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Originally Posted by dreams i read that yellow leathers don't have sweeper tentacles.....well, mine is sending out sonmething and they are very long.....the problem is that it is going through my pipe coral
do need to be concerned?....i can't move the leather, it has attached.....may be able to move the pipe help |
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Classification: Soft Coral
Common Names: Yellow Leather Coral
Description:
Yellow leather coral has a convoluted crown atop a single sturdy stalk. The crown is covered with small cream colored polyps.
Natural Environment:
? This coral is normally collected in the wild, but it is easily propagated.
Hardiness: Leather corals tend to be very hardy corals. They will sometimes withdraw their tentacles and get a waxy look to their surface for periods of time of up to a week or more. This is normal as the animal sloughs off a layer of skin. Very extended periods of withdrawal can indicate that the coral is not happy with its environment.
Lighting: Does well from moderate lighting up to very intense. Yellow leathers seem to do better under the higher intensity lighting.
Water Current: Leather corals like a low to moderate water flow.
Temperature: Does well within a range of at least 75º to 84º F.
Aggressiveness: Very low.
Feeding: Leather corals are photosynthetic and do not require direct feeding. It is unknown if they will take zooplankton or
phytoplankton.
Supplements: No special requirement are noted. Normal acceptable water parameters seem to suite it just fine.
Tank Positioning: No special requirements other than keeping them out of forceful water flow.
Propagation:: Easily propagated by cutting a section of the cap off and dividing it into small pieces about 1/4" in size. The pieces can be placed on a gravel bed in low water flow and they will attach to gravel particles within a couple of weeks. They can then be superglued to a suitable substrate such as a reef plug.
Another neat thing about leathers is that they are often accepted as a host for Clown (anemone) fish (genus Amphiprion) when a suitable anemone is not present. This has been recorded in the wild, not just in captivity in aquaria. Clownfish have spawned in captivity with a leather coral for a host as well!
Leathers practice chemical warfare, since stinging polyps (aggressive defense) or a hard skeleton (passive defense) are not available options. They emit chemicals toxic to potential threats, like other corals trying to horn in on their turf, so it is important to not let them touch, or even be too near other corals. Usually this is a few inches on either side of the fully extended, opened up animal. Don't be fooled by their shrunk up size, which sometimes they do, appearing to be dying off. Then they often shed an outer layer of "skin", followed by a growth period after which it is larger than before, when you thought it was dying. Some of these chemicals are believed to have or hold potential for being anti-carcinogens - that is they might be cures for cancer. Research is currently underway into this possibility.
Dreams, i would do some research on stinging hydroids, they hitch in the corals from time to time. these send out stinger threads
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