Long tentacle green plate

[AJinNY]

Hello all.

I mentioned in another thread that I was having a problem with this plate.

Question...I have a small flame angel AND a yellow coris wrasse. I have NOT seen them nipping at the plate but is it possible but they are the culprits? If so, why are they not damaging the mushrooms or the bubble coral?

Or is there a problem with my water chemistry?

Or are these kind of losses just par for the course?

I guess I learn a little each day.

Thanks again.

[Travis]

Hi AJ, sorry for the late reply.

First of all, heliofungia (long tentacle plate corals) are notorious for not recovering from any sort of physical damage. Which sucks, because they're very easy to mishandle during the shipping process. Grab it by the sides once and it could very well be done for. You may not notice the wound, only the receding, dying coral.

Also, pygmy angels can be fairly well-behaved, but a heliofungia is on the list of things many pygmy angels just can't resist. Along with many LPS corals, especially open brains, and clams. Could be that the flame angel is nipping.

Finally, make sure you test your CA and ALK. Heliofungia are LPS, and are definitely sensitive to alk and CA issues.

HTH

T

[AJinNY]

Thanks, Travis.

Are there any corals you could recommend for me that would do well?

Also I wanted a yellow leather - are those relatively easy to care for?

I want to add to my "reef", but I dont want to unwittingly get something that's too difficult to sustain and best left to the experts.

Thanks, again.

AJ

[Travis]

Well, heliofungia do pretty well If they make the journey intact. I’ve never had one, but that’s what I’ve heard anyway.

Yellow leathers are another tough one to get a good specimen of. At least locally, most of the ones that come in to the LFS’s here are in bad shape and don’t last long in their holding tanks. Yellow leathers are known to be poor shippers. If you can find a tank-raised one, it should be a hardy and beautiful coral for you. I insisted on waiting until I could find a captive-propagated yellow leather and have been very happy with my decision. It has made it through some pretty tough times in my tank.

See if you can talk your LFS into holding either one of these for 2-3 weeks before you buy it. By then, you should be able to recognize any signs of unhappiness, and if you do, bail out!

[AJinNY]

Funny thing is within a few hours mine turned brown then within a day or two after it got back to its beautiful green color so I thought I was home free....then about a week later the font half of it the tantacles stopped expending then the rest of it followed and now I see the skeleton. So Im just wondering what went wrong. Was it the flame angel? The yellow coris? My water chemistry?

Maybe I'll never know.

Thanks again Travis.

[Travis]

Very well could have been doomed before you got it.

There’s still hope for you though- chances are very slim of it recovering, but there are many, many reports of people who lost a heliofungia, left the skeleton in the tank, and several months later see dozens of baby heliofungia forming on the skeleton! I’m tempted to buy one just to watch this happen, as it sounds so cool to experience.

So even if it dies, leave the skeleton. You may have a nice surprise down the road.

T

[AJinNY]

Well I think it is near death - but Ill do as u suggest and keep it and see what happens.....can I keep it out of the way like in the back so you dont see it? Its kind of an eyesore and a reminder of the money I blew on this dud.

You think its got a shot? Im skeptical.

[Travis]

I don’t think the coral itself has got much of a shot, but from what I understand the chances are really good of babies popping up one day. I understand wanting to get the carcass out of view, I would do the same, and just make sure it has some light wherever you put it.

BTW, I mentioned it earlier, but make sure you NEVER handle a fungiid by the sides. The coral’s own skeleton will pierce the flesh, creating a wound that many never recover from. Handle them from the bottom.

T