Fell candy cane coral

[angleri]

I've got a candy cane coral that started with two heads, now it's got 15 - been growing like crazy for a year and a half. So last week during the night, one of my turbo snails knocked it loose from its rock, it fell about 2 inches into the sand. I put it back in the same spot it's been for the past year and a half. Since then, it's been shrinking away, but it does bring out its tentacles at night - been feeding it mysis shrimp for the past three nights. Still no change during the day, though. No tissue was ripped from the fall, but it's definitely not its normal self. Wondering if there's anything else I should try.

[felinxo]

Give it time, these corals are living creatures, not plants, and they react differently to stress. The slightest changes can have a lasting impact, and it's going to take some time to see if your candy cane coral will fully recover from the fall.

[talonix]

I'm with you on that, letting it recover from the shock is probably the best approach. If it did get stung by another coral on the way down, that could be causing some issues, but if not, I think it's just a matter of time. I wouldn't start worrying unless this persists for a couple of months or so. At that point, I might consider relocating it to a different spot in the tank and see if that makes a difference, maybe even take a break from feeding it for a bit.

[flame9x]

I had a similar experience, mine actually snapped in half when it fell. Luckily, I was able to glue it to another rock of similar height. Now, I've essentially got two separate colonies growing from it. I think candy cane corals are pretty resilient, to be honest. As long as you're providing stable parameters, I'd say just leave it alone and let it recover at its own pace.