a couple of weeks ago, our corals were doing great and were fine. We had two brain corals that were amazin, one that would inflate very large. then sine we thought "hey everythings is fine" we kind of went on a shopping spree at ou rlfs and now the two brain corals are small and are showing part of their skeletons and some of our short tentacle plate corals are dying off showing their skeleton only. what could have caused this. the only fish that i could think that would do this could be our saddleback puffer but he is very good and doesnt do anything. any ideas?
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chrissaysyes
Nereus
Are the brain corals being stung by other corals?
the brain corals are relatively close together but i dont often see their tentacles out. there is a bubble coral that is small but is not close enough i dont think. there is also a torch coral but he has been showing his skeleton lately too. he has about 4 heads but only 2 show at one time and the tentacles arent as long as they used to be
chrissaysyes
Nereus
I'm pretty sure all of those mentioned corals have pretty long sweeper tentacles. Could be they are attacking each other? Maybe try spreading them out more. Have you been feeding them regularly?
Lynden
a "fish hater"
Have you changed your salt lately? A friend of mine lost a large amount of livestock from a bad batch.
Lynden
a "fish hater"
I can't really see how it would help. Try adding carbon.
A few things come to mind since all the corals we're talking about are LPS corals (in no particular order):
First, a toxin (lynden mentioned carbon to try and remove it).
Second, a significant imbalance in calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. If you don't have test kits for those, bring a water sample to your LFS and have them test for it.
Third, malfunctioning or drifting hydrometer/refractometer resulting in a salinity higher than you're measuring. Verify your hydrometer against either a test done by the LFS or by making your own calibration fluid (see page 2 of the realm of knowledge sticky, I've linked it there).
Fourth, predation by a fish or invertebrate. Are you SURE the puffer isn't having a little nibble? How often have you watched him? What other livestock is in the tank? Have you watched it after dark with a red flashlight to see if there's somethin lurking in there at night doing the deed?
Fifth, coral to coral aggression. Separating combatants will help here. Remember, corals like bubbles and brains have sweepers that can extend 5" at night...
Sixth, high phosphates. Phosphates disrupt calcification in hard corals and can really pester LPS. Have your LFS test if you dont have a kit. Anything over 0.03ppm is too high.
Seventh, insufficient or too much lighting. What lights do you have and how deep (top to bottom) is the tank?
Lastly, improper or insufficient flow. What powerheads do you have, and how big is the tank?
hope that helps you get to the bottom of your problem
First, a toxin (lynden mentioned carbon to try and remove it).
Second, a significant imbalance in calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. If you don't have test kits for those, bring a water sample to your LFS and have them test for it.
Third, malfunctioning or drifting hydrometer/refractometer resulting in a salinity higher than you're measuring. Verify your hydrometer against either a test done by the LFS or by making your own calibration fluid (see page 2 of the realm of knowledge sticky, I've linked it there).
Fourth, predation by a fish or invertebrate. Are you SURE the puffer isn't having a little nibble? How often have you watched him? What other livestock is in the tank? Have you watched it after dark with a red flashlight to see if there's somethin lurking in there at night doing the deed?
Fifth, coral to coral aggression. Separating combatants will help here. Remember, corals like bubbles and brains have sweepers that can extend 5" at night...
Sixth, high phosphates. Phosphates disrupt calcification in hard corals and can really pester LPS. Have your LFS test if you dont have a kit. Anything over 0.03ppm is too high.
Seventh, insufficient or too much lighting. What lights do you have and how deep (top to bottom) is the tank?
Lastly, improper or insufficient flow. What powerheads do you have, and how big is the tank?
hope that helps you get to the bottom of your problem
i am going to go to my lfs this weekend so i will bring a water sample. the tank is 50 gallons. so i should try adding carbon? i will also move the corals around. could a sally light foot crab do this because i have one but it tends to mind its own buisness. thanks
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