How do they look?

[ntswift]

I just got these guys yesturday and was just curious as to how healthy they were. Sorry, I'm not sure what section i should put this in. Anyway thanks for checking them out for me!

[TheRealFF]

The candy cane coral looks healthy to me. I don't know what the 2nd guy is. Good luck

[seaham358]

1st is nice the 2nd looks like it might be an open brain that is not doing good... All the tissue on the oter edge is dead and missing.. I could be wrong but thats what it looks like to me..

[melosu58]

That`s what I would say also that it looks like an open brain that has receeded for some reason. Candy cane is fine. You dont have an angel in your tank do you.

[ntswift]

No I don't have an angel in my tank yet and probably wont from what i keep reading. The tank that i got that brain out of wasnt exactly the best tank in the world so i'm hoping that it will get better. Is there anything i can do to help it out? Does anybody know what the best placement for them? I also had to move it around a lot yesturday because of my snails and my hammer coral. I didn't want them to be too close to each other and my stupid snails kept nocking over my hammer. I have that fixed now so everything should be okay for a while.

[melosu58]

Brains need to be on the sand. They have problems most of the time if they are on the LR. Most I`ve seen they are alone on the bottom on the sand. That`s where mine is. Check my gallery to see where mine is.

[lando]

I agree with everyone else. However, it has only been a day so it is hard to pass judgement. Gove them time. I would move the brain to the substrate and make sure you "dust" it on a regular basis. If sand gets in it they can becme irritated.

[ntswift]

Okay, I moved it to the sand now. The only bad thing is i want an anemone and now that this is down on the sand i dont think that will be possible. Now I'm torn between a coral tank and an anemone tank with no brains or at least ones that have to be in the sand. I like the brains though so I think I'll keep it. In the mean time is there anything to help the brain heal or help its natural process any? How will i know if the coral is being irritated?

[melosu58]

Just keep up with the PWC and he`ll recover.

[TheRealFF]

Originally Posted by ntswift

The only bad thing is i want an anemone and now that this is down on the sand i dont think that will be possible.

Why would a coral on substrate prevents u from getting an anemone?

[bassetbros]

Looks like the open brain is bleached (lost its beneficial algae for one reason or another). The beneficial algae, or zooxanthelate (sp?) are how corals process light energy. Since this coral is obviously not getting nourishment from your lighting due to it's bleached state, I would say that it needs very regular feedings until it is able to regain its zoo's or it will starve to death.

Thanks and God Bless,
Basset

[ntswift]

The reason why i said no to an anemone is because i dont want it cruising the bottom of my tank hitting all of my corals. My tank is only a 29gal so i dont have enough room to keep them that spread out. As far as feeding the open brain, what do i feed it and how? The pictures that i took of it dont do the colors justice for it. It is actually really bright neon yellow/green with the white/clear edges. I just put it in my tank a few days ago, so i dont think my lights have anything to do with that yet. Is there a good all around food to feed all of my corals that need to be fed?

[Jermz79]

Cyclo-peez, Marine Snow, DT's Phtyo ... and I'm sure a couple others. But these are the best!

[ntswift]

Cool, thanks! How do i feed it to them? Just spot feed them or just let it flow in the tank? Sorry, I'm new to the coral thing.

[Jermz79]

Well I usually take a baster full and GENTLY blast it towards them. or you can just let it flow!!!

[ntswift]

lol...alright then! I'll go pick some up tonight. how often should i feed them?

[bassetbros]

I usually like feeding my open brain meatier foods such as the prime reef frozen cubes, ground mysis shrimp, or finely diced silversides along with the cyclopeez. Mine readily accepts and consumes very rapidly the more substantial foods. The only reason I like the meatier foods better than the cyclopez or marine snow is because these guys will accept very large portions and I don't want to fowl my water by simply trying to target feed (there's a lot of waste in target feeding these foods).

Thanks and God Bless,
Basset

[ntswift]

I didnt know they ate that big of foods. I thought they just got what was in the water. I mean i know that they would eat the plankton and such but i didnt think silversides. do i have to spot feed every mouth on it or just make sure to spot feed the whole thing?

[Brenden]

i didnt think silversides

Finely diced. No need to feed all the mouths. I usually just release the food slightly up current and let it drift across the coral. Dose a little bit and wait for it to respond with tentacles before you put a majority of the food in.

[ntswift]

Well i just got back from the LFS and got some bio-plankton and marine-plankton. They came in a two pack for $25! I didn't think that it'd be that expensive. Anyway i put one squirt in today and i will wait probably another week before i put another one in. I know what you mean about not liking them because they mess up the water. its kinda cloudy after i squirted it in. I'll just do a water change this weekend if it doesnt get better. Thanks for all the help!