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Soft Coral handling... 6/5/07 Hi, I was wondering about how to handle soft corals in the tank when moving rocks and coral to new location within the tank. <Mmmm> I have a Flower Pot 5" and at neon green start Polyp. when moving the star fell and hasn't come back out fully. Could I have Killed it or dose it just take time to recover from a fall? Thanks a lot!!!! Morgan <... well, neither of these is a Soft Coral... But what you seek is likely posted... Please peruse here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm The groups you're interested in... Stoloniferans/Clavulariids, Poritids/Goniopora... Systems, Compatibility, Health... Bob Fenner> Coral Quarantine? 6/5/07 Hello Crew, <Hi
there! Scott F. here tonight!> Thank you (again) for your
extraordinary web site. After pouring over your articles and FAQ's
for countless hours, I managed to build a 135 gallon reef setup which
was specifically designed as an SPS system. The system includes an
Ecosystem 3616 mud sump (with Chaetomorpha) which I hope will provide
supplemental food to the SPS. <Chaetomorpha certainly can help
export nutrients and provide a home for incidental planktonic growth,
which is a supplemental food source for many corals.> I added the
following fish and invertebrates gradually, over a period of about a
year and a half with the goal of keeping the environment stable and
nuisance algae free. Fish - Purple Firefish, Neon Goby, Bicolor Blenny,
Flame Angelfish and Sunrise Pseudochromis. <Nice mix of colorful,
active fishes!> Invertebrates - Two cleaner shrimp, Tuxedo Urchin,
Mushrooms and the following live rock stowaways - Zoanthids, Green Star
polyps, assorted sponges, clams and a still un-identified stony coral .
<Neat> I am ready to introduce SPS into the system and recently
purchased two very small (about 1-1/2 inch) specimens; a Montipora
plate coral and a Stylophora (both aquacultured and well acclimated to
high MH light levels). They are currently in a ten gallon quarantine
tank under a 150 watt HQI pendant. The tank is well cycled and includes
an "aged" sponge filter. <A great quarantine setup> I
have felt "the pain of Ick" in the past and faithfully employ
a 4-6 week quarantine on all new specimens (especially fish) before
introduction into the display. I believe this is perhaps the single
most important thing one can do to maintain a healthy display. <I
wholeheartedly agree!> Now for my question - should the same
quarantine protocol apply to SPS? Is there a trade off between getting
the coral into the more "stable" display ASAP versus the risk
of potential pathogens? Or would you recommend keeping the 4 week
(minimum) quarantine? <Great question, and I would have to say, yes.
Many hobbyists disagree, yet some employ varying degrees of quarantine.
With the potential for coral pathogens and pests (the infamous
"red bugs" you hear so much about), it's very important
to employ a quarantine protocol. With good lighting, water flow, and
some supplemental feeding, there should be very little trade off, IMO.
An excellent practice to get into.> Assuming I need to keep the SPS
in a full term quarantine, would you recommend some type of
supplemental feeding? I am concerned the supplemental feeding would
cause more harm than good (in terms of generating a nitrate source).
<Valid concerns, but water changes are an ally, of course. I wrote a
brief article on just this topic a few years back here on WWM:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/quarinverts.htm . Perhaps it addresses some
of your concerns.> Thanks in advance for your reply. Scott <My
pleasure! I commend you on your employment of quarantine, and encourage
you to share your experiences on this practice with fellow hobbyists!
regards, Scott F.> Xenia and Coral Bleaching? 4/21/07 Hi Crew, My Xenia has been doing great since I got it 4 months ago. Just today when I came home from work I noticed a huge part of the Xenia was bleached white! In the morning everything looked great so this just happened over the last couple of hours. It looks like it started at the base of the stalk and worked it's way towards the arms. Arms have been falling off at the base since then and they are still pumping!. My water parameters are: Nitrates ~20, <High> pH 8.2 a.m.-8.3 p.m. and Alkalinity of 9. I recently had extremely high nitrates for around 2 weeks (>100!) <This... or what the cause of "it" are "is" the trouble...> because of a massive die off of Mexican turbo snails (30 of them) because of temperature, and I couldn't find them all ( my tank is ~700gal.) I've gotten the nitrates down with 25% water changes every 3 days and my temp is holding steady at 81 degrees. Is this Coral Bleaching or some sort of pathogen? <The former is a symptom... not a disease per se... "caused" by a myriad of factors... Likely a pathogen is NOT involved here... but the previous chemical anomaly... Having fixed the environment, you have only time to tell what will happen next... I would bolster the biota's immune system with a vitamin and HUFA administration (Selcon or like) and likely step up the Iodine/ide use (with testing). Bob Fenner> Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sean <You can read re these issues on WWM...> Coral Health and Lack of Info - 3/24/07 I'm having a problem with a couple of my corals. <Ok, I'll see if I can help.> The Euphyllia ancora and Euphyllia divisa that I have don't seem to be expanding as they did a few weeks ago. They seem a little pale and not as large as a few weeks ago. <But still expanding?> I've tried moving them around the tank but no change. <How long did you allow between moves? Most corals will stay in a retaliatory state after being moved, for typically at least a day or 2.> I also have a Pulsing Xenia that is acting up. The Xenia will not expand in the main tank but will in my refugium. Do you have any ideas on what I might try. Everything else in the tank is thriving. <Everything else? How big of a tank is this, and what other coral species do you have? Sounds like allelopathy to me.> I feed the corals with live baby brine shrimp, <Aquatic potato chips -- replace this with Mysis shrimp. Even when brine shrimp are gut loaded, their nutritional value is extremely low.> Phyto-Feast and Roti-Feast. Water quality is as follows: pH-8.04 Salinity-32 Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate & Phosphate-Undetectable Calcium-392 Alkalinity-3 Magnesium-1300 Iodine-.07 <Aside from the lack of information to thoroughly surmise the problem here, nothing jumps out at me. Likely the issue is an incompatible mix of coral life, chemically and physically competing with each other for space in your tank. Hope this helps! -JustinN> Re: finger coral help 3/16/07 I did send a picture yes but can't find it on the site. <Sorry Craig, I was unable to open the picture that arrived with your email. You can try resending it.> Have now fragged the coral got 2 of it. <Excellent!> Is it meant to be hardish in side and not soft ??? <Yes, is related to the sclerites which provide support to the tissue, and appear like snowflakes when the tissue degenerates.> This is the first time I have cut a frag from coral. <Congratulations! Hopefully is not your last. Keep fraggin!> Cheers Craig. <And to you! -Mich> yellow polyps... toxic sys., incompatible mix of Cnid.s 3/6/07 Hey, I had a question about yellow polyps sea mat infections. I have had a 12 gallon reef for about 6 months now and one of the first pieces of coral I bought was a beautiful piece of yellow polyps, and I have slowly been adding a frag here and there. <Dangerous in such small volumes> The yellow polyps has slowly decline of there size and numbers. Now there are only a few polyps left and everything else in my tank is doing great. tanks specs. calcium- 430 ph- 9.2 <Way too high> water temp.77 - 79 nitrites- none ammonia- .3 <Toxic> nitrates. - 20- 25 <Too high> The polyps are in strong current flow and have nothing crawl on them but a cleaner shrimp. They are about 12 inches away from a 36 watt power compact 50-50 actinic and daylight. The other things in the tank are, a piece of LPS fairly close to it. Some green sea mats , xenia, button polyps, anemone and a clam. There are no Nudibranchs. I have noticed a long red polyp/worm like thing growing near them. thank you for the time Jake Damiano <You have an incompatible mix of cnidarians in a toxic setting... Please see WWM re all the mentioned factors above and each species "Compatibility", "Systems". Bob Fenner> Coral <sic> Health 3/3/07 Hi Guys, <Hello
Joe> I have a 135 gallon Reef Tank that has been set up and running
successfully for over 9 months. Just three days ago, a large
colt coral and a mushroom that were doing very well for over 6 months
started to die. The Colt Coral has all but withered away (In
3 Days!). I noticed the mushrooms starting to detach in the
past 24 hours. What could be causing all these issues all of
a sudden? I haven't changed I do or added anything to
the tank in several months (except a Coral Beauty 2 weeks ago. But he
has shown no interest in any of the corals). I do 25 % water changes
every 30 days. <Part of your problem may lie here. I
believe too much of a change in water parameters at once, especially if
the water chemistry is not closely matched to the display
tank. I'd rather see you with 5% weekly or 10% twice
monthly.> PH - 8.2 Ammonia and Nitrite zero Calcium - 450-500 I use
Kalkwasser for top off water (RO unit) Once a week I add Kent's:
Iodine, Strontium, Magnesium, Essential
Elements I add Kent
Calcium A & B daily Lights are 3 - 150 watt Halides (about a year
old) and 4 - 96 watt
Actinic Blue's.
