Prodigal Polyp Returns

amygetsalife

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Some 3-4 months ago, I had a candy cane coral die off. My tank was about 5 months old at the time (I really need to retroactively start my build thread). While I had seen many reports of candy cane coral being easy, I later read on R2R that candy cane will let you know if they aren't happy with the parameters. I'm new to the hobby and chalked it up to something being off in my tank.

The last polyp bailed out and was later seen that day in a somewhat dead zone on the tank sand bed. While I was trying to decide whether to leave it there or dispose of the sad but bright green polyp, it disappeared.

Last week I was watching the tank and this bright neon ball sort of floated up from the back of the aquascape and touched down on a rock. Fascinated, I watched it lift up again and touch down in a hole on that rock about 2 inches away. It stayed there for two days and disappeared again.

The rock is full of interconnected holes. It could have fallen in deeper or floated off. After it was gone, a sand vac and water change happened. Three days later...tonight it reappeared, roughly in the same spot where I had seen it last. Same deep pit in the rock.

I can only guess that it is the candy cane polyp based on the bright green (kryptonite) color. It's even brighter than it had been before it bailed out of its skeleton. It's round now and about 1/4 inch in diameter.

Does anyone have any idea what coral polyps do if they've survived a bail out? Will it find a place where it is happy to reattach? Or is it just a glowing dead corpse? It seemed to be purposeful in its motion, especially when it disappeared this last time and reappeared.

Is there something I can do to help it recover? Keeping parameters good is obvious, and last parameter testing is attached. Tank is doing well now, including a replacement candy cane, and coral line algae is growing.

91E54F97-AB64-4DD4-8110-509AB658F20E.jpeg E1BA7587-2790-40E8-9E82-5A18290ACE1A.png
 
So what is happening is the polyp that bailed out is still conducting photosynthesis as it is dying which is why you are seeing it every now and again bouncing around. Once it has bailed out it is toast, it cannot survive without its skeleton. It will eventually perish but it is kinda of cool seeing it pop up every now and again in the current.
 
Bummer. I had hoped that maybe it could develop skeleton or reattach somehow. Pretty amazing that it's still going after all this time. Persistent polyp!
 

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