coral id and help

[steve20]

got this from my cousin it was not going to make it what is it and what dose it need.

Sun Coral... it needs food. They are non-photosynthetic so they rely on feedings.

[FishinInTheDark]

They usually open after lights out, unless trained otherwise. You have to place small bits of fresh seafood on each polyp. They are truly beautiful corals, but they are high maintenance also. Good luck nursing it back to health!

[steve20]

will squid work or do i need something special

[steve20]

do they eat plankton

[icereefer]

they eat Artemia (brine shrimp eggs), and brine shrimp and mysis shrimp. and like alternating strong water motion.

[gman0526]

You need to spot feed them. This is what i do with mine
1) Get a 2 liter soda bottle and cut the bottom half.
2) Remove the cap off the bottle and cover the coral with the bottle.
3) With a syringe or turkey baster introduce some enriched brine shrimp, mysis shrimp and\or cyclopeeze.
4) Replace cap and let the coral feed for 10-15 mins. or until the food is gone, whatever happens first.
5) When done, remove the cap off the bottle and slowly remove the bottle itself.

http://www.coralforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=5246
That's my sun coral asking for some food.

[steve20]

do you think mine is too far gone or is it worth trying to save

[cich1]

its hard to say from the photo but everything is worth trying to save.
have you tried to feed it yet? if so did it seem to take the food?

[gman0526]

I think that it's in better shape than you think. It might not be easy but it can be brought back to health with some TLC. That procedure I mention in my previous post should be repeated every 2 days. Also monitor your Ca, Alk, since this is skeleton building coral.

[steve20]

thanks alot for all of the help. i will post my results in a week or two

[JyMan]

I should have posted a couple of days ago.When I got my pink sun coral. I feed him in a bucket with tank the first time.now when it smells the food iin the tank it will come out. Thats when you can target feed. I will try to post some pictures.

[steve20]

i still cant get it to eat and about 5 of the polups are gone itt seem like it wants to open up but just wont. i think it might have been to much stress transporting it in its weak condition. but i am going to keep trying.

will they eat plankton if i spot feed them a small amount of that to ry to get them to come out.

[steve20]

tonight after i posted the above i tryed feeding them again and after about 15 min they started to open not very far but enough to eat. i think they night make it. a few more ? what lighting and if it dose survive will they spread back to the skeletons of the dead. ps thanks for the help everyone it would have died for sure.

[gman0526]

Glad to hear the news. :coolbeans: They might eventually repopulate the dead skeletons but more than likely it will grow new ones :-D . Just keep feeding it regularly, but remember not to much to throw your tank's chem out of whack. 3 times a week is more than enough. This coral requires no light i would place it in a shaded area of the tank at least until it's healed back. Good luck and keep us posted!!!