<How old are the lamps, the color temperature may have
shifted. On another note, are there any cleaning sprays,
etc, that are used in the area of the tank, ammonia based cleaners such
as Windex?> Protein Skimmer working fine I hate these
"mystery" problems. Any help you can give would be
appreciated so I can avoid this problem moving forward. <I'd
check the water chemistry of the make-up water before you add the salt,
may be something amiss here.> Thanks, <You're
welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Joe Methylene Blue use with Coral 1/29/07 Is Methylene blue safe for use with corals since it is not safe for inverts? <I would not use it on corals. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/methblueart.htm > <Chris> Lighting Question 11/01/06 Hello, <Greetings!> I have a tank that is 8 years old. For the first 6 years, I had 4x96W PC bulbs and things were fine. I have mostly soft corals and a few hard corals like Pagoda, Red Brain and Bubble coral. I switched to retrofit 2x250 MH 14K lighting about a year and a half ago. I have since switched to 20K bulbs. In the past six months I have seen many of my corals die or look horrible, losing color and not opening up. The bulbs are 16" from water surface and my tank is 90G 24" deep. Is this too much light or not enough? I am really at odds with what to do. Many thanks. Bryan <Bryan - It sounds to me like the corals are not getting enough light. Typically, the higher you go with bulbs color spectrum, the lower the PAR drops. Ideally, the lights should be around 8 to 10 inches off the surface of the water. I would lower your lights and see how that works. If they are still dying, try switching to a lower Kelvin bulb. Cheers! - Dr. J> Corals shrinking and dying 10/8/06 Hello, love your FAQ site! < Lots of good information! > I have a 20g long reef with a home-made 5g refugium. Lighting is 150 HQI 14000k SunPod mounted via the supplied legs on tank. Tank has been up about 5 months. Water param.s seem good: 0 nitrite 0 ammonia <5ppm nitrate 400ppm calcium 0 phosphate. Have had a candy-cane, a small mushroom frag, and a xenia in the tank for a couple months, and all thriving and growing. A couple of weeks ago, the xenia started shrinking, then the mushrooms shrunk and some died. The candy-cane is now looking stressed and not extending well. < Have you checked the water for discoloration or Kelvins? It does sound like light is the problem. Maybe the water is filtering it? Drain some water into a bright white bucket and compare the color, water versus bucket. If it is discolored, the temporary use of some activated carbon will strip the Kelvins out. > All inverts (blue-leg hermits, sand star, queen conch, emerald crab, Nassarius and Astrea) doing great. Have been changing 5g water every couple of days, started feeding Kent Zooplex the other day, hadn't been feeding corals, but there's lots of copepods, etc from the refugium. No change in condition. < Be sparing with liquid foods. > Wondering about light, is this too much for a 12" depth, have a 29g I could transfer to. < That would be a wonderful idea. Maybe upgrade to a twenty gallon refugium? > Just having trouble putting my finger on the problem. Any ideas? < The only other possibility I can think of as I type is if the salinity were out of whack. Have you tested salinity using a calibrated refractometer? If it were too high, not only would the corals react in this manner, amazingly enough, elevated salinity can also filter light! Just a thought... RichardB > Thanks, Jim Giddings Re: coral concern- now in panic mode! 9/23/06 Good morning! I'm writing back today regarding the same issue detailed below. It's now been several weeks and no improvements that I can see. I've continued to do 20 - 25% water changes 3 times a week. My nitrates, nitrites and ammonia are all still at 0. These have been at undetectable levels for months and months so I don't think that this is an issue here. My salinity is at 1.025, temp at 77 degrees. I've been changing my carbon 3 times a week and have completely removed the Chemi-pure after removing the Zoa's per your suggestion. The Zoas have been out of the tank for 12 days now with no change. I'm beginning to wonder if that was ever the problem. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but there are two small "baby" mushroom leathers growing at the base of the big mushroom leather that is the concern. These babies are not affected at all. Their tentacles are fully extended all day every day & this has never changed. If this was an allelopathy issue with the Zoas & mushroom leather... wouldn't the "babies" be affected too? I would appreciate any suggestions that you might have. I really am in panic mode. Every day that the leather stays the same I get more and more worried. I know it is suffering and I don't know what else to do. I'm so sad about this. I thought I was a consciences aquarist, but now not so sure... Thank you in advance for your consideration, It is much appreciated! Jaime <<Jaime: I read through all your posts. What type of lighting do you have and where is the leather placed in the tank? What kind of what flow does it have around it? Are there mushrooms nearby or upstream of the flow? They usually don't like heavy flow. In my tank, they don't like mushrooms nearby. Best of luck, Roy>> Algaecide and Corals, a Bad Combination 7/16/06 Hello all, <Hi> I'm having some problems with my green star polyps. <Lets see if we can help.> I got them about a month ago, and they were THRIVING. Marked difference since their addition to my tank. I also have some yellow polyps, and green button polyps. I have had a minor problem with algae, so I tried adding some Algone to my tank, in addition to some de nitrate from SeaChem. <There is your problem.> The day after adding the two, my green button polyps didn't look as 'happy', and my green star polyps had not come out. (I also removed my carbon, as per Algone directions). I also added some Fluval prefilter (if that helps). <Replace the carbon ASAP.> I waited 3 days, still no green star polyps (4-5 extend, but the other 300 stay in). Thinking the Algone may be the problem, I removed it, and re-instated my carbon, leaving the de nitrate in. <Remove all added chemicals ASAP.> Its been 2 days since my removal of the Algone, the green star polyps have still not returned (green buttons back to normal, looking great). In addition, the purple mat is looking worse every day, what can I do! <Lots of water changes, run lots of carbon and get some PolyFilters if possible.> Nothing else was altered (pH, salinity), and they were thriving until I added the Algone, so I'm convinced something other than water quality is involved (all specs good). <Yes, toxic chemicals.> Thanks as always, Whit <Anytime> <Chris> Chemical Warfare?...More Like Health/Water Quality Issues 6/27/06 Hello. <Hello Jon> I have a quick question. I was wondering if using a PolyFilter would reduce the noxious compounds my corals and anemones are releasing to the point where they would survive together. Currently I have a Condy anemone, rock flower anemone, colt coral, frogspawn, Fungia plate, and several less aggressive soft corals (xenias, mushrooms, zoos) in a 55 gallon, none of them are touching each other. Right now my Condy is usually shriveled up and my rock flower anemone is slightly shriveled. The frogspawn is out most of the way, but sometimes looks as if it's slightly shriveled too. If the PolyFilter is a ridiculous idea with no chance of working, which of these is the main problem and should be removed? I'm thinking maybe both anemones but wanted to check with you first. <Jon, sounds more like health/water quality issues more than anything else. The PolyFilter will help much in this regard. Is your lighting sufficient for keeping these types of inverts?