Funny mushroom tentacles and feeding candy corals
Hi
I just set up a 26 gal reef tank about a month ago.  I went to my LFS and purchased a small mushroom coral and a small red mushroom which was attached to a very small candy coral.  Now the mushroom coral is doing ok and the little red mushroom looks good, but it appears to have some tentacles growing from underneath it!? << On a mushroom?  I wonder if it is spreading skin to propagate. >>  The tentacles are very thin white strands with a little black spot on each strand.  Is this part of the mushroom or a bonus critter that hitchhiked with him??  With my horrible description is there any chance that you know what it is?? << Well it isn't anything to worry about.  Do the strands move?  If so I'll say it is a hitchhiker, if not then I'll say it is part of the coral. >> My last question is I read that I should feed the candy coral a few times a week but I have a lot of little white bugs in the tank (copepods maybe??) would this be food for the candy or what could I feed it?? << Well mainly feed it lots of light.  I don't think micro shrimp will be consumed by candy corals, I think something like phytoplankton and Cyclop-Eeze are a better choice. >> Ok I lied one more question should I only feed the candy at night when its tentacle like things are out?? << I would feed it during the day.  It will get use to it and often times extend tentacles during the day. >> Thanks so much for all your help!!
Tammy

Coral feeding 6/14/04
Hi guys hey if my coral is a zooplankton feeder can I just feed it mushed Mysis shrimp or do I still need to get a zooplankton food for it? Is this ok as a staple or should I aim for more variety?
<Depends on the coral.  Please write back and let me know exactly what coral you are talking about.  As a general rule, the size of the polyps is a good indicator.  Larger polyps can accept larger food (although this is not universally true).  Best Regards.  Adam>

Coral feeding 6/15/04
Adam or whoever else my coral is some kind of brain coral I think, collected it myself. Has tan/brown ridges in a maze pattern, with in between valleys being fluoro green. When ridges open the polyps are about 5mm in length and maybe 1.5mm in diameter. When I feed it mushed Mysis shrimp it seems to expand and close around them so the green valleys disappear and the brown ridges are all soft and greatly expanded and polyps have gone again. So should I just maintain this once a day or does it need other variety of zooplankton as well? << I believe that a variety is very important.  I would use something like Cyclops shrimp or rotifers weekly. >> Or anything else, other than calcium supplements? << In addition to calcium supplements, please check and watch your alkalinity.  That is every bit as important. >>
<<  Adam Blundell  >>

Brain Food, and Other Coral Concerns!
Hi Bob!
<Actually, Scott F. in today!>
I have looked thru a lot of your articles, but this problem I couldn't find. It may be me.
<Yeap.. it's you! Hah- just kidding!>
We have a 125 gal. tank with a wet/dry filter, protein skimmer, chiller, and even bought a r/o unit with deionizer. It is a starter reef tank with 120lbs. live Fiji rock, Yellow Tang, 3 Spot Domino, 2 Clarkii Clowns, Yellow Polyps, Orange Button Polyps, Open Brain, Red Mushrooms, one Ricordea, and misc. snails, starfish, crabs, and shrimp. 
<Nice mix>
The problem is, our Orange Button Polyp which has tripled its size and is gorgeous has developed white spots on the front part of the cluster. They are only on the "stem" of the polyp. The polyp is still beautiful and shows absolutely no signs of distress, actually it is still producing polyps. The polyps on the front do stand real tall compared to the others, where the ones on the back make a ball shape. The only time they close is when the lights go off at night. They open readily when the lights come on. All other corals are totally clean. Please help me. We have had this polyp for 6 months and it is my favorite.
<Hard to be 100 % certain. Possibly just a migration of pigment, but it could be anything from flatworms to some other pest, too. If the coral is otherwise reacting well, and appears healthy, I would not be too concerned at this point. Just observe carefully and let us know if you notice a decline in the coral's health at any point>
I know I am being a pain, but could you also tell me the best thing to feed our Brain Coral and amount. Everyone I talk to disagrees and I haven't had much luck with the internet or books.
Thank you sooooo much!!!
Julie
<You're NOT a pain, Julie! As far as feeding the Brain Coral is concerned, I'd use fine zooplankton-based foodstuffs, such as minced Mysis, krill, or other "meaty" foods. The newly-available frozen "Cyclop-eeze" is a great food for these species! Good luck! Regards, Scott F> 

