Pipe Organ

[heels92]

I just got a beautiful pipe organ colony from liveaquaria.com. It seems to be doing well in my tank. I know that it is a soft coral that some say is a hard coral. I have googled the name and get very little info on the species. Does anyone know much about them? I have it on the bottom of my tank but it does not seem to be as "white" as the pics from Saltwater Aquarium Corals for Marine Reef Aquariums: Pipe Organ Coral. It is more brown in the bottom. Should I move it up closer to my lights? Thanks for any advice and info on the species.

 

[framerguy]

Tubipora musica thrives in a wide range of habitats but does best in a high, indirect flow and bright lighting. The indirect flow is more so the colony won't be blown off of it's perch and injure the polyps. Gluing it in place is a good idea. They also like relatively turbid nutrient rich water so tanks with protein skimmers have trouble with them usually. An occassional feeding of gut packed live brine shrimp would also be a good idea.

 

[everwater]

framerguy is right on.....once established for 6 plus months...i've found you can frag it and it seems to do well under less ideal environments....must be the shock of harvest and shipping that makes it most vulnerable when first arriving at the lfs.....as with most saltwater organisms.

 

[SuperClam]

Can we see a pic? I recently purchased what I think is pipe, but the lfs says are cloove polyps. I wanted to make a comparison since I have seen pictures of both on the net that resemble what i have.

 

[michael_cb_125]

A deepwater pipe organ was one of my first corals. I got it from Live Aquaria by mistake. They are great corals. They do need high light and strong water flow. I had mine for two years before another coral stun it, and it wasted away. Many people say to feed them, but could NEVER get a feeding response from it. So I am not sure direct feeding is necessary.
Here a some pics of mine:

Here is a shot of it closed:

~Michael

 

[Frankie]

I have one when I began this hobby. I had it for about two years and donated it to a display tank in NY before I moved. Here's a pictures of it:

 

[heels92]

Thanks for the input. I will move it up in my tank and keep you posted.