Is this normal?

[cdeakle]

Does this coral look ok?

 

[investigator1]

I don't think so. The polyp extension looks weird.

 

[Anonymous]

Each poly should have eight "fingers," but leather/finger/devil hand can be a little bit unpredictable, so leave it alone and see if it will show up more. Sometimes the polyps retracted for weeks at a time, and there is no appearant reason, and the coral is still healthy.

 

[Mogo]

The photo shows a sarco in part-retraction. I'll bet very soon it will either fully retract or fully open. sarcos do retract from time to time which is normal. Mine has retracted for up to 5 days only to pop back into full bloom.
With these corals you have to give them some time before you can make a full judgement as to their health. If they start drooping over where the stem can't hold their weight, that is a whole nother story.

 

[cdeakle]

Thanks for the info! Very Helpful!

When I got him from the store he had what looked like an old gash in his stem but it look like it was healed or partially healed. I proped him up inbetween some rocks. He was a little bit hunched over but it looked like he could still stay up for the most part. He keeps retracting and then extending. One minute he looks good and the next not so good.

Last night I noticed that he was secreting this web like stuff. Is that normal as well??

 

[Anonymous]

It is ok if it slimes once a while, but if it do tha all the time, it is not doing too well because something else is irrating it....

 

[Anonymous]

You might get both better polyp extension and faster healing of the "wound" if you feed it regularly. Also, lighting. Are your lights significantly different (brighter) than what it was under in the shop? If so, it's trying to adjust, and may show better results of you partially cover the area where it is for a few days.

 

[cdeakle]

Actually the shop had much brighter lights. I have a 250 watt 12,000k Sunburst. I belive the shop had 2 250 watt MH's(not sure the bulbs)

Is the slime dangerous to any other inhabitants/corals?

 

[cdeakle]

What is this guy suppose to eat?

 

[Anonymous]

Some may dose phyto, but IMO, they are pretty much lives on energy from the light alone.

The slime is not dangerous, although you may want to fan it off the coral to get better water exchange.

 

[cdeakle]

Thats what I thought(light), I do add phyto sometimes. Someone a few posts up said to feed it and I was beginning to think I wasnt doing something right.....

 

[iomegas_reef]

Each poly should have eight "fingers," but leather/finger/devil hand can be a little bit unpredictable, so leave it alone and see if it will show up more. Sometimes the polyps retracted for weeks at a time, and there is no appearant reason, and the coral is still healthy.

I can vouge for this, I have this one devils hand that will retract for a week. After that its polyps would come out only half way for the next week then they would come out fully for about a month then repeat the process.