Sexy Corals Favia / Reef Odyssey Acan Blow-Out Grow-Out 2011!

[thewackyreefer]

ha great news! Sometimes I hate the tricks cameras can play

I totally agree. Really hard to tell, I looked at the pic and was like what the heck?!

Taking some more pics for you now. Other than the one above I think everything is looking great.

 

[lps1212]

Alright guys, here are some pics of the favias! I'll try to get some better ones in the next day or so once they're all happy again.

I may re-mount a couple of them that are on plugs next week or so, cut down some of the rock and put some reef putty around them so they grow easier down a gentle slope. If anyone objects, please let me know but I think it'll be for the better.

Those are some great lookin Favia Gems you guys aquired there GL with the growout

 

[Tabasco1]

Thanks for the update Justin. Can't wait to see the new pics, you are going to be a pro by the time the grow out is done

Let us know how the dip goes. It also looks like there is enough that is healthy that if it looks like the dip isn't helping and things are progressing the wrong way that you could frag off the healthy part.

I hope you are not feeling too much stress. We did get 15 corals, the odds were that there were going to be some issues. Please let me know if you need anything.

 

[thewackyreefer]

The pic above was the original pic, not the pic with the eye missing. It's not as bad as I thought initially and it looks like it's stopped receding.

I'm going to stop feeding the favias the pellets as I believe the pellet is what caused this eye to melt away. After I posted the other night I put a pellet on a different eye and it turned white just like the other one. Strange, I know but I have no other explanation...

 

[thewackyreefer]

I'm going to start moving everything over to my shallow tank this week. All of my personal collection has been moved over for at least two weeks now and has been doing great. Params are all on spot so we should be good to go!

The favia that was receding doesn't appear to be anymore, I'm convinced at this point it was the fauna marin but I'm obviously not going to test that again. I'd definitely say that favias are slow growers at this point, especially the greenish one with the big eyes on it, i don't think that one's grown at all...

These pics were both taken with the flash on so keep that in mind. The piece down in the bottom right has a little bald spot on top but it doesn't look nearly as washed out in person as the pic makes it look. Overall I'd say everything is looking great. Some of the acans are starting to color up a little bit as well and they're always begging for food.

 

[Tabasco1]

Thanks for the pics! They all look healthy. I am sure they will start picking up some growth soon.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Hey guys, just wanted to give you a quick update.

Everything's looking exactly the same!

Maybe it's because I stare at them each day that I'm not noticing much growth except on the acans, but I really can't see any new growth on the favias.

 

[Nate82]

Hey guys, just wanted to give you a quick update.

Everything's looking exactly the same!

Maybe it's because I stare at them each day that I'm not noticing much growth except on the acans, but I really can't see any new growth on the favias.

Haha well thats a bummer.. At least Im in it for the acans, hoping for a couple colonies by the end! Haha. Our goals ten eyes a piece, correct? How far away are we?

Thanks for the update, was just looking at this thread this morning

 

[thewackyreefer]

Haha well thats a bummer.. At least Im in it for the acans, hoping for a couple colonies by the end! Haha. Our goals ten eyes a piece, correct? How far away are we?

Thanks for the update, was just looking at this thread this morning

Honestly the acans could probably be split up now they're doing so well.

As far as the favias go we should probably discuss the 10 eyes...at this rate it'll take a year for them to get that big as most have 3-5 eyes and haven't grown at all since I got them. I think the way they were cut is partially to blame, I re-mounted some of them the best I could but you can see how awkward some of them are cut and mounted on the plugs. If they were all flat and not on pieces of rock I think they'd grow quicker but I don't want to take the chance of removing them. If you guys have any suggestions I'm all ears.

 

[Tabasco1]

Thanks for the update.

I wish I had some great suggestions for you, maybe start a seperate thread asking advice on favia growth? That would probably get you some good feed back. What about talking to Mike about possible things to help get these guys growing? Do you think he would be game for offering some advice?

