Saved a trachyphyllia from shop...

If you saw a coral in a shop who is dieing would you attempt to save it?

  • Yes!

  • Maybe...

  • Depends on the coral.

  • No, it's a waste of time.


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Mrs.Tacy

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In the beginning:
My husband and I went to buy a scully and saw this sad trachyphyllia and asked what was wrong and why it looked so horrible and bleached. The shop worker said "Oh the lights are to bright in this tank for it. We are basically killing it." When looking at the whole tank my husband said just about all the corals in that tank are low light corals. So we picked out a scully and I told the worker that I wanted the bleached coral too. At check-out he tried charging me $200 for it and I lost my cool.
In the end:
After words were thrown out we ended up getting it for free. We know its not doing well at all, but I want to try and do the best I can to try and save it...
What I want to see:
In this thread I'd like to see people who love corals and who want to help. This poor little guy needs all the help we can get. We are so worried for him and we don't want to see him die.
What is attached:
Here I have a hyperlapse of his feeding he seems stubbern to eat. And last night he spit up some clear/white bubbly stuff.
Help I'd like to get:
I don't want anyone to be mean I'm really soft hearted when I see something dieing. I'd like to know what you would do in this situation and how you would handle it. How would YOU save it? 20210615_220439.jpg
 

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  • 20210614_210259.mp4
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MnFish1

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In the beginning:
My husband and I went to buy a scully and saw this sad trachyphyllia and asked what was wrong and why it looked so horrible and bleached. The shop worker said "Oh the lights are to bright in this tank for it. We are basically killing it." When looking at the whole tank my husband said just about all the corals in that tank are low light corals. So we picked out a scully and I told the worker that I wanted the bleached coral too. At check-out he tried charging me $200 for it and I lost my cool.
In the end:
After words were thrown out we ended up getting it for free. We know its not doing well at all, but I want to try and do the best I can to try and save it...
What I want to see:
In this thread I'd like to see people who love corals and who want to help. This poor little guy needs all the help we can get. We are so worried for him and we don't want to see him die.
What is attached:
Here I have a hyperlapse of his feeding he seems stubbern to eat. And last night he spit up some clear/white bubbly stuff.
Help I'd like to get:
I don't want anyone to be mean I'm really soft hearted when I see something dieing. I'd like to know what you would do in this situation and how you would handle it. How would YOU save it? 20210615_220439.jpg
Unfortunately I can't see the video. But - I would place it in a tank with lower light(maybe 30-50 PAR) - and if possible - checked with a PAR meter - and excellent parameters (not too high alkalinity). I would ask the store if they could measure the PAR in the tank - and figure out their parameters so you can best match to yours. I would slowly increase the lighting as it responds. PS the best way to do this might be to put it in a shaded part of the tank - as compared to lowering the entire tank to a lower level. Just an editorial comment. I think LFS owners would appreciate negotiating the price before bagging it up and bringing it to the counter. But I also know your heart was in the right place. Good luck

PS - I would not worry about the 'bubbles'
 

JCM

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I can't see the video but I don't think that coral is in as bad of shape as you think. Yes it's bleached but I don't see any tissue recession. Put it in low light and low flow and leave it alone for a couple of weeks, it should color back up fine.
 

revhtree

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If the price was low enough I would try to save certain corals. Your coral looks pretty good just bleached so it's got a high percentage of surviving IMO! I would be careful not to overfeed it while it's on the mend! More energy to get better and not to digest food.
 

Hincapiej4

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In the beginning:
My husband and I went to buy a scully and saw this sad trachyphyllia and asked what was wrong and why it looked so horrible and bleached. The shop worker said "Oh the lights are to bright in this tank for it. We are basically killing it." When looking at the whole tank my husband said just about all the corals in that tank are low light corals. So we picked out a scully and I told the worker that I wanted the bleached coral too. At check-out he tried charging me $200 for it and I lost my cool.
In the end:
After words were thrown out we ended up getting it for free. We know its not doing well at all, but I want to try and do the best I can to try and save it...
What I want to see:
In this thread I'd like to see people who love corals and who want to help. This poor little guy needs all the help we can get. We are so worried for him and we don't want to see him die.
What is attached:
Here I have a hyperlapse of his feeding he seems stubbern to eat. And last night he spit up some clear/white bubbly stuff.
Help I'd like to get:
I don't want anyone to be mean I'm really soft hearted when I see something dieing. I'd like to know what you would do in this situation and how you would handle it. How would YOU save it? 20210615_220439.jpg
Hey there! You know I just want to mention, I've done the same thing. I'm like you and have saved or tried to save dying corals like this.

For this trach what I would do is place it somewhere with a REALLY REALLY nice shadow and almost no flow. ANd then, leave it there. Do not feed it, just let it sit for a while.
 

Hincapiej4

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I have a birds nest that had a few other corals growing on its same base. The person had been trying to bring it back but wasn't able to and gave it to the LFS. I saw it and bought it for 20 bucks. It was basically nubs, now it's a colony and sits literally under the surface soaking up god knows how much par..probably like 500+.

