Chalice coral placement
 

Do Chalice corals prefer to be down in the sand or place up on rocks. I have about 2 1/2 in. frag I would like to give a permanent home in my tank. I have it in the rocks for now.

Well, it's good to find out what conditions it came from. I think that their light range is broad as long as they are acclimated. They can be down on the sand bed or on the rock stack. Safest is to start low in your tank and get them used to your lighting. Then if you want to mive up just do it gradually.

I have my chalice and echinos mid to sand bed.

Thanks for the reply. I know it came from a sand bed but I have had it up in the rockwork where it has been doing ok. It seemed very happy for the first couple weeks but now it has not been quite as puffy and I hav'nt seen its sweeper tent in a while. This started before my bulb change this week so for now I am just keeping a close eye. Gonna dust him with some oyster eggs tonight when the lights go out.

I have mine about half way up in my 120 (48x24x24) with 2 175w MH. I did start mine in the sand bed and slowly moved it up over the course of a week. Now it is half way up and very happy. It looks very happy and the tissue looks great. You just have to see how it responds at different locations in your tank but also give it some time to acclimate to its new home.

I have had it about a month and it has been in the same spot. It always was quite puffy and it still is but its soft tissue is not overlapping its sleeton no where near as far as I have seen it in the past latly.It is probably because it is not glued down and has been bumped around a couple of times by some of the larger snails in the tank. What are the signs of a health chalice?

No skeleton showing. I've got several chalices and they all like different conditions. Most of mine like it better shaded (on the sand bed is even too much for some of them), while one of them (red/orange) doesn't mind the high light. I've fried a few with too much light. If it starts look less expanded (esp. since changing lights), I'd move it down a little and see what it does. Changing lights (of any kind) can through a lot more energy at the coral almost instantaneously, especially if you don't acclimate your new lights (photoperiod or screening, etc.). MH would be the most addition on a bulb change, so VHO and PC's don't draw as much concern from me on change out.