Recovering bleached torch coral - should I feed?

AngryMike2016

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Tank: 32 gallon Biocube, Steve's LEDs mod, inTank media rack
Filtration: tunze 9001 skimmer, BRS high capacity carbon (2/3rds dose), BRS rox carbon, filter floss
Fish: two snowflake clowns, tailspot blenny, firefish
Cleanup crew: variety of snails, skunk cleaner shrimp, no crabs, pink pincushion urchin
Coral: mixed reef; everything from disco mushrooms to a variety of acropora

Parameters:
Nitrates: 5
Phosphate: not measurable on hanna phosphate tester, have phosphorous checker coming soon. Definitely some phosphate though, as there are a few small patches of algae, and acros are doing brilliantly
Mag: 1400
Calc: 420

I have had a small used to be pink/purple torch coral (looks more like a wall than a branching) for about two months. For the first five weeks or so, it did well, nice purple color, tentacles expanding fully, waving around nicely. Placement was low in tank, so low light, and low to moderate flow. Then one day I noticed that the tentacles had gone completely white (almost translucent). I left it in it's spot for a week for observation. Each day, the tentacles would extend less and less, as well as for a shorter period of time each day, until after the week was up, the tentacles would stay fully retracted throughout the whole day.

As it was bleached, I decided to move it to a lower light area of the tank (under a rock archway), and observe. After a few days, it started to extend tentacles again, to a maximum of about 25% of it's healthy tentacle length. Tentacles come out pretty quickly once the lights have completed their one hour ramp up time, and then stay out for four or five hours. The coral has been behaving like this for about two weeks now.

Ultimately, I have no idea what caused it to become unhappy and bleach in the first place. My filtration, lighting, parameters, fish feeding schedule, etc, have all been consistent for the two months that I have had it. No complaints from any of the acropora even. I also have a branching torch coral, a hammer coral, and a frogspawn. All of those are behaving in seemingly perfectly healthy manners.

As the bleached torch is doing "okay" in its current spot, I have no intentions of moving it further. Ultimately, what I am wondering is if I should try feeding it once or twice a week while it tries to recover?

Thanks!
 

James M

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IMO feedings once a week is better than twice. It give the torch time to digest the food completely
 

Softhammer

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Yes! Feed it daily if it will take it. Corals feed on plankton every single night in the wild. Never once has a coral become obese or eaten itself to death.
 
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AngryMike2016

AngryMike2016

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I just fed it a small dusting of reef rods. Tentacles seemed to react in a positive fashion; looked like they pulled the food in. That's good.
 

Brad Miller

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I have such a fine mixture of my everyday food that I make up and freeze in small cubes, that all my coral (torch included) and fish get something (and I put some reef chili in it also):)
Plus dosing home brewed Phyto every day helps
 

Softhammer

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Feed it big stuff. Chopped shrimp, mysis, scallops. My LPS go crazy with that. I’m absolutely not sold on freeze dried foods. Would you eat it?
 
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AngryMike2016

AngryMike2016

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Reef Roids isn't a frozen food. But I did once eat a cube of frozen fish food as a $50 bet. Totally worth it.
 

Softhammer

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I absolutely said freeze dried. Totally different. I’d put 50$ on a teaspoon of it. Certain regurgitation.
 
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AngryMike2016

AngryMike2016

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Unfortunately, today the sick torch is not coming out at all. Polyps/tentacles are fully receded, and I can see skeleton. Mind you, there is still flesh, but at this point I am no longer optimistic. Not going to throw in the towel until I see nothing but skeleton though.
 

Hemmdog

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Yes! Feed it daily if it will take it. Corals feed on plankton every single night in the wild. Never once has a coral become obese or eaten itself to death.
Ummmm I’ve had lots of acans eat themselves to death lol. And chalices
 

Nathan Milender

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I have torch which recently started bleaching on one side when I added T5. I have been thinking of moving it down. It is in high flow, not glued down, and the emerald crab tipped it over a few times. I have noticed that mine feeds strongly and will grab frozen chunks and suck them in. I also feed the tank naupli most days (one little cup from that German black hatchery thing). As I looked into the problem to see what the 'right' parameters are I have been finding wildly different opinions. Not sure what else to tell you that would be helpful.
 

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