Is my devil's hand leather dead?

[tableforglasses]

I have a new devil's hand leather and it has not opened up yet and pretty much looks like a leather blob it's got a little bit of slime on it. It has been in the tank for about a week. Just wondering what you think and if it is going to come through or if I should pull him out of the tank.
Thanks

 

[meowzer]

Do you have any flow on it? It may be shedding, and needs some flow to help it out

 

[tableforglasses]

hey meowzer I moved him earlier tonight to a place of better flow to see if that would help. Any danger of the coral causing a nitrate spike if I don't get him out and try to ride it out?

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by tableforglasses
http:///forum/post/3226808
hey meowzer I moved him earlier tonight to a place of better flow to see if that would help. Any danger of the coral causing a nitrate spike if I don't get him out and try to ride it out?
Not that I know of

 

[reefaholic33]

How high do you have him in the tank? And what kind of lights do you have?
IMO I don't think it looks beyond saving. Like meowzer said leathers do shed, I don't know alot about it, I just read a thread that I think FloridaJoe talked about it and had a couple nice pics of it.

 

[btldreef]

I think it's shedding. At least from what I can see in the pic. Meowzer is right about moving it to a higher flow.
The only cautions with leathers, is that the do release a small amount of toxin that SPS really can't handle (if they touch certain softies, they also have a hard time handling it - this usually is not an issue). If it does die and melt away, it can toxify your tank and cause other things to die and throw off water parameters which can be corrected with massive water changes and cleaning out the filters.

 

[tableforglasses]

Right now I've got 800 watts of 2 10k metal halides and I am adding 2 48 watt actinic t-5's this week. My tank is 125 gallons. I moved him to the top third of the tank in direct water flow.

 

[reefaholic33]

Like they said it's prolly shedding.
But does anyone think maybe move it down a little bit, seems like alot of light for a leather that high?

 

[meowzer]

Be careful not to BLAST it...LOL....it can get too much flow also.....what do you have for flow? (type of powerhead)
YES, It may be too high too

 

[reefaholic33]

Here is a little more insight straight from the saltwaterfish website. I thought they worded it well.
Leathers will go through a phase when they shrink their Polyps, and secrete a layer of mucus on their body, to be shed later. The mucus coat prevents any algal growth on Leather Corals. Moderate flow must be provided to help them shed this mucus layer or it can suffocate the coral.

 

[tableforglasses]

Meowzer I've got generic penguin powerheads. I've got them in various spots around the tank. I will make sure that he is not getting blasted out.
Reefaholic I read that on the swf site and that gave me some hope. It just hasn't looked good from the moment I put him in.

 

[reefaholic33]

Well it seems like your doing things right assuming your water is in good shape, but to be honest they are very, very tough. I had a huge bobbit worm munching on mine at night and during the day he would still open up, a little smaller than before, but still open up. Hopefully it was just chance he is shedding right when you got him! BTLDreef said that she thought it was shedding so I would def. trust her opinion.

 

[cam78]

When I used to have a leather it would deflate before shedding. This is common for them. Just leave it be, it should be fine. Good luck