Dendro coral care.

sheeb

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Recently picked up a dendro coral. I know they are not photosynthetic, and I have to feed. I’ve researched them for the past few weeks and decided to pick one up.
My question- it has been closed up for the past couple days, haven’t fed it yet but, does it only open when it’s being fed? Any advice helps.
 

firechild

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Recently picked up a dendro coral. I know they are not photosynthetic, and I have to feed. I’ve researched them for the past few weeks and decided to pick one up.
My question- it has been closed up for the past couple days, haven’t fed it yet but, does it only open when it’s being fed? Any advice helps.
Are you asking about Dendrophyllia or Dendronephthya? Both are non-photosynthetic but have very different requirements.
 
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sheeb

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Are you asking about Dendrophyllia or Dendronephthya? Both are non-photosynthetic but have very different requirements.
Oh gosh not too sure about that. I’ll include a pic

ignore the really green rock… I had flash on and not sure why it looks like that lol
 

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shootingstar_reef

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They can take a bit to adapt, but they will eventually open up - in the evening. You can try and trigger a feeding response by using something like reef chili or reef roids. It still might take a while though.


Eventually, they might be open up during the day too, but they will have to be 'trained' to do that.
 

Eatfrenchfries

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You basically need to give it food scent to draw it out. Then once polyps are extended you begin to feed. It can take a few minutes to an hour for the polyps to extend after food is introduced. I feed live foods everyday and they constantly stay out. I feed them manually when I have time.
 

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Oh gosh not too sure about that. I’ll include a pic

ignore the really green rock… I had flash on and not sure why it looks like that lol
If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it? Dendros and Tubastraea corals can be very difficult to distinguish between although few Tubastraea corals are branching. Dendros are much more expensive generally though.
 

LovinlifeinGuam

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Sun corals have smaller heads
Dendros bigger.
I'd feed some reef nutrition roe. Squirter it and some oyster feast in the tank at nights
D
That's an oversimplification actually...MOST dendros have bigger heads and MOST are more oval shaped but certainly not a definitive way to identify them. Some dendros will even stay open during the day without training.
 
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sheeb

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If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it? Dendros and Tubastraea corals can be very difficult to distinguish between although few Tubastraea corals are branching. Dendros are much more expensive generally though.
Paid 35 bucks for this frag
 

LovinlifeinGuam

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Paid 35 bucks for this frag
Not that the species really matters (what matters is how much you like the coral) but it's unlikely a true dendro with that many heads would go for so little due to the difficulty of collection...it's probably some type of Tubastraea
 
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sheeb

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Not that the species really matters (what matters is how much you like the coral) but it's unlikely a true dendro with that many heads would go for so little due to the difficulty of collection...it's probably some type of Tubastraea
yeah I’m sure it’s not a 100% true dendro but it looks identical and (hopefully) acts identical so I’m all in for that price lol!
 
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sheeb

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Not that the species really matters (what matters is how much you like the coral) but it's unlikely a true dendro with that many heads would go for so little due to the difficulty of collection...it's probably some type of Tubastraea
Looks like it’s got 3 big heads 1 small. 4 in total
 

LovinlifeinGuam

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yeah I’m sure it’s not a 100% true dendro but it looks identical and (hopefully) acts identical so I’m all in for that price lol!
Most like the dark and will only feed at night initially but after you get them eating it gets easier and easier... I've had a few Tubastraea corals including a black sun coral which people have said are supposedly impossible to keep but even it regularly opens now
 
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sheeb

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Most like the dark and will only feed at night initially but after you get them eating it gets easier and easier... I've had a few Tubastraea corals including a black sun coral which people have said are supposedly impossible to keep but even it regularly opens now
Cool! I’ll give it a shot. Always loved dendros but they were very intimidating. I keep torches happily and people say they are very hard to keep… I don’t do anything special, and barely check parameters. Always 100% on spot with coral care (besides some zoas not sure why)
 

LovinlifeinGuam

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Cool! I’ll give it a shot. Always loved dendros but they were very intimidating. I keep torches happily and people say they are very hard to keep… I don’t do anything special, and barely check parameters. Always 100% on spot with coral care (besides some zoas not sure why)
I love NPS personally which is the only reason why I was trying to identify it as a true dendro or Tubastraea... unfortunately in this hobby especially with corals the internet is of very little use in cases such as this since SO many of the search results are anecdotal and opinions (but people don't acknowledge that they're opinions). That's why price is probably the best indicator unless something really stands out about it (such as being open in the light without being trained)
 

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