Metallic green bubble

[bubblegurl]

Hi, new to site, but have been browsing for a few months now. We have a 75 gl tank, set up in April this year. I just bought a metallic green bubble and a couple other corals this past weekend, but the green bubble has not opened up yet and I am worried, the other two look great and have been fun to watch, but the green one - nothing. I called the store I bought from and he asked me to bring in a water sample, and said because we were talking so much forgot about other supplements for these guys. I haven't been back to the store yet, will do so in the next day, but should I be concerned? Thanks for any feedback. Oh, all our parameters are good and have been stable for months!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubblegurl http:///forum/thread/387233/metallic-green-bubble#post_3405685
Hi, new to site, but have been browsing for a few months now. We have a 75 gl tank, set up in April this year. I just bought a metallic green bubble and a couple other corals this past weekend, but the green bubble has not opened up yet and I am worried, the other two look great and have been fun to watch, but the green one - nothing. I called the store I bought from and he asked me to bring in a water sample, and said because we were talking so much forgot about other supplements for these guys. I haven't been back to the store yet, will do so in the next day, but should I be concerned? Thanks for any feedback. Oh, all our parameters are good and have been stable for months!
Hi and welcome to the site.
If you do regular water changes you won't need to buy suppliments. NEVER dose what you don't test for. Instead of posting something like every thing is perfect, parameters are great......post the test result numbers. It's very hard to try and guess why a coral isn't opening if we don't have the numbers.
Bubble corals don't like too much flow (water current) if a power head is beating on it, it won't open. They like the light but not placed so high in the tank that the light cooks it either. In other words, corals need to find a happy place where the water and light is such that a coral will spread out and look it's best. And if it has too little light and no flow it won't be happy either.
If after a week the coral is not happy...place it someplace else in the tank and then wait a few days. Touching the coral or moving it around makes it think it's under attack and it will stay closed as a defense responce, so give it a few days to adjust after moving it.
Some corals will stay closed until it dies, they just don't make it. Water perameters, which might be perfect for everything else, isn't perfect for that coral. That's why you will hear people say something like..."I can't keep Xenia alive in my tank for nothing". Some corals just don't do well in certain tanks.
Pictures also help us help you.

 

[meowzer]

YUP...Welcome to the site
Can you tell us what type of lighting you have?

 

[bubblegurl]

Hi, thank you for replying. I will post the parameters later tonight. I checked this morning and it looks like a couple of the bubbles are filling a bit. I placed him in the centre of the tank on a medium rock, has water flow but the rock is slightly behind another one so shaded a bit. I will also post pictures to show placement. I haven't touched him since placing in the tank so will leave him for a few more days to see if he settles down. Our salinity is a bit high at 1.027, I did test the water in his bag and was at 1.021 when I brought him home. More to come later. Thanks!

 

[siptang]

Hello, can't really add to what meowser or flower has said above but I wanted to welcome you to the site!

 

[bubblegurl]

Thanks for the welcome! I did not get a chance to retest to post parameters or pics tonight but I did move him onto the sand earlier and he seemed to want to open up, so will see if it was a matter of location.
I've also read about RO and distilled water for water changes. I live in Canada and we have fairly soft water, we have so far been using just tap water and treating before adding. Any thoughts on this? The fellow in the fish store said not to bother as we have good minerals in our water and that is all he uses in his tanks which all look really good and his product all seems extremely healthy.
Cheers

 

[markpolo123]

Hi i am a new here hope i can learn more knowledge about fish here thanks everyone!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubblegurl http:///forum/thread/387233/metallic-green-bubble#post_3406176
Thanks for the welcome! I did not get a chance to retest to post parameters or pics tonight but I did move him onto the sand earlier and he seemed to want to open up, so will see if it was a matter of location.
I've also read about RO and distilled water for water changes. I live in Canada and we have fairly soft water, we have so far been using just tap water and treating before adding. Any thoughts on this? The fellow in the fish store said not to bother as we have good minerals in our water and that is all he uses in his tanks which all look really good and his product all seems extremely healthy.
Cheers
Water treatment plants treat the drinking water with stuff to kill bacteria....we are trying to cultivate heathy for our fish bacteria. There is more in the tap water than chlorine, you can't even test for it. Your fish don't need Fluoride for their teeth....the drinking water from your tap is not good for your fish tank. It isn't a matter of how soft the water is. We want only the chemicals we put in the tank from our salt mix and suppliments.
I am not from Canada and I can only speak for my part of the world. I imagine water treatment is the same all over but who knows.

