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FAQs about Trachyphylliid Coral
Behavior Related Articles: Trachyphylliid Corals,
Trachyphyllia Reproduction Report,
Related FAQs: Open Brain Coral
1, Open Brain Coral 2,
Trachyphylliid Identification,
Trachyphylliid Selection,
Trachyphylliid Compatibility,
Trachyphylliid Feeding,
Trachyphylliid Systems,
Trachyphylliid Disease,
Trachyphylliid Reproduction,
Stony Corals, Stonies
2, Stonies 3, LPS
Stony Corals, Coral System Set-Up, Coral
System Lighting, Stony Coral Selection, Coral
Placement, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,
Disease/Health, Propagation, Stony
Coral Behavior,
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Bloated Open Brain (Trachyphyllia) 6/25/08
Hi WWM Crew,
<Hello Cindy!>
I am very much hoping that you can alleviate my worries about our open brain.
<I hope so too!>
We've had 'him' for about 4 weeks now and until recently it appeared as though
everything was going well. Until the past few days his tentacles would come out
every evening - dinner time for everyone else as he was curious. Twice a week we
feed him a small morsel of clam, muscle, shrimp or octopus; which he accepts
gladly.
<Great! Glad to see you must have researched husbandry a little. Too many of
these starve to death in aquariums.>
There are never any leftovers and he hasn't spewed anything back into the tank.
The rest of the week he will get left overs that may drift to the bottom once
the fish have had their fill.
As far as I can tell he's well fed. Recently we have upgraded our lighting and
we are trying to acclimate everyone slowly to the better lighting.
Since we've changed the lighting though the open brain coral has bloated and his
tentacles are extended all the time. Based on all the research I've done I was
sure that his tentacles were a sure sign of hunger and the bloating was
generally reserved for the day after meals; but for the past three days they are
out almost 24/7 and his bloating is incredible; he expands by about 50%. He
still expands/retracts but the bloating is so much more than we've seen in the
past that I'm worried about the behaviour. Is he incredibly hungry or just
loving the new light? Do I step up the feeding/reduce/change it??
<This is a stress response, most likely. Expansion means more surface area, and
therefore more passive cooling/waste diffusion. Even if he isn't cooking, full
of waste, or wanting more light a coral only has so many responses to stress. If
something seems wrong and all you can do is puff up, you're going to puff up-
know what I mean?>
Tank details:
6 months old, 45 gal -corner tank, 40lbs live rock, 2" live crushed coral
covered by 1" fine live sand. 2 percula clowns, 1 cleaner shrimp, one engineer
goby, 1 hammer coral, 1 bubble coral, 1 open brain :-), green Zoanthid polyps, 1
doz assorted snails, 3 red hermits, various blue legged crabs, small refugium
with 4 mangroves, Tunze 50 gal protein skimmer, Fluval filter, 78 degrees, 8.2
ph, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20 nitrate??, 380 calcium. The calcium levels is
slowly being increased (over the course of 2 weeks) to 400. The nitrates are
frustrating, they are always there, we've tested the change water and the
nitrates are 0, but after 1 day they jump to 10, am hoping the new lighting will
increase the algae and that will help to take care of the nitrates.
<Well, to run the colloquialism through the nitrogen cycle..."nitrate happens".
It can be tough to control in smaller tanks...but it sounds like you know how to
stay on top of it.>
Change water 10% twice weekly. Old lighting: 2 x 18" 15w fluorescent bulbs 1 x
10,000k (ocean sun), 1 x 20,000 (coral sun) - new lighting: 1 250w 14,000k metal
halide.
<VERY good lighting! Keep an eye on that 14k, I've heard sometimes they don't
hold their spectrum as long as the 10k or 20k flavor.>
Thank you very much for the hours upon hours of reading material that you have
provided for us!
<You are very welcome! Thank you for reading them! I think your brain should
return to normal as he adjusts to the new lighting. If he begins to bleach or
show other signs of serious stress consider slower acclimation to the light- and
feel free to write in if problems arise.>
Cindy
<Benjamin>
Open Brain Coral... ID,
hlth... 2/25/08
Greetings WWM,
<<G'Morning. Andrew today>>
I have acquired and open brain coral, I stuck him on the bottom of the tank in
the substrate and he was all closed up and now he has puffed up like a balloon
is this normal? My water perimeters are great any suggestions? Thanks from
Colorado
<<Species of coral? Would always prefer to know you exact water parameters.
<<Sometimes, yes this is normal for an open brain to bloat up as its creating
more surface area for feeding. Maybe provide a photograph to enable us to better
look at the coral>>
<<Hope this helps. A Nixon>>
Re: Open Brain Coral 02/26/2008
Greetings Andrew,
<<Hello again>>
He is not as blown up as he was, he has seemed to mellow a bit. My water
parameters are as follows nitrate is around 5, nitrite is at 0 ph is at
8.3,
ammonia is at 0 alkalinity is at 10, calcium at 400. I run a metal
halide made by current at 150w, I had VHO lights but it was too much
lighting. I
have adequate filtration with skimmer and my bio load is as follows for
a 55 gallon.
