Help! Bubble Coral

[Colin Harbut]

Hi guys,
I hate to say this but I had a piece of live rock fall on top of my bubble coral sitting in the sand. The live rock damaged some of the skeleton by cracking a couple of the blade-like walls (the septa).

Now, the bladders have stayed contracted for 2 days now and I dont see any feeding tenticles. Should I consider this coral dead or will it reguvinate over time? With this situation, do you think its best to put the coral up at the surface or lower in my tank (...my tank is a 37 gal w/ 175w 10k metal halide). I have heard intense lighting will keep the bubbles from expanding.

Thanks for your help,
Colin Harbut

 

[monkeyboy]

It's hurtin', that's for sure but it's not a goner. Bubble coral in general is about as bullet proof as stonies come, I wouldn't be suprised to see a full recovery. I would make sure that there is adequate water flow around it to lower the chance of an infection. You'll also want to remove any broken chips of the septa that may be left on the surface. The lighting is not a problem so long as it has been slowly acclimated to it. Good luck!

 

[Len]

It'll heal. Give it some time and don't stress it by trying to help it along Just gently wave your hand above it to flush away any debris that might be caught and let it heal on its own. Bubble corals, as Kevin says, are resiliant corals.

 

[fungia]

i know bubbles are collected from places where there is less light but i think your lighting is ok. if it was open before it got crushed it means it was ok with the lighting. i agree, let it heal, it is probably very annoyed right now for being crushed my bubble corals have taken a lot of abuse by accident and they thrive.