Is my plate stressed or splitting?

[itsacrispy]

Hi all,

My wife and I came home, and we noticed our plate was look a bit bloated w/ short tentacles. About 5 seconds later, while I was watching it, it suddenly shrank to about 3/4 of its original size. The tentacles became very stringy. I kept watching for about 5 minutes as the tentacles slowly started to fill up. During that time, I noticed that there was a line ,transecting the mouth of the coral, where the tentacles were still small and would not fill up. I grabbed my camera and took the picture below.

I did my best to highlight the area where I saw the shrunken tentacles. Unfortunately, you can't see the tentacles themselves, just some bare spots. I also circled two areas where it appears the skeleton may be showing . I have read that plates sometimes divide, but can anyone tell me if this is the case, or is it stressed out/dying? It does not make sense to me that the coral would divide across its mouth.

 

[A_Lee]

Honestly, I haven't heard of Heliofungia's "splitting" like an anemone would, per se. I thought the more common mode of reproduction in this coral was budding, but I could be mistaken.
I don't see anything wrong with it deflating occasionally as corals are sometimes more dynamic than we give them credit for.

 

[itsacrispy]

Hmmm, thanks for the info. I'll do some more research on it. And this guy is definitely mobile, my wife told me it moved about 4" in about a half hour. She was shocked, up until this point she thought corals were plants .

 

[tuberider]

Unfortunately LTPs have very poor long term survival rates in captivity.

 

[itsacrispy]

I know, unfortunately I did some more in-depth research on plates after the fact, and they certainly appear to have a very short life-span in captivity. However, none of the threads/articles I read about them indicate why they do so poorly. Some folks have said they are easily injured and do not recover well, others say they require pristine water conditions, and yet others say they need to be fed on a frequent and regular basis, much like Sun Corals.

To me, it would seem that the first argument is the most valid. Already, I've seen hermit crabs try to crawl over and around the coral. I don't think it would take much for the hermit to just snip one of the tentacles and for a massive infection to ensue. The other two arguments appear to cancel each other out. I figure if they do require regular feedings, then they probably aren't living in pristine water conditions; or vice versa. Either way, I'm feeding my plate cyclopeeze on a nightly basis and it seems to be eating the food and not regurging any of it.

In any case, I'll be watching this guy closely.

 

[tuberider]

Mostly it's due to shipping stress for various reasons, they get bumped when handled and the skeleton lacerates the tissue, or they are removed from the water before the retract their tentacles and the tentacles tear. One thing for sure they can look happy as can be then start to break down slowly, it can happen a while after the fact. If you are lucky enough to get one that is healthy they are still very difficult to keep alive, they're best left in the ocean IMO.

 

[itsacrispy]

Thanks again tuberider. I actually got this plate from Aquarium Concepts, where I was told it had been in the store for several months. Literally, the guy was sitting underneath a tray and appeared happy as a claim, despite receiving almost no light. I'm not sure of his name, but I guess he's one of the managers and he made sure the coral was bagged correctly. Nonetheless, one of the employees told me after the fact that LT Plates are nearly impossible to keep alive, which is why I did some more research afterwards.

In any case, I totally agree that if it can't be kept successfully in home aquariums, we probably shouldn't take it out of the ocean. I just didn't know how difficult they could be until after I brought it home. That said, what type of LT, sandbed-based coral would be a good substitute for an LT Plate?

 

[tuberider]

Short tentacled plate

 

[GreshamH]

[quote author=itsacrispy link=topic=5612.msg70354#msg70354 date=1229622487]
Thanks again tuberider. I actually got this plate from Aquarium Concepts, where I was told it had been in the store for several months. Literally, the guy was sitting underneath a tray and appeared happy as a claim, despite receiving almost no light. I'm not sure of his name, but I guess he's one of the managers and he made sure the coral was bagged correctly. Nonetheless, one of the employees told me after the fact that LT Plates are nearly impossible to keep alive, which is why I did some more research afterwards.

In any case, I totally agree that if it can't be kept successfully in home aquariums, we probably shouldn't take it out of the ocean. I just didn't know how difficult they could be until after I brought it home. That said, what type of LT, sandbed-based coral would be a good substitute for an LT Plate?
[/quote]

Unless you have seen the coral at a store (any store) for multiple months yourself, don't trust the salesperson. They know the dismal success rate with them and they knew they where pushing a cut flower sale on you. If they didn't, they have no right to be selling something they have no clue about and should brush up on their skills prior to selling livestock!@

They did teach you a lesson though, never but LTP's

 

[GreshamH]

[quote author=A_Lee link=topic=5612.msg70313#msg70313 date=1229579980]
Honestly, I haven't heard of Heliofungia's "splitting" like an anemone would, per se. I thought the more common mode of reproduction in this coral was budding, but I could be mistaken.
I don't see anything wrong with it deflating occasionally as corals are sometimes more dynamic than we give them credit for.
[/quote]

I thought Helios didn't bud but rather truly depend on spawning to continue the species?

 

[itsacrispy]

[quote author=tuberider link=topic=5612.msg70369#msg70369 date=1229623629]
Short tentacled plate
[/quote]

Haha, but it's the long tentacles that I'm looking for

 

[itsacrispy]

[quote author=GreshamH link=topic=5612.msg70372#msg70372 date=1229623869]
[quote author=itsacrispy link=topic=5612.msg70354#msg70354 date=1229622487]
Thanks again tuberider. I actually got this plate from Aquarium Concepts, where I was told it had been in the store for several months. Literally, the guy was sitting underneath a tray and appeared happy as a claim, despite receiving almost no light. I'm not sure of his name, but I guess he's one of the managers and he made sure the coral was bagged correctly. Nonetheless, one of the employees told me after the fact that LT Plates are nearly impossible to keep alive, which is why I did some more research afterwards.

In any case, I totally agree that if it can't be kept successfully in home aquariums, we probably shouldn't take it out of the ocean. I just didn't know how difficult they could be until after I brought it home. That said, what type of LT, sandbed-based coral would be a good substitute for an LT Plate?
[/quote]

Unless you have seen the coral at a store (any store) for multiple months yourself, don't trust the salesperson. They know the dismal success rate with them and they knew they where pushing a cut flower sale on you. If they didn't, they have no right to be selling something they have no clue about and should brush up on their skills prior to selling livestock!@

They did teach you a lesson though, never but LTP's
[/quote]

Hmm, well it's my mistake. The guy bagging the coral did not know much about it per se, and he didn't really push it on me. But another employee who saw me as we were ringing it up kinda chastised the other employee about selling it to me without informing me how difficult they are. He then told me that it is virtually impossible to keep alive and I probably should not have purchased it. I honestly felt a bit awkward at that point, as I did not think it was right at the time to return it right after purchasing it. I probably should've, eh?

 

[GreshamH]

Well that changes the story considerably Kudos to the other employee. My old employer used to hate me for "loss of sales" when I would inform people about certain corals and fish. What he didn't see was my customers tended to become store regulars spending far more then the one sale

 

[itsacrispy]

Yep, sorry I should've been more specific.

Nonetheless...ARGH. I'll do my best to keep this guy alive.

 

[GreshamH]

What foods do you have currently?

 

[itsacrispy]

Right now, I have cyclopeze, krill, and spirulina-infused brine shrimp. All frozen.

 

[GreshamH]

Send me a PM (or email) with your shipping address/daytime phone and email. I'd like to send a few things to try with it

 

[itsacrispy]

Wow, and thank you Gresham! I just sent you an e-mail.

 

[GreshamH]

Notta problem