colony polyp question

[BSHANE651]

i have had this colony pollyp for 45 or so days, when i intintialy purchased the animal it was origonally disharging brown stringy subtance, i assume zooanthalgea, also the very base had begun to bleach so to speak, i moved the coral higher in my tank , for the last 30 days or so, all has been well, more recently the polyps are mostly all sucked inside, color is good, but the stalks are all long, is it trimming time or what,

first a little about my sytem

37 gal high 2x65 pc, hot filter w airlift skimmer
all paramaters that i have cked are undetectable, nitrate, nitrite, ammon,
also have been adding reef success calcium +3 w makeup water

colony was similar to this when purchased
http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2046
i have also been adding 5 ml of kent phytoplex every couple of days for this and some xenia, feather duster, ect, please any zoo keepers let me know if this is norm, or if i need to trim or what

 

[Anthony Calfo]

we need much more information here my friend... starting with the corals scientific name. Even then, we cannot evaluate its health without seeing it (picture).

With all do respect, it sounds like you need to stop and take the time to read and learn more before you buy living creatures. The choice to move a bleaching coral higher is indicative of this (the wrong call - usually stresses or kills a weak and bleaching coral)

I say this with all sincerity and hope to help you succeed my friend!

Please spend your next $40 on book instead of another coral or fish. I suggest Eric Borneman's Aquarium corals.

For general marine husbandry, Mike Paletta's "New Marine Aquarium"

These are small investments in your long term success and will literally save living creatures lives in your (better prepared) care.

kindly,

Anthony

 

[BSHANE651]

the coral is not bleaching at all or disharging anything now it its a zoanthid coloony and identical to the picture located in the above post, i thought it may have been having trouble acclimating to my lower light, as the lfs had it directly under halides. i spent a great deal of time asking questions from a reputable lfs prior to purchase, , i take a great deal of time researching my species, i dont presently own any books, the only question i had was wether or not it was normal for the polyps to close up, probably half are closed, the other half remain opened all stalks are very long, i will attempt to pick up a recommended book, and am sorry if i appear to be ill prepared, bt in my opinion, often times aquarium literature can be very technical, hard to understand, and i find it much more useful to gather information from fellow hobbyists, expert forums and my own experiences, i dont believe you have to purchase a library full of 40.00 books to have a succesful aquarium, although i am sure the imformation contained is invaluable, either way thank you for your quick response

 

[wrightme43]

Sorry Man I just cant help without a photo of your coral. My zoos seem to do wonderfully when they are not being eatin by sundial snails. They are under pc lights and range from top to bottom of the tank in light. HTH Sorry I couldnt do more for you. Steve

 

[BSHANE651]

no sweat steve, i have a coupl zoo experts in our local club, i just didnt know if anyone else had seen this since these are my first zoos

 

[Anthony Calfo]

as an author of easy to understand, non-technical current books and (numerous)articles... I naturally disagree with your preference for random/unqualified advice on living creatures

I'm not suggesting you buy a library "full of $40" books... in fact, Paletta's fine book is a whopping $11 used on Amazon (just over $13 new).

And please note too that one of the greatest values in any reference is the bibliography... a treasure of information to run down/follow on the topic(s) of your desired interest.

What I am hoping to guide you towards is being a conscientious and informed consumer.


As to the bleaching... do re-read your post my friend (it is the only thing I have to go on/help you with): you did state that it began to bleach and that you then moved it up higher. Considering the volume of mail and queries I get daily (and for years running now) from novice aquarists... this honestly sounds(ed) like a novice mistake.

We are handicapped by the limiting medium of short text messages

Do try to feed your zoanthids very fine meaty matter (cyclopeeze would be excellent here). This will greatly assist in healing, recovery and growth.

 

[BSHANE651]

thank you for your attention here anthony, i did not intend to question your intent or experience, it is thanks to people such as yourself, who pioneer our exciting hobby that the average person can enjoy the beauty of home aquariums, i understand that we are only stewards of the animals we keep, i will take your advice and purchase some literature, although i still believ these forums to be invaluable where the averge hobbyist can seek advice for renowned authors, scientists, chemists, drs , im sure you see what i am talking about, not hardly the random unqualified advice you noted, i will also try to get my didital cam wrking, maybe i can post a pic in near future, take care and thanks

 

[Anthony Calfo]

understood and agreed my friend... indeed, message boards can be a wealth of information and each generally has its own flavor and temperament. some are better geared for beginners, others for more advanced aquarists... some friendly, and some not so friendly alas.

I particicpate on very few message boards myself and was attracted to this this site because of the high caliber and experience of its staff and members, and the very friendly atmosphere. Rather hard to find in that combination. Kudos to the RF team and membership

 

[BSHANE651]

JUST AN UPDATE HERE...there is some kind of bug in my colony, most polyps are closed
i thought i saw movement between two polyps, went searching throught the coral with tweezers, sure enough there is bugs, at first i thought it might have been a sea spider after searching, but i only got a short glimpse but i think it appeared narrow and long, very quick, too fast for nudibranch, reading through other threads it appears people pry the mat off the live rock?? any help is appreciated

 

[dnjan]

Are you sure you just didn't see an amphipod or a mysis shrimp? Predators of stationary corals generally do not have to be that quick.