The Trachyphyllia geoffroyi was at his very smallest when I got home from work today and it definitely concerned me. Since I have learned he is a lagoon dweller normally found on sand or muddy bottoms and we have him on a rock (same as previous owner), I’ve been meaning to do some more research on him. One of the first sites I found seems well-informed and starts with the advice that T. geoffroyi should never be put on rocks:
We begin first with a bit of history and general information on Trachyphyllia for improved care in reef aquariology. T. geoffroyi is a free-living animal at maturity and can be found in lagoons and protected margins of the reef buried in sand or muddy substrates. They should always be maintained as such in display. The conical skeleton of this species has evolved to serve this very orientation specifically. Placement of these animals upon rocky substrates can sometimes lead to abraded tissue from daily polyp cycles (expansion and contraction) or displacement when an inflated animal becomes imbalanced.
Based on this information, I made some space in a sandy portion of the bottom of our tank and I moved him there… I’ll try to follow up with photos soon.
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