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Injured Leather Coral 2/9/05 Today I bought a toadstool from fish store. One large one and one small next to it on one rock. After placing it in the tank I noticed a hole on the smaller crown almost in the middle. Is this something I should worry about? <Of bigger concern is the addition of any new coral, fish, etc right into your tank without quarantine first. High risk of (eventually) adding a parasite, pest, predator or disease to the tank. Please do take the time to read about and apply QT habits (see our archives on this topic)> How could I remove it from rock so I can place in my 30 gal for observation in case of spreading disease. <Moving a stressed coral at this point will only make it worse. And any contamination has already been done> Would I need to reattach it to another rock or will it do it on its own? <None of the above... just good strong water flow where its at and observe to see what may have caused the hole, what makes it worse, or if it simply heals> The hole looks like it goes into the stem. polyps are out and looks good I'm not sure what to do any help would be appreciated Thank you! Andy <Patience for now my friend... best to let this animal sit in place and heal. Anthony> Necrotic Sinularia damage? I have a 3.5” tall Sinularia that that has grown large enough that it has started to rub on a small chunk of rock that sticks up next to it. Where the tissue is rubbing, there is a small black spot appearing, maybe 3/8” long by 1/8” high. The location of this occurrence is about ?” up from where the coral attaches to the rock. <yikes... the black necrosis can be quickly threatening to the coral and perhaps other corals into he tank. o address by cutting/pruning off the excess coral promptly> After perusing the archives, I have found two approaches to take here. 1) Cut the base of the coral, above the damage, straight through and reattach to a new rock. 2) Try to excise the bad material and watch to see if the coral heals ok. What is the current thought on this type of problem? <the latter at first and the former if necessary to follow> Thanks for you time. Don <best regards, Anthony> Completely stumped - soft coral problems,
allelopathy, Ozone option 06/02/09 Toadstool Droop - 12/16/03 hello WWM Crew, I purchased a toadstool leather about 4 days ago.. ever since than it has been leaning downwards on the rock its attached to.. <No real issue here. It does need time to acclimate to your water chemistry and lighting. Please give it time. Leave it in place and try not to move it. Keep up with the water changes> I was told by my LFS to leave it alone and see what it does.. its polyps come out even once in a while but its hanging..<Means nothing. Give it time.> the top is facing the bottom of the tank..<Leave it be it should straighten out. In the meantime, please read through our FAQs and articles on these particular corals. Very hardy and tend to adjust to various water parameters and lighting over time.> I did all the usual tests and everything is fine..<How about lighting??? Although they tend to adjust to various lighting, it may just take some time to make the adjustment> all the other corals seem to be doin fine.. can u help?? <nothing to "help" here really. Just need to give it some time. ~Paul> Toadstool Leather shrinking 12/5/03 First let me say you have
numerous articles on this but none seem to be my case. <OK> We
got a large leather toadstool about 3 weeks ago and it did fine for 2
weeks and then stopped opening. Looks like a bare baby's but!
<would that be with or without diaper rash? Er... never mind>
Water tests fine. V <heehee... ya, know... folks/friends always say
that... but we cannot help you as well without also being privy to
those readings to confirm "fine"> HO lights same as the
environment that it came from. Anyway, after reading your other posted
articles, I have found out that it could be doing this for a number of
reasons. I did fish out a 10" bristle worm 2 days ago and suspect
it may have been the culprit. <weakly irritating at best> All
other corals are multiplying and happy. My question is: Should I let my
"Fishman" put it back in his tank where it was fine or wait
it out to see if it will recover? <moving corals excessively in the
first week is a surefire way to kill them. Please simply leave your
leather in place and let it adapt. Many leather corals will take days
or even weeks to express full polyps. They are very hardy but
finicky> This piece was very expensive and it is hard to know what
to do with it to save it. Lesa ~ Houston, Texas <have patience my
friend... I suspect if you keep your hands out of the aquarium, it will
look fine in days. Anthony> Toadstool Leather - 2/13/03 Hi Guys! <cheers> I have this toadstool that I got from some online joint. I have never owned one before, but noticed it didn't quite look right. It started to get some funky brown slime on it which I siphoned off. <Air shipped livestock more than any other simply must be quarantined away from your display on arrival. Please read about QT protocol in the wetwebmedia.com archives. Else you risk serious disease, infection or even a wipeout in the main display> I guess it's rotting away because it has a dime sized hole right in the center of the crown. <Carve out the necrotic section with a sharp razor blade or scalpel and please do not move the coral at all. Simply proffer good water flow and light and be patient> I have had it for exactly one week today. What can I do to save any part of this coral? How can I tell when to remove a coral from my tank? <A tough call... they can heal easily... or wipeout quickly and threaten the whole system. Hence the need for QT. Look for firmness and some normal polyp extension (not mandatory)> I know this question may sound like a no brainer, but it's hard to give up on some living life form even if it is polluting your tank. I hope you understand. I try to be responsible and I always check your website for info. Thanks, -Becky <No worries... understood and agreed. Anthony>
