open brain coral care!??@?!

[qwertman321]

hi guys, is open brain coral hard to keep? does it need to be feed regularly?

lighting , flow , etc ? pls advise ty

[iskay]

prefer placement - sandbed

flow - low to medium

light - low to medium

feeding - seafood once a week

[marinakid]

any tips to nurse open brain back to good healthy?

currently have 1 not opening up and doesnt extend any tentacles.

[fishiee]

hmm. maybe you can try to place your brain coral in an area of low flow. they don't like high flow. also, try to place your brain on the sand bed, not on the rocks. make sure your nitrate and phosphate levels are not too high as always. remember to feed your brain coral. one time a week would be good; alhough you can get away with one time every 2 weeks.

[marinakid]

i tried to feed it but it doesnt not extend any tentacle hence not eating the food? any way to help it extend the tentacle?

[Gouldian]

i tried to feed it but it doesnt not extend any tentacle hence not eating the food? any way to help it extend the tentacle?

If your brain have acclimated in your tank, it should be easy to 'encourage' feeding response. Herewith are steps I take with good results:

1. Feed 5-10mins before lights off
   
2. Turn off return pump and any wave maker
   
3. Mix any brands of invertebrates food* with 50ml of fresh de-chlorinated water
   
4. Pour mixture slowly into tank
   
5. ON PUMP AFTER REGIME
   

Invertebrates food: I find that micro-size food yield better results. e.g. cyclopeeze, polyplabs, spirulina, baby brine shrimps, rotifers, commercially prepared phytoplankton, commercially prepared zoeplankton etc.

HTH

[fishiee]

does not extend its tentecles... umm. if you already did not know, a brian coral usually extends its tentecles at NIGHT around 2 hours after lights out, althugh some do extend them in a day....you will have to use a torch at 2am if you want to see tentecles. the tentecles are also quite transparent, so if you can't see them, look harder. if you brain coral is opening up fine, it should be doing alright. i don't really think most reefers use tentecle extension to gauge the health of their brain coral.

[yikai]

here's what you can do. turn off all pumps and wavemaker. put some mysis or a small piece of prawn on the brain coral. in a few minutes, the tentacles should emerge. do this for a few days and it should automatically open up it's tentacles