Carnation Coral advise

[Slingshot357]

So I accidentally purchased this before looking it up myself, rookie mistake. I went on the LFS assistants information and was told it was simple to take care of, just like a leather coral. From everything I've read online it's not as easy as it seams because it's non photosynthetic. So I decided to keep it anyway and I'm just looking for advice if anyone has had success taking care of one.

I did an ICP test and everything is good, just a little low on iodine. dosing a little of that and sending out for another ICP soon. Other than that everything is in the green. I lowered my lighting a little. There are no SPS in my tank and everything seems to be ok with it. I placed it in a medium flow area. The real problem is I'm not really sure what this thing eats. I've been feeding it with polyp booster first then waiting a bit. Then I feed it with Reef Roids and Phytoplankton. I've also been doing Red Sea Coral Nutrition A and B. So I've pretty much taken a shotgun approach. I'm really not sure if it needs any of this or all of it, or am I totally off the mark.

Nitrates are at 5 and phosphates are at .03. I'm not dosing anything for calc, alk or mag yet. It's not very stocked and like I said, No SPS. Just a few small Zoanthids, a small frogspawn frag, a small xenia frag and a small GSP frag. so just doing weekly water changes. I still test though using all Hanna Checkers and Nyos for nitrates.

It's been in the tank for a little over a week and it is really looking good. So I guess what I'm doing isn't killing it but I'm not sure if any of it is really necessary. So any care tips would be great.

 

[Hemmdog]

@Dr.Dendrostein Kaplan

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Did they tell you exactly what species it is? There are tree corals like that which are photosynthetic and it can be difficult to tell. Can you get a closer photo of the stalk so the sclerites (if they show) can be seen? As well as the polyps, shape and direction?

 

[MrWheelock]

@Hemmdog beat me to the tag. The Dr. Is one of the go to for these as he's had good success keeping them. I just sit idly by admiring and babying my chili coral

 

[Slingshot357]

Did they tell you exactly what species it is? There are tree corals like that which are photosynthetic and it can be difficult to tell. Can you get a closer photo of the stalk so the sclerites (if they show) can be seen? As well as the polyps, shape and direction?

The bag just said Carnation Coral. It's hard to get a decent picture but I'll send what I can. It's a light maroon or fuchsia color with a pink stalk. It's large. About 8 - 10 inches tall when full open. The last picture is of my tank (90 Gal) so you can get an idea of size. It really does look like it approves of what I've been doing. At night it balls up and looks like purple broccoli but when the lights ramp up it comes awake and stretches out. My wife loves it and she encourages me to purchase whatever I need to keep it alive. ;)

 

[Slingshot357]

As a quick side note, this app is a must have for reefers that can't find their clip on gel filters.

 

[Katrina71]

Excuse me? Is that my cousin I see?

 

[sixty_reefer]

It could be pink nephthea, which is photosynthetic best wait for the Dr. As he’s the in house specialists :)

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Better late than never, it's a carnation coral, dendronephthya, non-photosynthetic. Australia? Maybe

 

[ScottR]

Better late than never, it's a carnation coral, dendronephthya, non-photosynthetic. Australia? Maybe

Tips for feeding?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

:)

Tips for feeding?

He figure out.:)

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Need better photos.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I keep looking at carnation must be Australia or Vietnam

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

It could also be litophyton. Some varieties can look spiky like that when retracted partway. The reason I say litophyton is because of the vertical lines in the stalk.

 

[KatesReef13]

Opps wrong tab lol

 

[52728299]

Any idea about this one?

 

[SCReef'n]

:)
He figure out.:)

Really?