plate corals

srgtkoons · 05-31-2001, 04:48 PM

Hopefully youll chime in spasse as i just read the post about them being fairly hardy if requirements are met. Could you or anyone else give me some advice on these corals. I dont have one but i really like the look of them. Any dos or donts are appreciated.

------------------
I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

Elmo18 · 05-31-2001, 06:29 PM

sgrtkoons,

I may have one this type of coral. I bought it from ffexpress.com as a Fiji Pink and Green Fungia coral. I believe it is a fungia plate coral.

In the wild, plate corals and fungias are found on the sandbed. Mine will extend feeding polyps when actinics are on and when the lights go out. Usually they are shorter during the main lighting hours.

This is one of the easiest corals that i've had so far. I just let it be on the sand bed and give it some room from another coral if you are putting that on the sand bed, too.

At night, if it wants to move, the fungia plate will "inflate" itself into a small ball and using the current will move. It is bad to have anythign right next to it since this move may happen overnight.

As for feeding, I just started to give it some shrimp that I caught by the pier. I'm planning to feed it a small piece once every week. Prior to this feeding, I've had him for about 3 months. For that period of three months I actually never fed the coral and is still doing fine.

Coral needs low/moderate current, but not too high.

Regards,
Ilham [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

srgtkoons · 06-01-2001, 04:38 AM

Thanks for that elmo. But im more curious about the heliofungia (spelling?) Or the long tentacled plate. What iv read and heard is that it is common for them to do perfect for a long period of time and then die very rapidly due to infection.

------------------
I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

idrum · 06-01-2001, 05:28 AM

I have a long tentacle plate thats been doing great for the last 3 weeks - come home yesterday to find my Yellow Tang picking at it - he's probably taken one third of the tentacles.

Is this common?

Can I expect the plate to recover?

I am going to my him into my 7g nano

**SPasse** · 06-01-2001, 06:51 AM

Srgtkoons,

The most common thing that people do that seem to make them thrive is regular feeding of them.

My general parameters are:

Temperature ~ 82 degrees.

Specific Gravity ~ 1.026

KH 10 – 12 dkh

CA ~ 400

Moderate current. I turn off my wave maker when feed them.

Lighting – 400-watt 10,000K MH lamp, ~30” distant.

These are definitely sand bed/lagoon creatures, not to be placed on live rock.

I target feed mine once or twice a week with pieces of cocktail shrimp and/or silverside.

I have never lost one since I started feeding them. My current specimen is about 50% larger than when I purchased it in December.

Dr. Ron has also kept Heliofungia for years, with a similar care regime.

My theory about the specimens that are “suddenly dying of infection” were just starving until an opportunistic infection comes along.

The same thing is probably killing Goniopora, we are just having a harder time figuring out what they are eating.

Regards,

Scott

------------------
The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure.
You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/

srgtkoons · 06-01-2001, 07:18 AM

Thanks SPASSE as soon as i saw the pic of a heliofungia in TRA vol 1 i wanted it. But i didnt want to get it if it had poor survival rate. I believe strongly in feeding corals I have bought several LPS corals brains, frogspawns, hammers, From this one LFS that has a 'damaged bin' soon as i put them in my tank i begin feeding whats left and usually within two weeks they are 100% better.
Forgot to ask. Is there anything i should look for when choosing a healthy specimen? Aside from the normal tissue ressesion. Anything specific to just these types of corals?

------------------
I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

[This message has been edited by srgtkoons (edited 06-01-2001).]

**SPasse** · 06-01-2001, 07:33 AM

Srgtkoons,

Besides tentacle extension:

1 Tentacles should be “plump”.

2 Check for damaged tissue on the underside of the “plate”

3 Color should be “rich”. Although I have “rescued” bleached button etc. corals, a bleached Heliofungia is probably not a good survival prospect.

