Blasto closed and won’t open again

[madisonmajhen]

Hello,
I purchased a Purple Blasto from the LFS which opened after a few days. All was well and good in the universe. Then I decided to target feed the corals Reef Roids one day, and my Fire Shrimp attacked the coral and ripped the food out of his mouth. I thought ok, he’ll heal in a few days and be ok. He opened back up...Unfortunately I notice there’s like a dent in him now, and after that I decided to move him which he did not like at all and now he’s been closed up tight. All other corals in the tank seem to be doing just fine other than a couple of chalices which is another story.
My parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Nitrate: 40
Phosphate: .25
Alkalinity:9.6
Calcium: 400
PH: 7.5
Here’s a picture:

Sad Blasto. Help would be most appreciated!

 

[cngh]

assuming everything else stays fine, it'll be fine. just give it time.

it's gone through a period of discomfort (new to the tank, shrimp harassment, being handled a bunch, new location to adjust to) and will need to settle in. keep it in a low/medium flow, and medium/low light. if it's healthy and stays healthy, it'll come back.

 

[madisonmajhen]

assuming everything else stays fine, it'll be fine. just give it time.

it's gone through a period of discomfort (new to the tank, shrimp harassment, being handled a bunch, new location to adjust to) and will need to settle in. keep it in a low/medium flow, and medium/low light. if it's healthy and stays healthy, it'll come back.

I hope so! Gosh Blastos are so finicky, haha! Thank you!

 

[Marco S]

I hope so! Gosh Blastos are so finicky, haha! Thank you!

It's funny you say they are, "so finicky" because I have 7 Blastos in my tank ranging from small to large and they seem to be the most hardy coral I have.

I do agree that it will be fine in time. Mine all close up for a day or two when I dipped them initially and then they close up again when I move them from QT to my main tank. My first Blasto I got, I accidentally blew the tissue off a few heads because I was not gentle enough when dipping and acclimating and it took a few months to grow back, but it grew back fully and then some. One trick I use with my shrimp is that I feed them a few pieces of krill when I feed my coral and that seems to keep them busy and away from the coral while they eat.

Edit:

Just for reference I am adding some before and after pics...

Before in QT with a few heads missing the tissue...

Today: Fully grown back...and then some. ;Happy

Good luck with yours!

 

[supernanoguy]

It's funny you say they are, "so finicky" because I have 7 Blastos in my tank ranging from small to large and they seem to be the most hardy coral I have.

I do agree that it will be fine in time. Mine all close up for a day or two when I dipped them initially and then they close up again when I move them from QT to my main tank. My first Blasto I got, I accidentally blew the tissue off a few heads because I was not gentle enough when dipping and acclimating and it took a few months to grow back, but it grew back fully and then some. One trick I use with my shrimp is that I feed them a few pieces of krill when I feed my coral and that seems to keep them busy and away from the coral while they eat.

Edit:

Just for reference I am adding some before and after pics...

Before in QT with a few heads missing the tissue...

Today: Fully grown back...and then some. ;Happy

Good luck with yours!

What was the time frame on these images if you can recall? Great looking tank.

 

[Marco S]

What was the time frame on these images if you can recall? Great looking tank.

The timeframe between the pictures is about a year, but the damaged heads grew back in about 3 months.