Collapsed Open Brain.
 

I've got a beautiful open brain coral that I just love but the last week or so its really shrivelled up and gotten tight on its skeleton. I know they usually do this at times but it usually comes back the next day to its full puffed up glory.

I'm wondering if there is a problem or not or something they just do every now and then. (Its done it once before several months ago). I wouldn't want to loose it so I'm doing a bit of extra water changes. I still have very higher calcium at 450-500 and alk at 7-8 (which I'm trying to bring up slowly). Could this be affecting the brain? Anything else to do for it? I'll try feeding it but its not really opening its tenticles to collect food.

for what its woth mine is small 95% of the time and I think it looks better then when it is puffed up. to tell you the truth I am starting to think that puffed up minght not be a indacatore of health at all, but rather not enuf light. but we'll see what others have to say.

Steve

I'm not 100% certain but I do think that when it's pulled in really tight over the skeleton that it is a response to something it doesn't like. Espescially if you're not noticing the feeder tentacles ever come out.

Things to watch out for: It could be too much current, too much light (if it was moved recently), or a parameter that is changing too quickly, or a parameter that is outside of optimal range (e.g., high nitrates). Or it could be that someone is picking on it.

I see you've listed your lighting @ 192W of PC so I'm somewhat doubtful that it's the lighting in this case. So the next things to check would be the nitrates, maybe even phosphate levels, water currents, anything touching it (neighbouring corals ... fish... shrimp .. anemones... etc.)

My open Brain is puffy 98% of the time, i havent seen it get all tigh in awile, i am running 192w PC's as well, so yea i would just check all your levels and think of anything that might have changed

Is his feeding tentacles comming out at night?

Nope, its tentacles have been collapsed tightly as well for a few days. Last night I put an acrylic box over it and layed some mysis shrimp on it, which worked wonders. It was opened up feeding with its tentacles within about 30 minutes. So I guess its still OK, but it totally collapsed again this evening with the lights on.

I guess I'll just keep an eye on it and feed a little more in a few days. Nothing has changed in the tank and all parameters are 0. Calcium a little high and alk a little low but not sure if that affects an open brain.

Thanks for the help.. Personally, I think it definitely looks better fully opened. Here is the difference.

http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/7...enbrain3cq.jpg
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/1829/img71446py.jpg

Ok I don't concider that puffy, mine is normaly 1/2 way inbetween thoes two pics. when my mutant goes puffy I will get a pic and show you what I thought you ment by puffy :mrgreen:

Steve

my brain is always fully puffed out, never seen the feeder tenttacles yet, though.

Sometimes they come out late at night, like 3am kind of late-at-night. Or if you feed a food they like, they'll put those sweepers out. All I have to do is put some mysis in my water column and my brain is practically begging for some. :lol:

cool..i'll try and see if it will "beg" for some food tonight. :lol:

Thanks for the feedback everyone, hopefully it'd recover then in a few days. Not that abnormal I guess afterall.

Stircrazy, as far as puffy goes, it gets MUCH bigger than this as well and really moves in the water flow a lot. This was the only picture I had when it was larger than now. That picture is how it usually always looks, but sometimes bigger yet, depends if its been bothered by the crabs or shrimps in the tank.