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Torch question


BobcatReefer

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I have 4 different torches: 2 x golds from different places, 1 x peach tipped teal torch, and one green tipped torch....

None of them have receeded like that. Sometimes they pull in close to the skeleton but it only lasts for a short time then they come back out. I wish I could say if they'll repopulate but I can say that they grow very very slowly. The first gold torch I got still looks around the same size it has been since I got it in April. It's not branching or anything, and if it has grown it's just growing more tentacles. But like I said, very slow. I was told by the LFS that it will grow very slowly also.

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I would leave them for a while to see if new polyps start but what you'll see if it happens is tiny polyps starting around the perimeter where the edge of the polyp that died ended. I would not expect to see tissue regrow over the the old skeleton unless you can still see some tissue in the center where the mouth was. Stuff like this happens. Did it get border line too warm at some point before or after C4? During packing and handling before and during C4 was it exposed to slime from other corals or stung by other corals? I'm inclined to think this unlikely but it also could be a lighting issue where one side of the colony was getting more or less growing and the multiple changes over several days pushed two over the edge. Even though all three polyps are clones they can still have individual preferences to stress events so in theory your remaining polyp is tougher if that helps any. smile.png

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Those conditions are certainly possible, Tim, but I did my best to mitigate anything like that. Took an insulated cooler backpack and picked up the Torch last (the vendor very nicely held it for me) before leaving. It could have been touched by other corals at C4, but was not once I had it. Put it in the sand for the 1st couple of days so it shouldn't have had any lighting bias.

Any suggestions for growth? Spot feeding?

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In 2013 I had a new purple hammer shed it's entire flesh in the first few days. It just popped off and floated around the tank before I pulled it out. It took about three months, but it did regrow the plume (crown, crest, dreadlocks?). I'm not sure if that helps, but it might be worth researching.

Another member created a post about the same sort of thing. I don't know if she every figured it out though. http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/37198-octospawn-recession/

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As far as spot feeding is concerned, I've never seen my torchs eat any shrimp i've sprayed onto it's tentacles. They do react to the powdered coral foods and they do have mouths in the center of their tentacles but I've never actually seen them put anything in their mouths. They usually just let the shrimp I try to feed them fall out of their tentacles after holding onto it for a little while.

I think they like the powdered coral foods though because I can see their tentacles curl up when I feed it to them as if they're trying to eat it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Been meaning to post this for a while and finally got around to looking up the reference. Anyway, just transplanting a coral will alter it's microbiome (coral associated microbes and cyanobacteria, aka coral holobiont) and increase it's risk of getting an infection. There are events prior to our getting an animal that can lead to it's death days, weeks or months later but even if everything goes right there's still a risk. This paper looked at the role of "Farming" damsels and the algae they cultivate had on the health of surrounding corals. One of the surprising results was even the control groups of transplanted corals showed an altered microbiome and an increased level of pathogens. It is frustrating to be sure but there are many things going on that are beyond our ability to test for or to have any real control over.

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