[angrybanana]

The guy at the local petstore had a single yellow zoanthid polyp on a piece of rock and told me i could have it if i wanted it. so i took it and it seemed like it was in good condition, this pet store owner takes very good care of his stuff. took it home and it had closed up on the way home, i placed it in my tank and left the lights on all day and it never opened up. its in there with 2 25 watt flourscent energy saver bulbs (the ones that look like a spiral), guy at the petstore has them in his tank and says they work fine for all his corals. how long does it usually take corals to open up for the first time in a tank?

parameters-
nitrate- 20 ppm
nitrite- .5 ppm
ammonia- 0

 

[triggerman77]

It could take days or even weeks sometimes. i bought some Star polyps one tme it took them two weeks to open up.

 

[schwa6970]

If it hasnt opened up in a few days look at it very closely. I brought home some zoos a couple weeks ago and I noticed a couple of them looked real bad and then croaked. Last night I noticed a couple more looking agitated and looked at it real close to find a zoo eating Nudibranch those little guys are darn sneaky and this one obviously lived through the freshwater dip that I submit all my corals to. you need to look real close for them they have "petals" like a zoo coming off the side of them and they turn the same color of what they are eating so they are masters of camo and they will hollow a zoo right out in no time flat. they are tiny about an 1/8-1/4 inch long heres a link http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=202049&stc=1&d=1214773588

 

[Reefsnob]

First, That bulb is not good for any coral...but It is bot the cause of your animal not opening up though.

To take a guess, tghe cause is your nitrites.
Any reading is detrimental to any animal in your aquarium.

Before adding any animals please ensure Amonia and Nitrites are 0 for at least 2 weeks, in addition you will need to purchase better lighting. At a minimum you should use Compact Florecent, and depending on the size of your tank could probably be had for less than you payed for the bulbs your currently using.


The fish store should not be using Spiral CF bulbs to support corals either.

 

[JoeCreature]

+1 to that.

 

[angrybanana]

alright thanks for the help everyone, its been opening up now and just a heads up the 26 watt spirals are compact fluorescents