> Thanks <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Jon Brown Slime killing my reef! Please Help! 6/13/06 Ok I am in dire need of some assistance! First my plate coral got brown slime. I did an iodine dip to no avail. It is on a steady decline and I am taking it for dead at this point. Then my colt got it! <... root cause/s here? Something amiss with your water quality perhaps?> I got a frag of it off that is doing really well, and did an iodine dip on the rest of it, but it is very pale in color, and seems to be just barely hanging on. The polyps still come out but the color is just awful! NOW MY XENIA HAS IT!!!!!!! <Very unusual for such disparate groups of cnidarians to fall prey to this contagion> I cut off some parts that seemed to be doing crappy and had the brown stringy stuff on it...what is at work here?! <The six bazillion dollar question> How did this get introduced to my tank? It is just moving from coral to coral, how do I stop it?! <Fix the environment...> The iodine dips are not working!! I am terrified of losing my entire reef to this. PLEASE HELP!!!!! Or maybe its not brown slime?! It's this brown stringy stuff...like snot, that seems attached to the coral and waves about in the current. But the coral that has it does not like it one bit. I seriously feel like crying!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All my time, effort, and money is quickly going down the tubes! --Brandon <... Brandon, where's the info. re your water testing? Your set-up gear, history? Please take a read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cniddisfaqs.htm and the linked files above... and write back with more data. Bob Fenner> HELP! This system is driving me crazy! - 05/05/2006 Guys, I really need your help in identifying what is up with my system. History: 180 Gal set up for 5 years with a DSB, additional prop tanks plumbed into it (heavy SPS). I decided to revamp the prop tanks and move them to a separate area of the property (this meant digging lines etc). I started to experience losses but I couldn't figure out what was up (thinking maybe the DSB was crashing). To make a long story short, revamped the entire system, but continued to show ammonia until I finally got smart (if that's what you call it), tested the RO and bingo, apparently my membrane was toast letting pure crappy county water in my system! I changed out about half (300 gallons 2 weeks ago), all parameters are perfect except I am showing trace nitrites at .025 on Salifert. I just added another 100 lbs of cured rock 3 days ago, but nitrites are still hanging in there. <Not unusual considering...> I am using Seachem's Stability as well. I have a few Acros, Montis but they don't look super hot (no polyp extension and faded, lost a good amount of frags), Acans and zoos of course look fine. I am hoping that the trite will disappear in the next week. If it does not, is it possible some remnant contaminant from the city water is present? <Mmm, no. This residual is from the ongoing suffering of biota in your systems> I tested for copper and got zero, also using a heavy metal sponge, Purigen, and carbon, and have even run ozone (ORP is 400). <A bit high... I would allow this to drift to about 350> I am wondering at this point if I shouldn't have a sample professionally tested to find out if there is anything weird in the water. I used a good amount of 100% Silicone for windows <... when? I do hope/trust this is 100% Silastic... not a product with mildewcide in it> and doors in the prop tanks, is it possible the Silicone has arsenic or some other toxin in it? If so, can you recommend anywhere I could send a sample for testing? <... I suspect that what you have and are experiencing is a "cascade" effect from the original contaminated tapwater... If it were me, mine, I'd take a long-term view here... maybe add a good deal of high quality activated carbon in your filter flow path... and let all ride. Bob Fenner> Bleaching Crisis, Need Rehab Advice! - 04/25/06 Hi
<<Hello!>> Have just returned from a 3-month long outbreak
investigation in Africa (wish I was kidding) and I was pleased to see
that my tank survived my mother's care, but it is certainly in
trouble and I would like some advice about its rehabilitation.
<<Mmm okay, let's see what we can do>> I walked in the
door last night and was shocked to see that my 3 bubble tip anemones
have turned completely white and are somewhat shrunken, my pulsing
xenia have white patches, and my green star polyps are several shades
lighter than when I left though they have spread madly over a large
area. <<Does not bode well for the anemones>> A hammer
coral, several mushrooms, and some yellow polyps have retained their
normal color. <<Hmm, I'm starting to think
"lighting">> My mother says the anemones changed color
so slowly that she didn't even notice it (!!!) but she noticed that
the xenia just started turning white last week. The tank is
a 6 year old, 150 gal stable reef. <<Ok>> The only
"recent" change was in September 05 I upgraded the lights
from VHO to MH (2x 150w 10K HQI-MH + 2x 130w dual actinic). <<A
nice rig for this tank I would think. The upgrade would have
been well appreciated by the anemones>> After this upgrade I had
the lights on a relatively short photoperiod of 8 hours. <<Mmm,
indeed...I have known folks who used about this same photoperiod,
however I don't agree with it, I would gradually increase this to
12-14 hrs a day>> The tank looked fantastic when I left the
country in January, so if this lighting was inadequate it sure took a
long time to show it and I never increased it. <<The
lighting is probably "just not quite enough" for long-term
health, thus taking a while for symptoms to manifest>> The timers
have not malfunctioned - she would have noticed that because the tank
normally comes on at 3pm and stays on till 11 so the lights on during
the day would have been very noticeable. <<Ah good...guess that
answers my question about the "regularity" of the
lighting>> I did a few tests this morning and my chemistry is not
optimal: NO3 12.5, KH 6, pH 8.3. <<Lack of frequent (enough)
water changes maybe?>> She has been doing water changes every 3
weeks and I usually do every 2 weeks so I guess that's showing.
<<Maybe just need to do "larger" water changes (30% or
more)>> Also, it sounds like she hasn't been feeding the
anemones much, but then I never fed them all that much either and
it/they've been fine for 3 years (I used to feed about once a month
- split twice last year). <<Feeding these animals is very
important...especially if photosynthesis is at a reduced level...and
even more so now that they are bleached>> The temp hasn't
been out of line (range 77.3-78.5, the thermometer records that for
me). The anemones have not changed positions (1 at 18"
deep, 2 in the top 6") since I left. The usual routine
for the tank includes adding calcium, reef buffer, reef builder,
iodine, strontium, iron (for refugium), PhytoPlex (for large colony of
feather duster worms that are also now looking a little ragged) 2x/week
according to the directions on the bottles, and I haven't changed
anything in a long, long time. My mom claims to have adhered
to the schedule pretty well, and I do think she has but something has
clearly gone awry anyway. <<Agreed>> I am sure
of 3 steps I need to take - bunch of small frequent water changes, get
the KH up (? Was thinking of getting Kalkwasser but that would be a
change from my routine), feed Mysis soaked in Zoecon (twice a week?
