I have had this Pulsing Sinularia for over a year now and it just won't open up
Here is a picture of what it looked like when I bought it (not exact coral but this is what it looked like in the original owners tank):
And here it is a year later in my tank:
It has never opened up like it did for the previous owner
It came from a 110g tall tank, where it was in the upper half of the tank, under 250w MH and VHOs. I would characterize the lighting on the coral at the time as full, and not shaded... The flow around it was decent, but not directly on the coral.
In my 225g it is under 400w MH. I have tried putting it directly under the lights, maybe 12 inches from the bulb, and I have gone the other direction and tried it on the sandbed, closer to the outer perimeter of the light. It recieves a fairly strong but indirect flow.
My water parameters are as follows:
Temp 78 - 80F
SG 1025.5
pH 8.0
dKH 10.0
nH3 0
nO2 0
nO3 0
pO4 0
Ca 400 - 440
Mg 1400
No fish or inverts are picking on it or near it; never see any crabs or snails or anything else go near it.
Had it for about a year now so I don't think it is sick or "dying" or anything like that.
Just kinda annoyed that it looks shabby and won't fill out, no matter where I position it in the tank. When I do reposition the coral, I then leave it alone for at least a few weeks to see if there is any change in appearance.
The closest other corals to it are some mushrooms that are close to 1 foot away.
I run carbon and change it regularly, to avoid any chemical warfare toxins building up in the water.
Any suggestions or feedback that might solve this riddle of the coral that won't open?
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I've tacked this baffling problem before. Tanks that looked fine in every way but for some strange reason not even Leather coral would last. Come to find out, the owners had been running PO4 remover continually for up to a year. Within a month, after losing the PO4 removal media, coral were growing the way they should.
