birdnest health

[PufferGuy]

i traded in a bunch of macro to my lfs and got three pretty big pieces of neon green birdsnest coral... i have it placed high in my tank since i only have t5's and in good current.

my question is how do you know if its happy?? Is it just if the polyps are out or not?

what are signs of stress on this coral also?

 

[parrotchute]

Well, if it's not happy, it'll start to bleach.

How's your calc/magnesium?

 

[PufferGuy]

i dont have tests for that... this is my first venture into SPS, i probably should pick some more test kits up now...

will the polyps still be open if its not happy? id rather not let it ge to the bleaching point.

 

[parrotchute]

polyps open is always a good sign. Closing up for a while would indicate some bad things. Birdsnest's, I believe, require low nutrients in the water, so a good skimmer and consistent water changes will be very helpful

 

[SeaBee]

magnesium and calcium....I just ventured into sps land as well. I had a crap light and now all t5, so I bought 3 small sps frags this week, none over $25. I have them up real high as well and so far so good. Good luck with yours puffer dude...

 

[EliWhitney314]

It also depends on the current. Sometimes my birdsnest polyps are out and somtimes they are pulled back a little. But they grow very fast, so you will know if it's doing well.

 

[PufferGuy]

what do you mean by very fast? like within a couple weeks? or months?

also, the growing portion is usually a different shade than the rest isnt it?

 

[PufferGuy]

also, thanks everyone for the help

 

[EliWhitney314]

You should notice growth within about 2-3 weeks. It will be lighter in color.

 

[dcantucson]

+1 Eli
Watch for polyp extension. If it doesn't extend for a day or two then it will probably begin to bleach. Good luck with it.

 

[EliWhitney314]

wow, my first +1.

 

[dcantucson]

Congratulations Eli. :) You the man!
:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

 

[PufferGuy]

its been open fully for the past couple days, i have it at the very top of my tank in pretty strong flow... hopefully it lasts, i really like it