Every day?). <<The water changes will take care of the KH, and
twice weekly for the anemones is a good start feedings (and Selcon is a
better choice than Zoecon, IMO)...up feedings to three times a week if
they will consume it all>> What I am not sure of is what I should
do with the light - increase
photoperiod? Decrease? Leave it? <<Increase
(gradually) to at least 12 hours per day>> Any other immediate
steps you would take? <<I think you have things well
in hand/know what's required as of this moment. Unless
there is something you didn't think to mention, the water changes
should be able to handle your water quality issues. Do start
increasing the photo period of the tank, and please read this article
(and peruse the blue links at the top of the page) on captive care of
these anemones: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm
>> Thanks for any advice Tracy Creek <<You're quite
welcome. Regards, Eric Russell>> Panicky Coral Care/Poor Acclimation Causing Problems - 03/27/2006 Hello and thank you for taking a moment to answer my question. <Gladly.> I have had my 46gal bowfront saltwater tank running for about 4 years now. I recently added a 2x96w PC fixture to increase my light. I already had (a 1x96wPC, total 3x96W PCs, more than 6WPG). <Just tossed 'em up there and turned 'em on huh?> I have a protein skimmer that's definitely doing its job, the stuff lately has been DARK green (ugh!). Two power heads provide the flow, with one being a PowerSweep (goes back and forth on its own). It has had pretty much the same livestock for the last couple of years, which are a Gold Stripe Maroon Clown, Blue Velvet Damsel, Royal Gramma, and a couple of Green Striped Mushrooms. I added, a week ago today, a Colt coral, Pagoda coral, Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral, Bulb Tip Anemone, <Not good to mix with your corals.> and a Blue Linckia Star. Well the Star has already died, and I acclimated it using the drip method and was very careful to not let it touch the air. The Anemone is doing WONDERFUL! It's found its spot, not moved since. I have fed it 3 times since I got it, and the Clown took to it in like 3 minutes...instantly! The corals are what I'm worried about. <Ok.> The Toadstool hasn't opened at all, the Colt and Pagoda are doing alright, but I was told they are in shock because of all the light? <Too much all at once. No acclimation to new light/environment?> I didn't think there was such a thing as too much light, so I've been running my single strip PC for about 2-3 hours a day. <This is making your situation worse. These animals need time to adjust. This needs to be addressed.> However I tried moving them to the bottom of the tank with the single strip totally off, and the Colt did a LOT better, but that's not where I want it at all, so they're all back to their original spots. <Ok...this is a very bad yet common mistake. Corals are very sensitive to environmental changes. You've only had these a week and already asked them to be fine with constant fluctuations in lighting/flow. I can assure you they are not.> The Toadstool still didn't open up even when at the bottom of the tank with the others. <Perhaps more insulted than the rest.> So, while they aren't melting, or COMPLETELY shriveled up, they aren't looking like they should either. <You're currently heading toward COMPLETELY shriveled up.> What should I do? <Read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/growingcorals.htm and other related links from this page http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm . Stop moving them and regulate your light cycle.> Oh and my water tests all come out fine except the nitrates were about 10ppm. I tried a water change for that without much avail. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! <You have my thoughts. - Josh> Flatworms On Hammer Coral - 03/21/06 I just recently received a small hammer coral from a fellow reefer. The whole thing including the plug would fit inside of golf ball. It's very small. <<Indeed>> I just noticed some small brown flatworms on it today. I didn't know what they were until I tried to pick them off with a pair or tweezers. The problem I'm having is that the flatworms are on the tentacles and every time I try to pick them off the tentacles retract. I can't siphon them off or I'll damage the coral. I want to get them early before they infest my tank. <<Likely too late, they have probably already spread. Quarantine could have prevented this.>> What can I do? I really need your guy's help, I can't think of anything. Thanks in advance for all your help. <<You can try giving this coral a temperature and pH adjusted freshwater dip, though be aware this process is not without peril (do a search on our site re for more information...you can start here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm). Regards, EricR>> Corals/Health - 03/12/2006 Hi Bob, <James today> dying for you to write the aforementioned article. got a question for ya. purely a what if situation, here. ok, say you let your reef get a little out of hand and, well, let's just say you don't do any water changes for a couple of months, or buffer for those months, or regularly feed anything, let alone your inverts. . . you know, some good ol' fashioned neglect. But one day, you get motivated, and you do some water changes and buffer that tank up and get all water parameters right where they should be. I mean perfect. and let's say, in this hypothetical scenario, you have a formerly glorious leather toadstool and Lobophyllia that now refuse to expand, especially the leather. we'll say the Lobophyllia looks like it has receded a little bit, but doesn't seem to have tissue necrosis. the leather is still alive, but only expands a fraction of what it is capable, and certainly not every day, let alone all day. we'll say this started about the same time I started buffering again. I tried to gradually bring the pH back up, I think successfully. are they in shock? they are still alive and in perfect conditions. will they come out of it? Nick, this is something I don't believe anyone can answer. A question of how long in neglect, lighting conditions at present, trace levels in tank, etc. If their health didn't decline too bad, all or most may survive but it isn't going to happen overnight. James (Salty Dog)> Thanks, <You're welcome. Nick, in future queries, please capitalize your "i's and pronouns, beginnings of sentences, etc. Saves us time in editing these before posting. Thank you.> Nick Dying coral 1/17/06 WetWebMedia Crew, A week ago I received a shipment of fish and coral for my 75 gallon reef tank from LiveAquaria. In one box, they sent me the wrong coral and the bag that contained it leaked out, neutralizing the heating pack. When I got the package, the tank water felt quite cold, as I live in Minnesota. There was also a tail spot blenny in the box and, after a long acclimation period, he has been doing quite well. Live Aquaria was good about what happened and sent me a new coral. However, the other coral has been dying back considerably, and has brown looking bubbles of what I believe is the dying material. I think that it is a Favites species coral but am not sure. Is there anything I can do to try and salvage the remaining coral <Yes... most directly either a bath or added iodine/ide...> and does the die back pose a threat to the other corals/tank inhabitants. <Yes, can. Best to treat in a dedicated system, not in the main tank> I believe I need to quarantine it as I have noticed a large spike in nitrate in my tank, to above 15. Ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0, and specific gravity is 1.025. Thanks, Tim Jernberg <Do give the Cnidarian section on WWM a read... particularly stony coral health. Bob Fenner> Coral Hitchhikers - 01/13/2006 Hello, <Hi Eric.> I have a 120 gal. reef tank set up for 1 year. I recently have noticed roundish, green spots "moving" around my torch and mushroom corals. what are they, and are they harmful? <Sounds like you've got some flatworms there friend. Read here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatworms.htm and follow through the links.> Thanks for any help, Eric <Gladly. - Josh> Weak Corals and Anemones - 01/12/2006 Hi - <Hello>
Thanks so much for all of your help in the past, evidenced by the below
thread of 2 years ago, among others. <Welcome> I have a 100
gallon well-established reef tank with HQI and actinic lighting, and an
excellent protein skimmer. The system uses a sump and has
excellent circulation throughout with extra pumps in the display
tank. RO water is used for replenishment, and the system
gets continuous water changes with my liter-meter III, about 5 gallons
per day. I am going crazy trying to diagnose problems with some of my
soft and LPS corals, and my rose and long-tentacle sea
anemones. For example, some of my mushrooms have died back,
my frogspawns don't open up like they used to, and my anemones are
pale and shrunken compared to before. In an effort to stop
the bleeding, I have, in the following order: 1. Stopped using
phosphate-removal filter media and use Salifert phosphate remover
instead (this is because I heard that some of the phosphate-removal
filter media can be a problem <Yes, can> and I noticed these
problems with my corals while I happened to be using a Kent product
(little white round balls that go in filter media). System
phosphate levels are currently very low as tested with a low-phosphate
kit. 2. Stopped using
Kalkwasser and am using B-Ionic instead (this is because I felt that I
was inconsistent in dosing the Kalkwasser). The calcium and
KH levels were a little low, around 360 and 8. <A better
alternative, agreed>
3. Stopped using SD <Likely
an acronym for San Diego... natural seawater available at the base of
the U.C. Scripps pier...> sea water and am mixing salt from
commercial seawater mixes like Instant Ocean. I am trying
out several and haven't figured out which one I like best
yet. <You will, in time>
4. Started feeding more
regularly with phytoplankton, zooplankton, and "silver-side"
fish for the anemones.
5. Lowered salinity to 1.025
(was around 1.026 as a recommendation from the protein skimmer
manufacturer; sometimes drifted as high as 1.027) None of this has
worked in the slightest. I have ordered a calcium
reactor and will install it as soon as it arrives. I have
other suspicions: 1. I use a
Rubber-Maid Brute trash barrel that I mix and store seawater
in. The water goes from that into a 125-gallon pond that is
the reservoir that Meter-Liter III draws from. That water is
filtered with a micron filter and aerated before use. I am
worried because the Brute trash barrel has a horrible smell, noticed
mostly when I lift the lid and especially when empty or hardly filled
with water. Have you ever noticed this and do you think that
could be contaminating my seawater? <Have not had
problems with this fine line of product... I would however, take yours
"down", scrub it thoroughly with rock salt... lightly bleach,
rinse it with freshwater, let air dry...>
2. I use bleach to clean my
micron filters and my main overflow filter bag (in the
sump). I normally rinse them, then soak them for at least 24
hours in about 5/1 water/bleach, then rinse them off and leave them in
the sun for a day before use. Is there anything wrong with
this practice? <No. I do encourage having/using multiple sets of
cartridges... to allow time to air-dry... rid of chlorine... and this
really extends their effective use and life-times> Could the bleach
be leaching into the system and contaminating the seawater?
