OPEN BRAIN EMERGENCY!!!
- Thread starter reefman23
- Start date
aromano
New Member
WOW, I had the same problem with my hermit crab, which kept on picking and eating my open brain coral. The brain was healthy and no signs of bad tissue or anything. I find that crabs can be far too destructive for their benefit and decided to get him out of tank. I had three of them, removed the one that was picking on the corals and the other two seem not to bother anyone, but I'm constantly watching their behavior. If you can try to post some picts when you get a chance, but if you notice it's hurting your open brain and damaging the tissue, I would suggest getting the this little guy out of your tank to avoid any further problems.
aromano
New Member
ahhhhhhhh... I think Dickie is right Jesse. My open brain does that all the time, and this is the way they excrete their bio wastes. Your brain looks healthy, and most likely your crab was just doing the clean up job by eating the wastes from your open brain coral. Keep an eye on it just in case, but I think he meant no harm.
Thx for the photo. A picture is worth 1000 words. ;-)
Thx for the photo. A picture is worth 1000 words. ;-)
Reefman
I am not real well versed but perhaps target feed him and possibly remove the crabs
I hope it is not "brown jelly" disease maybe post to wet web to see if they have seen this before. Perhaps move it to a shady area as the MH may be too much for him
Red Open Brain being eaten? Not by amphipods
Mr. Fenner,
<Anthony Calfo with the follow-up>
The tank also counts among its inhabitants a 6 line wrasse. He has been there about 10 weeks. I have 13 fish total, all quite small, all about 1.75 - 2 inches in length, except for the Mandarin, who is maybe 3 inches, and two (Ptereleotris zebra) bar gobies who are about 2.5 inches long. 7 damsels, 2 clowns, 3 gobies, 1 wrasse. I have room for more.
<OK>
If you have a "critter eradicator" of choice you would like to see me try, please let me know.
<A Pseudochromis would work very well>
This coral has suffered enough. It is a beautiful pink/red color, which is why it occupies the center position in my tank. I'll be damned if I'm going to lose it to a bunch of micro-shrimp.
<you are very mistaken here Mark. The shrimp (amphipods) are not carnivorous.. they are merely scavenging the dead and dying tissue... and they are of tremendous benefit to the tank. People set up refugiums to culture as many of these micro-crustaceans as possible, and there are businesses dedicated to farming and selling these creatures to aquarists! Your brain is dying for another reason and they are just doing their job. Common causes of death with red open brains include excess light (metal halides over this VERY deep water coral... sometimes found at 80')... also feeding with chunks of food that are too large and cause an internal tear (krill, chunk shrimp, etc)... or a complete lack of feeding (this coral is one of the most food dependant requiring feeding of 3-5 times weekly, and some need daily. Dude... consider these possibilities and please enjoy or ignore the natural plankton that you have been blessed with. They are partly food for your other corals at night!>
Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely,
Mark Schwartz
<best regards, Anthony>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/trachydisfaqs.htm
I am not real well versed but perhaps target feed him and possibly remove the crabs
I hope it is not "brown jelly" disease maybe post to wet web to see if they have seen this before. Perhaps move it to a shady area as the MH may be too much for him
Red Open Brain being eaten? Not by amphipods
Mr. Fenner,
<Anthony Calfo with the follow-up>
The tank also counts among its inhabitants a 6 line wrasse. He has been there about 10 weeks. I have 13 fish total, all quite small, all about 1.75 - 2 inches in length, except for the Mandarin, who is maybe 3 inches, and two (Ptereleotris zebra) bar gobies who are about 2.5 inches long. 7 damsels, 2 clowns, 3 gobies, 1 wrasse. I have room for more.
<OK>
If you have a "critter eradicator" of choice you would like to see me try, please let me know.
<A Pseudochromis would work very well>
This coral has suffered enough. It is a beautiful pink/red color, which is why it occupies the center position in my tank. I'll be damned if I'm going to lose it to a bunch of micro-shrimp.
<you are very mistaken here Mark. The shrimp (amphipods) are not carnivorous.. they are merely scavenging the dead and dying tissue... and they are of tremendous benefit to the tank. People set up refugiums to culture as many of these micro-crustaceans as possible, and there are businesses dedicated to farming and selling these creatures to aquarists! Your brain is dying for another reason and they are just doing their job. Common causes of death with red open brains include excess light (metal halides over this VERY deep water coral... sometimes found at 80')... also feeding with chunks of food that are too large and cause an internal tear (krill, chunk shrimp, etc)... or a complete lack of feeding (this coral is one of the most food dependant requiring feeding of 3-5 times weekly, and some need daily. Dude... consider these possibilities and please enjoy or ignore the natural plankton that you have been blessed with. They are partly food for your other corals at night!>
Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely,
Mark Schwartz
<best regards, Anthony>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/trachydisfaqs.htm
aromano
New Member
Jesse,
I remember we went though hurricane Wilma here is South Florida, I stayed without power for over ten days and this caused a lot of strees to all my critters. During that time I noticed that my open brain coral was doing the exact same thing as yours and it really concerned me, as I thought I was going to loose the coral. I agree with Sadie... Target feed your brain for a couple days, because brains are really good eaters, and usually very hardy. If it's streesed it's going to help him alot. Something is stressing your brain, just double check your water parameters to see if everything is in check, but I'm sure that's not the case.
