Red Soft Coral With Yellow Polyup's

[Alex Brown]

This was advertised at my local as red bush coral/red pussey coral. IMO, it is nither. I have pink pussey coral in my tank and the corals dont resemble each other. It also does not host the same colliflower polyup heads as that seen on a bush coral.

Daylight

Night (please excuse flash)

My observations so far. At the shop the coral stood up straight and polyups out in daylight hours, under halide. I put it in my tank last night. After 2 hours the lights went out and I noticed the coral stand up and polyups extend. This morning the polyups were tucked in as the lights came on, and are now starting to come back out.

Im not sure if this is non photosenthetic feeding at night, or if it does indeed feed through its zooxanthellae under daylight. I do however understand if it is the first, that these are extremely difficault to keep in captivity.

I have observed this coral for about 3 weeks at my LFS, and has shown positive growth. It actually arrived from Indonesia wrapped in wet newspaper...

BUSH CORAL

RED PUSSEY CORAL - Sinularia .sp

Dendronephthya

Now, could it be this species? I cannot find one single photo to match it when I google this name. It also has a lot less yellow polyups than the species Dendronephthea tends to have in the general photos I am finding.

Chili sponge?

 

[Alex Brown]

After hours and hours of research, I am pretty much sure this belongs to the Dendronephthya species.

Photos taken of it this evening with extended polyups. I also stirred the sand bed immediately after reading information regarding feeding this species. Please, any help would be grately aprechiated.

I am not sure what the LFS feeds thier coral tanks, however I am 100% sure they do not know how to care for such a special coral. It had a rough time coming from Indonesia wrapped in wet newspaper. It spent about 3 weeks in the shop coral tank. Now I am in two minds;

Yes it cost a lot of money and I am out of my leauge with this coral, but 100% prepaired to spend my time reasearching its needs and to be honest, I would like to experiemnt and monitor this coral to hopefully provide some sort of usefull information on this species in the hobby.

Or, send it back to the shop if they would take it back. I was sold this item as red bush coral/red pussey coral. However, I would hate to think that this coral might end up in someones elses tank who might not have scratched the surface on its species, and it waste away and die.

 

[Alex Brown]

Stereonephthya

 

[TigerIssey]

Yours definately has those wavy lines only seen on the Dendronepthya genus or Scleronepthya genus.

Do you have "THE BOOK" if you do on page 143 is a picture of a scleronepthya sp. (tree coral) that does seem to closely resemble your picture. The stereonepthya shown are different colours so am not sure on that one.

I think you may have a very difficult ethical decision to make soon though. There are certainly arguements to both sides of what you mention. The scleronepthya genus does look marginally easier to care for than dendronepthyea though so it is a difficult choice.

Good luck with the decision you make.

 

[Alex Brown]

No I dont have that, recomended book to have is it?

I think that, whereever this coral goes from now, its pretty much going to have a short life. Very sad. Continuing reading, I personally belive this is one species that should be banned from import. Success stories are extremely out numbered by failiure attemps.

I dont supose your book informs you of feeding technique does it? Im thinking that if I was to keep it, I would feed it every other day or so, just like one would with a sun coral. I am aware however they filter feed plankton all day and night in the ocean, something which we cannot replicate at home.

 

[TigerIssey]

"THE BOOK" is Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History. Eric H. Borneman

A fair few of us have this and is recommended by Big C and many others, it is very good.

A few quotes from the book

Scleronepthya

According to some reports, they may be slightly more likely to survive in the aquarium if adequate plankton or a plankton substitute is provided on a regular basis- at least one species (and likely more) is herbiverous.

Stereonepthya

This genus is not usually brightly coloured (gray to brown shades),...... Stereonepthya have mostly unbranching treelike colonies, with polyp-bearing branchlets appearing directly off the main stalk(s). The supporting sclerits are prominent, sometimes making the colony "spikier" than Dendronepthya. Closely realted to Neospongoides, this genus differs in the lack of sclerites in the inner canal walls. At least some Stereonepthya may be symbiotic and and thus possible to mantain in the aquarium.

From the description of Stereonepthya I would say it was Scleronepthya.

As it is one of the non-photosynthetic corals with not alot known about its upkeep yet, there is no more on feeding in the book. I would presume you would need to use the plankton or plankton substitute at least 2 or 3 times a week. Others may help here. It may however not be long lived in the aquarium.

As you say, if you take it back, someone with less experience may fail miserably and end up with a nuked tank if it dies in a nano. If you keep it, you add to the desire for the coral and therefore increase the collection. Having said that, many of the corals we can today successfully keep are ones that met the same fate a few years ago and it tends to be the home aquarist that does indeed have a lot of input as to how to care for difficult corals.

As I said earlier, a very difficult ethical decision there.

 

[Alex Brown]

This brings new hope, Google image search Nephthyigorgia.

I would say some of those pictures are identicle to my coral. Whats strange is it then relates back to Chili Coral in a number of pictures and text. Chili, being recomended feeding on products such as Marine Snow.

 

[TigerIssey]

The Nepthyigorgia are a sub-family of the genus Stereonepthya, they seem to be referred to in the book as Siphonogorgia sp.

Another quote

Siphonogorgonia resemble many pacific gorgoinians in outward appearance, frequently forming beautifully coloured fans and delicate formations. They are rigid, anastomising, arborescent colonies, typically having reddish branches with white to yellow contrasting clustered polyps. They are occasionally seen in aquarium shops.

Due to the fact that yours looks as if it is drooping slightly I would say it was not this one as it should be rigid, plus the polys are not clustered.

 

[SkiFletch]

Whichever specific species it ends up being, it's clearly a non-photosynthetic filter feeder which are difficult to keep at best in home aquaria. Do you have any means of feeding it?

 

[Alex Brown]

Right now, its marine snow and stirring the sand to kick up the detrius. I need to find a larger grade of planctonic food for finder filter feeders however, around 800~ micron.

Anyone know if Cyclop Eeeze is available in the UK?

 

[seffieuk]

http/www.reefstore.co.uk/cyclop-eeze.shtml

Good luck Alex

Seffie x

 

[Alex Brown]

Thats awsome, thanks for link, and your advice guys.

I am still un-sure whether to try to keep this coral or not yet. The main thing is that it cost £45 and im a student!

 

[Alex Brown]

Returned to Maiden Head aquatics this afternoon.

 

[Colin_T]

If you plan on keeping any of the plankton feeding corals along that line, you should have a sump set up above the tank so it can provide a regular and continuous supply of plankton. Dendronepthya and other similar corals really don't do well in tanks and need to be fed every day. They are brightly coloured and look quite flash, but they aren't worth keeping unless you can feed them.

Stirring the substrate up to provide food isn't a good idea. Most of the gunk in the substrate is waste that is breaking down and has no nutritional value to a coral.

 

[scott133]

did they give you any thin for it