4 Check for a feeding response. A LFS should not have any objection to allowing you to give it a piece of shrimp, etc. The tentacles should immediately latch on to a piece of “meat” The actual ingestion process will take a few minutes however.

A healthy Heliofungia should look something like this:

Regards,

Scott

------------------
The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure.
You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/

Mikeman · 06-01-2001, 02:47 PM

the thing looks like an anenome

------------------
Mikeman

Humans are like parasites if you think about it, every other animal has found its niche, except us who just drain our host until its a lifeless shell......

srgtkoons · 06-01-2001, 02:56 PM

Thats part of the reason i want one mikeman. Hopefully my clowns wont think its one and try to use it as a surrogate. Or if they do it doesnt harm the coral. Anyone know if a clown trys to take it as a host if it will cause the coral harm?

------------------
I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

saltjunkie · 06-01-2001, 04:03 PM

Also when purchasing and putting it back into your system, do let let it hit the air. This is one of the reasons these also decline. They will get air trapped in or under them and kill it. So take great care and make sure it has been in the lfs for a lil bit before you buy it!

------------------
<center>I am not a failure!I have just found 10,000 ways to do it wrong!</center> rick@reefland.com

srgtkoons · 06-01-2001, 04:30 PM

Thats not good news then. My sandbed tosses out tons of bubbles will bubbles coming from the sandbed hurt the coral?

------------------
I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

**SPasse** · 06-01-2001, 04:36 PM

Srgtkoons,

I don’t think that should be an issue.

The Heliofungia above is mine. And my DSB bubbles a lot.

But saltjunkie’s comments about air exposure are well taken. This is definitely a critter that you should insist that the LFS bag underwater.

Regards,

Scott

------------------
The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure.
You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/

05-31-2001, 04:48 PM	#1
srgtkoons Mayor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Robesonia PA US Posts: 539	plate corals Hopefully youll chime in spasse as i just read the post about them being fairly hardy if requirements are met. Could you or anyone else give me some advice on these corals. I dont have one but i really like the look of them. Any dos or donts are appreciated. ------------------ I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

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05-31-2001, 06:29 PM	#2
Elmo18 Governor Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,514	sgrtkoons, I may have one this type of coral. I bought it from ffexpress.com as a Fiji Pink and Green Fungia coral. I believe it is a fungia plate coral. In the wild, plate corals and fungias are found on the sandbed. Mine will extend feeding polyps when actinics are on and when the lights go out. Usually they are shorter during the main lighting hours. This is one of the easiest corals that i've had so far. I just let it be on the sand bed and give it some room from another coral if you are putting that on the sand bed, too. At night, if it wants to move, the fungia plate will "inflate" itself into a small ball and using the current will move. It is bad to have anythign right next to it since this move may happen overnight. As for feeding, I just started to give it some shrimp that I caught by the pier. I'm planning to feed it a small piece once every week. Prior to this feeding, I've had him for about 3 months. For that period of three months I actually never fed the coral and is still doing fine. Coral needs low/moderate current, but not too high. Regards, Ilham [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

06-01-2001, 04:38 AM	#3
srgtkoons Mayor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Robesonia PA US Posts: 539	Thanks for that elmo. But im more curious about the heliofungia (spelling?) Or the long tentacled plate. What iv read and heard is that it is common for them to do perfect for a long period of time and then die very rapidly due to infection. ------------------ I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

06-01-2001, 05:28 AM	#4
idrum Tenant Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Chicago, IL, US Posts: 92	I have a long tentacle plate thats been doing great for the last 3 weeks - come home yesterday to find my Yellow Tang picking at it - he's probably taken one third of the tentacles. Is this common? Can I expect the plate to recover? I am going to my him into my 7g nano