I remember we went though hurricane Wilma here is South Florida, I stayed without power for over ten days and this caused a lot of strees to all my critters. During that time I noticed that my open brain coral was doing the exact same thing as yours and it really concerned me, as I thought I was going to loose the coral. I agree with Sadie... Target feed your brain for a couple days, because brains are really good eaters, and usually very hardy. If it's streesed it's going to help him alot. Something is stressing your brain, just double check your water parameters to see if everything is in check, but I'm sure that's not the case.
A
Anonymous
Guest
it could simply be as dickie mentioned, as you have been feeding it heavily and there will be excrement to get rid of and yes cnidarians only have one body opening so what goes in must come out.
however I believe with what else you have said that this is not the case. I think it is expelling zoaxanthelia in response to some stresses ???????? not that i know what the stresser is but i doubt the crab is the cause.
this excrement or zoaxanthelia - whichever - is highly nutritious to detritavores and will be scavenged greedily. fish and others all seem to eat it.
i would be only slightly concerned at this point - allow it time - if it inflates and shows no recession around the skeleton all will likely be well. If there is resession however you need to start looking for a cause as it may fade quickly from there.
however I believe with what else you have said that this is not the case. I think it is expelling zoaxanthelia in response to some stresses ???????? not that i know what the stresser is but i doubt the crab is the cause.
this excrement or zoaxanthelia - whichever - is highly nutritious to detritavores and will be scavenged greedily. fish and others all seem to eat it.
i would be only slightly concerned at this point - allow it time - if it inflates and shows no recession around the skeleton all will likely be well. If there is resession however you need to start looking for a cause as it may fade quickly from there.
A
Anonymous
Guest
brains are really not that difficult ed but they do need certain things as all are critters do. we tend to try to meet the median in our tanks and that doesn't work for all. first off brains come from a totally different environment then most of our commonly kept corals. they come from calm turbid waters of the lagoons not the reef itself. placement is very important. They do not need very strong light or current but do need to be placed on a sandbed with plenty of space all around it so it can inflate and deflate which is part of its normal cleaning process. they also need to be feed at least once a week and will capture other food from the tank between feedings. and maybe most importantly in their survival rate is the fact they are wild caught. shipping and handleing from ocean to you is always questionable.
rmanecke
New Member
On the subject of brains...
I have three.
One was purchased from my favorite LFS... wide open.... red... I put him half in shade, half in light... doing great. Great extension during the day... feeder tentacles out at night... colors have faded slightly from when I purchased him though and I have seen him eject red pigment (twice during the first week in the tank).
Two others I bought from this place this looks like a really struggling LFS. Mostly out of pity for the owner... Anyway... the colors are really good on one... but it does nothing. Not even extended one mm from its skeleton. Could be made of plastic as far as I can tell. But, no changes after one month in the tank. The other is a faded green color. Also, no visible activity... but, when I moved it today... I could at least feel flesh on the skeleton.
I am feeding them 4-5 x per week, and just put them in lower light, lower current areas. Every other coral is doing well. Should I pitch the brains or keep nursing them along? I do feel somewhat responsible for them..., but, would rather dispose of them then risk a brown jelly infection or something.
R
I have three.
One was purchased from my favorite LFS... wide open.... red... I put him half in shade, half in light... doing great. Great extension during the day... feeder tentacles out at night... colors have faded slightly from when I purchased him though and I have seen him eject red pigment (twice during the first week in the tank).
Two others I bought from this place this looks like a really struggling LFS. Mostly out of pity for the owner... Anyway... the colors are really good on one... but it does nothing. Not even extended one mm from its skeleton. Could be made of plastic as far as I can tell. But, no changes after one month in the tank. The other is a faded green color. Also, no visible activity... but, when I moved it today... I could at least feel flesh on the skeleton.
I am feeding them 4-5 x per week, and just put them in lower light, lower current areas. Every other coral is doing well. Should I pitch the brains or keep nursing them along? I do feel somewhat responsible for them..., but, would rather dispose of them then risk a brown jelly infection or something.
R
While I have no first hand experience with brains ... I would venture to say continue with the route you are on as long as there is no tissue ression you should be ok ...do watch for signs of brown jelly disease and remove at once if you see signs of suspect it of occuring ..however I dont think that is the road to which you are going .Hopefully others will input on this for you :mrgreen: