Sun polyps, are they an easy coral to keep

[gramma royale]

Hey all,

I've been talking to my LFS guy about corals. Basically, I was asking about non-photosynthetic corals that are easy to care for. He showed me the sun polyp coral and I was quite impressed. About five minutes after he dropped in some brine shrimp, the polyps began to open up. I found the way the feed pretty cool. Anyhow, I've done some research on them and I've found completely mixed results. A lot of people say they're easy to care for and u just have to make sure they're placed in the shade and a lot of people also say they're one of THE hardest corals to ever care for! I really don't see how they could be that hard. What are your thoughts and experiences?

[naser]

i had them once... basically it comes down to feeding these things almost every day. it gets hard to feed once there in your tank with power heads and current. they are hard because they do not just swim up and eat you have to spot feed them.

[Aragorn]

GR,

As Naser states, they require target feeding. Other than that, they're very easy to care for. I currently have 2 in my tanks and just recently "nursed" 2 sick ones back from the brink for our LFS. They will tolerate light(I wouldn't recommend putting them directly under MH's though), and they're easy to "train" to open up for feeding. I've got mine trained to begin opening at about 8pm. One of my favorite corals.
FWIW, here's a link to mine w/ a little info:
http://www.tahoereefs.com/Sun%20Page%201.htm

[Rhonda.J]

This is one of my favorite corals. I got my first one about a yr ago. It was in really bad shape and honestly didn't think it would make it. But I have it under a ledge and I do spot feed at least every other day. I turn off all the circulation in the tank after I get them to start coming out. I leave everything off for about 30 minutes and after they have eaten I turn it all back on. The one that I got last yr that I thought would die has actually recovered and almost doubled in size. I bought a black one about 6 months ago. And I just bought another orange one yesterday. The LFS got it in and he was honest and said he just didn't have the time to feed it and gave me a good deal. If you have the time to spotfeed I would say go for it. I also add DTs live phytoplanton. I have heard they will eat this but I couldn't swear to it. I also do a treat at least once a month and hatch out baby brine shrimp and feed the tank and I make sure this coral gets its fair share.

[Ltspd]

Aragon, Man that looks great! Nice job on keeping it, if you willing to work your get corals like that in return.

[killian]

Aside for the feeding daily what exactly are the light requirements for this coral. We have a 29 gallon FO right now with just the standard lighting that we would like to trun into a reef tank. We are planning to get a power compact of some kind but would this coral survive until then? The picture was very nice.

[thezookeeper]

Killian: To answer your question, this coral actually does not require any light. So normal output lighting would even be fine. HTH


Joanne

[naser]

i believe that sun corals actually grow in the dark inside caves and holes. feeding on critters as they swim by.

[gramma royale]

hi all. Thanks for the helpful info! I received my sun polyp today. I placed it at the bottom of my tank, sort of away from the light. Do they usually remain closed until night time? cause they seem to be about to open right now, at around 10pm PST.

[SHUMALA]

I've had mine directly under a 400W MH and directly under a 32W PC. Never seemed to bother the coral, it even opened up nicely after i feed the tank.

Turn off all pumps and ph, keep your fishes and shrimps busy so they don't steal the food from the sun polyps and then spot feed it.

I'm able to get away with feeding about once a week because I spot feed each polyp a sizable chunk of shrimp or squid. Its been growing and multipling nicely for about 8 months now.

Alan

[ScottC]

Tubastrea are found inside the hulls of sunken ships, growing upside down inside of caves, and under coral shelves, all being locations where nutrient levels are higher than the reef flats. They have been pushed out of the light by faster growing, more dominant photosynthetic corals, and have adapted to zero light conditions.

Since they have no zooxanthellae they require direct feeding. In the wild this is relied upon by the incoming and outgoing tides. Their polyps will also extend mostly at night, when plankton levels in the water column are at it's highest.

I have 3 species in my reef. Yellow, orange, and black. I made a food consisting of ground sea urchin, flake fish food, nori, raw clams, raw shrimp, zoe marine vitamins, and raw squid. It was blended into a nice puree, and frozen in little cubes.

Each night I defrost one cube in some tank water, squirt a little bit in the water, and wait 5 minutes for them to open up (along with all the other corals in the tank) I do this after the MH lights go off, but the actinics are still on.

Upon opening, I use a turkey baster to squirt food onto every individual polyp, because each one is an individual making up a colony. They each need food. Whatever is left I squirt on all the other corals.

Tubastrea calcification can match that of hermatypic, photosynthetic corals if they are fed on a regular basis. It's like feeding your kids. They starve, they die. Unfortunately, there is no Dyfus for corals.

If you take care of them properly, you'll see small "babies" popping up all over your tank. I've had them growning on maxima clams in the past!

Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions!!

Scott

[gramma royale]

Wow, thanks for the info guys! I have moved the polyps into a little cove so the light doesn't get to it as much. None of the polyps have completely opened up yet, so I'm going to try what Scott does. Up until now, I've just been putting brine shrimp in the tank, hoping the polyps would open up. Also, do you think Foumula 1 would work in the place of the mixture you use Scott? If not, where can I get your mixture or is it self-made? Thanks again.

[ScottC]

I've used Brine Plus and Prime Reef on them in the past. the home made brew saves a little money, has everything in it they need, plus I like the DIY stuff.

Make sure you alternate foods if you do go with prepack...for a balanced diet!!

Scott

I'll send you the recipe if you'd like