Damaged trachyphilia coral after shipping: what's next

[finleydive]

Got a bit of a situation here. Just got my awesome piece from Divers Den, but it got turned upside down during shipping. Now I've got a fair amount of skeleton exposed.

I've acclimated it via slow drip and gave it a dip in Bayer Advanced. It's now in the tank I had planned for it.

Tank parameters are looking good - dKH 11, Ca 385, Mg 1200, and near 0 NO3 and PO4. I'm hoping to save this piece, really don't want to have to deal with LA crediting me.

What else can I do to give it the best chance of healing?

[zenoxa]

I've had some success with feeding them small bits of food during recovery, like NLS pellets or tiny pieces of shrimp - seems to give them a bit of energy to focus on healing. Good luck with yours.

[axonify]

My coral had a rough start in my tank, took months for it to settle in and it exposed a good amount of skeleton in the process. Switching to BRS 2-part helped stabilize everything and it completely turned around. I know feeding can make a big difference, but my fish are just too aggressive when it comes to food, so that's not an option for me. If your coral does expose its feeders, I'd definitely give feeding a shot, just be prepared for a frenzy if you have finicky fish like mine.

[finleydive]

Appreciate the advice, guys. I'll definitely try feeding it - NLS pellets and shrimp bits sound like a good starting point. Thankfully, my water parameters seem to be in check, as it's already expanded a bit, although not fully just yet.

[flux4]

Iodine dip might be worth a shot. Lougol's solution has antiseptic properties, could help prevent infection.

[sweetie_22]

Trachys can be stunning with their undulating flesh and vibrant color contrasts. In my humble opinion, to give this one the best possible chance, I'd recommend bumping up your magnesium levels to at least 1300. From my experience, LPS corals tend to get a bit testy when magnesium dips below 1200.

A dip in an iodine solution, like flux4 suggested, could help minimize the risk of infection, which would only hinder the healing process.

[Finwise]

Maintain low flow to minimize irritation on the exposed tissue. I'd focus on feeding it well, that's your best bet for now. Beyond feeding, I'd suggest giving it space and not over-handling it.

[finleydive]

Alright, let's give this a shot. Got a series of photos to share -

Took them with a decent camera, but the files are huge, around 200kb, so can't upload here. Instead, I'll link to my Facebook page where I've posted them.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

1. The coral as it arrived - you can see the skeleton exposed at the top.
2. Fully expanded on day 2 - way better than I expected.
3. The focus is off, but you can see the tentacles are out - that's a great sign.

Feeling pretty optimistic about this coral's chances now.