You got this, it can be done. Be patient, it took a long time for me to even notice that my nest was coming back to life.
 
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Mrs.Tacy

Mrs.Tacy

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If the price was low enough I would try to save certain corals. Your coral looks pretty good just bleached so it's got a high percentage of surviving IMO! I would be careful not to overfeed it while it's on the mend! More energy to get better and not to digest food.
First I would like to thank everyone for your replies. As far as food goes we have been giving him 2ml or less target of aminos every night. He seemed to really respond with it so much so that he opens his mouth to receive it. If you don't mind I would like to get your thoughts on it and if we should keep doing it? I'm worried that it might be a mirage.
 

JCM

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Aminos as in amino acid? Trachys like big chunks of meaty foods, you're probably eliciting a feeding response but it's not going to eat that. Feed it large chunks of krill, shrimp, etc. But don't Feed it right now, give it a couple weeks to heal.
 
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Mrs.Tacy

Mrs.Tacy

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It still seems like it has a lot of color left and is definitely not totally bleached. If I got a trachy for free I would def try to save it since there is no risk/loss.

What words were thrown? haha
I was ruthless in the store... looking back i could have probably down played it a bit, but I told him that he needed to fix his tank if he wanted to sell it to me at full price and how if I went crash a car and sold it to him if he would pay full price for it. He said that he would have to go speak with the owner so I said okay you go do that and I will go have a chat with those customers over there and tell them that your killing corals. He then just gave me the coral for free.
 
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Mrs.Tacy

Mrs.Tacy

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Aminos as in amino acid? Trachys like big chunks of meaty foods, you're probably eliciting a feeding response but it's not going to eat that. Feed it large chunks of krill, shrimp, etc. But don't Feed it right now, give it a couple weeks to heal.
Yeah thats what I thought... I'm just so worried about him .. have you heard of "phyco pure- zooxanthellae" i was thinking about getting some but my husband said its probably "snake oil"
 

JCM

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Yeah thats what I thought... I'm just so worried about him .. have you heard of "phyco pure- zooxanthellae" i was thinking about getting some but my husband said its probably "snake oil"

I have not heard of that but agree with your husband. I wouldn't be too worried, it's not on the verge of death.
 

Hincapiej4

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Don't do too much. Just do as I suggested :)

Find a spot just a bit of light, and really really low flow. Then, leave it alone. dang near forget it's even there. Trust me. It's gonna take alot of time.
 

Lost in the Sauce

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I was ruthless in the store... looking back i could have probably down played it a bit, but I told him that he needed to fix his tank if he wanted to sell it to me at full price and how if I went crash a car and sold it to him if he would pay full price for it. He said that he would have to go speak with the owner so I said okay you go do that and I will go have a chat with those customers over there and tell them that your killing corals. He then just gave me the coral for free.
Wow.

I don't care who's at fault, if someone walked into my business and treated my employees like that, I would ask them to leave and not return.
 

Hincapiej4

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To be fair. Charging people full price while you kill these animals then having the customers lose 200 bucks in one shot like that...

Here's the thing.
If the owner/employee knew the corals were in a bad shape, it's gross they were trying to charge people full price for something that was probably going to die. Then have to come back and fight with the shop about it. You can't sell someone broken items full price, why be able to get away with dying animals. Somehow some shops get away with it.

If at the store it's visually not doing well, then it's def up to the store to not sell it or lower the price accordingly.
No warranty of course.

If it looks OK at the store but then is sick at home, warranty should apply. (Kinda sucks to say warranty when it comes to a life, but what can I do?)

If the owner/employee didn't know it was sick, then why are they in business or working at all in the field? I wouldn't shop there anymore if being charged full price for sick animals that I have to work hard to nurse myself. Which is why I don't go to petco.

I wouldn't make a scene myself at the store. But I'd ask, be told full price, and I'd just walk away. Not paying that.

I'm lucky that the shops I go to in my area are pretty chill on that side of things.
 

Gtinnel

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While I agree that the store shouldn't be charging what I am assuming is full price for a bleached coral, but I wouldn't be willing to give it away for free either. I'm more surprised that you agreed to buy it before knowing the price. It seems like that should have been negotiated before you were being rung up.

Also, I would (and have) bought a coral that was in bad condition assuming the price reflects the condition of the coral.
 

HeyJay

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I can't help but go through this interaction in my head...

"I'll take that bleached coral too"
"Ok, that'll be $200"
"I said I'm taking it, not buying it!"
 

dvgyfresh

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This gives me yelling at a waitress for the wrong food vibes , I have gotten LFS to lower their prices but I usually give a reason/explanation as to why before agreeing on it and I definitely didn’t yell
 

tehmadreefer

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Like others said, it’s just a little bleached, nothing bad. Definitely not a rescue coral, tho. But nice to get it free!
 
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