help with new coral

m_lacom99 · 10-22-2004, 03:16 PM

Hey all, just bought my first soft coral, its a finger coral, it's still in a little shock on the pick cause i just put it in my tank.

My problem is that the rock it was on broke during the transport so now its loose >

. It has some rock stuck to it but barely and just little peices... The rock it cam on is in a U shape so i stuck him in the middle of the U and nudged it so it could stay straight and be stable even with the water current.

Is that ok or is there anything else that i can do to help it out???

And if anybody has more info on what kind of coral it is and how to care for it let me know... I was a little to exited when i bought it plus i had my kids with me, so i forgot to ask a couple of questions being in such a hurry to get home and stick it in my tank.

I just dont want to loose it, i paid 50$ for it plus its my first coral so... sentimental value i guess

thanks

Marc

Matt Rogers · 10-23-2004, 09:58 AM

A finger leather coral?

They are cool corals. Looks like you nudged it well. Just wondering how close to the light it is. They like light. They also take a while to acclimate. Once it gets going though it's pretty hardy. Occasionally it will wilt a bit when it sheds skin. FYI.

I used to have one in my old tank. Now I have a cabbage leather.

beamer · 10-24-2004, 05:18 PM

If you need to you can always super glue it to a rock to make it more stable. It looks pretty good to me!

Cindy

m_lacom99 · 10-26-2004, 08:32 AM

Thank you both for you replies... Sorry if i couldn't answer before but I've been very busy (got a promotion at work thank you)...

Its been 4 days now and it still looks "week". is it normal that when the lights go off the coral goes kinda limp??? Plus it hasn't changed much from the picture in the pas 4 days, does it take that long to acclimate???

Thanks

Marc.

m_lacom99 · 10-26-2004, 08:42 AM

Oh forgot to answer your question Matt. Yes its on top of the tank... As you can read in my signature i don't have the best lighting (140W total) but ill have to do with that for now... I placed it on top of all the rocks where it can get the most light... I know i am very restricted on what corals i can get cause of my lighting but i will upgrade to MH someday. Just don't know when.

Marc.

beamer · 10-26-2004, 08:54 AM

Congratulations on the Promotion!!!

As far as your limp coral goes I couldn't help but giggle. I bought an existing tank last April with all the fish and tons of coral. After we finally got the tank set up I added some Ca because the previous owner said he did daily. So I did too, however, when I went back to my notes he said to add the Ca only after testing. Oops! I went on ahead and tested and was alarmed because the Ca was over 500 and off the chart, but I figured it would be o.k. We got up the next morning and rather than waiting till that afternoon for the lights to come on on their own ...we turned them on. What a terrible site we saw. The corals all looked as though they were dying and were all limp and not moving (LPS). My husband started yelling at me that I had killed the corals, that I had over dosed them with Ca and went on and on about it making me feel really bad. After we finished getting dressed that morning we came back to look at the tank and IT WAS A MIRACLE!!!

They had all come back to life and were prettier than ever!Turns out they were just asleep, and like us, once we get up it takes us a little while to get going. I felt so happy about it. Then I wanted to go and make my husband just as miserable as he had made me!........And I Did!!

Are you feeding your coral? I feed mine phytoplankton or DT's every few days.

Cindy

m_lacom99 · 10-26-2004, 09:18 AM

thanks beamer for the "wake up" call

... i know its a beginner question but thats what i am, with coral at least, had a fish only for a while before this reef. No i am not feeding it, all i have is that finger coral and a small colony of ZO's. I was actually wondering if i should feed it... My ZO's are doing fine, the colony doubled since i bought it (about 2 months).

So what should i get to feed it (should i feed the ZO's too?)

Thanks

Marc.

beamer · 10-26-2004, 09:50 AM

I use DT's which is live phytoplankton. If I'm out of it which I am now I use Kents phytoplankton. It's dead. I don't know that I can tell the difference but many swear by the DT. If you don't already have a turkey baster go get one or raid your wife's kitchen cabinet for hers. No, actually go get your own because my understanding is you don't want anything that has had soap used on it. The previous owner of my tank took two turkey basters and rigged it so that he had one long turkey baster. I put about 4 caps. of phytoplankton into a very small tupper ware bowl. About the size of a baby jar. And then I fill it with tank water and mix. I suck up the mixture and hold it over the coral, zoos included and squirt a little out at a time to cover all of the colonies.
That's what I do anyway. The guys here with more experience can tell you better. (especially since my finger coral just died) My zoos are doing great though!

Good luck, cindy

m_lacom99 · 10-26-2004, 10:07 AM

Thanks cindy... Will go look for some DT... And a new turkey baster cause i dont think my wife wants me to take her's for my tank.

amcarrig · 10-26-2004, 10:08 AM

m_lacom99: Give the coral another few days to see if it perks up. It can sometimes take a week or two for corals to fully acclimate. Softies also don't like strong water flow so if it's getting blasted, you might want to move it. As long as the flesh of the coral stays intact, I don't see a problem but if it doesn't open for you within the next two weeks, I'd say you might need to upgrade your lights.

beamer: You're feeding too much phyto IMO. No need to target feed either. I have a fully stocked reef tank (sps, lps, soft, anemones) and if I feed 20 mls of phyto a week, it's a lot. Just trying to save you some $$