Black sun coral

[oscar139]

So I know y'all are probably getting annoyed me me asking all these questions about my sun coral so sorry but anyway I was wondering the best way to make them open. I have it under some rock away from the sand, and I just put heavy flow on it because I heard it liked that. I have also squirted zooplankton on it every day at the same time, also mysis. Some came out but ever since they sexually reproduced they have been closed. Any suggestions?

 

[ming]

They don't need heavy flow, they just need to get fed. How do you know they sexually reproduced?
You can usually entice it to open up with mysis juices in the water column... and wait till it opens and then feed the mysis. Feeding daily will help it open more and more each time, but vice versa, skipping feeding will make it open less and less which makes it harder to feed it, therefore making it more likely to starve

 

[KathyC]

Sun corals do not need to be out of the light.
They are commonly found in nature hanging upside down at the mouth of a cave due to the water flow through an area like that being an easier place for them to 'catch' food as it passes by.

If you keep a brisk flow on the coral -in a tank environment - where the food passing by is regulated by you - it may miss it's opportunity to feed.
I would put it in a mid-flow environment and continue feeding it at the exact same time daily.
Best to tease it with a small amount of something like cyclopeeze put into the tank (anywhere in a flow area) about 5 minutes before you actually plan to feed it - to wake it up.

It could easily take a couple of weeks to get the coral eating on a schedule of your choosing.

Best to either feed it with a baster (gently) once it opens or use a cut off top from a soda bottle (about the top 4 inches, and hot glue a marble or SW safe stone onto it for weight) and put the 'dome' over the coral so the food is confined to that area AND your fish/shrimp won't be able to steal the food before the coral has a chance to eat it.

 

[oscar139]

Ok thank you so much I'm somewhat new to reef keeping, I'm in high school so I don't have that much time to read, but I have a pretty extensive collection . Ironically sun corals are the first an only corals I have been taking care of. Oh and Ming I saw them giving of the baby polyps through there mouths at night.

 

[rookie07]

I have mine glued to the underside of a rock, and it is open about half the day and all night long. Since it is "upside down", water flows past it thus bringing food past it, which is why I think it is open so much