Help with Orange Carnation!!

[casademurphy]

We have an orange carnation in our tank and it doesn't seem to want to expand. Our tank is established, we feed cyclopeze and we have it covered (so as not to expose it to too much light).

Any suggestions on how to help this coral?

[Hormigaquatica]

Unfortunately, it doesnt sound like your tank conditions are in line with whats required to keep these corals alive. They are very demanding, and few people have had any long term success with them. Heres a brief article to give kind of a quick overview anyhow: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav2i5/dendros/dendros.htm

[ScooterBlenny]

Wow, I understand that carnation corals require incredibly close attention and even with the most doting owners they often don't survive.

[dendro982]

If I may: go to Non-photosynthetic corals forum or make search for dendronephthya and scleronephthya, here, at RC is a lot of detailed information on their keeping. You will see at once what was missed.

Is it in a strong, but soft flow? If in doubt, placing sideways near 600 gph Seio pump worked for me (but not for damaged dendronephthya).

Light should be indifferent, most people keep them in tanks with MH.

Food should be much smaller, then Cyclop eeze: if you use some magnification device, compare size of the polyps' mouths and the size of Cyclop eeze. Both dendronephthya and scleronephthya should receive variety of foods, including enriched food, finest zooplankton, variety of phytoplankton. If you can, use Fauna Marin foods. Particular recipes are on the Non-photosynthetic forum. Here (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-02/feature/index.php) is another type of feeding, you can use PhytoFeast and RofiFeast. Live foods, like S and SS-strains of rotifers, enriched by phytoplankton or Selcon, culture of ciliates, Bag-O-Bugs could be used too, but their maintenance will require more time.

Last, but not least: continuous feeding, could be automatized, could be manual 5-8 times a day, could be compromise: dripping frozen mix, as it thaws, in the area of high flow.

Good luck!

[SEAFROG]

They do better in a cave or out of the main light