Colt Coral (formerly Cladiella and more recently Alcyonium. Now Klyxum) I have been searching for info on colt coral maybe you could help me. recently my colt stopped polyping out. I checked the water and all is very good. my Bullseye, clove polyps, mushrooms and hammer are all doing great although I did notice my button polyps a little withdrawn. I am worried the colt will eventually starve (it has been 3 weeks since it has fully polyped. Thanks for any help or info Rich <do try a change of carbon (small amounts used weekly instead of large portion monthly), a good water change of 25% or better, and be sure that your skimmer is giving you almost daily skimmate. You have listed some severely noxious corals that require these measures. If water quality hasn't been up to par, you might blame allelopathy from the chemical warfare of your corals. Anthony> Soft coral struggles: shipping delay Dear Mr. Fenner, My water temp is 76 degrees, PH is 8.0 and the Specific Gravity is 1.024. Yesterday I received a shipment of five soft corals [button polyps, cauliflower colt coral, and 2 toadstool mushroom leather] and one sand sifting sea star. <is this a wholesale shipped order, transshipment, or retail purchase? Very different likely states of condition for livestock from these outlets> The package was left by the shipping company on one of the docks and didn't arrive overnight as promised. I was able to pick it up from the main office at 5pm the following day. Clarify, it was shipped Monday evening and I picked it up at 5pm Wednesday. <OK... not too terrible, although I would almost NEVER recommend overnight service. Domestic service from the airlines is always faster and PDQ service (airport to airport baggage) is extremely fast and reliable... much faster than overnight and the airlines have climate controlled holding areas most of the way. Overnight carriers are not set up at ant point for livestock (cargo bellies, warehouses or trucks... all extreme weather exposure). Again... a shout out to all... please pick your livestock up at the airport. No FedEx or like carriers for live animals. Coast to coast is 6 hours on the commercial airliners. FedEx closes at 8pm at night and delivers by 10AM at best... that's 14 hours minimum without climate control> I slowly acclimated the new arrivals allowing them to float in the closed bags in the tank for about an hour. <too long for shipping stressed animals... brief acclimation needed here. 30 minutes max IMO> Then over a 1.5 period I gradually introduced my tanks water to their bags. The star seems to be doing very well and is very active. The corals I'm a little concerned about. <still probably OK> The Cauliflower had detached from the rock and is slumped over. <Oh, ya... that's a bad sign. But also a sign of inadequate water flow. Much stronger flow here please> One of the Toadstool leathers has quite a bit of black spots around the top and a little bit on the trunk/stem. <we can carve these out with a razor blade/X-acto knife if they continue to get necrotic. No worries here> Most of it had detached from the rock while in the bag and now most of it is hanging off the rock. <not as big of a deal as the Colt (Klyxum)> This I'm most concerned about. I have been told that they can bounce back. <easily> So my question, what is your opinion of this situation and is there anything I can do to "save" them? <yep... even worst case scenario, they can be diced in cubes (the leathers) and propagated. The Colt will need to be stitched to a new rock with nylon thread. ASAP please. It needs to be secure and will not attach naturally as fast as the leathers> Best regards, Geoff <best regards, Anthony> Ripped Finger Leather stock Bob and/or Crew, Thanks for all the great work you do. I have gained a lot of knowledge through reading through the Q&A and the daily Q&A on the web site. However I was not prepared to come home from work and find that my finger leather has ripped. The two stocks have some what, not completely, ripped apart. <by what action? Important to know.. water quality, age (natural branchlet dropping), imposed attack, etc> The finger leather was on a small frag of rock which I left it on and put it in the substrate, I probably should have attached it to a large rock now in hind sight. <no biggie> One stock of the finger leather is attached to the rock I set it next to, the other is now kind of just dangling there. Picture attached but it is not clear and the battery just died in my digital camera. <alas... no help: not clear> For the stock that is dangling should I cut it from the other stock and find a good rock for it or is there something else I should do. <do cut with sharp scissors or a razor. Then simply stitch with a needle and nylon thread to another rock. Keep handling to a minimum (latex gloves recommended)> The finger leather has grown quite a bit since I purchased it about 5 month ago. As always thanks for your insight and help. TTFN Sean <heehee... ready for my Book of Coral Propagation yet <smile>. With kind regards, Anthony Calfo> Sarcophyton Leather Toadstool Problem Dear Bob, My system is now a bit over 9 months old. 90 net gal. show tank with 30 net gal. sump and 20 net gal. refugium. Turboflotor, Ocean clear w/carbon, 25 w. U/V, 100 + lbs. of live rock, chiller and controller at 77F. Over 500 watts VHO. About 2000 gph on a Wavemaker. Lots of Caulerpa and other plants in the refugium now. Also spiked with amphipod/copepod culture and brine shrimp. Phosphate now barely detectable at .05 PPM. No detectable nitrate. Chemistry is all ideal except Ca stuck at 350 and dKH at 6. (No Ca reactor yet, I'm adding small quantities of 2 part Ca daily.). A 30 gal. water change every 10 to 12 days with water aged a week or more with big powerhead and heater. <This is all fine... and please don't worry about your calcium, alkalinity... these are fine...