How are they looking? Are they eating well? color good? Seem happy in general? Those could be some good indicators. I have heard that sometimes corals just go through dormant periods and then growth spurts. It might just be that they were very stressed from the fragging and have taken a good bit to heal and re-group.

Thanks for the update and for taking good care of the team!

How are the acans looking? Did they hold most of their color or morph at all?

 

[thewackyreefer]

Thanks for the update.

I wish I had some great suggestions for you, maybe start a seperate thread asking advice on favia growth? That would probably get you some good feed back. What about talking to Mike about possible things to help get these guys growing? Do you think he would be game for offering some advice?

How are they looking? Are they eating well? color good? Seem happy in general? Those could be some good indicators. I have heard that sometimes corals just go through dormant periods and then growth spurts. It might just be that they were very stressed from the fragging and have taken a good bit to heal and re-group.

Thanks for the update and for taking good care of the team!

How are the acans looking? Did they hold most of their color or morph at all?

The acans look great, coloration on most really hasn't changed since I got them.

I haven't been feeding the favias much at all just beacuse of what happened with the pellet eating away at it or whatever was happening before. They all look pretty good, coloration looks normal, they're just not really growing.

 

[Nate82]

I haven't been feeding the favias much at all just beacuse of what happened with the pellet eating away at it or whatever was happening before.

Why not try some mysis? Never heard of corals reacting negatively to it. Everything in my tank loves it! Thanks for the updates.

 

[thewackyreefer]

They do get some maybe once a week when the fish get it. Most of these favias don't put any feeders out from what I've seen.

 

[Tabasco1]

Do favias typically put out feeders like acans do?

Good call on the mysis, I think trying that is a good idea. See how they react. Are you feeding at a specific time? Maybe their feed response is after lights out? Maybe try some other food stuffs if you don't get a response from the mysis. See what gets them excited.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Some do, some don't. I pretty much always feed at night when they're most prone to eating. I've got a few things to give em.

 

[KLR]

For spot feeding, have you tried making a bottomless box out of eggcrate and zip ties? Put the box over the corals,then feed through the holes in the eggcrate,no fish can get in this UNLESS you have slender wrasse-like fishes.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Taking some pics for you guys tonight, just cleaned up the tank!

A couple observations from today...

Mayan Sun is looking pretty nice, the red in the eyes is starting to come out a little more.
SC Angel Eye and the SC Girl favias haven't retained as much of the pink as you see in the first pic. If anyone has any suggestions on how to bring it back I'm all ears!
SC Watermelon which is the one that was receding from the pellet previously is looking pretty good and seems to be recovering pretty nicely, keeping an eye on this one.
SC Blue Angel which is the one in the bottom right of one of the last pics I took is the one I'm the most concerned about. It's colors are fading for some reason although it's been in the sanded at the edge of the tank shaded by the frag rack since I took the last pic. It doesn't really look like it's receding at all, just fading.

All of the other favias are looking really good nothing major to note, I think the SC Dark Vampire is one of my favorites. That dark red color just makes it look really cool.

No real change in the status of the acans, they're all growing nicely and the colors haven't really changed much if at all since I got them which is awesome. Let me know if you guys have any questions or suggestions!

 

[Tabasco1]

Sweet! Can't wait to see the pic update! Thanks!

 

[Tabasco1]

Pics pics pics!!!

One thought about the blue angel, has it always been on the sandbed in the shade? Some favias prefer a higher light placement and do better when placed like that. maybe try moving it out of the shade and keeping it on the sanded to see if it improves. If it does you can try moving it up.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Pics pics pics!!!

One thought about the blue angel, has it always been on the sandbed in the shade? Some favias prefer a higher light placement and do better when placed like that. maybe try moving it out of the shade and keeping it on the sanded to see if it improves. If it does you can try moving it up.

No, it was on the rack with the rest of them once it started looking bad I moved it down to the sand under the rack.

I'm gonna try to get the pics up tonight! I've taken them, just need to go through them and pick out the good ones for you all.