Is My Scolymia Healthy

Just taking a closer look at this particular coral in my tank. I inherited the tank so I don't have a good feel for what this coral should look like on the side view.

http://jus-tone.com/misc/reef/scolymia-2.jpg

 

I'm not an expert but it looks like it could be receding. Has it been this way since you first got it or has it been shrinking? It's a beautiful piece. Do you feed it?

 

Judging by how your other corals have been and your recent problems, (calcium and alk) I'm gonna go ahead and say it's unhealthy because of that.

 

Yeah, it's been close to this since I got it but haven't paid much attention to the side of it. I feed it about once a month, which is how often my cousin did it.

 

I wonder if I should feed it more or be a little more proactive with this one. What would the recommended treatment be to help bring it back to health?

 

if your water chemistry is unbalanced then you want to focus on getting that right first. feeding can lead to a spike in phosphates that will make your water chemistry situation worse. once your numbers are in line and stable you can start considering "feeding". if diet is key to healthy fish then water chemistry is to coral health. generally speaking most species of corals, soft or hard, small polyped or large are able to sustain themselves thx to the zoanthilia present within them so feeding isnt really a priority. dont get me wrong it helps, and in some cases is unavoidable but if your numbers are out of line then i would personally focus on correcting them first....

anyway just my 2 cents

 

Water chemistry balance is vital to coral health. IMO, feeding LPS like scolys, brains, acans is a necessity for the health, color and longevity of said coral. This is my experience though so I'm sure some would disagree. The scoly does look like it's receeding. I don't think it's a goner. At night while it's feeding tentacles are out i would squirt some mysis or small meaty food on it and do it about 3 times a week. The little it takes to feed the scoly won't mess with your chemistry. Also, place the scoly on the sand bed

 

Thanks DSC Reef, I will do that. I was at my office pretty late last night (until 9) and the scoly never put its feeding tentacles out or responded to food. The one time I've fed it in the past (with krill), it ate immediately. Is there a way to stimulate its appetite?

 

Once healthy and acclimated to tank feedings it should put it's tentacles when you feed your tank. An hour after my lights go out my scoly has its tentacles out. Don't force it with large food items, try squirting a little mysis or small chopped foods like rods around the scoly to entice it. You can try turning off all pumps and power heads to let the food settle on to the mouth area to make it easier to grab.

 

Cool, I also bought some Reef Roids as an alternative food supply. I want to nurse this guy to full health. I did notice there are a bunch of little "bugs" wandering around the skeleton. Not sure if that hinders the scolymia or not, but I'll proceed slowly.

I just bought the Hanna alkalinity tester and Red Sea calcium tester, so I should be able to get the reef parameters in line. The API tests I've used are all over the map.