06-01-2001, 06:51 AM	#5
SPasse Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Forney Texas USA Posts: 2,304	Srgtkoons, The most common thing that people do that seem to make them thrive is regular feeding of them. My general parameters are: Temperature ~ 82 degrees. Specific Gravity ~ 1.026 KH 10 – 12 dkh CA ~ 400 Moderate current. I turn off my wave maker when feed them. Lighting – 400-watt 10,000K MH lamp, ~30” distant. These are definitely sand bed/lagoon creatures, not to be placed on live rock. I target feed mine once or twice a week with pieces of cocktail shrimp and/or silverside. I have never lost one since I started feeding them. My current specimen is about 50% larger than when I purchased it in December. Dr. Ron has also kept Heliofungia for years, with a similar care regime. My theory about the specimens that are “suddenly dying of infection” were just starving until an opportunistic infection comes along. The same thing is probably killing Goniopora, we are just having a harder time figuring out what they are eating. Regards, Scott ------------------ The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure. You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/

06-01-2001, 07:18 AM	#6
srgtkoons Mayor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Robesonia PA US Posts: 539	Thanks SPASSE as soon as i saw the pic of a heliofungia in TRA vol 1 i wanted it. But i didnt want to get it if it had poor survival rate. I believe strongly in feeding corals I have bought several LPS corals brains, frogspawns, hammers, From this one LFS that has a 'damaged bin' soon as i put them in my tank i begin feeding whats left and usually within two weeks they are 100% better. Forgot to ask. Is there anything i should look for when choosing a healthy specimen? Aside from the normal tissue ressesion. Anything specific to just these types of corals? ------------------ I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do. [This message has been edited by srgtkoons (edited 06-01-2001).]

06-01-2001, 07:33 AM	#7
SPasse Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Forney Texas USA Posts: 2,304	Srgtkoons, Besides tentacle extension: 1 Tentacles should be “plump”. 2 Check for damaged tissue on the underside of the “plate” 3 Color should be “rich”. Although I have “rescued” bleached button etc. corals, a bleached Heliofungia is probably not a good survival prospect. 4 Check for a feeding response. A LFS should not have any objection to allowing you to give it a piece of shrimp, etc. The tentacles should immediately latch on to a piece of “meat” The actual ingestion process will take a few minutes however. A healthy Heliofungia should look something like this: Regards, Scott ------------------ The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure. You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/

06-01-2001, 02:47 PM	#8
Mikeman Governor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Watertown,SD,USA Posts: 1,502	the thing looks like an anenome ------------------ Mikeman Humans are like parasites if you think about it, every other animal has found its niche, except us who just drain our host until its a lifeless shell......

06-01-2001, 02:56 PM	#9
srgtkoons Mayor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Robesonia PA US Posts: 539	Thats part of the reason i want one mikeman. Hopefully my clowns wont think its one and try to use it as a surrogate. Or if they do it doesnt harm the coral. Anyone know if a clown trys to take it as a host if it will cause the coral harm? ------------------ I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

06-01-2001, 04:03 PM	#10
saltjunkie Governor Join Date: May 2000 Location: Lakeland, Fl. Posts: 1,781	Also when purchasing and putting it back into your system, do let let it hit the air. This is one of the reasons these also decline. They will get air trapped in or under them and kill it. So take great care and make sure it has been in the lfs for a lil bit before you buy it! ------------------ <center>I am not a failure!I have just found 10,000 ways to do it wrong!</center> rick@reefland.com

06-01-2001, 04:30 PM	#11
srgtkoons Mayor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Robesonia PA US Posts: 539	Thats not good news then. My sandbed tosses out tons of bubbles will bubbles coming from the sandbed hurt the coral? ------------------ I have the mind of a 5 year old and own a fire extinquisher you cant imagine the things i do.

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06-01-2001, 04:36 PM	#12
SPasse Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Forney Texas USA Posts: 2,304	Srgtkoons, I don’t think that should be an issue. The Heliofungia above is mine. And my DSB bubbles a lot. But saltjunkie’s comments about air exposure are well taken. This is definitely a critter that you should insist that the LFS bag underwater. Regards, Scott ------------------ The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure. You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/