2 false clowns
2 blue neon gobies
1 mandarin goby
3 turbo snails
3 hermit crabs
2 cleaner shrimp
1 serpent star
1 metallic green open brained coral
120 pounds of live rock and Tonga branch
<<Am sure it will be fine once it has settled down in the tank. By the
sounds of it, its already started to deflate, which is a good sign>>
<<Thanks. A Nixon>> |
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Wellsophyllia Brain Swelling/Compatibility
Hello Again, Happy 4th of July!
<Hi, Pufferpunk here. Happy 4th to you too!>
I'll make it short and simple. 75 gal. reef tank. 100 lbs of live rock. 390
watts of PCs (3 month old bulbs). Ammonia levels are 0, Nitrite 0, Phosphate 0,
Nitrates barely detectable. I am aggressively skimming and changing about 20% of
the water every 4-5 days.
I have a Green Wells Brain
<Wellsophyllia>
that is awfully close to some silvertip Xenia. The brain eats every couple of
days ...some Mysis, and Zooplankton. The Brain has grown excellent and has
doubled in size in the past 4 months. The brain is overall about 7" in diameter.
However, today I noticed that it looks swollen or "puffed up" and I was
wondering if this is normal behavior.
<Mine shrinks & swells daily.>
I also noticed that for a short time today, the Xenia was closed. I placed them
so close because I was told that the "Chemical Warfare" would not be an issue.
<Agreed>
The Brain is showing no skeleton and aside from being swollen, it looks very
healthy. Are these two species compatible?
<They should be fine. I run Purigen in my sump, just in case.>
I am supplementing Bio-Cal, Bio-Stront, Tech I, and Tech M.
<Are you testing for calcium & alkalinity?>
P.S. Am I wasting my money adding DT's Phytoplankton to a tank with Leathers,
Xenia, a Wells Brain and assorted zoos and shrooms?
<Not at all. There are tiny creatures in your sand bed that need to eat too.
They help keep your tank healthy.>
Just wondering... I am using HOB filters with powerheads and Carbon.
<Sounds like your tank is doing great. I had issues though, with my brain not
receiving enough light from PCs. Eventually, I had to loan them out to someone
that had more light over their tank, until I upgraded to T5s. Good luck to you.
I hope you enjoyed fireworks somewhere! ~PP> Brain Coral/Health 4/4/07
Dear WWM,
<Hello Paige>
After reading through your site, I am slightly confused about open brain corals.
Are they supposed to puff up, or not. I have been taking care of one for about
six months. When I started, it did not puff up, the tentacles did not come out
at all and it had some white spots on it.
Then about a month ago, it started to puff up and turn a bright green.
Then last week, it went back to not puffing and got the white spots again. I did
vacuum the sand two weeks ago. Could this have affected it at all? I have a 100
gallon tank with three Fluval filters, the salinity is about 33.6 ppt, the pH
has been constant at 8.0, the calcium is about 480, alkalinity is 3 meq/L, the
nitrates are 0 as is the phosphate. I am also doing 5% water changes weekly. Any
help would be greatly appreciated.
<They should puff up slightly in the evening hours when the tentacles are
expanded. They do best in a well established reef aquarium that incorporates
moderate to strong lighting. You do not mention what type of lighting you are
using. Along with a moderate water current, the addition of calcium, strontium,
and other trace elements are beneficial to the coral's health. They will also
benefit from weekly feedings of Cyclop-Eeze or similar food. They should only
be fed when the tentacles are fully expanded. Sounds to me like there may be a
water quality issue here along with insufficient lighting. You mention the use
of three Fluvals, are the filter pads cleaned and rinsed weekly? If not, there
will be an excess of dissolved nutrients in the water which is not favorable to
their overall health. A protein skimmer helps immensely in this regard along
with the use of Chemi-Pure in the filters.>
Thank you very much!
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Sincerely,
Paige Wachtler
Worried bout my open brain
10/2/06
Hey guys/gals,
I love reading your faq's they are very helpful. First my tank
parameters I have a 25 Gal tank with 2x 65 Coralife Pc's 1 10K 1 03
Antic, my salinity is 1.025, PH 8.2, alk 11, ammonia is 0 nitrates 0,
this is a coral only tank no fish. My question is about my
Trachyphylliid I have had him for over a month. I feed him 2 krill 2 to
3 times a week and I feed DT's once a week he has awesome expansion and
seems healthy, but the other day this white stuff came out of his mouth
(refer to pic) I blew it off with my turkey baster gently and it has
came back do you guys know what this is?
