Hairy Finger Leather Death?

greebs

greebs

Member
I think my first coral may have bit it. Water tests show everything in good shape. I'm wondering if that dang pencil urchin that my 10 year old wanted and I bought without doing proper research was the problem. About two weeks ago the little b**t**d was 'attached' to the leather. It didn't dawn on me until today the coincidence of the situation, but my leather has gotten progressively worse looking every couple days since then. It has been in a wilted position for about a week now and it looks like it is starting to break at the base.
How does one know if it's dead? Other than getting rid of Mr. Urchin anything else I can do?
 
greebs

greebs

Member
I knew I'd get busted with that vague of a post. Nitrites, nitrates and ammonia are all zero. PH and alk are in the acceptable range. 78degree water temp. I've had the leather for about three months now with no other recognizable problems until Mr. urchin attached himself. The leather is now almost doubled over in half so if I'd have to bet on it, he's dead.
I've always wondered though how long these things live if they are in a healthy environment. What would prevent me from buying an elderly one that belongs in a nursing home and doesnt' have long to live? I've read on this site that they are normally tough and that they typically come back from problems, but I think my guy is toast. Or is it possible that only part of him is dead and I could cut off the dead part and if so can I cut all but the base since the rest all looks dead? (I'm guessing it's a lost cause, but since he cost me about 50 bucks, I've got to check all my options.
Thanks for any advice you can give.
 
adrian

adrian

Active Member
Weird, never heard of an urchin causing a leather corals demise, but I guess it could happen. Leathers are pretty tough, and when they do die its usually something drastic that causes it. Like you said they are known to make a comeback, so unless its disinegrating I wouldnt give up on it. If you can find some healthy areas it may not be a bad Idea to try and make some frags. Usually, when referring to corals, size comes with age, and if your leather was really old, It would probably be pretty big, bigger than you could hope to keep in the average home aquarium;) HTH
 
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