<Possibly, but doubtful of much effect here... would kill outright
if present in much concentration>
3. I have a typical aragonite
sand-bed of about 1? to 3 inches, and have not been mixing it up or
siphoning it. I just reviewed your invertebrate book and
realized that I should be siphoning it. But do you think
this could be so serious as to cause my corals to weaken? <Could,
yes... I would replace a good part of this every six months at this
junction... a quarter or so... and the same with your live rock...>
Is there anything that you can think of that rings a bell from what you
read here? Thanks again for your time and help. Carl Beels,
M.S. <Certainly welcome. It is a distinct possibility that the
overall "dynamic" in/of your system is losing to
"aging"... leading to more/chronic allelopathy amongst your
Cnidarian life... The addition/use of the calcium reactor, renewing of
substrates will go a very long way to off-setting this aging/trend.
Cheers, Bob Fenner> Soft coral question - 1/6/06 confusion re
cnidarians... Hi Crew and Happy New Year! <And to you my
friend> I have a question regarding some recent additions and
potential system changes that may be affecting my soft corals.
Parameters: 250 gallon FOWLR with a few soft corals (listed
below). skimmer working well, refugium with Chaeto, UV sterilizer
(cleaned monthly), 20x flow rate (mostly turbulent),<<I'd cut
this down by at least 5X. Soft corals aren't real nuts
about high water flow.>> 250 lbs. of Tonga live rock, live DSB,
wet/dry with Purigen/activated carbon. Ammonia, nitrite 0,
nitrate 2.5, calcium 400, dKH 12, Spg. 1.024, phosphate .2, pH 8.3,
temp 76 - 77.5, weekly 20% water changes with RO (aged one week), and
daily top off RO buffered. Soft corals
include: one medium Colt coral, two medium hairy (frilly)
mushrooms, four small red pimpled mushrooms, one 10" giant cup
mushroom, three small pumping Xenia, and one medium Spaghetti leather
coral. All specimens are a good 12" + away from each
other, except the Spaghetti leather is approximately 10" away from
the giant cup mushroom. Until recent all of the specimens
have appeared/acted healthy and "normal". I
believe I am very sparsely populated in soft corals in this 250 gallon
tank.<<Yes>> Problem: my Spaghetti leather has
closed up for an entire day and not extended its branches at all as is
the same for one of the "frilly" mushrooms on the other side
of the tank. The mushroom is one of three on the same rock,
of which the others are looking quite healthy. Recent
changes/events potentially effecting this: recently changed
lighting from 400 total watts of PC lighting (daylight and actinic) and
added two Coralife metal halide pendants of 150 watts HQI bulbs each
(15,000 color spectrum). This change took place a week ago,
and I have the lights approximately 8" from the water surface and
initially started at 2 hours per day and now have extended to 3 hours
over the last week, ultimately will extend over the next week(s) to 5
hours total, all while keeping the PC fixture running the normal
photoperiod of 12 hours. <<Going from 400 watts PC to 300 watts
HQI isn't going to require adjusting the
photoperiod. This may be why the coral(s) may not be looking
as good.>> Other changes were a recent weekly water change of
20%, however changed from Coralife salt to Red Sea salt (have now heard
neither of these are great and may change to Tropic Marine Pro Reef, or
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals).<<I'd go with IO>> During
the water change I did some general cleaning of scrapping the glass,
re-arranged a rock that fell over, cleaned the over flow boxes, etc..
needless to say my hands were in the tank quite a bit, which I seem to
do more often than I know I should. I also cleaned the UV
sterilizer. I know in reading the FAQ's that Anthony has written
that soft corals in particular do not like hands in the tank and can
act adversely as a result of this. I also know that chemical
aggression between species exist, but since I am exclusively soft
corals, I thought I was in good shape/compatible. I started
adding to Sweetwater Zooplankton some Cyclop-Eeze and DT's
phytoplankton which is fed about twice per week sparingly.
<<Good>> Do you see anything that stands out? I
added fresh activated carbon and added Iodine today <<Soft
corals, particularly mushrooms >these aren't soft corals...
RMF< seem to do better in slightly less than perfect
conditions. In using Purigen and activated carbon you are
removing the iodine as fast as your adding it. Use one or
the other, you have overkill, also removing trace elements
quicker.>>in an attempt to boost water quality, but I would like
someone else's opinion looking from the outside in to see if I am
missing something. I have all of the specimens in the type
of lighting, tank position, and flow that is recommended per the
recommendations of each species. <<Steven, from what I read
everything sounds fine. A little less chemical media, return
lighting to your normal photoperiod, reduce that flow rate and things
should get back to normal. And do keep dosing with iodine
and consider using a strontium/Molyb supplement.>> Your comments
and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated.<<You're
welcome. James (Salty Dog)>> Best Regards, Steven Stunted Polyps are Stumping Me 01-01-06 Hello. <Aloha> Read and reviewed most of the FAQ on Polyps but none addressed my specific problem. I have a 55 Gallon Tank that's been running for over a year. ph 8.4 Calcium 340 dKH 14 Nitrate 0 Nitrite 0 <These tests look good.> 3 Power Heads for water circulation Tank has 35 pounds of Live Rock Fish; 1 Yellow Tang, 1 Bluefin Damselfish, 1 Purple Firefish, 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Pygmy Angelfish <Sounds good, but remember that tang will out-grow your tank in a hurry.> Polyps; Green Star Polyp, Colony Polyp, Button Polyp Mushrooms; Red Mushroom, Bubble Mushroom, Green Striped Mushroom, Coral Red Brain Coral. The concern is regarding all of the Polyps. All are severely stunted. The Green Star was my first purchase and for the longest time (say 5 months) it grew and was fully extended. Then one day. it shrunk and has never returned to its normal size. <This can be a common occurrence in some tanks. It seems to surface with extremely clean water, like that found in SPS tanks, or tanks with high nitrates or phosphates.> Could it be toxins from the Red Brain Coral? <It could be, but I would blame the Shrooms first. This can be resolved with simple activated carbon usage.> They are about 24 inches away from each other. <Distance does not matter in a closed system.> Could the lights be too bright.? I have a Coralife Lunar Aqualight installed it Feb 2005 and have not changed the light bulbs. <Could be out of spectrum.> The Green Star and Colony Polyp look healthy. The Button does not. < I would lean toward an elevated phosphate level or chemical warfare.> Maybe I'm missing something that's right in front of my nose. So any and all suggestions of what is going on would be helpful. <Run a phosphate sponge and activated carbon.> Lastly.. I looked at some pictures of other Red Brain Coral on the internet and while mine looks healthy it is in a "closed position" (kinda looks like a Clam) rather than an Open position. <Could be due to the same water issues listed above or the lighting is out of spectrum. Remember water and bulb changes never hurt. Travis> Hope this was enough. by the way. I do enjoy this hobby :-) "Melting" corals (Travis' go) 12-12-05
Greetings, crew, Tim here. <Hello> Initially want to thank you
for all the help I've already gotten by browsing your
site. I'm about 4 months into my first mini-reef, and
I've been relatively successful thus far, largely thanks to
you. At the moment, I'm having some soft coral problems
that I'm having a little trouble figuring out, and I'm hoping
you can help.... My system is a 36 bowfront, hang-on Prizm skimmer,
hang-on Aquaclear 50 filter (for mechanical and charcoal, changed every
other week), 3.5 inch DSB (Caribbean play sand) with thin layer of
crushed aragonite on top to hold the sand, 2 Aquaclear 50 powerheads in
the corners, 2-65W power compact lights (one actinic 14 hours, one
daylight 12 hours), 10 pound lace rock with 45 pounds live
rock. Temp 79.7, pH 8.1-8.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate
0, calcium 420 mg/l, Alk 4.5 mEq/l. Livestock: 2 percula clowns, 1
citron clown goby, 1 Firefish goby, 1 4-line Hawaiian wrasse, 15 Astrea
snails, 5 Nassarius, 3 Cerith, 12 tiny blue hermits, 2 red hermits, 1
very small emerald Mithrax, 2 cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis),
brittle star, banded serpent star. Corals: xenia, torch (Euphyllia
glabrescens), button polyps (Zoanthids), Pachyclavularia (green star),
plate coral, green hairy mushroom (Likely Rhodactis indosinensis), and
a leather mushroom (Sarcophyton sp), and a small cluster of the dreaded
grape Caulerpa. <Won't be a small cluster for long...> I know
I'm pretty densely populated, and maxed out on stock, but I've
managed to get everything I want in there, now I just want to try to
get it to flourish and grow. I've had few losses so far
(interestingly it happened every time I'd try something you advise
against on your website -- <Hmmm, who'd a thought... *note
sarcasm and evil grin*> I think my wrasse ate 3 peppermint
shrimp). Livestock is doing great (they all eat like pigs),
and I've managed to keep my water parameters in good shape (at
least the ones I can measure). Corals, though relatively
numerous, are widely spaced (no closer than 5 inches) Problem is the
soft corals.... Xenia was my first coral. It looked great
when I first put it in, and actually split off a daughter colony in the
