My first coral, need help

[glockcoma]

OK I have a few questions, first I got some mushrooms, and when I brought this home they were all shrivled up, they were a large nice tan colored mushroom now they are green and small, is this normal, next I bought a tube anenome and when I brought it home it was a long sand covered tube, just a lump of flesh like tube, Ill have pics soon but does any of this sound normal, they were acclimated for an hour then put in tank

[bill37]

It could be the adjustment. What type of lighting do you have?

[alexb518]

yes, it is very normal for corals not to open up after transporting and acclimating. it can sometimes take a week or longer before corals open all the way up. i would say that the mushroom should open up within a day or so.

[drummereef]

Lighting and flow can be factors of why the mushrooms look different in your tank. Most likely they will look somewhat different if the lighting at the lfs is different than yours. As far as them opening up, it just takes time for them to acclimate to your tank. It could take a couple hours or a couple days. Just depends...

[glockcoma]

what about the tube anemone?

[glockcoma]

cmon is this normal for
the anemone

[firefish2020]

What are your tank conditions?
How long has the system been running?
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate levels?
What light are you using?
How much total water flow do you have?

All of these can affect your coral(s) conditions.

[jer77]

Tube anemones' tubes are suppposed to be buried deeply into the sandbed. They don't require any lighting for they are non-photosynthetic. So they require feeding with zooplankton and small meaty foods.

[glockcoma]

so your saying I should bury the tube under the sand

[Str8baller]

sorry typo... get two 150watt viper lights (they dont make 200watt a version).

[Str8baller]

OMG wrong thread, wow im stupid sorry LOL

[glockcoma]

someone please help me with this I need advice on how to get this anemone on the right track

[Sk8r]

Glockoma: to keep corals well you need the following:
1. 0 nitrate, nitrite, especially 0 ammonia
2. 7.9-8.3 ph
3. 8.3-9.3 alkalinity
4. 420 calcium
5. 80 temperature with very little variation
6. 1.025 salinity.
Salifert tests are good and accurate: you can rely on test strips for nitrate/ammonia, but you need full kits for alk and cal.

Corals hate change: do every correction very slowly.

They feed partially from the water, taking in chemicals and floating bits of food; they also feed from the zoaxanthellae [tiny plants] in their flesh, which photosynthesize from the lights, and help feed their host.

Shriveling often indicates low alk or low ph.

Provide them a good stable environment and they will multiply like crazy.

Re your anemone: tube anemones are difficult to keep. It will like enough flow to bring it food, and it will like a little stability. I'd bury its end and try to keep it down with some very, very light rock/coral rubble just to give it an anchor point. If you let it drift, it will end up in a powerhead if there's one in the tank. If you do have any powerheads, put the protective cone on, at very least, if not the sponge---and don't let that sponge go more than 7 days without a thorough rinse-out, or you'll get a nitrate buildup. A good habit is to rinse any protective sponges in the water you draw off for a water change: that couples the two jobs and makes sure those sponges stay clean.
HTH.

[jer77]

I'm assuming that it is a tube anemone and not like a tube worm. Then the base of the tube needs to be buried in the sandbed. Carefully do this to support its tube. Is the tube damaged in any way?

They are mostly nocturnal. They can get pretty big too, like up to a foot radius.

[glockcoma]

maan I cant tell which end is which

and sk8er my water parameters are good

[jer77]

Hmm. What does it look like? Do you have a pic?

[glockcoma]

its burried now

[glockcoma]

The tube anemone opened up last night WOOOOHOOOO!!

does it look healthy

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/gl0ckc0ma/P1010340.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/gl0ckc0ma/P1010341.jpg