Stereonephthya & Nephthea behavior

[velvetelvis]

I have 2 colonies of Koji Wada pink nephthea (one from Marine Farmers and one from Unique Corals) and 2 frags of pink-and-white Stereonephthya from MF. They're in a dedicated softie system with a couple of photosynthetic gorgonians (Isis hippuris and Grube's gorg) and some hardy sponges.

I haven't had much experience with these corals. Is it normal for them to deflate and reinflate throughout the day?

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Yes, absolutely. Stereonephthya moves water in and out of it's skin membrane. These corals don't have "flesh" like Kenya trees, they are basically hollow tubes of water. As for why they do this? I have no idea, but I suspect it has something to do with evacuating waste? or importuning nutrients? No idea. Sometimes they will deflate so much they look like empty skins. I only see them do that every so often, so don't freak if you see it. no matter how bad it looks, Stereo is alive as long as it's not dissolved.