To Feed or Not to Feed
Hello,
<Hi, Bill... Anthony Calfo here answering Bob's mail while he travels across the great Midwest... and a fine time of year for it too!?>
I recently purchased (2 weeks ago) a coral sold to me as "Platygyra" (spelled incorrectly I'm sure)
<correct you are sir... Platygyra ... represented by more than a few species in the trade>
and was told it did not need to be fed at all, that it would take its nutrients from the water. 
<not even close to true...>
When I was feeding my brown Scopas tang some brine shrimp as a treat yesterday, the Platygyra extended long tentacles from the neon green pores between its maze-brain like surface grabbing all the brine it could. I'm guessing I was told wrong, and this coral should be fed? 
<most definitely... as they say, Form follows Function. Your observation and the evidence of responsive feeding tentacles indicates an animal that has evolved...to feed. Imagine that. And despite what the LFS said... apparently, this coral didn't read the same books that they did (smile). Feed finely shredded ocean meats in an attempt to deliver zooplankton substitutes. Fine krill or Mysid shrimp would be a good start. Please go easy on the brine shrimp. Frozen adult brine shrimp are nutritively hollow... rather like water made to look like shrimp...hehe>
Just making sure I'm not doing something wrong for the coral.. 
<Your considerate information gathering gives me hope for this lil' fella in your care. Experiment carefully in acclimation of this animal to new light. Platygyra occur over a wide range, and various specimens of any given species may have drastically different tolerances for light and water movement>
thanks in advance :) you're always so helpful!
<with kind regards, Anthony>

Platygyra Follow-up
Thank you for the quick response
<quite welcome, Bill>
I played around a bit with lighting yesterday, and while moving the coral it is rather large, almost 8" in diameter -its rather spherical, more like a brain shape) I noticed the undersides of it are degenerate. 
<that's Ok... so are most of my friends>
I can see the coral skeleton where it wraps to the bottom of the rock it is attached to. Should I be concerned? 
<possibly a little, but a picture would help if possible>
Or is this possibly a result of poor lighting? 
<not in a short time in your tank/captivity. Any idea how long the LFS held it before your purchase or an educated guess on minimum time this coral has been held in total in captivity?>
My reef tank has 96 watt smart lamp power compacts on it (36") and they illuminate the tank very well,
<how deep is the tank and at what depth is the coral placed?>
but just can't reach to beneath this coral due to its shape... the coral seems to love very high flow, as when placed in low flow it's neon green draws so far inside its hardly noticeable.. when placed with the output of my return pump nearly blasting the coral on the side, it is out and extended and offers tentacles from time to time trying for food...
<interesting, astute and probably accurate observation about water flow for this animal>
I've noticed every morning when the lights first click on its tentacles are out, is it possible it is nocturnal? (I'm still learning a lot about corals,
<no apologies... we all start somewhere. The coral's feeding tentacles at night simply indicate a feeding preference leaning towards zooplankton most likely (when zooplankton is most prevalent). Quite natural and normal and the very best time to feed with substitutes like Mysid shrimp or very finely shredded meats. Feeding will help the receding tissue recover faster... but don't overdo it. Begin with 1-3 times weekly by deliberate target feeding of this animal>
thanks again for the help :)
<Best regards, Anthony>
Bill

