Pulse Corals

[mbu man]

bought a bit of rock today that had 3 pulse corals stuck to it.
one is a n inch with around 10 fan bits, one is inch and half with 15 fan bits and the larger one is about 2 inches with 30-40 fan bits.
they were all stuck to the rock but when got home the larger one had come unstuck and stuck itself to a bit of sea weed. the bit of sea weed was stopping it getting a foot on a rock so with a bit of very gentle persuation is came off.
ive put it up the top of the tank in a gap in a rock,been their for a few hours now and its not stuck to the rock,will it after a while?
also not all of the fan bits are open,sometimes they are all shut then some open then all of them are open.
do they deflate like other nems?
the small one has now shut completly up and gone to about quater of an inch big? is this normal???

 

[Lynden]

Xenia (pulse corals) are not anemones, but alcyonaceans (al-sigh-on-eh-shee-ans; otherwise known as soft corals), and thus immobile and unable to attach quickly. The way I use to attach soft corals is to tie them with an rubber band, by the base, to a rock, tightly enough so the coral does not slip away, but gently enough so that the base is not squashed. The coral typically attaches in a few days to weeks. Yes they do deflate at night or when disturbed.

 

[mbu man]

ok,i really cant see how to use an elastic band
ive put it in a gap between 2 rocks with no current.
that will be ok?