plate coral lighting?

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0o.Kelsey.o0

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Joined
Apr 14, 2009
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Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
i have a long tentacle green plate coral and it hasn't been doing too great this last week sadly. I was wondering if maybe the light was too bright? does anyone know what kind of lighting they prefer? i have metal halide lighting
 
I would like to hear more about your tank, personally.
What size, depth is the tank?
What is the wattage of the MH and what distance from the surface is the light, what color temp?
Any other supplemental lighting?
Did you 'light acclimate' it properly, that is cut back on the lighting or keep it in a spot of low light for a couple days and introduce slowly to your lighting?
Is it time for new lights? : )
How long has the tank been up and running (Cycled)?
What are the params such as NO2, NO3, Alk? What is the SG and temp?
Is the temp stable (Not many are without chillers this time of year...)?
Have you offered/accepted any food?
Was the coral healthy when you purchased it (ie - no tears, was 'inflated' and normal in color)?
Has it bleached any?
Is there any direct flow on the coral (ie a PH that is pointed directly at it, or perhaps no flow at all)?
Do you have a sandy bottom tank, bare, etc?
Any known predators in the tank?

Just a few off the top of my head....
 
Although the long tentacle plate coral is not an anemone it is ofter mistaken as one with it's long sweeping tentacle. I would like to know where in the tank do you have it placed?
 
The coral should be on sand, so that would put it at the bottom of your tank. If the light is too strong, there's not much you can do except try to put it under an overhang.

You say it hasn't been doing too great - what exactly is (or isn't) it doing?
 
wow so many questions! ha okay lets see here... lights are 150 watts...it also says lighting power is 115V-1PH-60Hz? lol dont know what that is but ill add it in there, i also have a moonlight and i guess some sunlight through the windows...not much though..umm my tanks dimensions are 18"x22"x22" (LxWxH) its been up and running since mid march...iv had the plate for about 2 months id say and it was very healthy when i got it and has been healthy up to this last week...i did not 'acclimate' it to my light since it was in MH lighting pryer to my purchase.. the temp stay at about 78 maybe fluctuates 1 degree when lights on...the tank is new so should not need new lights...the coral has not bleached to my noticement..all my water tests are good...the coral has moderate flow on it and is at the bottom of the tank which is a sandy bottom...it has no shells or anything sharp
 
and by not doing too great it just hasn't been opening up ... normally its all puffy and beautiful..but lately maybe only half of it will puff up slightly...its not dying yet but id say its on its way...its mouth hasn't been gaping open like iv heard they do before death.. its mouth was open last night which worried me but today was closed again..i think i might have seen some skeleton sticking through yesterday but it may have been my eyes playing tricks cause i couldnt see any today
 
Have you tried feeding it? Meaty foods, like finely chopped clams or mysis shrimp will work. If you haven't been feeding it, it could just be hungry if it was being fed at the LFS.

Nothing really jumps out at me as being wrong, but the "half inflation" thing with possible exposed skeleton kind of sounds like some of the tissue got injured at some point.All you can do is keep the water as pristine as you can and don't disturb it.
 
iv been moving it trying to make it happy...maybe not the best choice i will leave it now. i did feed it some shrimp today and i hope it made it to his mouth..my peppermint tends to pick the shrimp out. Do plate corals need to be fed to survive? cause if so i haven't been feeding it much :s
 
They don't *need* to be fed, but they'll appreciate a little morsel now and then. It really gets down to how dirty (as in, full of food) your water column is. Let's just say it will never hurt, and if it's not feeling 100% then maybe a little extra food may help?

Yeah... try not to move it. The tissue on those things seems fairly delicate and constant repositioning can just increase the odds that you'll damage it.
 
I had a short tentacle place coral that did not appreciate it when I switched to MH lighting despite me photo-acclimating it. I doubt that is your problem though. Usually if a coral is unhappy because of to much light the first signs are bleaching.
 
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