Bubble Coral: Tips and Pointers... cant keep to save my life!

[scottyitsk]

Alright guys, I have a severe infatuation with bubble coral, plate coral, and open brain coral.... and of course... out of all the coral, these types are the ONLY coral that I can not keep alive!!!! Somebody please for the love of god.. help me... lol... I feel like I have done everything possible to keep them happy and healthy.. and I never win.

Here is everything about my tank:

-240g Tall
-Coast to Coast overflow the entire length of tank almost
-75g refuge/sump
-WP40 on 100% in else mode
-Reeflo external snapper pump flowing roughly about 1700 gph through (2) 1 inch returns
-1 hydor circ pump
-wp25 on 100%
-ReefBreeders Photon 48 - max white 18% - max blues/grows - 60%
- ASM g4 plus skimmer with mesh mod

Salinity 1.025
Temp -78.5
Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
PH - 8.1 - 8.2

MG - 1400
CA - 460
ALK - 8.2
pO4 - 0


I acclimate all corals very slow... drip and temp acclimate. I also light acclimate for about 3 days.

Will I ever be able to keep these coral!!! Its just like.. they do great for the first week or so.. and then bam.. in 2 days they just decide to melt away.. after being fully extended the day prior.

HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

 

[scottyitsk]

correction: 55g sump/refuge

 

[scottyitsk]

 

[Tab28]

Of the three you mentioned plate of my problem. In my case too much light. I am guessing the brain is a trachyphyllia. Which was tough to keep for me until i tried to acclimate to my lighting for a two month period. Had one always deflated. Which seemed to always be the MO until it died. So i moved it to a shaded area. Within a few days, nice and puffy. Unlike plates trachy like medium to high lighting but my lighting always seemed to be more than where i purchased them. Bubble coral i had no issues with. Had one for over 10 years, but when i first got it i had less lighting and tank. So it grew into with all the updates. All three also prefer low flow and eat alot. But food would not be the issue that fast.

 

[hart24601]

What do the bubble look like? If mine is in low light it inflates them more and covers itself in them, if in brighter light they are smaller.

You have any fish or inverts that host in them? Sounds like they get infection and die. My LPS have only died quickly like that if they get damage and infection. I had trouble keeping some LPS until I found my maroon clown would "love" them too much. I didn't even see it normally, until I hid around the corner and watched for a long time. I got rid of him and it was all good. Until I got a white-tail tang, he picks on green brain corals.

 

[scottyitsk]

How long do you guys suggest I light acclimate?

I'm using a photon 48 with 90 degree optics. Max white 18 % max grow blue 65% max last from 1200 to 1600 time

 

[scottyitsk]

How long do you guys suggest I light acclimate?

I'm using a photon 48 with 90 degree optics. Max white 18 % max grow blue 65% max last from 1200 to 1600 time

 

[Murfman]

I have a bubble that I have killed 3 times and it has come back. Don't ever get rid of the skeleton, should it die on you. Mine stays inflated really large, until my wave boxes turn on then shrinks up to smaller size bubbles. I have it at the opposite end of my wave boxes and gyre on an 8' tank It is shaded by a very large rock and is on the outside of the Maxspect Razor.



I moved it from the location in this video to the far right, behind the Pavona;

 

[13jake]

I would drop your blues a little bit and also I would aclimate it for like 2-3 weeks.slowly move it a little higher every week

 

[13jake]

Btw I envy that monti. Once had a rare pink monti but could never get it to live

 

[scottyitsk]

I can keep any sps with no issue. But when it comes too coral like, the bubble, open brain, long tenacle plates... I just haven't found the correct way yet!

 

[stiky]

