather. It almost looks like this

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=646

The other pic is just the coral sloughing. Leathers do this from time to time. My leathers slough for a few days every couple weeks.

No.2 As far as I can tell it is the same thing that is on these corals on this link half way down. I think they are called flat worms. JMO

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php

No.3 Did you light acclimate your coral when you first put it in. Itr might not have been use to that much light.

No. 4 Looks like a colt coral. I had one for a long while and it got huge. They can be fragged if it gets too big.

Those are my guesses I`m sure others will be around with theirs.

 

[JessicaK]

just a quick thought about#2. It looks like a flowerpot or goniapora. Typically, they don't live very long in tanks b/c they feed off of phytoplankton and that's hard to come by in tanks. So, they usually stop opening and will get brown jelly disease. I'm thinking that's what those spots are but it's hard to tell.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Pretty sure #2 are flatworms. Do the spots come and go, or move around? If you look closer, I bet you'll find those "spots" on your live rock in low flow areas. You want to get rid of them, either by manual siphoning (preferred) or chemical means (Salifert Flatworm exit, for example). Only issue with the chemicals is that from what I've read it's really effective. And if you have a bunch of them, the toxins in the flatworms as they die off will actually harm the corals/inverts more than the flatworms themselves... or so I've read. (Nothing like giving out second hand information as fact, eh?!)

Anyway... that might be causing some issues with number two. Manual removal works pretty good.

 

[Devilishturtles]

#1 I agree looks like a devils hand or finger leather. The second pic is normal, like melosu said. They "shed" every once in a while and will look almost near death, then a bit later it'll look 100%. Not to worry.

#2 is hard to tell. Gonioporas have dismal survival rates in captivity, as Jessica said. Yours may me in a slow decline.

#3 if it is indeed a cauliflower (Nepthea sp) they like low light, high flow areas and lots and lots of target feeding. Like the gonioporas, most don't last too long in the aquarium. Try moving it out of the light and giving it daily feedings of the smallest phytoplankton you can find, probably oyster eggs or DT's.

#4 is some sort of leather, colt, I agree. Try butting it up against the larger rock behind it and see if the foot will grab hold of it and provide a stronger support.

HTH

 

[seaham358]

#2 is what looks like a Alviopora, a gonipora has a larger number or peddles. alvios do well in tanks and Mid way to low in a tank is fine depending on lighting. I don't see the flat worms everyone is talking about? Can you take a closer pic..

3 cauliflower as stated above are low light corals, put under a over hand of lr in you tank.

#1 looks like a devils hand leather and its normals for them to close up once in a while.

 

[hyosafi]

I'm glad to hear the Devil's Hand is doing its normal thing. I was worried there for a bit. It looks completely different when its sloughing.

Pretty sure #2 are flatworms. Do the spots come and go, or move around? If you look closer, I bet you'll find those "spots" on your live rock in low flow areas.

I'm pretty sure they are not flatworms; the picture might make it look that way. The spots are rust colored and they look like little stains. They don't move around and I havn't noticed them anywhere else on the tank.

is what looks like a Alviopora, a gonipora has a larger number or peddles. alvios do well in tanks and Mid way to low in a tank is fine depending on lighting.

I think you are right. A google image search of Alviopora results in some very similiar looking corals. I guess I will leave him where he is right now, about mid level in the tank and take it from there.

#3 if it is indeed a cauliflower (Nepthea sp) they like low light, high flow areas and lots and lots of target feeding. Like the gonioporas, most don't last too long in the aquarium. Try moving it out of the light and giving it daily feedings of the smallest phytoplankton you can find, probably oyster eggs or DT's.

I will try the direct daily feedings. Is there a thread somewhere that explains how to do that. Do you just use a turkey baster and basically squirt it right at the coral?

Whatever #3 is, its really beautiful when it is fully open, but like I said, it only does that when the lights are off. I will try to create a shady area and move him there.

Finally, I guess #4 is just doing his thing. If he gets too big I might have to sell him. I will try moving him against a rock or something, hopefully he will latch on. I can't believe how big he has gotten since I bought him.



Thanks for the help guys!

 

[roka64]

I will try the direct daily feedings. Is there a thread somewhere that explains how to do that. Do you just use a turkey baster and basically squirt it right at the coral?

I believe some folks use the top half of a 2 liter coke bottle to spot feed.

 

[Hara]

The first is Devils Hand.
http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=5&item_id=50

 

[Phyl]

That alveopora is bleaching from what appears to be light shock. You really need to move it down and acclimate it to a higher spot in the tank slowly. It won't survive like that, even if they will typically accept intense lighting.