More on Platygyra
the store that had this coral before I purchased it said it was held
captive for over three months.
hope this helps- it's one reason I bought this particular coral, it was a
"survivor" that had acclimated well to a captive system (the store, however,
did have a multi thousand gallon reef system for livestock, I'm sure the
water had to have been better than my 58 gal. )
<actually less likely... big systems are expensive to maintain (w/c's and the like)... plus the water quality (not clarity which falsely leads customers) is usually errant from straying over months of slight (or not so) neglect from a busy store to a slow lazy store>
in the tank the coral is approx 4" from the top of the water level, which is
a mere 2" above the water- the top is covered w/ glass from edge to edge, to
prevent escape of my albino ribbon eel (captive for 4 months, eating live
peppermint shrimp regularly !!!)
<sounds like good placement>
the lighting is a 96watt power compact SmartLamp half blue half full spec
<way too little light for the long run, but with the coral centered and shallow... not a problem for now>
hope this helps.. will try and gain access to a digital camera.. the
degeneration seems to not have progressed any.. I purchased Mysid shrimp
<excellent foodstuff>
as well as silversides and other various nutrient soaked foods.
would you recommend soaking the shrimp in Kent Zoe or like vitamins soaks?
<highly recommend Selcon>
what about a coral dip?
<not necessary without evidence of necrosis or infection... described in my book if you are interested... www.readingtrees.com and in Eric Borneman's wonderful new Aquarium Corals book>
thanks again!!! Bill Hammond
<very welcome, Bill. Best of luck to you! Anthony>

Re: I don't think the brain Coral was pooping.....
Thanks Anthony!,
<very welcome, David my friend>
I'll try moving the brain up closer to the light, I'm definitely going to
have to get more LR for my tank, make the base higher. 
<LR is always a good investment in the tank>
I'll cut the cubes
in 1/3s, problem with my feeding, 
<remember...very fine/shredded food is necessary. Cube foods are often gelatin based and hold together in a large and hard to digest chunk.>
is that the brain doesn't put out the
feeder tentacles until about 1-2 hours after the light goes off, is there a
way to convince it to do this earlier? 
<yes, take the thawed pack juice from frozen meaty foods (that is generally discarded for fear of contributing to algae in the tank) and put a spoonful as an attractant into the aquarium prior to feeding. After 15 minutes or so, the feeding tentacles will usually come out. Shrimp type prey (cocktail, mysids, krill, etc) usually works best for this.>
or, should I just concentrating on
feeding twice a day, once for the fish and the yellow polyps, and then again
once the feeder tentacles come out?
how does that sound? Thanks!!! David.
PS. yea every night when the lights go out more and more things come
crawling out of their wholes, its rather amazing, I just can't get over all the brittle stars, is there a microscopic variety of them? 
<yes... and livebearing/fast breeding>
or are these
really baby's of the bigger variety? 
<nope...very unlikely>
I'll tell you the Firefish is enjoying
it, I caught him/her (that's why we named it Lola) trying to get down a leg yesterday!
<hehe...got to love it. Tell Lola to crunch all he/she wants... they'll make more <wink>. Kindly, Anthony>

Feeding brain coral
I am considering purchasing a brain coral and was interested in what is best to feed this type of coral. 
<Hmmm... that depends on what type of Brain coral. Some closed Goniastrea brain corals need high light and no target feeding whatsoever (they are nearly autotrophic). Open brain corals (Trachyphyllia) however are fairly low light and require very regular feedings (minimum 3-5 times weekly). >
I have read that it should be feed shredded pieces of shrimp and another source suggested zooplankton. What would you recommend, shrimp from local grocery cut up or zooplankton from fish store? 
<a mixed and very finely minced variety of all/many: krill, cocktail shrimp (raw shell on), mysids, Pacifica plankton, Gammarus, etc>
Also, I have read daily or weekly feedings? 
<depends on light... very small almost daily feedings for best growth and health>
How would you feed the coral, just squirt the food on top of the open areas? Thank you, Abby
<make a slurry of food in saltwater... put a tiny bit in 15 minutes before feeding to get polyps open.. then gently baste food with a tube, pipette or turkey baster in the general direction of the animals but never blasting right on top (frightens polyps in). Best regards, Anthony>