Sun Coral

About a month or so ago I decided I would try my hand at a Sun Coral. I have to direct feed it so it is a bit of a Pain in the Behind. So far so good. Here it is in all of its Glory.

Enjoy.

Adam

 

agree, they are a pain in the rear, but man so worth it, gorgeous coral

 

Real Beauty, Nice One...

 

Very nice!

I love mine its at the bottom of the tank eveynight she opens up. They are awsome I dont even spot feed it.


NICE ADDITION

 

Very nice! Yours is a lot more yellow than mine. The base of mine is peachy orange and the middles are a bright orange! I got mine sent to me and it took a good week for me to even tell that it was still alive. But now my Arrow crab lives above it looking for food everynight and they live happily together! I spot feed mine also but it is so worth it. They are just beautiful!:sweethear

 

Just recently saw one of these at a petstore chain, didn't think that they even knew what it was since they had it in with all the softies. They actually ID'd it and when I googled it brought me back here to a post a few years ago and they had the exact same thing to say about it.

Other then the feedings what makes it such a tough coral? I think that it may be a new addition to my tank as soon as I get the nitrates back to normal.

 

They are non-photosynthetic corals...meaning that they are unable to feed like many of the other corals. They feed on phytoplankton. I have 2 pieces of sun coral...a nice size yellow with some orange polyps and a piece of black/green sun coral. I notice right away when I get neglectful at spot feeding my corals, as they begin to start receeding back and polyps will actually die. You have to feed each particular polyp at least every couple days. You can also train them to open up during the day. I turn off all my pumps and cover the polyps with phytofeast. After about 15 minutes I will turn the pumps back on. Once in a while I will take the corals out and place them in a bowl of water and saturate the corals with food. This allows them to feast away without worryiing about the other fish eating the food. Plus during feeding, I can over saturate the corals with food and not worry about polluting the tank

I found this article that explains why non-photosynthetic corals are so hard to keep. Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Non-photosynthetic Corals: They really are hard!.

 

I wouldnt mind one myself, just dont wanna have to spot feed em....same reason i havent gotten my plate coral yet. Ill eventually bite the bullet tho

 

I use a Turkey baster. I thaw a cube of Mysis Shrimp, suck some into the baster and gently squeeze them out on each polyp.

The polyps immediately grab the shrimp and PULL them in.

 

That's a nice one ya got there! Beautiful specimen. Very bright yellow. I like it. ;D