<Looks like egested food-waste... Cnidarians only have one opening/exit
to their lumens/gastrovascular cavities... I'd "fish out" (siphon, net)
this waste. Bob Fenner> |
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Wellsophyllia a.k.a Trachyphyllia radiata 8/24/06
Hey guys hope all is well! I have one question, it was mentioned in one of
your previous responses but I would like to make sure. I have Trachyphyllia
radiata that I have recently purchased. It has fed once (krill). I have two Kent
marine drip systems in place one for food and the other for additives. The coral
seems to inflate and deflate. Is this normal? Thanks for any help you may give.
Mark
<Yep. BobF>
Open Brain With Backwards Behavior 6/16/06
Hi Web Crew!
I would like to say thanks for all the helpful information your site
contains and the on going dedication of everyone. Your my first source when
it comes to difficult reef keeping questions!
My Specifications:
125g All-Glass MegaFlow with a 55g sump/refugium, Two 9.5 mag drive pumps,
Light: One 160w 72 inch Actinic, One 160w 72 inch 10,000k, One 250w MH,
Temp:78, SG: 1.023, PH: 8.1, A: 0, N:0. N:0 CAL:480
I recently purchased a red Trachyphyllia geoffroyi. It looked great and
healthy at the LFS but when I acclimated it into my tank I have had a few
issues.
I made a few errors to begin with. One, maybe I should have acclimated it
for more than an hour. Two, I had it under the 250 MH to begin with and may
have ³light shocked² it (now under the softer light of the actinic/10,000k).
Three, it does have nick in the flesh on the ³underside² exposing some
skeleton. Four, I have a Flame Angel that took a little nip at it once or
twice, but has now lost
interest in it.
The brain contracts during light but expands some (but not fully) sometime
during the night (tank lights off) because I check on it in the morning. I
have been placing food on itıs mouth every other night, alternating brine
and a raw shrimp, scallop, homemade blend. All tiny pieces. I monitored it
with a flashlight and noticed it did engulf the food. My concern is itıs
tentacles arenıt active in the feeding process even when I blow ³food juice²
on it 15mins before to stimulate feeding.
Also, Iım thinking of blowing lightly some Kent Iodine on it with the
concern of preventing that nick getting infected.
Do you know why itıs contracting in light then expanding in the dark, and do
you have any advice on further treatment or steps in regaining the health of
my brain?
<<Clayton: Most brains will take several days to adjust to the conditions in
your tank. They like to be on the sand. If yours is eating, that is a good
sign. On mine, I only see the feeding tentacles at night when the lights
are out. As long as the flesh is not completely receding away from the
skeleton, you should be OK. If you don't have a test kit for it, you should
monitor alkalinity. Best of luck, Roy>>
Open brain retracting - 04/05/2006
I just want to start by thanking you guys for everything you're doing.
About 2 weeks ago I purchased a gorgeous open brain coral. I didn't notice
in the store, but as I was acclimating him at home I noticed a small spot
where it looks like he is retracting from his skeleton. I've had him for
about 2 weeks now and it hasn't gotten any worse. My nitrate, nitrite and
ammonia are all 0, pH is about 8.3-8.4. I have a little bit of a phosphate
problem and if I remember correctly its about 1 ppm, and I just can't keep
my calcium very high because of my corals. It is at about 300-350 ppm. I'm
wondering if this can be something that happened in shipping or how I can
tell if its getting worse?
<Perhaps a series of close-up digital pix you can save, send to compare>
It doesn't seem like its getting worse, but it doesn't look like its getting
better. Thanks again for all your help guys.
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Re: Devils hand/devils finger *update*
The brain has left it's skeleton and is almost double in size.
This should rack your brain.
<symptomatically it is no surprise to me on this point. Your brain <G>
is under duress... and LPS corals in particular when severally stressed will
often expand markedly which some aquarists mistake as a positive sign
("happy" or growth). It is in fact generally a sign of an animal
panning/struggling for light (by spreading tissue and zooxanthellae out in an
effort to catch more of the inadequate or waning light from deteriorating water
clarity <yellowing agents from lack of carbon/water changes> or the bulbs)
or lacking food (T. geoffroyi uses a mucosal net strategy for feeding which
involves such ballooning). Now why, your coral has done all of this is another
matter <smile>. Again... time will tell. Things will get better or worse
soon <G>. Best regards, Anthony>
Brain not Functioning
I have been keeping deep water LPS corals for the past year. I
recently purchased a green open brain. During the past week he
is opening less and less. Also I have yet to see his sweeper
tentacles. What do they look like? (like a Bubble Coral)
<Yes, very similar.>
System specs.
