Help with sick looking coral

[maxfrenkel19]

Hello all,

I purchased a large frag of (some sort of) sps at the December frag swap that does not look like it's enjoying my tank. It is some kind of monti, looks very similar to this http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+1492+2294+3109&pcatid=3109 although with a dark red crust and bright green polyps.

When I introduced the SPS I did a normal temperature and water acclimation. Based on the advice of the LA article above, I placed the frag near the top of my aquarium in a spot with good flow. The first night it looked beautiful, dark red/purple base with bright green polyps fully extended. The next day the polyps were less extended, but colors still looked good. Over the next couple days, I have not seen the polyps extend, and the base has faded to a light red/pink/almost white. It appears to be bleaching, but LA says that this coral can't get too much light, even during acclimation. I have also tested my water daily since acquiring it and all parameters that I can currently test (ammonia,nitrite, nitrate, ph) are excellent. I have 4-5 other sps frags that are all looking healthy.

I would love a recommendation for how to proceed, my instinct is to move a bleaching coral away from the light, but LA tells me different. Does it just need time to adjust? My birdsnest had a similar behavior at first, but eventually adjusted and is happy

I have a 40 gallon tank w/ a 20 sump underneath. LED lighting, not sure on exact specs but has been enough to grow sps thus far. Let me know if any other details of my tank would help diagnose this problem.

I will attempt to post pictures below, thanks in advance for the help!

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Sorry the pictures are very blue-washed, making the coral look purple. In reality this is much more red/pink than it is purple. These are both shots from today, I do not have a "before" photo. As you can see, the polyps are still there, but are not extended. The coral is bleaching much worse around the edges.
[attachment=65622:name]

 

[jahmic]

I would definitely move it down toward the bottom of the tank and see if it improves. Not sure what type of lights the coral was kept under prior to being placed in your tank...but in general, it's best to start things lower and gradually move them up...especially under LEDs.

 

[Craigar]

Did you dip the coral. Just to make sure it didn't have nudis on it? With you having LEDs you should get used to asking what the corals were growing under. The transition from mh to led is usually. A 6 month curve in my experiences. Seems like after 6 months corals start taking off. Move it to lower light and dip it. I also like using coral restore when adding new corals

 

[FinsUp]

+1 to the above.

Even if an article says a coral can't get too much light, sometimes they can. Plus there's a transition period when going from one type of light to another. I usually start my new corals in the middle of the tank, then move them up or down if they're not happy.

And I always dip. Always.

 

[fishguy69]

+1 to the above.

Even if an article says a coral can't get too much light, sometimes they can. Plus there's a transition period when going from one type of light to another. I usually start my new corals in the middle of the tank, then move them up or down if they're not happy.

And I always dip. Always.

+1

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Appreciate the feedback all.

I do not dip but it sounds like I probably should. I will research the process today and see if I can pick up the product from the LFS after work.
In the meantime, I moved the coral about as low on the rockwork as I can get it, without it actually being in the sand.

Even if an article says a coral can't get too much light, sometimes they can. Plus there's a transition period when going from one type of light to another. I usually start my new corals in the middle of the tank, then move them up or down if they're not happy.

Thanks for the advice. How long do you give a coral time to adjust before deciding whether it is happy or not. For example, if the coral is still looking bad after work today, should I move it lower. Or do I give it a couple days, or a week, to adjust before deciding?

 

[sethsolomon]

Thanks for the advice. How long do you give a coral time to adjust before deciding whether it is happy or not. For example, if the coral is still looking bad after work today, should I move it lower. Or do I give it a couple days, or a week, to adjust before deciding?

Set it in the sand bed and slowly move it up in 2 week intervals. Maybe take 5-6 moves to get it where you want it. Or just use 5 lengths of PVC and every 2 weeks swap out the pvc for the next bigger piece

 

[FinsUp]

Appreciate the feedback all.

I do not dip but it sounds like I probably should. I will research the process today and see if I can pick up the product from the LFS after work.
In the meantime, I moved the coral about as low on the rockwork as I can get it, without it actually being in the sand.

