Coral out of water

I just read a post in another thread that made me laugh out loud. Not just the one post mind you but all of the accumulative posts I've read just like it over the years.
Having your coral exposed to air for long periods really has no effect on their health IME so I wonder why people freak out when this happens or are amazed when the corals are "back to normal" quickly. I've had entire SPS covered rocks laying out on the table for 45 minutes while I caught two Occ. clowns to get them out of the tank. I've had Xenia that grew on the glass exposed for over an hour while I reworked some plumbing.
The corals produce a natural slime coat to protect themselves and stay moist.
Check out these wild colonies on a shallow reef in Fiji.

And stop worrying so much about your coral. They are sensitive creatures for sure but nature is much harder on them than we would ever be and they survive.

 

lol, yeah i know, i wigged out about my clam being out of water and then corralline showed a vid of them out for hours in a tide pool! Mine have never shown much problem with being out! Prob not best for them, but not something to stress about!

 

I totally agree with you reefmonkey, I've had mine out for half an hour or more with no issues as well. One question from the video though, and maybe you will know. I have always heard to not expose starfish to air, but from the video it seems that may be false as well.

 

Trapped air in a clam can be fatal. I've had a 7" crocea out of the water before but I wouldn't recommend it if it can be avoided. If you do, make the clam close up tight as possible and make sure to burp them extra well when putting them back in.

I've never worried about exposing them but I've only had brittles out of the water for extended periods. I've found one crawling across the floor in a room adjacent to where the tank sat after a mass bail out of inverts. It was covered in dust bunnies and never seemed phased after putting it back.

 

Giant clams closing at low tide.avi - YouTube

courtesy of corrailine

 

I agree. Corals are much hardier than most people realize. Once you start propagating them you get a better idea of how durable they are.
Don

 

The only coral I have had that had an issue was a finely branched birdsnest that dried out on the tips.