Temp 78
no trace ammonia, nitrite or nitrate
Calcium 420
200 watts Smartlight
55 gal tank, 20 gal sump, 10 gal Refugium
ph 8.4 @ mid-day
using Poly-Filter for the past few days to a week
<All looks good. Do be sure to feed this coral. Frozen Mysis shrimp,
plankton, or Seawater Zooplankton would all be appropriate. About three times
per week.>
Thanks, Jeremy
p.s. do green brittle stars eat amphipods?
<I would think they would be a little small for this predatory starfish.
-Steven Pro>
Red Open Brain
Anthony (or WWM reefer),
<Steven this morning. Anthony is a little busy and getting behind, so I am
helping with some of his email.>
I was reading the daily FAQ on WWM and came across an answer from Anthony that
has caused me some distress. This is in regards to the "Hammer Coral with
Spots!" answer. I have attached this post at the
bottom. I was hoping you could set my mind at ease, or at least point me in the
right direction. My concern is with the LPS polyp extensions. I have a red open
brain in a 20 gal high tank with 2x65w PC's (one daylight and one actinic). I've
had this coral for 8 months now and have always seen the polyps extend greatly
during the light cycle (Usually 3 to 4 times its nocturnal size). I feed him 3
times a week with a home mixture of shredded jumbo shrimp, Mysis shrimp, brine
shrimp. This is soaked in Zoe for 24 hours before feeding. I keep the pieces
small (usually smaller than 1/8 inch) and have not seen any regurgitation of
large pieces of food. Does my feeding schedule and light seem appropriate to
you?
<It all seems fine to me.>
I realize that the brain is a different species than a Hammer, but does your
advice/experience for the Hammer work for both?
<The care for many LPS coral is similar.>
I'm concerned that I may be leading this beautiful creature to a slow death.
Tank info:
20 gal high
2x65PC's
CPR Bak-Pak skimmer
2- maxi-jet 400's for circulation
Emperor 280 HOB filter (more circulation and occasional carbon use)
30 lbs LR
50 lbs LS
Corals:
1 - Red open brain
colony of blue mushrooms
colony of pulsing Xenia
Fish
1 - Royal Gramma
1 - yellow watchman goby
assorted hermits and a peppermint shrimp.
Tank parameters:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5ppm
Phosphate - undetectable with Salifert kit
Calcium - 400ppm
Alk - 3.2 meq/l
Thank you in advance for any help.
Regards, Mike Spaeth
<Everything above seem good to me. If you are concerned that your Open Brain
is panning for more light, do compare photos of healthy ones to yours or send us
a digital image. No zipped pictures and nothing too large, 400 KB or under
please. -Steven Pro>
Open Brain coloring
Hi all,
I purchased a red open brain about 2 weeks ago. I have it sitting about 12
inches from the water surface, under 2 36 watt pc bulbs, 1 6500 k and 1
blue. I feed it every other day with finely cut shrimp.
<all excellent husbandry for this species. Kudos to you for doing your
homework my friend>
I know that the
coral needs time to adjust to the different light and water quality, and may
change in appearance.
<agreed>
Here is my concern. Over the past few days the red
has been fading. It has green stripes that are incandescent on him that seem
the same as when I purchased him, maybe even getting more numerous. Just
looking for your collective wisdom. Should I be worried or wait it out and
see what happens.
<although a paling color is not a favorable change... I'd wait it out. You
may be looking at the result of shipping duress. Have faith in the place and
care you have provided and please do not move this coral under any reasonable
circumstance. Simply give it several weeks to adjust.>
Thanks Jon
<best regards, Anthony>
Re: Open Brain coloring
Thanks, You guys rock!!!
<live rock...coast to coast...San Diego, CA to MA. Keep on rockin' in the
free world... rock on my brother... Rock of Ages (Ok... I think I'm done now).
Kindly, Anthony>
Open Brain Coral care - 4/18/03
Hi guys, <Hello. Paul here after an intense night of hockey action>
Yesterday, I purchased a open brain coral (Green), after reading from WWM found
that is quite hardy and suitable for most reef tanks. <Can be, but as you
know, any animal no matter how hardy, needs your help. Also, it is a good habit
to gain knowledge before purchasing an animal, in my opinion. You are well on
your way.> Great site by the way, very knowledgeable and informative website.
<We aim to please> I have a slight concern that when my Orange diamond
Goby "shift" sands, or sometimes they wiggle their tail, which cause
sand to get on top of the open brain coral (Green), should I be worried about
that? <Yes you should. Be sure to either blow it of gently with a turkey
baster or something similar to that effect. These animals do utilize a slime
coating/netting that in some ways aids in feeding and shedding detritus, but I
don't think it could move a good amount of sand if it were to get on it.> Or
should I try to help by removing the fine live sand? <Help move the sand off
with a gentle hand wave or turkey baster> The open brain coral (Green) opened
up beautifully today, which is a good sign. <A good sign that it needs food
<VBG> Please read through the FAQs on our site regarding care and proper
nutrition. Good luck, Pablo>
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