first week, but over time and with sequential additions of others, has
drastically changed the way it looks. The stalks and polyps
were initially very thick (like broccoli), but now have shriveled up to
probably less than a quarter of their original
thickness. The polyps still open in the day, and clamp down
at night. Looking at pictures of xenia, I've seen some textbook
examples that look thick, and some that look thin. I
can't seem to tell if it's sick, or if it is just a morphologic
change related to adaptation to different conditions. I have it in high
flow, high in the tank for light. I'm not adding iodine
or any other additives, but I do weekly 10% water changes with buffered
RO water and Oceanic salt. <Sounds like you need to add
carbon or switch yours out. Carbon will remove the toxins soft corals
use to kill off neighbors.> The hairy mushroom seems to be acting in
a similar fashion. I have about 5 separate mushrooms on a
rock, and the first few days in my tank, they were spectacularly open,
covering the whole rock completely. After about a week, the
opening was less and less dramatic, and now, though still opening, they
only open to about 1/4 of the original magnitude. One on the
corner of the rock has also dumped his Zooxanthellae and bleached a
bit, and I'm afraid he's not going to be with me much
longer. The rock was originally near the bottom of the tank,
and after reading that the hairy mushrooms may require more light than
their non-hairy brethren, I moved it higher up in the tank, but it
doesn't seem to be helping. <Carbon again.> The other corals
seem to be doing well, though my observation (which doesn't seem to
jibe with my reading) is that all of my corals (including the torch)
are open all day, and clamped down all night (pH was 8.1 at 7 am before
the lights came on). I feed the fish once per day as much as
they can completely demolish in about 8-10 minutes (primarily frozen
food with occasional pellets), and add Cyclop-eeze flakes to the tank
for the corals twice a week. I've had a recent minor
resurgence of diatoms and green hair algae, but that seems to be
improving with bumping up the flow a little, and pulling back a little
on the feeding. <Measure your phosphates as they will promote algae
and stunt coral growth.> I'd love you comments on the following:
1) Is the "shrinkage" in the range of normal
acclimating behavior, or am I in trouble? <In my vast experience,
"shrinkage" is never a good thing...> 2) If
I'm in trouble, why? My concerns are: Is the flow too
high? The xenia gets blown around pretty good, and the 2
PH's alone are each rated to 270 gph in my little 36 gallon tank,
plus the hang-ons. <Flow is fine.>
Is somebody at war? I
have some slightly aggressive species, but widely spaced, and I am
using charcoal. <This is my bet and carbon needs to truly be changed
ever 2 weeks to be effective.>
Is something wrong with my
param.s? Do I need to go higher on temp or pH? <Phosphates
may be an issue.> Is it the
dreaded Caulerpa? It's a small amount, thinned weekly,
but I know they secrete inhibitors. <I would trash it. In a proper
manner obviously.> Is it
feeding? Do I need to feed my species more, less, or
something different? Is it too
little (or too much) light? <Feeding should be fine.> 3) Should I
get rid of the Caulerpa anyway? Will my hair algae take off
if I do? <I bet your hair algae is unaffected by that small amount
of Caulerpa.> 4) Off the subject, but do you have suggestions for
dealing with the return from hang-ons? I am restricted for
space, and need to use hang-ons instead of a sump, but the flow return
seems to result in laminar downward flow at the top of the tank which
I'm afraid limits my coral placement. <You could create a baffle
for the outlet to redirect the flow.> 5) Do you have any
other comments/criticisms about my system which will make me more
successful? <Keep the water clean and the carbon fresh and you will
be fine.> Thanks again for your help, and allowing new hobbyists
like myself access to your experience and knowledge. I'm
sorry for being so long-winded; I figured I'd save up all my
questions, and just hammer you all at once.... <Glad to help,
Travis> Tim Does This Match my Carpet? Allelopathy in Action (Not Inaction) 11/12/2005 Hi My name is Gal Judah and I am writing to you about a number of issues/pattern that I have noticed in my aquarium. I have a 150 gallon reef aquarium with well developed life rock, sufficient lighting and a well sustained tank environment. My first issue is that I have 3 Ocellaris Clownfish which I have had for about 4-5 months now, all were introduced at one time and get along well, my issue with them is that I have 2 Carpet anemones and 1 rosebud anemone (the carpet anemones were present before clowns were introduced) and for some reason the clowns choose not to go near them. <Happens> Secondly and more importantly I have noticed an alarming pattern to grow of corals in my tank and then a sudden crash. it seems that as soon as I get corals to grow and polyps to spread all of a sudden they just decide to die. <<Don't think they make this decision lightly, it may be for a very good cause. MH>> I do frequent water test and almost always find that my water conditions stay constant. I was wondering if you knew why this occurs. <Mmm, you might find you have more success with more frequent, larger water changes, using activated carbon in your filter flow path... and making sure there is space between the corals and anemones> Lastly I have had recently growing polyp in my tank. I again see the same pattern with the grow of polyp in my aquarium. They grow and spread rapidly and then in a matter of days deteriorate. So my question is what can I do to increase grow of polyps in my tank and what can I do to sustain that grow? <Mmm, a bunch... and all is posted on WWM...> Your help would be greatly appreciated and thank you for your time Gal Judah <Please start reading here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm. Especially the area on Anemone, Carpet Anemone Compatibility. Cheers, Bob Fenner> Nitrates/coral 10/19/05 Hi team, Can nitrates at about 20ppm cause coral to develop a fungus and die? Thanks Mohamed <Mmm, generally not... though, depending on what the underlying cause of nitrate accumulation is/are, this stress can/does contribute to lowered vitality, resistance. Bob Fenner> Polyps shutting down 9/8/05 I'm having trouble with some polyp colonies in my 125 gallon reef system! The system was set up about 1 year ago and was doing great until about 1 1/2 months ago. Around this time, most of the polyp colonies closed in on themselves. The only colonies that seem to be thriving are the yellow polyps which continue to open wide and ,in fact, are spreading! <When one coral is thriving while others are suffering, it is a good indication that the thriving coral is actually winning a chemical battle against the others. Water changes and carbon are often helpful, but sometimes removal of the offender is required.> I have many Ricordea in the tank as well as some leather coral which also seem to be doing well. I do have a hammer coral that has drawn in somewhat . I do not know the scientific names of the polyps. I bought them as frags and have been growing them out. I regularly test for calcium, ph, magnesium, Alk, salinity, and iodine. All test are in the accepted ranges. Do you have any ideas why only the polyps are suffering? thanks C.B. Hough <Possibilities other than chemical warfare include nipping by fish or the presence of a predator (look for small snails with a "checkerboard" pattern.) Best Regards. AdamC.> Coral Health/Feeding 7/27/05 Hello crew, <Hey, Mike G here> This e-mail is more for my peace of mind so please pardon my ignorance as I am a new to this hobby/obsession (3 months) and just want to make sure I understand what I have been reading and am doing things right. <The mark of a good hobbyist> I have a 54 gallon tank <A nice beginner size> 150 watt MH light w/ 2 65 watt blue actinics <very nice.> ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0, PH 8.3, calcium 450, alkalinity 6.0, water temp 79 degrees <Your parameters are all in order> Fluval 304 filter <I doubt this is necessary. In fact, some would argue it is merely a Nitrate Factory.> protein skimmer <I'd keep this and ditch the filter.> I have a giant mushroom, orange Ricordea (who never stays in one spot), and the newest addition is a branching hammer. <A nice assortment.> I currently have no fish and some crabs and shrimp. I plan on adding other LPS corals such as bubble, frogspawn, etc. The guy at my LFS informed me that the corals I have would be fine with just moderate lighting, addition of iodine once a week (I use Lugol's), and DT's phytoplankton every other day. <Sounds about right. Phyto is really unnecessary here.> I have been reading your site for the past 3 days and from what I am reading, the addition of phytoplankton for the corals that I have and am going to get is pretty much useless. Correct? <Yep.> I am going to begin feeding with Mysis shrimp tonight and will probably feed the hammer 5 times a week and the mushroom and Ricordea once a week. <Be careful, great water conditions coupled with strong light and heavy feedings will result in many, many "baby" corals magically appearing.> Any additional information is greatly appreciated and I thank you for your help and knowledge. <Actually, it seems as if you did not need my help. You're off on the right path. Kudos for starting out right!> Danielle <Mike G> Frogspawn coral health... much worse... crowded, mis-stocked,
poorly filtered, too-small system thanks for the comfort on my
xenia.. It's doing great now it was just adjusting itself I guess.