 

[bubblegurl]

I've done a water change and retested the following.:
Salinity 1.022
Ph 8.5
Nitrites 0.0
Nitrates 0.0
Amonia 0.0
Kh 100
Gh - no reading
I'm using nutrafin test drops and API test strips. I don't have anything to test anything else with. My frogspawn closed up when I added the water and hasn't reopened yet and my brain coral is half way out. These two were both fully expanded prior to water change so not concerned. My bubble was fully retracted prior to change and there's about 6 bubbles that are slightly filled, which is better than what it was doing before. Is this enough info?
Thanks

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubblegurl http:///forum/thread/387233/metallic-green-bubble#post_3406499
I've done a water change and retested the following.:
Salinity 1.022
Ph 8.5
Nitrites 0.0
Nitrates 0.0
Amonia 0.0
Kh 100
Gh - no reading
I'm using nutrafin test drops and API test strips. I don't have anything to test anything else with. My frogspawn closed up when I added the water and hasn't reopened yet and my brain coral is half way out. These two were both fully expanded prior to water change so not concerned. My bubble was fully retracted prior to change and there's about 6 bubbles that are slightly filled, which is better than what it was doing before. Is this enough info?
Thanks
UMMM...KH should be around 9-12...100 is WAY high. 8.2 to the highest 8.4 for PH so that also is high...I don't know what gh is. Either you are doing the test wrong, the kits are old or you have some major issues going on. SG could be higher too. Regular warer changes would have everything more stable than your readings....and since you just did a water change I think the tests are off or done wrong.
I don't like API or nutrafin test kits...I use Seachem. Each test comes with a way to double check that the readings are correct and the test kit is still accurate.

 

[bubblegurl]

The KH kit says to multiple number of drops by 10 until it changes to yellow and then compare to chart - it took 10 drops to change the color, therefore the reading was 100, might have missed a step. I will re-read this as according to this test, it was on the low side. I will provide this info later. GH is general health I don't like this test kit as the results seem to be a bit subjective on lighting in the area to compare with color charts. My readings erred on the side of caution and I went with the higher readings. I tested about 2 hours after the water change.
I haven't been the one completing water changes and just found out our last one was in June (yikes), so I have now taken this job over, apparently we've just been adding water, i know how bad this is and I guess we've been lucky to not have anything catastrophic happen. I'm a bit discouraged at the moment, but hopefully can get this right soon. I've spent loads of money this week on this between the corals and calcium and other stuff for the tank. I'm at work at the moment but will give a rundown on what I've picked upt but wow do I feel like a "bad parent". What is SG btw?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubblegurl http:///forum/thread/387233/metallic-green-bubble#post_3406769
The KH kit says to multiple number of drops by 10 until it changes to yellow and then compare to chart - it took 10 drops to change the color, therefore the reading was 100, might have missed a step. I will re-read this as according to this test, it was on the low side. I will provide this info later. GH is general health I don't like this test kit as the results seem to be a bit subjective on lighting in the area to compare with color charts. My readings erred on the side of caution and I went with the higher readings. I tested about 2 hours after the water change.
I haven't been the one completing water changes and just found out our last one was in June (yikes), so I have now taken this job over, apparently we've just been adding water, i know how bad this is and I guess we've been lucky to not have anything catastrophic happen. I'm a bit discouraged at the moment, but hopefully can get this right soon. I've spent loads of money this week on this between the corals and calcium and other stuff for the tank. I'm at work at the moment but will give a rundown on what I've picked upt but wow do I feel like a "bad parent". What is SG btw?
I don't know what test kit you used...if is API you DIVIDE the number by 1/2 which would be the number 5 as a result. Your number could be right, it just sounds odd to me, I'm no expert and every kit says what a good number should be for a healthy tank, what does your test kit say the numbers SHOULD be?
SG = Specific Gravity (the salt level)

