Solving a Problem with Gorgeous George the Trachyphyllia 

I’m so glad it worked for you! It wasn’t my original idea though lol. 👍🏻👍🏻

What a nice thing to say, and many thanks for the good wishes!

I’m always happiest when: 1. I’m admiring my aquarium because for a brief moment in time it looks gorgeous; and B. I’m problem-solving. This RU-vid thing has changed my procsss - now I don’t do anything without thinking how to document it for a video. It’s crazy! 😳 Thx for stopping by!

I just liked the name, and this was a heck of a gorgeous trachy......😎

You crack me up. Seriously though, it’s the nurturing thing, it goes a bit far sometimes. And I have the coral skeletons to prove it, in the graveyard behind the rocks. Because you never know if they might come back.... I’m loving this trachy, video can’t capture the colour and texture of this thing. So I want to make sure he gets what he needs. 😊

Thank you, I really appreciate you saying so! I love making these videos, they make the hobby so much more enjoyable when I can share the experiences I encounter!

Thank goodness, it was fine. I only saw that when I watched the video 😱 but I didn’t put a ton of downward pressure on the thing as I twisted it, and I think I just ended up curling that lower polyp under a bit, into the sand. It looks great now. You’re very observant! Thanks for watching and for the comment!

Thanks Andy! Exactly - the other critters don’t seem to “smell” them, but if they see them, it’s game over. Thanks for watching!

That’s a great idea to use a funnel! I wonder if there’s something that would be both small enough O.D. to fit inside the top of the tube, and large enough I.D. to allow the pellets to pass through? Maybe one of those plastic feeding pipettes would work if the top end was cut off. Though the opening would be tight, it could certainly act as a funnel. 🤔 Now I have to try it - if it works I’ll call it the Pelphrey modification. 😁 Thanks for the comment!

Reefgrrl or put the pellets in with a little water and suck them up the tube! That’s what I do when I feed frozen, I don’t take my screen top off. I just suck the frozen food up the coral feeder and slide it through the screen top. Regardless of my suggestions you and your husband will figure out a much better way than anything I can think of! Keep spreading the knowledge, we all appreciate it!

Yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing - soaking the pellets in tank water and drawing them up in the tube. Tricky though, because of gravity - that’s what I learned the first time I used the new contraption. Had to keep my finger over the tube to hold them in there. I love the size of these slim coral feeder tubes - I use mine often to blow sand off of corals when it gets scattered around. And I’ve also used it to suck monti-eating nudibranchs off their buffet table and into oblivion! It’s excellent because of how close you can get. And you’re right, it fits perfectly through the mesh. 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks! About 3 times a week, after lights out.

I got this coral back in early September, and it’s nearly doubled in size and gotten far more frilly since then. I haven’t fed him anything but these pellets so can’t compare, but he has definitely grown a lot! What I like about the pellets is it seems the fish and shrimp can’t “smell” them, it’s like there’s no attractant in them like there is in fish foods. However, if they “see” the pellets, it’s game over. 🙄 So I needed a way to let George eat in peace. Thanks for watching!

About once every ten days or so. As soon as I notice he isn’t inflating as much for two days in a row, I feed him. I don’t want to overfeed, especially since I’m currently in nutrient management mode, trying to get phosphates down. Video to come about that, it’s been an interesting process figuring it out. Thanks for watching!

What I like about it is the shrimp and fish don’t seem to “smell” it in the water but if they SEE it, it’s game over. Gorgeous George has about doubled in size since I started feeding this stuff, and I’m now working on making various sizes of these plastic bottle feeding tents so I can use them on the other LPS. I’ve managed so far to feed the various euphyllia and the long tentacle plate and they are looking huge and happy. I need a tent for the scolys and the rest but when they do manage to eat before the shrimp attack, they respond really well to it. Whether it’s better than other food, I can’t say, but other food mostly has attractant in it, so immediately the fish and shrimp go for it, but this stuff doesn’t seem to have that. 🤷‍♀️ Thanks for watching!

Sounds like it's really good! I like the fact that it has no attractant

Hey Mel, I hope you had a great thanksgiving! Gotta feed those trachys to keep them healthy, it seems. Good luck! And thanks for stopping by! High five backatcha!

They are easy and low maintenance as long as they’re in the right light and flow - both need to be moderate. There are differing opinions on whether they need feeding and I decided to feed him periodically as a compromise. Right now he isn’t expanding like he used to and I’m not sure why. I’m thinking it might be something to do with having three gorgonians in the tank now - I’ve just learned they give off noxious substances. I’m going to be installing a small carbon reactor to see if it makes a difference, and I’ll be repositioning the largest gorgonian so it’s further away from him. The other possibility is one of my fish may be nipping at him, so he’s not puffing up completely. I’m not concerned he’s dying, because his flesh looks solid and there’s no issue with his skeleton showing anywhere - he just looks kind of unhappy. That trachy at your LFS sounds gorgeous! And the price seems reasonable. All you need to do is clear a nice space for it on the sand and don’t blast it with light or flow, and you’re good to go! Good luck! 😁

Reefgrrl thank you! Next time i will definitely pick it up thanks for the info!

You’re welcome!