Pipe organ care

GOSKN5 · 07/22/2015, 08:19 PM

Anyone had luck keeping a pipe organ for a while? Specifically the white version, but any experience would help. I am reading they are somewhat difficult for some and easy for others. Any first hand advice on care etc? Thanks

Fallling · 07/23/2015, 08:38 PM

A pipe organ was my first coral actually, and it's been a hardy trooper for me. I've had it 1-1/2 years now, and it survived the tank move (coral was in holding containers for a few weeks and got kind of neglected... lost a few things). They likes lots of flow... mine gets flow like for a leather or sps. They're suppose to like moderate to bright light, but I have mine on the bottom right now, and it's growing. Also have had it in the middle.

I've read the reason some people have success and others struggle really has to do with how it's fragged or cut of the mother colony. If't not cut off right, the polyps end up dying. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but makes sense to me (I can't remember exactly how it has to be cut). I recently had a frag of deepwater pipe organ, and it didn't make it... everything else in the tank (including sps) is fine.

I picked this frag in particular from the LFS because it looked very healthy. Most of the times I've been back, the pipe organ frags are a lot smaller and don't look very good. Kind of like my deepwater before it died.

RGS2 · 07/23/2015, 08:48 PM

I've had my pipe organ for several years. It has doubled in size and is now about the size of a football. My is in high flow, on the sand bed. They are fragile and break easy.

GOSKN5 · 07/23/2015, 08:50 PM

Any pics? I really want the white colored one... I see some on LA for decent price... and a deep water frag captive grown on Divers den...

909DC5 · 07/28/2015, 06:26 PM

Pics??

Darlene8 · 05/22/2017, 03:00 PM

What temps do pipe organs like and how long should it take them to acclimate to a new tank so that they open back up again ? I've had mine for 2 days and it hasnt completely opened back up since buying it from the store where it was completely open at the time of purchase.

Optionman · 06/05/2017, 10:35 AM

this is my pipe organ coral that i've had for about 12 months. it's gone from the size of a baked potato to nearly football sized. high flow on the sand since day 1.

sdbc · 06/05/2017, 07:01 PM

I've had mine for about 5 years. I have one in low flow and another (frag from that one) in medium flow, both near the bottom of the tank. They will collect detritus between the polyps, so either higher flow or (in my case) give them a blast of water once a week to clean it off. The skeleton is very light, so be careful not to blow them around. They can also collect GHA. Mine grew straight up about 8 inches over a few years without getting much wider. I hacked off the bottom 2 thirds without impacting it. They are one of my favorite corals with the red skeleton and small, flowery polyps.

Tinabloomfield · 06/15/2017, 05:49 PM

I bought my very first coral from the frag swap in Sturgis MI, and the first one I picked was a red pipe organ. I was wondering how big it would get, and how long it will take it to get there? Im only using a 20 gallon right now, but am saving for a nice big tank

Randy27 · 07/04/2017, 02:42 AM

I've got the white polyp one, and it's growing like crazy for the 3 years I've had it. Went from nickel sized to 8 inches across in that time. Would be bigger if my frogspawn wasn't keeping it in check. I've got it in medium light, halfway up the tank, with strong intermittent flow. It's my favorite softie.

madweazl · 07/04/2017, 03:52 AM

I have (had) a green polyp version; I pulled it from the tank a couple weeks ago as I went SPS dominant but it grew like a weed. Actually, I still have remnants that I've tried to kill on the LR but they come back rapidly. Think I'm gonna have to put epoxy over them to kill the rest.

My tank stays 78.8°, dKH ~8, NO3 ~5, PO4 .03, Ca 430, Mg 1300. Has tolerated all flow rates I've thrown at it. Mine was in an area with 60 PAR. Picture taken a few minutes after breaking it off the rock it was attached to.

Parts that were left behind that I tried to mash up but keep coming back.

DSinSoCal · 08/14/2017, 01:13 PM

My pipe organ is only about 6 weeks old. I initially put it in a medium light / medium flow area of the tank and it looked great for about two weeks, then one day it stopped opening up -- like 100% closed.

I waited 4 or 5 days for it to open on it's own, but it didn't. Instead, I started seeing a really light layer of green fuzz beginning to grow on it so I figured it was time to try something else.

