Unhappy flower pot?

luna7 · 10-17-2004, 08:36 PM

So I THINK this is a flowerpot coral (see attached pic)...I purchased it from the same LFS where I bought my rotten green finger leather (disintegrated within 48 hours). Anyway, the thing was gorgeous with long flowing arms UNTIL that cursed leather died and now it looks like what you see in the picture. The arms will not come out, or if they do, they barely poke out. What's wrong?

I did a dip in Tech-D last night for about 4 mintues (scared to go longer). Since my leather oozed away, I did a 5% water change (I'd just done a 10% the night before adding these two), added fresh charcoal, cleaned the skimmer, etc. I've checked my levels and they're all just fine...no Ammonia, no Nitrite, no Phosphates. All of my "old" inhabitants are just fine.

Is there hope for this guy? I've always steered clear of stony corals and maybe I should continue to do so. ANy help ID'ing this coral and any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you,

Hans

tims · 10-17-2004, 09:24 PM

looks like a flower pot base at least.. how mant "peddals" di it have when it was open.. the more hardier type is the goniopora,and have around 24 tentacles, the other is alveopora (sp?) and have about 12or so...neither is the greastest of living very long.. it may not have been your other coral.. they look great in the store but usally do not last very long.. it could have been dieing inthe LFS already.. it can take sevearl months before this happends..
keep an eye on your , make sure it is in a med flow area and has good lighting..maybe the tentalcles will come back out. usally not too many will and then it is sown hill...sorry! they are wonderful to watch thatis for sure.. but i was in the same boat as your self....

Awestralian · 10-17-2004, 10:00 PM

Yeah it looks like a flower pot but not the goniopora. As Tim said, they are hard to keep alive.

We had one for about a year in a nano, it slowly extended less and less over the months, while the other corals flourished, and eventually each arm died.
Sorry to have to give you bad news, but they are a bit of a mystery, yet still so readily available at LFS...

JennM · 10-18-2004, 06:30 AM

Hans, did you buy that at the same time, or have you had it a while?

There's a reason why you will never see certain organisms at our place... that's one of those organisms and that is also why. Dismal survival rate. Actually popular thinking with that animal (it is a Goniopora sp.) is that they seem to prefer a more nutrient rich system, folks with a bit more dissolved organic content and no skimmer tend to have marginally better luck with them. Goniopora sp., have 24 "petals" on each polyp, Alveopora sp. have 12 "petals". Alveopora are the more likely to survive, respectfully correcting you, Tim, but as he did say, neither one has a grand life expectancy. I had a Goniopora back in the beginning - lasted about 6 months and then slowly began to recede - same story for a lot of hobbyists.

Hans, there's no reason for you to stay away from LPS corals -- you just need to get the "right" ones

Cheers,
Jenn

tims · 10-18-2004, 06:58 AM

no problems Jenn, i keep forgetting which is which...

Awestralian · 10-18-2004, 07:42 AM

LOL well i was sold the Alveopora sp. under the title of Goniopora sp.!!

Typical of that particular LFS though...

luna7 · 10-18-2004, 08:35 AM

This was a new purchse...bought it the same day as that doomed finger leather. Won't be buying from that shop again. When I asked about that coral, the guy said it was an "easy" one. At the store, it was all extended and flowing and you could not see that much of the skelton was exposed. I noticed that the minute I got home.

Anyway, so what do I do with it now? Jenn, I'd be happy to bring it by your place if you'd like to have a go at it. I just don't want it to ruin the water quality I've been working so hard on.

Thank you everyone for your advice and condolences.

Hans

rottface4 · 10-18-2004, 10:10 AM

It might be that it is still adjusting to your tank. Also leather can have fairly toxic chemicals. So when it was dying it could have released some of these chemicals. You should try to do another water change. It might help but then again it might not, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Best of luck.

TimmyG · 10-18-2004, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennM

they seem to prefer a more nutrient rich system, folks with a bit more dissolved organic content and no skimmer tend to have marginally better luck with them.
Cheers,
Jenn

That's about right........
I had/have a green Goniopora sp.
and I love it, But it always seems to do better when
I neglect my tank.
As soon as I do a water change and clean out the skimmer
it looks like crap for a few days.
It took a hard hit when I moved and now looses a pollyp or two every day.

Good luck with it,
They are beautiful corals.

Timmy

JennM · 10-18-2004, 06:06 PM

Hans, I don't think there's much I could do for it... Did you try contacting the dealer you bought it from? If it did well there, perhaps they might take it back. I'd also ask about the leather, as it began to fail almost immediately... hopefully you have some recourse.

Jenn