Plate Coral Misbehaving

tkh

tkh

New member
So, I have this gorgeous, large, 5 - 6 mouthed plate coral (OK, a bit of a deformed plate coral, but still awesome). It used to be puffy and happy with all of its tentacles extended during the day! I was thrilled with it. Then we had that one day a few weeks back that got really hot, and my tank hit 82 degrees. This also happened to coincide with my lights hitting about 80% (they've been on a slow ramp up over the last 2 months). I think that combination shocked the poor coral, and it started bleaching on one edge. Barely bleaching mind you, but it did have some tentacles that had gone clear. I also had some more aggressive bleaching on a tri-color acro, and so dimmed my lights down to 60% with a slow ramp up to 80% over the next 5 months, along with careful monitoring. (Oh, and kicked the AC on to keep my reef at 80... from heat right to AC:sad:)

The plate has been recovering fine, as has my acropora, but the plate has now reversed its puffed-up schedule. It now is mostly deflated during the day, with only very partial extension of its tentacles, and at night it puffs up with its tentacles out. I realize that this is somewhat normal in nature... Is there anyway to encourage it to puff up during the day again though? I did rather enjoy seeing it all puffy and happy.
 
you might try putting it in a shadier/less flowing spot. They don't need a lot of light/flow and my single plate even pushes under a ledge completely sometimes. Plates can normally move around to get cozy, but maybe yours has mobility issues due to it's "special" shape. Move it to a corner out of light and flow and see if it changes maybe.
 
It does have mobility issues, the poor guy has some large frag plug glued to it. I think that's actually what's caused all of the mouths to develop, and the strange one growing out of the top. Not sure though, maybe they all developed due to some other damage. I bought it off another reefer a few months back, and only recently realized it had a full on frag plug glued onto it (the mini-colony style stump). I would love to free it, but am unsure just how I can do that.

I'd also like to move it, but its a little too big to be placed anywhere else (it's about 6 - 6.5 inches across). So, at a bit of a loss - it was quite happy at one point though! It's not unhappy as per se, as its bleached tentacles are returning, it still eats just fine, and puffs up... Just at night instead of the day now.
 
put a thin knife between the coral and the plug and twist gently but firmly. Superglue is strong, but it gives up pretty easily with leverage. I generally pull all of my frags off their plugs before placement and they generally come off surprisingly easy.
 
Yeah, I'm also fond of taking off the corals that slip off easily at least, although mine basically have to literally fall off. I guess I've been too timid in applying any real force - just always been worried about damaging the coral itself. I'll try again. How long can it be out of the water for? I'm also rather worried about breaking any of its septae while trying to free it from its plug.... I suppose it should be ok though, and will be happier once it is free again.

I'm also aware that its fairly aggressive. My Bta recently moved up and so has vacated a portion of my tank that I think the plate can fit it, but am worried it will be unhappy with the corals nearby and start stinging. I have some great st. Thomas mushrooms along with some rics and palys that I would hate to lose just to move the coral? Maybe I will try one change at a time - just removing the plug for now....
 
wow I don't regard them as aggressive at all (perhaps I should research a little more). Mine can't reach much more than an inch or so off the plate, but they aren't as big as yours. I have one that is about 3 inches and then a bunch more that are tiny on a frag of a mother plate. I've never seen them do anything but inflate or deflate. My more aggressive corals seem to have more of a search and destroy feel when they send out their stingers.
 
Hmm, they tend not to, but I have heard that they can send out sweepers several times longer than their normal tentacles at night if they feel like it. I read too much though, and have little experience, hehe. So, I'm just basing that off of what I've read! Still a little hesitant to test the theory on some expensive corals though. Granted, the rics are relatively cheap I suppose, but the st Thomas's weren't! At least where I bought them... Oops, lol (live and learn, there's that lack of experience costing me - literally that time).

In any case, from what I've read, they're fairly toxic to most other corals, even their bodies are able to burn corals that touch them. In the same article I read that they tend to win most fights with other corals, but they don't sting or bother each other. So that's the book version at least, for what it's worth :)
 
Looks my my blundering turned out lucky again since mine are all on the glass and out of range of anything. I definitely have experience with a peaceful tiny gonipora suddenly going after anything within a softballs distance of its 1 inch base, so I know to expect just about anything.
 
Heh, better to be blindly lucky then think you're prepared only to have a disaster! I've found myself in that situation recently - thought I was prepared for my QT tank, read plenty, had my sponge and ceramic pieces sitting in my sump for 3 - 4 months, only to find out far too late that the filter I was using was simply too small :(. Paid for that one dearly in fish lives, and plenty of guilt! Still feel really badly about that....
 
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