At that point I moved it to another part of the tank (high light, high flow) and it started opening up the very next day. By day-2 of the new location it was fully open and has appeared to thrive ever since. Yay coral! (see pic 1)

Problem solved? I guess not, because yesterday and today it is only half-open (see pic 2). Between the polyps you can see the green fuzz becoming more prominent. I thought that the polyps being fully extended all day would deprive the green fuzz of light and choke it out but that doesn't seem to be happening for some reason.

What is the best way to get that fine green fuzz algae off of fragile, sensitive corals like pipe organs?

07/22/2015, 08:19 PM	#1
GOSKN5 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 686	Pipe organ care Anyone had luck keeping a pipe organ for a while? Specifically the white version, but any experience would help. I am reading they are somewhat difficult for some and easy for others. Any first hand advice on care etc? Thanks

07/23/2015, 08:38 PM	#2
Fallling Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 455	A pipe organ was my first coral actually, and it's been a hardy trooper for me. I've had it 1-1/2 years now, and it survived the tank move (coral was in holding containers for a few weeks and got kind of neglected... lost a few things). They likes lots of flow... mine gets flow like for a leather or sps. They're suppose to like moderate to bright light, but I have mine on the bottom right now, and it's growing. Also have had it in the middle. I've read the reason some people have success and others struggle really has to do with how it's fragged or cut of the mother colony. If't not cut off right, the polyps end up dying. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but makes sense to me (I can't remember exactly how it has to be cut). I recently had a frag of deepwater pipe organ, and it didn't make it... everything else in the tank (including sps) is fine. I picked this frag in particular from the LFS because it looked very healthy. Most of the times I've been back, the pipe organ frags are a lot smaller and don't look very good. Kind of like my deepwater before it died. __________________ A really expensive cat TV. Current Tank Info: 40"L x 24"W x 30"H 125 gallon mixed reef \| 40 gallon sump \| Pacific Sun Pandora S T5 / LED \| RLSS R8-I protein skimmer

06/05/2017, 07:01 PM	#8
sdbc Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 94	I've had mine for about 5 years. I have one in low flow and another (frag from that one) in medium flow, both near the bottom of the tank. They will collect detritus between the polyps, so either higher flow or (in my case) give them a blast of water once a week to clean it off. The skeleton is very light, so be careful not to blow them around. They can also collect GHA. Mine grew straight up about 8 inches over a few years without getting much wider. I hacked off the bottom 2 thirds without impacting it. They are one of my favorite corals with the red skeleton and small, flowery polyps. __________________ Bob - San Diego Current Tank Info: 125g mixed reef, 20g F/W planted

07/23/2015, 08:48 PM	#3
RGS2 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 139	I've had my pipe organ for several years. It has doubled in size and is now about the size of a football. My is in high flow, on the sand bed. They are fragile and break easy.

07/23/2015, 08:50 PM	#4
GOSKN5 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 686	Any pics? I really want the white colored one... I see some on LA for decent price... and a deep water frag captive grown on Divers den...

07/28/2015, 06:26 PM	#5
909DC5 Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 20	Pics??

05/22/2017, 03:00 PM	#6
Darlene8 Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 5	What temps do pipe organs like and how long should it take them to acclimate to a new tank so that they open back up again ? I've had mine for 2 days and it hasnt completely opened back up since buying it from the store where it was completely open at the time of purchase.

06/15/2017, 05:49 PM	#9
Tinabloomfield Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 5	I bought my very first coral from the frag swap in Sturgis MI, and the first one I picked was a red pipe organ. I was wondering how big it would get, and how long it will take it to get there? Im only using a 20 gallon right now, but am saving for a nice big tank

07/04/2017, 02:42 AM	#10
Randy27 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 54	I've got the white polyp one, and it's growing like crazy for the 3 years I've had it. Went from nickel sized to 8 inches across in that time. Would be bigger if my frogspawn wasn't keeping it in check. I've got it in medium light, halfway up the tank, with strong intermittent flow. It's my favorite softie.

07/04/2017, 03:52 AM	#11
madweazl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NOVA Posts: 774	I have (had) a green polyp version; I pulled it from the tank a couple weeks ago as I went SPS dominant but it grew like a weed. Actually, I still have remnants that I've tried to kill on the LR but they come back rapidly. Think I'm gonna have to put epoxy over them to kill the rest. My tank stays 78.8°, dKH ~8, NO3 ~5, PO4 .03, Ca 430, Mg 1300. Has tolerated all flow rates I've thrown at it. Mine was in an area with 60 PAR. Picture taken a few minutes after breaking it off the rock it was attached to. Parts that were left behind that I tried to mash up but keep coming back.