bubble coral problem

alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
How hardy is bubble coral? I have one that has been doing fine for about 4 months, now all of a sudden it's looking pretty bad. Half of the bubbles are totally shriveled up and the mouth is hanging open. I have 260w of PC lighting on my 75 (I know the lighting may be marginal) the coral is at the top of the tank. It eats good. Everything else is fine. My readings are:
ph 8.2
trites 0
trates 30
ammonia 0
sg 1.026
temp 81
I can't post a pic. I think I need to replace my bulbs but my lfs isn't getting them in for two more weeks. :help:
 
reefreak29

reefreak29

Active Member
i feel there pretty hardy , it was my first coral 18 months ago , its doing great, could something be nipping at it
 
zanoshanox

zanoshanox

Active Member
Could just be a phase...Maybe not though. Do you have alk and calcium readings? What other corals is it surrounded by?
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by zanoshanox
Could just be a phase...Maybe not though. Do you have alk and calcium readings? What other corals is it surrounded by?
I lost the directions to my alk test but my calcium is high right now, around 480. Their are no other corals around it. I haven't seen anything nipping at it.
 
piscian

piscian

Member
I don't think the calcium is the problem, because it's a stony. How's your flow on it. I had to move mine a couple of times because the flow and light was too high.
 
toyshika

toyshika

Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
How hardy is bubble coral? I have one that has been doing fine for about 4 months, now all of a sudden it's looking pretty bad. Half of the bubbles are totally shriveled up and the mouth is hanging open. I have 260w of PC lighting on my 75 (I know the lighting may be marginal) the coral is at the top of the tank. It eats good. Everything else is fine. My readings are:
ph 8.2
trites 0
trates 30
ammonia 0
sg 1.026
temp 81
I can't post a pic. I think I need to replace my bulbs but my lfs isn't getting them in for two more weeks. :help:

Your trates are at 30....when is the last time you did a water change?
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
yeah the trates might be a lil marginal
other then that they are hardy corals mines always done good but it can shrivel down to nothing at night so dont be too worried as long as the skeleton isnt exposed its ok
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by Piscian
I don't think the calcium is the problem, because it's a stony. How's your flow on it. I had to move mine a couple of times because the flow and light was too high.

The flow is medium
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by toyshika
Your trates are at 30....when is the last time you did a water change?

I just did a water change last week. I have been battling trates for awhile, but they are alot lower than they were. My trates were 70 for a week or so, and now have been between 20-30 for a month or so.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by murph145
yeah the trates might be a lil marginal
other then that they are hardy corals mines always done good but it can shrivel down to nothing at night so dont be too worried as long as the skeleton isnt exposed its ok

It has always shrunk down at night, but now the skeleton is exposed all the time on about 1/4 of it.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
It has always shrunk down at night, but now the skeleton is exposed all the time on about 1/4 of it.
Is the skeleton exposed or it is just receded in that portion? If the actual white skeleton is showing, then that is a major problem. How long has your bubble coral been closed? They sometimes stay receded for a few days. Mine sometimes gives me a scare and hangs like a wet noodle, only to be fully inflated the next day.
How often do you feed it? They need pretty hearty portions of meaty food every 2-3 days. Those nitrates are definately on the high side so it is possible you are feeding it or your other critters a little too much/often.
I'd continue with regular water changes, monitoring all of your parameters including alkalinity.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
Is the skeleton exposed or it is just receded in that portion? If the actual white skeleton is showing, then that is a major problem. How long has your bubble coral been closed? They sometimes stay receded for a few days. Mine sometimes gives me a scare and hangs like a wet noodle, only to be fully inflated the next day.
How often do you feed it? They need pretty hearty portions of meaty food every 2-3 days. Those nitrates are definately on the high side so it is possible you are feeding it or your other critters a little too much/often.
I'd continue with regular water changes, monitoring all of your parameters including alkalinity.

The actual skeleton is exposed on one end of the coral. The bubbles on that side have been closed or all shriveled looking for about a week and a half. The bubbles on the other end of the coral are as big as ever. I feed mysis and krill ever third day.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
So one end of the coral is inflated and healthy while the other end is exposing skeleton?

Yes. I think it's the skeleton. It looks like white bony pieces sticking up.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
If it isn't getting enough light how long would it take to deteriorate this much?
I don't think lighting would cause it to deteriorate on just one side. Do you see any sort of algae growing on the skeleton where it is receding? If it isn't getting enough light then I would expect it to inflate more, not deflate. This is just my guess though.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
I don't see any algae on it. I will take a closer look though. Last night I fed it and it ate good as usual.
 
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