You have come to the right spot! I once was like you. I loved bubble corals and tried many but always failed. That was some 8 years ago. I was convinced that they were never to be purchased. They were better left to the ocean and not in our aquariums. It was until recently that I kept them out of my tank. I saw a nice specimen when Doug some acrylic restoration for a guy and thought hmmm....shall I try again? I purchased the bubble, it was quite a large one. I brought it home and thought what am I going to do different. Before I had lost them to punctures. Once one bubble is punctured it gets infected quite quickly. Algae starts to grow on the skeleton and 99% of the time it slowly fades into the aquarium afterlife. If you have any qurious fish they may nip at it and puncture the skin. Flow is a big deal here. They hate any type of flow even random. Before my power heads come on in the morning it is huge! But as the day goes on it deflates to 80% it's normal self. This is normalOnce acclimated they will tolerate it but at first turn your power heads off and let it get good and settled before ******* it off again. In the meantime try and think of a spot in your tank with low flow. Perhaps somewhere that you have had a cyano problem before or where detritus is going to accumulate. It needs to be in the sand bed. You could put it on a rock if you wish, someplace low but if it extends and scrapes it's tissue it is almost certain death. There is also brown algae disease. This appears as a brown filamented algae attacking the corals skeleton. It pretty much annoys the bubble so it doesn't open and therefore starves. Now, I have also seen brown algae in the bubbles themselves. This is normal and most likely a build up of zooanth.. No problems there. It will acclimate to your lights. It is not super light hungry so moderate lighting and deep placement are a must. You may see it deflated and think it's dying. It most likely is not. If it is accompanied by brown strings it is most likely just exerting waste. If however you see the coral getting quite pale it could be a problem. It has to acclimate so it could also have an excess of zooanth and could be venting some. Feed regularly with krill but not too often. I feed a small krill once a week or once every two weeks. Finding it with its sweepers out is the perfect time. Don't touch the tentacles. If you do it may trigger a negative feeding response and you will have to wait to try again. Place a clear cup over it while it's eating as they are quite slow eaters sometimes and this keeps the cleaner shrimp from stealing it. If you have a very high flow tank, you may want to reconsider this coral as it may never be truly happy. I hope this helps. I did this on an iPhone and now I can't feel my fingers. Good luck!

 

[scottyitsk]

thanks!

Thanks so much for the reply, maybe I will dabble with flow... just got to be careful as I do have a good amount of sps .

 

[Wiz]

I won't advise just share. I got this frag from a local fragger. Been in my 40b for months now. I had t5 lighting when I got it. Moved it quite bit until it I liked where it sat. It was only upset when I put it low. Finally settled on this spot. Bout 4" from the surface. Right below the out flow from sump/fuge. So moderate flow. It has done great and is growing. Bout three weeks ago I got a dm-165p+ and switched the lighting overnight. All my corals adjusted fine with no "light acclimation". Some are even doing better. Like my neon yellow toadstool that was slowly crumbling. Looking much better. And my plate is coloring up much nicer. My parameters are almost exactly yours with a slightly higher alk. Bout 9.5

 

[scottyitsk]

I really feel it is my flow from my return and wavemakers.

reeflo with snapper wheel.. turning over about 1700 gph Through two one inch returns... jabeo wp40 on 75 %.. on else random mode.. roughly 3800 gph flow. ... wp25 on 50 % roughly 800 gph... hydor on 100 % roughly 500gph..

So about 6800 gph total flow

5100 gph flow just from wavemakers

 

[Wiz]

Total flow shouldn't matter. All that does is how hard the bubble gets hit. Mine has a lil bounce to it when open. Is yours getting pummeled?

 

[scottyitsk]

total volume does matter....

total volume... starts carrying momentum.... once that happens.. there are literally no dead spots withing the aquascape.... I have tried 3 bubble coral colonies over the past year.. all died within 2 weeks.... No matter where I put the colony... the vesicles were getting tosses around...

I think I need to start dabbling with the pumps and turn them down and maybe turn the volume down coming through the returns a bit.

 

[scottyitsk]

sorry you are right... i meant to say... total volume does matter when it comes to turnover rates... but velocity from the pumps that it takes to get the flow is the issue... i think i just have to find a spot in the tank... that i want the flow to be almost stagnent, that should make a really nice home for the bubble

 

[Wiz]

gosh I hated playing with my pumps. Takes 20 mins for an adjustment to settle and see what it really does. I kept finding what I liked then look back in 15 mins and it changed. Currents are hard to work with. Took me about 2 days to get it the way I wanted. Lol good luck.

 

[FX CharityCorals]

Bubble coral need to be in a very dim shaded spot with low flow. They also need to be fed a few times a week to thrive. Form follows function so the bubbles are there to increase surface area for their symbiotic algae to capture light. They are a very active feeding coral at night so I believe they get alot of their nutrition through hunting rather than photosynthesis. The bubbles don't do well in high flow or medium flow as they tear on the skeleton. Good luck