SUn Coral

[rob.holbrook]

I have had my sun coral for about a month now and cannot get it to open up ... I put it in a dark spot on my tank and have yet to see it open up. Any suggestions

[spellbound]

I soak the meaty foods I am going to feed to the tank in water from the tank and selcon. To teach my sun coral to open up at feeding time I would take some of the liquid and squirt it around the sun coral the same time each day. I can't remember how long it took to get it to open up, but when it started opening, I would feed it. Now it opens whenever I introduce foods into the tank, but I only feed it in the evening. It is always open and ready to eat in the evening. I do not need to remind it to open for dinner.

[laf-reef]

sun corals are non-photosynthetic / have you fed it? Try taking some arctic pods or other liquid based food and using a turkey baster squirt the sun coral. Within 15 minutes it should open up.....once open feed each head a small piece of krill.

[rob.holbrook]

I have tried to feed it directly ... but it never opens up... I just dont know how to tell if it is still alive... it still looks orange ... and isnt recessing, I will try to give it juice from food every day at the same time

[Qckwzrd]

Pics?

[dendro982]

If you can get it fast, try to add the dry cyclop eeze in a tank. Or any other zooplankton or washed pieces of the frozen food of the similar size - like small dots. Generous pinch for 90g, like be 1/8 of the teaspoon.

It should be in noticeable flow. My new one closes, if the flow is off for a feeding.

And even after opening, it is not able to catch the mysis, like if the tentacles are not sticky. It's starved and declining piece, and I started to feed it in a separate container. Still, I don't see it catching food by tentacled, but half-cube of mysis disappeared from the water, so it ate it.

If your is like this one, flow-dependent, you may put it in a separate container with tank water, add defrozen food there, and move water all time by turkey baster. Coral should be shielded from the bright light. Let it be there for 45 min - 1 hr max. Try to keep temperature without dropping down. Maybe double container, and heated tap water in between.

For me was more convenient to buy $6 750 ml acrylic Critters or Curvies container, 50W AllGlass or Theo submersible heater (25W will be better, expensive, temperature should be set by separate thermometer, it will be lower, than marked on the heater's scale), and Red Sea Nano-Filter (or any other smallest power filter) on the side, without filter media, for water flow only.

I assembled this, added tank water, checked temperature 30 min later - if OK, add sun coral there, even closed. Exposing to air doesn't matter much (IMHO). Add defrozen mysis amd a little brine shrimp for a taste, and let it circulate. If it sets eventually on the bottom - diffuse it by turkey baster.

After 40-50 min, return to the tank. Repeat every day - it should open (hopefully).

After it starts open to eat, you may feed it in the main tank.

[audio101]

Put it in a shaded spot and give it time, mine took around a full week for the polyps to slowing start creeping out.

[Wrench]

Get yourself a turkey baster. Grind up some flake food, mix it with some tank water and squirt a bit directly on the sun coral. In 10-15 minutes it should respond to the food by opening. At this point, squirt it some more so that it can eat.

[LegendLand]

even tho its in low light...unless it has good flow & theres food in the tank..it will not open