Bloated brain coral?

[mbindon]

My brain coral looks, for lack of a better word, bloated sometimes (see pic below). What causes this and is this a bad thing?

 

[mojoreef]

No they do that from time to time. no biggie


Mike

 

[Anthony Calfo]

its usually related to feeding: sometimes after a good feeding (target by you or natural plankton at night if plentiful.

Most often though... it is a feeding strategy to capture food: the coral is increasing its surface area for mucus (trapping). Note that this is different from the strategy of using feeding tentacles (at night usually). Indeed... corals employ more than one strategy to feed!

 

[mbindon]

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything terribly wrong.

 

[mbindon]

its usually related to feeding: sometimes after a good feeding (target by you or natural plankton at night if plentiful.

Most often though... it is a feeding strategy to capture food: the coral is increasing its surface area for mucus (trapping). Note that this is different from the strategy of using feeding tentacles (at night usually). Indeed... corals employ more than one strategy to feed!

Those feeding tentacles are wild! Here's a pic of one that my brain coral sent out yesterday. I'm sure this stuff may not be that interesting to all of the veterans on this board, but as a beginner it's all new and exciting to me.

 

[wrightme43]

Its always interesting to me. That looks like its expelling some zooanthee and taking a poo, to me. The feeding tentcles will be short and white, and on the intersection of the ruffled outer edge and the smooth inner surface of the coral. I love brain corals. It may be just the photo, though it looks like on the top edges you are having some bleaching. Compare it to the first photo and see what you think. What type of lighting are you using? Steve