Thanks for the advice. How long do you give a coral time to adjust before deciding whether it is happy or not. For example, if the coral is still looking bad after work today, should I move it lower. Or do I give it a couple days, or a week, to adjust before deciding?

Not dipping corals is dangerous. Anyone, even the most conscientious reefers, can have pests in their tanks. If you don't dip your corals, then you're collecting pests right along with the corals. I use Bayer complete insecticide from Home Depot (so do many others here). I know it sounds nutso, but the stuff works, it's cheap, and you don't have to measure like a scientist or risk overdosing. Just use tank water, not tap water, and rinse the daylights out of it before you put it back in your tank or it will affect your pods and inverts. You can use CoralRx or any of the other stuff out there, if you want to pay more, but IMO they don't work any better than Bayer.
I give corals at least a couple of weeks per 'spot' before relocating them, unless they take a turn for the worse. The key is to watch for progress/change one way or the other. If the coral is getting better, leave it where it is. If it gets a little better, then doesn't change for a while and still isn't totally healthy, then move it to a place with a little less or more of whatever you changed. (Hopefully that makes sense) If it's getting worse, move it to a place with different lighting or flow. Finding just the right spot for it is kind of a process.
Also, make sure it's not in a war with another nearby coral - watch for stingers and slime between corals. If you see that, move them away from each other.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

Not dipping corals is dangerous. Anyone, even the most conscientious reefers, can have pests in their tanks. If you don't dip your corals, then you're collecting pests right along with the corals. I use Bayer complete insecticide from Home Depot (so do many others here). I know it sounds nutso, but the stuff works, it's cheap, and you don't have to measure like a scientist or risk overdosing. Just use tank water, not tap water, and rinse the daylights out of it before you put it back in your tank or it will affect your pods and inverts. You can use CoralRx or any of the other stuff out there, if you want to pay more, but IMO they don't work any better than Bayer.
I give corals at least a couple of weeks per 'spot' before relocating them, unless they take a turn for the worse. The key is to watch for progress/change one way or the other. If the coral is getting better, leave it where it is. If it gets a little better, then doesn't change for a while and still isn't totally healthy, then move it to a place with a little less or more of whatever you changed. (Hopefully that makes sense) If it's getting worse, move it to a place with different lighting or flow. Finding just the right spot for it is kind of a process.
Also, make sure it's not in a war with another nearby coral - watch for stingers and slime between corals. If you see that, move them away from each other.

Thanks for the response. Using insecticide on a coral does indeed sound nutso, but I will defer to the more expert opinions of the reefers on this site. Is it still worth dipping the coral? Or am I already past the point of no return, having introduced it to the tank 5 days ago.

I do understand your strategy for coral placement. In a nutshell: if it's improving, keep it there until it stops improving, if it's not improving or getting worse, pick a new spot! This is good common sense and I appreciate the advice. My only concern is determining whether a coral is truly getting worse, or just changing. For instance, I introduced a birds nest very high in my tank, and it got significantly paler (similar to my current coral) but has great polyp extension and is growing tons of branches.

 

[FinsUp]

It's probably too late to prevent the spread of pests, if there were any on it to begin with. That said, if you don't have many corals in the tank, it's worth considering a 'group dip party'. If you have tons of corals in the tank, then that is prolly not an option unless you see signs of infestation. Some folks not only dip their corals, but also QT them for a while, and dip periodically, before putting them in the display, because no dip on earth kills the eggs, in my experience. Some wrasses are good pest-killers, and I've recently learned that dragon pipe fish eat red bugs.

You get my meaning perfectly on coral placement! As for the birdsnest, sounds like it's healthy and happy. If you want more intense color, try moving it down slightly in the tank, keeping an eye on the polyp extension and growth. A little bit less light might return it to a darker color without sacrificing the healthy & happy.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

It's probably too late to prevent the spread of pests, if there were any on it to begin with. That said, if you don't have many corals in the tank, it's worth considering a 'group dip party'. If you have tons of corals in the tank, then that is prolly not an option unless you see signs of infestation. Some folks not only dip their corals, but also QT them for a while, and dip periodically, before putting them in the display, because no dip on earth kills the eggs, in my experience. Some wrasses are good pest-killers, and I've recently learned that dragon pipe fish eat red bugs.

