cup coral- strange behaviour

[waffleman]

Hello all,

I have a cup coral that acts quite strange , it's been in my tank for at least 6 months, but it never extends its polyps, just sometimes ( once a month) a very little bit and the next day it will ooze out this brown stuff.



I have descent flow by the coral, but not too much either. All my other corals are doing great. I have mostly soft corals but my branching hammer and bubble coral are doing excellent and have nearly doubled in size on about a year time.

My tank is a 29G
PH 8.3
KH 11
Ca 415ppm
Temp 77F
Nitrite and ammonia = 0
Nitrate 0
Phosphate almost 0

My question is 2 part:
Can anybody explain the brown stuff?
What can I do to get the coral to extend it's polyps?

Thanks in advance,
Waffleman

Pagoda's tend to be a bit hit and miss but once acclimated to the new tank typically do well. The lack of extention could be from too much light, flow or possibley too close to other corals.

The brown stuff is most likely the coral expelling waste. It can also be a sign of loss of zooxanthellae so watch the corals color carefully. If it fades that would definately be a sign of too much light and should be moved lower in the tank.

What kind of lights do you have and how high is the coral situated?

Cheers
Steve

[waffleman]

Thank you Steve for the quick response.

I have 3x 65 Watt PC
1) 65W 03actinic
2) 65W 50/50
3) 65W 10K
It is placed more to one side about half way down. I've tried many different places to no avail.
The only things close by are some mushrooms and a frag of a finger leather.

The brown stuff looks slimy and my coral beauty loves it.

As to color loss, the thing is still as green as the day I got it.

Waffleman

Originally Posted by waffleman

I have 3x 65 Watt PC
1) 65W 03actinic
2) 65W 50/50
3) 65W 10K
It is placed more to one side about half way down.

I'd say more or less it might just be too much lighting. Have you looked at night after lights out to see if they're out?

If possible move it closer to the substrate in an almost shaded area or indirect light.

The brown stuff looks slimy and my coral beauty loves it.

As to color loss, the thing is still as green as the day I got it.

If it's maintaining it's color then I'd say it's just expelling waste.

Cheers
Steve

[melosu58]

My pagoda cup was not doing too good till I put a moderate flow on him also.Steve is right about the light but make sure he`s getting some flow. It sure perked my cup up. Good Luck

[waffleman]

Thanks for the feedback.

I've moved that thing all over the place in the tank, High, low, indirect lighting, lots of flow , moderate and low flow. It is still hanging in there but it is starting to get yellowish spots.

Just yesterday did I move it over in my 5G quarantine tank. This way I can keep a better eye on it and give it some personal attention.

It was the recomendation of a guy in my LFS to feed it so right on where the polyps are, this way they may be encouraged to come out for food. I can't do that in the bigger tank. Now I can stop the flow, sprinkle some shrimp brine on it and see what gives.

Waffleman