> Bob, your book and web site have guided me on every step of planning, building, and stocking all this since last summer. I couldn't be more pleased. <Outstanding> 18 inches of fish all well after following Fenner dips and quarantines. Lots of snails, cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp and plenty of tiny hermits. Fish stocking is complete except for a flame angel? <Maybe> I have moved now to other inverts beginning with those organisms you suggest as good for beginners. Actinodiscus mushrooms (red and blue) are great, growing and reproducing. The small Anthelia was dislodged by a snail or crab but has found its own spot and looks ok. <Very good> Now the problem. (I have yet to lose any creature that I have acquired.) I put in two small tank raised specimens of "Sarcophyton" leather mushrooms. Each has two "toadstools" 1 cm. or so in diameter when closed. One of the specimens has relatively short tentacles. Both are 5 inches from the surface with moderate random turbulence. After a week of "blooming" beautifully it developed several small bright yellow spots about 2 to 3 mm. and now blooms on only about half its diameter. <Hmm...> The other specimen (slightly different variety) with longer tentacles is 10 inches away and doing fine. <I see> Are these spots a disease or parasite that should be removed or might the creature heal? <Possibly a flat worm, may portend something other...> I am a bit disappointed with all the red/brown micro-algae/diatoms blooming in the refugium. I have very little of this in the show tank though I must scrape the front glass weekly as there is a small build up in spots. I won't scrape it in the refugium in fear of passing it to the show tank? I put in a turbo snail which began eating the red macro algae! <Not to worry about the transference... or scraping the refugium if the appearance doesn't bother you. These organisms too will pass... you might want to add a couple of snails (try Margaritas) to the sump> Am I ready for a small SPS coral and a bubble coral? <Yes, I think/believe so> Your 67 year old student with a lot to learn about this living room SCUBA experience, Howard <I would do nothing at this point with the cultured Toadstools... and proceed apace with your further livestocking plans. Be chatting my friend. Bob Fenner> Sarcophyton, water chemistry woes Mr. Fenner, hi... My leather coral (which is a hand-wide Sarcophyton) does not open for a week now, and its marble-like surface is getting more greenish day by day. No other coral seems disturbed, so I think the chemistry of the water is OK (the results are below). I could not understand what happened. It sometimes releases mucus (one day a month) and stays closed during that time, but it took too long this time. My aquarist could not understand what happened, I think it is emergency. Can you suggest me anything? Thanks... Yildirim Water chemistry: Ca: 400 ppm PH: 8.2 PO4: 0.2 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 0 Ammonia: 0 Salinity: 1.022 <Other than this doesn't sound good? What about your alkalinity? Lighting? I would take an overt stance here and execute a very large water change (Moving spg back to nearer natural seawater, 1.025), add activated carbon... and if the animal doesn't respond in a few days, move it to another system... Sounds like either a chemical incompatibility with other stinging-celled life or something has gone lacking (alkalinity, old lamps...) in this system. There is even a possibility of parasitism of this Soft Coral. Please see the FAQs files on all these terms posted on our site: www.WetWebMedia.com on the Marine Index. Bob Fenner> Question on soft coral problem Yes, maybe you can answer some questions for me. I have a Sarcophyton leather coral and a Lemnalia tree coral with an interesting discoloration on its lower end. The Sarcophytons discoloration looks like red and green algae on its base. The coral showed some signs of shriveling around this area and the polyps were closed. I wasn't sure what to do so I dipped it with Tectra D coral dip by Kent Marine. A few days later the polyps began to open but the discoloration is still there and it is having a little trouble up righting itself. It appears to be a little weak. My Lemnalia tree coral is showing no signs of discomfort so I haven't dipped it. But its discoloration is black at its base. Could you explain to me what this is? My leather corals are gorgeous and I want to keep them happy! Thank you for your help. <"It" may well be that the colored areas you're observing are necrotic... dead or almost so, and that indeed, algae and other microbes are taking their "rightful" decomposing opportunistic place... If it were me, I'd try moving what they're attached to so those areas are more exposed to light and circulation... and do what you can to spiff up water quality... water changes, cleaning your skimmer, periodic use of chemical filtrants... Bob Fenner> |
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