Moving brain coral

glampka · 06-21-2007, 06:19 PM

Has anyone heard of a brain coral moving similar to the way a plate coral will?I picked up a small brain for my 12 gal nano. The brain is on a small piece of lr. It has moved twice so far taking the rock it's on with it. Definitely not a water flow thing since that area doesn't have that much flow & to be truthful you'd need a ton of flow to push it along the bottom. Any thoughts???

amcarrig · 06-21-2007, 06:23 PM

What kind of a brain are we talking about? Any burrowing snails, hermits or mithrax crabs that might have given it a push?

glampka · 06-22-2007, 04:02 AM

Snails & crabs aren't doing it. When I went to put it back where I want it I noticed that it had burrowed into the sand a bit as well. It's a small brain-Lobophyllia hemprichii.

amcarrig · 06-22-2007, 05:17 AM

Definitely doesn't look like a coral that would move around on its own.

Lobophyllia hemprichii

Weird. Do you have any urchins?

glampka · 06-22-2007, 05:51 AM

No urchins either. The mind boggling thing is that when it moves it takes the rock with it.

jtReef · 06-22-2007, 05:55 AM

yea mine have never moved on their own.

MDeth · 06-22-2007, 07:19 AM

They can expand their 'polyp' quite a bit.

My brain can go from 1/2" to about a full inch of tissue expanded. Its possible they can manipulate themselves.

OCD · 07-06-2007, 08:39 PM

They can move like a plat coral .owner at one of our LFS says he has had several that done it and told me to give mine room on the bottom in case mine decided to. the LFS also said he had one that he seen float.

Sndwave80 · 07-07-2007, 07:57 AM

I have had two of them for several yeares now ans they have never moved. I have seen my fish swiming around them and the fish moved them. Also do you have a strong current moving over them? That good be moving them around too.

glampka · 07-09-2007, 10:30 AM

No huge current to move it around either. It's really strange. Moved from the middle of the cube up to about 1/2" from the front glass - took a left & has been running parallel to the front now for about another 4 inches. Actually saw the back end of the rock raise up from the substrate about 1/8". Nothing in the sand pushing it as well.