Heliofungia Plate Ailing

[Sherri]

Can anyone give me any advice as to what is happening to this plate? Bought it 5/13/05 - had 2-3" tenacles. Sat it on the SB and have had no probs until about 2-3 weeks ago. Noticed it shrinking...even had a ring of debris on top of it at one point. Thought maybe it needed more light, so I moved it up about midway. It actually does look a bit better, but don't know if there is anything else I can do. Nothing else in tank is having ANY probs. I've posted a pic of how it looks as of today.

Thanks for any suggestions or help.

[Tim Marvin]

It doesn't look too bad, have you tried feeding it? How long has it been semi-inflated?

[Sherri]

Tim...it actually looks a bit better since I raised it. Before I raised it higher, I thought I had lost it. It was almost totally deflated. It has looked a bit better this past week. A couple of days ago, the mouth was a little extended or puffed.

Any suggestions on something to feed it?

[NaCl_H2O]

I haven't had much luck with these either, your timeframe is about what I have experienced. Don't know if it is starvation or eventual infection. Seems that mine always went down hill after some type of injury or encounter with another coral (another falling into it). Once the flesh is injured and an infection starts, they go fairly rapidly.

You might try a Seachem Reef dip? I haven't done this with a plate before, but maybe it could help if it is an infection ... ???

[GaryP]

They are very suseptible to bruising when they are being shipped. The tissue can become infected and it can die as a result. They normally do better down on a sand bed, because they are bruised by rock. However, I lost a large one I had had a long time because a freakin damsel was digging in the sand and kept covering it. It can stand an occasional dusting, but this was daily.

As for feeding, I fed mine pieces of table shrimp, krill, or silversides. Pretty much the same way you would feed an anemone.

[pilot_bell777]

Ya....I feed mine once to twice a week with small peices of krill and had it for almost a year before I sold it when I tore that tank down and last I heard it was still doing good and thriving. I kept mine under 400w of PC lights on the sand bed in a 75 gal and it did fine for as long as I had it.

I personally would try to feed it and if you want it higher find something smooth to put it on so the rocks don't bruise and damage it, JMO.

You might read about their reproduction cycles too...if it has been doing good for a while and looked good in the LFS for a while, then it could be just getting ready to reproduce. Not sure though, just a thought. I don't know anything about their repro cycles so couldn't even begin to tell you about it, just throwing things out there! LOL

keep us updated as to it's progression.

[Tim Marvin]

Good advice on feeding.

[Thunderkat]

What do these things like to eat? Mine brings the food to the mouth then I guess tastes and doesn't like and carries it off and throws it out. I have tried shrimp, clam, and shrimp pellets.

[pilot_bell777]

I've in the past given mine small chunks of cut up silversides. I just gave mine what I was feeding everything else at the time.

If I was feeding my RBTA a shrimp, it got shrimp and if I was feeding silversides to something else, it got a peice of a silverside.

I found that soaking the food in a cup of tank water until it matched in temp always seemed to help. Just Food for Thought (ok, ok...I know that was bad) :D

Mine would even take a small pellet if I put if I put it down there.

[Sherri]

Thanks everybody...will try some different things - guess I need to put it back on the sand bed. I know....carefully. :)