Now I Have a real problem. I bought a frogspawn about 1 wk ago it had 3
heads (maybe two heads an one that was on the verge of being it's
own branch). I bought it from Liveaquaria.com which is a very
respectable company great reviews. It was supposed to be a green one
but when I got it it was brown with a green hue and white tips. with in
2 or three days one of the head suddenly shriveled up and died with the
brown mucus stuff and everything. I cleaned off the dead parts Corals dying I was referred here from a member of MichiganReefers.com, told that you may be able to offer some advice or help. Please feel free to email me back any helpful suggestions, I am about to the point of giving up any hope.....thank you. <Mmm...> OK, about a month and 1/2 ago, I started to notice the SPS in my tank going downhill. Polyps no longer extending to max, some die-off of tips, and general unhappiness. Everything else was fine. Within 2 weeks, ALL SPS except my orange cap and green milli were showing serious distress, as well as some complete bleaching and die-off. Throw a sudden burst of hair-algae growth into this messy mix, and I am ready to beat my head against a wall!! I tested the water....more on that later.... Since then, (the last 3-4 weeks) I have lost all my SPS, except for the cap and milli, and they are now showing signs of stress. Even my mushrooms are starting to die! I had 8-10 green hairys, and dozens of beautiful blues and reds, as well as green stripes by the dozens all over the tank. I now have NO green hairys left, the blues are 1/4 their usual size, as are the stripes and reds. Even my green Rics are shrinking in size. My hammer and frogspawn are barely opening now, and mouths are usually gaped when they do open up, and the torch is almost non-existent. I also lost 3 feather dusters, a large amount of my cleanup crew is MIA, and my yellow tang croaked over the weekend. RIP..... Now here is the funny part though: crocea clam, xenia, green Yumas, green flower anemone, Kenya tree and yellow elegans leather, along with 2 different types of pipe organ, and potato-chip coral are just fine. Full extension of polyps, growth even with the xenia. And Cerith snails galore every night, all else is dying....WHY???? <Mmm, conditions favor the live group, they are successfully biologically poisoning the others...> Water param.s are as follows as of 4-10-05: 55g tank w/20g refugium, LR and DSB, sand in fuge also. Temp: 79-80 F SG: 1.024-1.025 pH: 8.1-8.2 PO: <.50 Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 10-20 Calcium: 420-440 ppm KH: 8.3-8.5 ALK: 2.97-2.99 I add every other day: 1 15ml ea. dose B-Ionic 2 part Alk/calcium I add weekly: 1 5ml dose iodine supplement Water changes have been 12-15 gal every week for 4 weeks now, IO salt used, 1.025 SG@ 80F. Please help me here.....I am at a total loss as to what may be causing this meltdown to occur. I changed nothing in my normal tank routine other than stepping up my water changes in the last 6 months, and everything was the picture of health until 1 1/2 months ago. I do not want to lose anything else, and I want my pretty tank back!! OK, an update to the dilemma that has become my reef tank. (or should I say, what USED to be my reef tank....I will politely refer to it as my coral graveyard!) As I stated in the last post, all SPS are gone. Totally. Even the hardy little Pocillopora is a goner. All the mushrooms are shriveled to the point of almost not being there. Reds, blues, green stripes and blue stripes, even the green Rics are starting to shrivel. The hammers and frogspawn have "fused" their tentacles into one mass at each head, and a few heads have vanished.\ altogether. The button polyps are still closed as are the last red zoos and the yellow colony polyps. The Yumas have not been looking very happy lately either. These will be the last straw, as they were our first corals, and I do not want to lose them. (nor does Kristie!) What I'd like to know is, how can the remaining corals be so happy and healthy and seemingly be unaffected throughout this WHOLE ordeal while the others all die? Mushrooms are supposed to be one of the easiest and hardiest of all corals to keep, yet they die while my clam and yellow elegans leather are thriving! So here is what is in the tank right now: Dead/dying: Hammers, frogspawn, button polyps, mushrooms, Rics, feather dusters, and ALL SPS. (invert MIA: emeralds, shrimp, porcelain crab), yellow tang. Alive and well: Crocea clam, xenia, clove polyps, pipe organs (2 types) potato chip, encrusting Gorgo, fish, tiger-tail Cuke, anthelia, and flower anemone. I have done 2 20g, 2 30g, and now 2 40g+ water changes which seem to have NO effect, I haven't changed the lighting schedule, feeding, or anything else other than charcoal now for the last month. All water parameters are unchanged, all within safe limits. What the heck is going on in my once beautiful tank?!?!?!?!? I am about to the end of my rope, breaking EVERYTHING down, and starting all over again. Please help me to NOT have to do this. <What you are observing, experiencing is an extreme but common case of "mixed garden reefing"... the mis-blending of incompatible marine life, particularly cnidarians... Know that the various stinging-celled life groups have a few mechanisms to "prevent crowding", resource partition... stinging, overshading, producing (sometimes in great quantity) chemicals that are toxic to other species (allelopathy)... Anemones in particular are not a good idea to mix with other Cnidarian groups... You are encouraged to read re these animals care, compatibility (much archived on WWM re this)... but the long and short of your situation is that you can hope to achieve some stasis with what you have left... by careful water changing, use of chemical filtrants, pruning... Or, get a larger (perhaps separate) tank for SPS, et al. less able to compete animals... Please do read... on WWM, elsewhere... the situation, results of allelopathic relations are all about us (common amongst plants for instance)... just more pronounced and dear in our controlled aquatic worlds. I wish you well. Bob Fenner> Ill Colt Coral? I have a 46 gallon reef that has been up and running for 8 months, with a 4 gallon refugium. Everything has been going quite well. I purchased an Alcyonium in Oct./04. This coral was thriving! So much so I was considering propagating it. However, in the last 4-5 weeks it has shrunken to less that half its original size. It's colour has changed from a light pinky/brown to a dark rusty brown. It has also split into 3 separate "colonies". There isn't any necrotized tissue nor any parasites. I have tried to research the cause of these symptoms to no avail. Could you tell me if this is part of the normal "reproductive" process or if this coral is ill? Thanking you in advance. Susan Woo <Please use the search tool here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/index.html or the indices on the Marine/root web... under cnidarians, Alcyoniids, disease and reproduction. Bob Fenner> I Overheated During Change Over - Corals Looking Rough Hello Crew at WWM thank you for your site I depend on you for all of my questions. Through you FAQ. I didn't see this problem posted. <Thanks for checking> Ok please stay with me. I planned on changing from a 75 gal with overflow to a 150 gal reef ready tank. I had to move the 75 to another location to make room for the 150 and I also needed the 15 gal. refugium from the 75 to connect to the new 33gal sump. I had about 20 soft corals - xenias, toadstools, feather dusters, zoos, bubble coral, hammers, frog spawns, mushrooms, and some pinkish algae [as] well. I transferred all of my fish to a 15 gal. holding tank. I put all my corals into a 20 gal container, with a heater and powerhead. And 200 pounds of live rock to two 50 gallon containers. My plan was to take the water and aragonite sand and put in the 150 just thinking of it as a huge water change and have 150 up and running with in 2 days. To make a long story short I overheated my 20 gal container from 79 degrees to 89 degrees over night I didn't check the temp on the heater when I removed it out of the 150 to keep corals warm. I fell asleep during the change over start 8am Saturday till 1:30 am Sunday. I tried to set up the 