A question for Horge and anyone else.

[NaH2Ofreak]

Horge....your opinion please (you seem very knowledgeable)..I have a green open brain. While I observed him at the pet shop, he had on occasions been displaying his feeder tentacales. Since I have had him, maybe 2 months, I have never seen them. He does however expand well (most of the time, but ive seen him expand better). I have tried feeding him but he takes nothing.

I posted on another board that maybe he is getting more light in my tank and didnt need the additional food. He directly under (about 20") a 175w 10k mh. He is in medium current. Should I move him??? less light? less current?

I do see mucous strands from him off and on. Is this bad or is he trying to catch food? If he is putting out his feeders in the wee hours of the morning....how would i feed him besides the obvious? any help would be greatly appriciated.

I appoligize for the legnth of this post and anyone can feel free to respond to this. All of your input is valued. I just wanted to make sure that horge took a look at this. I joined this board because someone told me there are a lot of people from Oregon on here!!! thanx dennis

[smpolyp]

Normally the tentacles come out at night from most Trachs. As for the mucus how often does it do this? Does this mucus happen after dosing or a water change? I would say since it tis inflating it is healthy.

[NaH2Ofreak]

smpolyp,

There is no pattern to when the mucus comes out. It is sporadic. Thanks for reply.


dennis

[smpolyp]

Any softies around it? I would think there is a reason for the mucus exactly what I am not sure. If you have the time you could always right down as many things(temp,ph,animals in the area,looks of other corals,time,ect..) as you can about the tank when it happens. Maybe something will show up to help find the cause.

[mambo]

Hi NaH2OFreak,
Great name by the way....
In regards to your open brain; I have one that I very rarely see the tentacles. They peak out...However, he opens beautifully everyday at the bottom of my 29g. Lighting provided by Hamilton PC 2-55W. Occassionally, it will secrete(sp.) green algae like waste. I picked him up in May 00'. I am not reef technical, so I hope my observations help.

Best Regards,

M

[BA]

I have two open brains in my 37 gal reef. They never swell or open their tentacles during hours of light. Check at night after the lights have been out for awhile. Also, I've noticed that mine go through periods of lesser and greater expansion.

One other thought--it's possible it's damaged. Look for tissue recession where polyp meets skeleton. Sometimes they'll recover even from this--they're tough.

Best,
BA

[NaH2Ofreak]

all very good info and observations. thanks a lot!! I will pay closer attention to whats going on around it when is "slimes".

The slime that comes from it may be like one or two streams that rise maybe 3" above it. I was thinking that maybe it is catching food with it and it reals it back in later. Any thouoghts on that possibility? thanks again dennis

[horge]

Sorry I took so long, Dennis http://www.thereeftank.com/ubb/smile.gif
You got great insights from the others!

If Trachyphyllia(?) feeding via mucus net rather than tentacular capture, then that suggests that:

1) the available prey in your tank is more efficiently captured with mucus: bacteria, protozoans, suspended detritus, etc.

2) the coral simply isn't feeling secure enough as of yet to expose fleshy protrusions to predators. It still has to feed, so it uses mucus netting to do the job.

3) the coral has yet to fully adjust to the water chemistry in your tank, thus it limits the surface area of tissue 'exposed' to the unfamiliar liquid. It still has to feed, so blah blah blah http://www.thereeftank.com/ubb/smile.gif

4) the coral has yet to adjust to the higher(?) lighting level and different spectrum in your tank, and limits exposure of its tissue to it. Frankly, I see no problem with your setup: Trachs are as often found partially shaded as harshly lighted in the wild --and they all deploy to feed at night.

Give it time. But keep an eye out!

smpolyp is right to inquire about neighbouring coral: their chemical presence alone contributes to the 'alien' feel of the water to your green brain. Observe for for excess sliming on the part of any and all corals in the tank --it suggests the kind of irritation that can precede chemical warfare.

True mucus nets are reeled back in via the mouth, sometimes with bubbles and small bits of dirt attached. Often the prey is invisible to the naked eye. A net is more trailing-mucus than blobby/flaky-mucus (hope that makes sense). Excuse be, I thig I deed to blow by dose dow.

If the mucus is NOT being reeled in through the mouth, then it's possible the coral is either protecting itself from neighbouring corals or sending out irritating mucus to harrass them.

HTH
horge

Kleedex, blease? (sniff)

--------------------------
P.S. I've never heard of a 'green brain' --I'm presuming it's Trachyphyllia choosing not to feed because it was getting sufficient energy from lighting (via its zooxanthellae). Trachs are shameless gluttons when settled in.


[This message has been edited by horge (edited 11-16-2000).]

[NaH2Ofreak]

Thanks a lot for all the info guys. Horge, you do think that the brain might not be feeding because its getting sufficient(sp) food from its zooxanthee algae? It was a ps so i wasnt sure if thats what you were saying or not? thanks again! dennis

[horge]

Hi again Dennis,

Yes, one study pegs the maximum amount of energy that zooxanthellae can provide at less then 70% of a Trachyphyllia's energy needs. (Other studies quote even lower figures --anyone have Stepanov's old figures? My copy's missing pages.)

If so, you could light that puppy til you gave it sunburn and it still wouldn't be getting sufficient nutrition from zooxanthellae alone.

[Keep in mind, not all feeding activities are easy to see! This might explain why some people get the impression that their corals don't need food. A coral you think isn't eating could very well be filching snacks now and then. In your case, it is very likely it isn't feeding a whole lot but only from the stress of transfer.]

So, give it time to get used to the new surroundings, keep an eye peeled foer hostilities between it and older tankmates, and feel free to (IMO randomly) feed the coral when it starts displaying feeding behavior.

HTH http://www.thereeftank.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by horge (edited 11-17-2000).]

[smpolyp]

I had a trach for 3+ years and never feed it. It doubled in size in that time before I sold it. I had only given it good lighting. I then thought trach would just be fine on light. Then I had a friend who added one to his new tank and had a fair amount of light also. It did not do so well. He asked me to see if I could help it out by putting it in my tank. In a week it was back to normal. I kept it 3 more weeks and returned it to him. It did fine in his tank after that. To get to the point I think it did starve since the tank was new and had a low crustation count(copipods,amphipods,ect..) And to say hand feeding maynot be necessary to keep corals like these, but a well established tank with natural foods is better suited for them.