Yellow flatworms in the reef tank

[BoldVoy]

I'm thinking these aren't your typical LPS, more like NPS, so maybe someone on that NPS forum could shed some light on what's going on and how I can get it to feed.

Thanks for the heads up, I realized that after posting but the feedback's been helpful so far. We're gonna try something new for tomorrow's feeding - cutting the bottom of a bottle, adding food, and capping it for half an hour to see how that goes.

[blazeline]

You're gonna have way better luck with frozen mysis, other frozen foods like that, than you are with coral smoothie. I'd mix a little smoothie in with the mysis, but smoothie alone, it's just not gonna cut it, won't keep sun coral alive, might not even get it to open up.

[flynix]

I've had the best luck with hikari's spirulina brine shrimp, seems to be a hit with my sun coral.

[tidal]

I don't think it's a case of the coral being at war with its neighbors, I believe those yellow spots are more of a stress response. When the coral's not in optimal health or has just been moved, it can cause this reaction. Once you get it feeding properly, I'm pretty sure they'll go away.

[BoldVoy]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it. I'll let you know how tonight's feeding goes with the bottle trick, I'm hopeful I'll get a good feeding response out of it.

[BoldVoy]

Put some smoothie in with thawed mysis as planned. This is the most responsive it's been so far, definitely shows promise. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it's progress, so I'll take it.

[zenoxa]

You might want to try using a clear plastic tube, about 1/2" in diameter, to target feed those polyps. I'm thinking NLS pellets could work well for this. Just pipe them down the tube and onto the polyps, keeping the bottle over the coral to contain the food. The tube should fit through the top of the bottle.

[blazeline]

It's gonna take some time, effort, and patience. When you see the slightest bit of polyp extension, gently place some mysis on the tentacles. If they eat it, repeat the process. Do this daily, at the very least, until you get a good feeding response. I'd even say try for a couple of times a day if you can manage it.

[BoldVoy]

I think you both are onto something and I'll definitely be giving those ideas a shot. I know it's gonna be an uphill battle, but I'm hopeful that with a lot of work and consistency, I can turn things around - I don't think this coral is too far gone.

zenoxa, when you mentioned a clear half-inch tube, does the material matter - would acrylic or clear vinyl work, as long as I can get the pellets down to it? I've got some leftover 1/2" vinyl from swapping out my return pump.