75 gal for the corals when I got tired. My question is DO you think it possible for any coral to survive a shock in temperature that dramatic? <Sure> My xenia is shriveled up, toadstool looks strange. I'm so upset they were doing so well in the 75 gal. I just wanted to give them more room now they might not make it. At this time I have them all in the 75 gal set up with the corals. I'm hoping to wake up to living corals. Please help . <Steady on... monitor water quality, be ready with water for changes... and perhaps all will rally. Bob Fenner> Sudden Coral and Xenia Die-Off 1/19/04 My husband and I have a 35 gallon reef tank with a 20 gallon refugium. The take contains several Xenia and cuttings we've taken as well mushrooms, polyps, and a few small LPS/SPS (Brain, Montipora). My husband decided to install a small powerhead to the tank to help increase water flow as he thought some dead spots were forming after adding a few new corals. <ah good> The very next day, all of the corals were looking terrible! <coincidental I assure you... something else is amiss. Perhaps something else done or disturbed at the same time he was doing maint./install of the new PH> We've lost every last piece of xenia and aren't sure we won't lose more corals before it's over. We've been so happy that we've had success in raising Xenia and are just heartbroken. My husband said he forgot to rinse the pump prior to installing and noticed some white powder come off of it in the water. We've done a water change and tested the water. All values are in perfect range (Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Ca, Alkalinity, PH, Phosphates). <without seeing your numbers... I cannot confirm or agree that you water is fine. I'd suggest you look hard at pH and ALK. pH should be over 8.4 by day (no lower than 8.3 at night for Xenia)... and ALK closer to 12 dKH> We contacted our fish store and they say it's impossible it's the pump that killed the corals as the power would have just been talc. Nothing else was changed. My husband washed his hands before putting them in the tank and the new coral he added at the same time seemed to suffer just as much as the rest of them. Any thoughts on what could have caused this or how to correct it? Our biggest concern is whether or not we'll ever be able to raise Xenia in the tank again. Thanks! <do a large water change or two (50-75%) in the next week, add fresh chemical filters like Chemi-pure and/or PolyFilters... and do try Xeniids again. Beautiful corals. Anthony> Bubble Mushroom: new, sick and needed Quarantine 1/11/05 Excellent site... tons of information. <thanks kindly> I'm a beginner at looking after mushrooms and am concerned about the status of my mushroom 24 hours after being introduced to my 55 Gallon fish tank. I have about 50lbs of Live Rock, 4 fish (Tang, Angelfish, Damselfish and Percula Clown) ph 8.2 - 8.4, Salinity of 1.024, low ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates. I purchased a small rock that had about 7 Bubble Mushrooms. Once introduced into the tank they were shriveled and assumed they were stressed and would adjust in time. After 8 hours all of the Mushrooms looked great. the next day 4 of the seven started to shrivel and one actually has a milky substance covering the entire Mushroom. I also noticed that another looks like it's falling off. I'm really concerned about this milky substance. <indeed a symptom of stress> Can you provide me some tips for the care and feeding of this mushroom? <hard to say why its doing it... perhaps shipping stress (recent import to the LFS?), or shock of acclimation (slow at home on entry or not?). You best bet regardless is to not move it (too stressful!) and give it very strong water flow. Small daily iodine additions (reef supplement as from SeaChem) may be helpful too> Patiently awaiting your response. Bruce Pearson. <please understand that your biggest mistake here my friend was adding this animal/coral with quarantine it in an isolation tank first (4 weeks for all types of livestock without exception). The risk of bringing a pest, predator, or disease into the tank by adding fishes, corals, plants, etc without QT is very high over time. It literally is taking a chance with their lives. Please (!) read and understand this imperative need... we have many FAQs and articles on the subject if you will take the time to do a Google search from our home page or navigate the site links to find more. A QT tank is such a small investment... rather insurance for the value of your main display system. Best of luck, Anthony> Corals are adapting hello all, just thought I'd point out a cool thing in case none of you saw this. On Sunday on Yahoo scientists report that the coral reefs are making some comeback, after years of higher than normal temps. Awesome, just awesome......looks life are stony friends are stubborn to extinction as long as we stay involved. Adapting to higher temps to survive...NICE!!! check it out , pass it on....later. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20040502/sc_nm/environment_maldives_coral_dc <Good news indeed... makes sense that organisms that have been around for hundreds of millions of years, through ice ages, reversals of poles, whatever undid the dinosaurs... would be able to put up with the current affair. Bob Fenner> Coral acclimation I have a 150 gallon reef tank, with a hospital tank set up. I know to put new fish in hospital tank that I run with copper. what do you recommend for corals before intro. into my tank. >> A slightly smaller Spg, a ppm of iodine and a tsp per gallon of a hexose sugar for about ten minutes. This is the SOP protocol I help soft and hard coral (and gorgonians) collectors implement all over the planet. Bob Fenner Polyp trouble Hi Bob, recently within the last two weeks I have noticed some trouble with some of my polyps mainly my green button polyps, some Zoanthids and some Palythoa. I also had a yellow finger leather die. The polyps while some are open and looking healthy some are closed and appear to be shedding or dissolving. I also had a pink and green cucumber die apparently of starvation. Are all these things related? I have heard that the cucumbers can poison the tank and the leather can also put off toxins. I have a good skimmer and the water tested OK except for a little high reading on nitrate ~ 40ppm. I have some yellow button polyps that are thriving, and a toadstool that is also doing well. Rick >> Thank you for writing... And these loss-events may well be related... If not from some original "cause", than consequent bio-poisoning as you mention... At any length, we don't have test kits (as yet, for soft coral terpenoids and short chain fatty acids) that might be implicated. However, I would do the usual: a large water change (maybe half), change out your carbon... and hold off on any livestock installation for a month or more. The nitrate, at 40ppm is not a difficulty for the mix of organisms you have now, but it may be indicative (as a view of other nutrient levels) of other substances present... not removed by filtration, biological action in your system. Bob Fenner My corals won't open? Hello, I recently purchased two
corals.....Green Star and Pagoda They have yet to open their polyps...
my tank levels are excellent.. any ideas? Also how do I keep my hermit
crab away from the corals and live rock? <Please read over our site:
www.WetWebMedia.com Bob Fenner> Thanks Scott Ullemeyer Well, the
same question back apply: Some folks systems are missing an essential
material/nutrient... like trace strontium or iodine, or have too much
of something... like too much phosphate.... or don't realize
they've installed incompatible types of livestock that are waging
physical, chemical war actively or passively with each other. Or have
conditions that otherwise favor or contribute to factors that negate
"opening" behavior, like too little light. All these
considerations are species, population and system specific. That's
why it's necessary to as about your livestock, set-up and
history... Or to write several thousand words trying to describe the
most common possibilities/reasons for opening/non-opening of
your/anyone's corals. Bob Fenner |
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Yep, actual photo sent.