You get my meaning perfectly on coral placement! As for the birdsnest, sounds like it's healthy and happy. If you want more intense color, try moving it down slightly in the tank, keeping an eye on the polyp extension and growth. A little bit less light might return it to a darker color without sacrificing the healthy & happy.

Well hopefully pests are not the issue then! I do have a 6-line wrasse who spends his days inspecting the rockwork and corals for snacks, so maybe he has been taking care of pest problems for me.

I actually don't mind the color of the birdsnest haha, but I will consider moving it down if I change my mind. The polyps turned almost white, with the tips and new growth areas being a VERY bright green. I know white polyps sounds like bleaching... but the polyps are extended and it's growing new branches so it can't be that unhappy I guess.

 

[FinsUp]

6lines are great for pest control. So are coris wrasses. I wanted something a bit different, so I chose a scarlet wrasse instead of a 6line, and it's always hunting, too.

If it's growing and has good polyp extension, then I consider it happy and healthy. Dancing is optional. :dance:

 

[CRW Reef]

So do you know what LEDs you are running? Do they have optics? Do you know the wattage? - Pending the LED and the specifics, you could be frying things. However.......If they arent higher end LEDs with optics and high grade led bulbs.......im going to guess you arent frying the corals with the leds. For instance if you have the run of the mill Chinese manufactured led panels (with out optics) like many of us have (including me) you should be able to put any sps you want on the top portion of your tank with no problems what so ever! In fact in my experience and in my tank, I can put anything except for LPS and some softies on the top 8" of my tank directly after dipping with no issues of bleaching or irritation.

You never said what your Alk and CA are at did you? Also High phosphates can irritate certain corals leaving others happy as can be.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

So do you know what LEDs you are running? Do they have optics? Do you know the wattage? - Pending the LED and the specifics, you could be frying things. However.......If they arent higher end LEDs with optics and high grade led bulbs.......im going to guess you arent frying the corals with the leds. For instance if you have the run of the mill Chinese manufactured led panels (with out optics) like many of us have (including me) you should be able to put any sps you want on the top portion of your tank with no problems what so ever! In fact in my experience and in my tank, I can put anything except for LPS and some softies on the top 8" of my tank directly after dipping with no issues of bleaching or irritation.

You never said what your Alk and CA are at did you? Also High phosphates can irritate certain corals leaving others happy as can be.

Hi there, thanks for the reply. I'm not sure on the quality of my LED system... supposedly it does have optics, but it was < $200 so it is probably closer to the chinese-manufactured category you mentioned. Here is a link to the model: http://reefbreeders.com/bridgelux_value.html

Unfortunately I do not have an Alk, CA, or phosphate test at the moment. I did buy some calc/Alk to start dosing my tank, but will not begin until I can test for it. Test kit is next on my fish-wish-list, come oooon Christmas bonus!

 

[jahmic]

In that case...I apologize for overlooking the obvious

Take a sample of water to your local fish store; any shop that sells corals should be more than happy to run a few tests. Alk, Ca, Mg, Nitrate, and Phosphate are all important if you're trying to diagnose potential issues with coral health.

I'd just see where you are to get a baseline, then go from there. If everything looks good then you could have a lighting/flow issue with the new addition, but those tests would help a lot in ruling out other potential problems.

 

[maxfrenkel19]

In that case...I apologize for overlooking the obvious

Take a sample of water to your local fish store; any shop that sells corals should be more than happy to run a few tests. Alk, Ca, Mg, Nitrate, and Phosphate are all important if you're trying to diagnose potential issues with coral health.

I'd just see where you are to get a baseline, then go from there. If everything looks good then you could have a lighting/flow issue with the new addition, but those tests would help a lot in ruling out other potential problems.

That's true I need to utilize the LFS more! I'm actually going in after work, I'll try to grab a sample of my water and get it tested.

Thanks for the input.