Carnation Coral advise

Slingshot357

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
206
Reaction score
502
Location
New Jersey, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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.

image10.jpeg
 

MixedFruitBasket

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 18, 2019
Messages
1,426
Reaction score
1,728
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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?
 
OP
OP
S

Slingshot357

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
206
Reaction score
502
Location
New Jersey, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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. ;)

image1.jpeg


image2.jpeg


image3.jpeg
 
Last edited:

MixedFruitBasket

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 18, 2019
Messages
1,426
Reaction score
1,728
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 37.0%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 34.1%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 24 13.9%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 15.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top