Candy Cane Coral Trouble

[sprinter144]

My candy cane coral pretty much shrunk up into nothing. I tried moving it to various locations inside my 46 gallon bowfront to see if it would do better in one spot or another. I've got a coralife aqualunar light that I thought would provide plenty of light. Maybe I got it at a bad time because what made it appealing to me was it was splitting into two. I thought I'd get to watch it complete the process. Perhaps moving it during the reproductive process was too stressful.

 

[cmaxwell39]

How long have you had it? A lot of times it will take corals a couple of days to even a couple of weeks to acclimate to a new tank. If you have only had it a few days then leave it in one place and give it a chance to get used to its new environment.
Also, what are your water parameters? If there is anything that is out of whack it could be causing the coral to close up.
Finally, do not pull it out unless you are sure it is dead. Candy canes are very hardy corals and if there is any living tissue it could make a comeback. You will know that it is dead when all there is is white skeleton and no color left to the heads. I don't think that moving it while it was splitting would cause it any harm.

 

[spiderwoman]

Have you fed him?

 

[sprinter144]

Well I have battled nitrates some around 20 ppm. My LFS has a greenhouse growing and distributing coral to several stores in the area. They arent sure what's wrong either. I guess I've had it ~6 weeks. I did feed it (and other corals - live phytoplankton) even though the LFS said I didn't need to. The only thing they say they use is a calcium reactor. My calcium levels are fine and my other corals are all doing fine. I've already moved it to my 29 gallon tank because the nitrate levels were much lower, but no response.

 

[cmaxwell39]

Do you see the feeder tentacles coming out at night? If you do you may try feeding it some mysis or cyclopeez. Also I would try getting the nitrates down if you havn't already. Large water changes and cut down on feeding. Also if you could list all your parameters it might help to figure out what is goign on.

 

[sprinter144]

I thought I'd get a fresh set of tank parameters. I always keep a close eye on temperature and specific gravity, but only test other parameters periodically. I started going through various tests and found pH at 7.8. I know that's low and now I'm working at getting it back to 8.2 where it had been for several months.
I use an RO unit to make my water and add a pH buffer to it, but recently ran out. I've made a couple of water changes without it, but never thought it would make that big a difference. Needeless to say I bought some buffer today and have started to slowly bring it back to 8.2.
What do you think is too fast?
Other parameters I've tested so far: Ammonia/Nitrites - 0, Nitrates 20 ppm, s.g. 1.021, temp. 80, calcium 420.

 

[spiderwoman]

Your sg is low too. Corals and inverts prefer it around 1.024-1.026.

 

[sprinter144]

I think I've always kept the s.g. ~1.021-1.022 which is right in the middle of the range for the coralife s.g Deep Six test instrument. My other corals are doing so well I figured this was about right. Well I'll try slowly raise this too.

 

[cmaxwell39]

Corals and inverts do like the SG higher as spider said. Try to slowly raise it. Also, what is your alkalinity at? If this is low it could be why you are having trouble with your ph.
You said that your nitrates are at 20. If you are sure that this is the case, the candy cane could be reacting to the high nitrates. 20 is probably not high enough to kill it, but nitrates that high could cause it to close up. Between that and the SG being low it could be having a hard time adjusting to its new environment.
One last thing I would suggest is to get a refractometer instead of the hydrometer for checking SG. They are way more accurate, and honestly I think they are easier to use as well.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by sprinter144
http:///forum/post/2592206
I did feed it (and other corals - live phytoplankton) even though the LFS said I didn't need to.
This could be part of the problem - they can't eat phytoplankton.
Your light seems insufficient so food it needed to make up for the lack of light.
What is the Phosphate level? Alkalinity?
The Nitrate of 20 isn't harmful to this type of LPS.

 

[sprinter144]

Hey thanks for your help on this. I'm slowly getting pH back with a good buffer which will help to keep it where it needs to be. Next I'll work on s.g. and get a good refractometer soon. I got complacent and didn't keep monitoring my water conditions like I should have. You have all helped me realize this. Results of some additional tests: Phosphate - 0. Carbonate hardness was off the chart high, which may be due to taking sample too soon after adding buffer so I'll have to let this settle out. Thanks again.

 

[bang guy]

I'm very worried about your Alkalinity level (Carbonate hardness). If it still releases feeding tentacles at night try feeding it some small pieces of seafood like scallops, squid, or Mysis Shrimp.

 

[sprinter144]

pH and s.g. are on their way back up. Actually pH is now normal, but I'll have to monitor it to make sure it's stable. S.G. is up from 1.021 to 1.022. I'll watch the coral when the lights go out tonight to see if there are any signs of life left in it.

 

[sprinter144]

Bad news the coral shows no sign of life day or night. I'll keep working on getting my tank's parameters back in spec. So far the s.g. is the only thing left and I don't want to rush it.

 

[cmaxwell39]

If there is any flesh left on the coral I would just give it some time. I have been suprised a couple of times at how bad a coral can look and still recover.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by sprinter144
http:///forum/post/2596404
Bad news the coral shows no sign of life day or night. I'll keep working on getting my tank's parameters back in spec. So far the s.g. is the only thing left and I don't want to rush it.
What's the Alkalinity level? I believe this is a problem.

 

[sprinter144]

Today the dKH is 11. This is down from 14 last week following a water change to raise s.g and lower the dKH. I understand based upon other articles I've read that saltwater should be 7-10. So I'm close to normal at this point. pH was still 8.2 today. I'll keep an eye on the coral to see if there's any come back left in it and test the water daily to see if I've got any fluctuations.

 

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by sprinter144
http:///forum/post/2596404
Bad news the coral shows no sign of life day or night. I'll keep working on getting my tank's parameters back in spec. So far the s.g. is the only thing left and I don't want to rush it.

In addition to your alk levels, which I'm sure Bang will continue with that topic, you do need to feed him.
When a candy cane is very unhealthy, his feeder tenticles will not come out on their own. When they do, they are not sticky at all and he will not move fast enough to close up around the food and he may lose it to a hermit or worse, a shrimp. Can you remove the CC for feeding?? My incredibly unhealthy specimen had to be removed from the tank, placed in a bowl of tank water and I used a syringe to gently "place" food near it's mouth. It will open, and take in the food, but it may take a while.
I like frozen cyclop eeze cause it's already in tiny particle sizes, but any meaty sea food will work if it's small enough. The whole first feeding process takes me about 30 minutes.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by sprinter144
http:///forum/post/2598796
Today the dKH is 11. This is down from 14 last week following a water change to raise s.g and lower the dKH. I understand based upon other articles I've read that saltwater should be 7-10. So I'm close to normal at this point. pH was still 8.2 today. I'll keep an eye on the coral to see if there's any come back left in it and test the water daily to see if I've got any fluctuations.

There's nothing wrong with a dKH of 11. I wouldn't add any more "buffer" though. If there's a problem with your PH then you need to fix the problem. Buffers just cover it up, they can only fix Alkalinity, they can't fix PH except for a day or so.