New button polyp coral fragment injured

[kerrigan]

This is my first attempt at coral in my new tank, and I think I may have messed up big time already...

The frag is a button polyp coral with about 20 or so polyps on it grown kind of irregularly shaped (but healthy) on a pebble. I've never attached coral before, and I asked the guy at my LFS when I bought the frag if I should attach it and he said it wasn't important. When I got it home, it was still retracted from when it was put in the bag... I put it up on some LR, but probably messed with it a little too much trying to get it faced the right way, dropped it once on the LR, generally beat it up more than I should have, then moved it *again* after it fell over on its own 2 hours later.

It didn't open up last night, but it seemed okay... this morning, it was totally upside down again. I reach in, flip it over, and two polyps are majorly injured. One polyp seems broken off and hanging, and I can see red flesh underneath, and another seems scraped, and I can see a small spot of red flesh at the apex of the polyp. Before going to work, I very quickly yanked the LR out of the tank and poured super glue on the pebble to attach the bugger good and tight... and I think its oriented the right way, but I'm really worried about it now. I don't think it ever opened, and I don't have any fish that eat corals in the tank at all (3 damsels, lawnmower, and goby). What I think happened is the lawnmower probably knocked it pretty good during the night, or I just bruised it being clumsy and it took a while to show.

First, what are the chances of the injuries healing? Might they get infected? Should I try and cut it off now? Did I just kill my poor little first coral? D: Most of it is okay, but what should I do?

Second, I sort of hastily glued it down. The frag was light purple and leathery all over and covered in polyps except for one side which was orange and the section with the pebble... This is the bottom of the frag, right? I know this is a *dumb* question, but I'm a real noob at this... If I didn't glue it down so that all the polyps are facing up, or one of them is facing a rock, how big of a deal is this? It's very oddly shaped, and it doesn't have a clear "bottom" side because of how it was in the frag tank. How critical is placement?

I'm really worried and I feel terrible. Thanks for any help.

[usmc2b2004]

With my experience with buttons is that they are almost indestructible I have knocked off a few polyps and they ended up regrowing I saw them the other day. They would heal I would just let them be maybe epoxy the frag to a rock so it won't get knocked down again. But it would be more helpful to you if you could get a picture. Some of the fleshy part being exposed.

[kerrigan]

I talked to some other people, and I believe now that I overreacted a little

It's just the one polyp, and the frag is now secured to the LR, so hopefully it will be fine. I thought a broken off polyp was a much bigger deal than it actually was.

I'm going to just leave it alone for now. Hopefully some polyps will open up in the next few days.

Thanks!

[aquawolf]

Welcome to TRT!!!

Glad to hear everything is going to be okay for you.