Cynarina with white bubble   6/22/06
My Cynarina blossoms daily, expanding to more than twice her night time size and looks more like light pink and green tinged bubble coral than many of
the pictures that show the central mouth clearly exposed.  I have had her well over a year (initially she did look like the flatter photos) and she
seems to have done very well feeding almost exclusively on daily target fed black worms.  I recently (for about 3 weeks now) started feeding frozen
Mysis (thawed and enriched) to my seahorses in the same tank but do not directly feed the Cynarina the shrimp.  Yesterday I noticed a strange white
"polyp" showing from the center of the other bubbles.  The white bubble has a mouth like opening and two black dots on either side of the opening so
that it almost looks like a dead fish head with eyes perpendicular to the mouth.
<Neat... might be a "lure">
There is no sign of damaged/torn tissue.   I have read that they don't propagate in aquariums so I assume there is a problem.
<Mmm, I wouldn't>
   Is this a sign of infection?  What is my best course of action (if any) to keep her healthy? The attached picture is a nighttime shot that clearly shows the
white bubble as it does not deflate at lights out.
Thanks!
Denise
<I would do nothing out of your current regimen here. Bob Fenner>

Question on a (Lobophyllia) brain coral  - 2/21/2006
Hi WWM crew!. I have a question on a Lobophyllia brain coral that i recently purchased. My question is, I've noticed that this coral has small
orifices on its polyps ( largest polyp has 4 ). Well some times these orifices will open up and the coral will deflate, then reinflate with in
a few minutes. Now is this some sort of water exchange?.
<Among other things...>
Also when it deflates i can see the skeleton ( spines ) kinda poking through. Is this something i should be concerned about?.
<...? No... Mussids do get "fuller" polyps at times, reacting...>
Please, any help would be appreciated!. Oh and one final thing. Love your web site, always have, always will!.
Roger.
<Bob Fenner>

Scolymia
 I have a Scolymia in my 29 gallon reef aquarium. I have had him for about five months, and he doesn't seem to be acting like he used to. I feed him frozen krill. His mouth opens up when he is hungry, but lately, he is constantly keeping it open. After I place a creel in his mouth, he does not want to eat it anymore. He looks a lot skinnier in the mouth area than he usually did. He used to be big and plump in the middle.
Some additional products I add to the tank is Chromaplex, Zooplex, Iodine, Reef Buster, and PhytoPlex. I also have exceptional lighting (Coralife light). What can be making the Scolymia act the way he has been lately? Also, are there any other helpful hints I may need to know about the Scolymia eating habits.
<How large are the krill you're feeding? If you're feeding whole krill, then the animal is probably declining from starvation. Feeding such large portions is unnatural, and is not usually digestible by any Cnidarian. They engulf it, for sure, but expel it later, and acquire virtually nothing from the food item. Feed small minced portions no larger than 1\4" across, and VARY the diet! Try Mysis, prepared foods, scallops, fish, Cyclop-Eeze, etc. Also, soak the food in a HUFA\OMEGA3 supplement such as Selcon>
Thank you,
<You're welcome, and good luck!>
Holly
<M. Maddox> 

Do brain Corals poop?
Hello Bob, Anthony, whomever has the pleasure of answering this question,
<I guess I'm going to be the poop expert today... no different than any other day...hehe>
So, I just got my lovely pineapple brain for my tank, and I've notice a
curious occurrence,
<Blastomussa or Faviid species?>
It looks like it poops
<they all do if you are feeding meaty foods regularly>
every day, the individual colonies seem to take their turns ejecting this long brown stringy stuff, 
<if you are not feeding meaty foods and didn't quarantine or acclimate this coral to the new light up a gradient over time (just put it in the top 1/3 of the tank right off the bat...aiee!!!) then you could be looking at a possibly fatal expulsion of zooxanthellae packets (bleaching event)>
the coral seems to do it one section at a time.
Now, they don't look like they are spawning, and since its been in my tank for only 4 days, I doubt that's what its doing, but I was wondering if this is actually how corals get rid of their waste?
Any ideas? Thanks!!! David
<I realize in four days that you did not QT or otherwise acclimate this coral to light. If it is Blastomussa wellsi in the top third of the tank, you are bleaching and killing it. It is a true Faviid species it is likely to want the bright light after a gradual acclimation from the stress of import. What kind of light do you have and how long on? MH?...then is likely a bad sign. But if weaker lights, perhaps not. kindly, Anthony>

Re: Do brain Corals poop?
Hey, so, I have 32W Power compact, 1/2 daylight, 1/2 actinic, (Sealife
Retrofit for my eclipse hood) and a Faviid Brain
its in a 25gal tank, and probably 12 in from the top.
<not at all too bright...for some Faviids, enough indeed. We can safely rule out bleaching>
I'm the same guy with the Yellow polyps and green button polyps,
<my apologies David, I didn't recall at first>
for the 1st day I had the coral probably 4 inches lower in the tank, and
then moved it up a little. 
<very good...and can go to the very top eventually if you like under these lights>
I've been feeding the tank 1/2-1 cube of frozen
mysis shrimp, which I try to mash up a bit, every day,
<very good!>
and there's a bicolor blenny and firefish goby in the tank.
The light are set to about 10 hours on, 14 hours off. no dawn or dusk,
<no problem...fine>
usually the polyps though take advantage of my large windows and are
pointing out toward them in the morning.
<too cool... and telling you that you need to set up a greenhouse for coral farming...hehe. Or at least a bay window!>
I see the coral putting out its feeder tentacles about twice a day, no
bleaching as of yet...
So that's what's going on... so do you think it pooping or bleaching?
<Without a doubt... related to the legend of why a bear brings a Reader's Digest into the woods <G>>
Thanks again Anthony
David
<my pleasure, goombah. Anthony>

-Scolymia showing teeth!-
Dear Bob, <Kevin here in his stead> I have had a Scolymia for about 2 months. It feeds nicely -almost every other day on bits of lancefish nicely soaked in Selcon and Zoë. Originally it didn't have any 'toothy' extensions or they were all entirely  covered by the flesh. I have noticed that now one or two protrude. <Likely from some sort of light damage> It inflates nicely and eats avidly, if slowly -about 25 minutes- what I provide. <That's a good sign> It is in good light, slight water motion and no nasty neighbors that would sting. I was a bit worried that the toothy extensions through the flesh my signal some kind of unhappiness or decay. <The toothy extensions are it's septa which have pierced the flesh somehow, likely from some sort of light trauma. If it does not become infected at the spot where the flesh has torn, it should heal nicely. The only problem with the septa sticking out is the possibility for an encroaching algae to develop and push the tissue back further. Keep an eye out for this.> I like it very much and it is a coral now no longer imported in the UK <Really?! Why is this?> so I am especially keen to see it do well. Am I worrying too much? or is there something wrong? Thanks for all the help on your fab site. <Good luck! -Kevin>
Massimo