 

[bubblegurl]

Good morning and happy saturday! I have redone a couple of tests as follows
Salinity - 1.024, sg- 32
Kh- 100 nutrition test reads to determine the general hardness in mg/L (ppm) as calcium carbonate 105-125 mg/L=ideal range for saltwater conditions. Therefore my reading is lower and it says to add buffer.
Ph-8.5
I have picked up the following:
Reef pure concentrated calcium supplement
Magnesium komplex-korallen-zucht
Strontium komplex -korrallen-zucht
Pohl's k balance potassium concentrate
Reef pure marine ph buffer
I have added the ph buffer yesterday - no change today and have added in the calcium supplement 2 dosing out of 3 for the week no change in readings.
My green bubble is showing more activity and a few bubbles are have filled this morning but it looks nowhere close to what it did in the store yet.
I've just updated my photos and will load a few up. Regarding lights and equip, I will have to confirm.
I sure appreciate the feedback! Thanks

 

[bubblegurl]

 

[meowzer]

IDK why you bought all those"supplements"....as mentioned earlier...by doing regular w/c's you should be fine...I personally would not use that stuff
ANYWAY....you have terrible lighting for a couple of those corals....I have seen frogspawn live with pcs, BUT I highly doubt tose other 2 will.... Bubble corals need better lighting as does your other, which looks like a brain to me....slang name would be doughnut coral or button

 

[bubblegurl]

Thanks Meowzer!! I guess I'm just trusting what the lfs is telling me regarding the supplements. I need to check the lighting with my bf. All I know is one is blue, other is white. We were told at the time it was a good place to start.
I did a water change Thurs night. Should I do one a week until things are right or should I do another one right away? I'm going to look through the forum on recommended reading and lighting. We have had issues with red algae, but we have figured out its from the pellets we were feeding the fish. We stopped for a few weeks and it went away. Started again and it showed up so no more pellets. We've tried to remove as much as possible but it really sticks to the sand.
Biggest problem I think we are having is finding trustworthy sources. With what you are seeing in the pics and info, do you see anything critical that I should address right away? My bubble seems to be progressing daily and obviously don't want to lose him.
There are two large stores we've been buying from and a smaller store where i got my corals. Another guy in the store had been buying his stuff for years from this place so I feel somewhat comfortable but this store recommended all the supplements too.
My brain coral is a blast to watch!! One of the kids picked out the frogspawn, and the bubble was gorgeous in the store!!

 

[meowzer]

first food....ditch pellets and/or flake.....buy some frozen foods like mysis, marine cuisine, emerald entree to start...and do not over feed
I would return all those supplements...see if you can trade for the frozne foods...LOL
A weekly w/c should be fine I think....make sure you use ro water and mix the new sw for 24hours in a bucket with a powerhead....read the stickies on the top of the new hobbyist section....that will help you with some things also
I would look into better lighting as soon as you can

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubblegurl http:///forum/thread/387233/metallic-green-bubble#post_3407275
Thanks Meowzer!! I guess I'm just trusting what the lfs is telling me regarding the supplements. I need to check the lighting with my bf. All I know is one is blue, other is white. We were told at the time it was a good place to start.
I did a water change Thurs night. Should I do one a week until things are right or should I do another one right away? I'm going to look through the forum on recommended reading and lighting. We have had issues with red algae, but we have figured out its from the pellets we were feeding the fish. We stopped for a few weeks and it went away. Started again and it showed up so no more pellets. We've tried to remove as much as possible but it really sticks to the sand.
Biggest problem I think we are having is finding trustworthy sources. With what you are seeing in the pics and info, do you see anything critical that I should address right away? My bubble seems to be progressing daily and obviously don't want to lose him.
There are two large stores we've been buying from and a smaller store where i got my corals. Another guy in the store had been buying his stuff for years from this place so I feel somewhat comfortable but this store recommended all the supplements too.
My brain coral is a blast to watch!! One of the kids picked out the frogspawn, and the bubble was gorgeous in the store!!
Hi,
One white and one blue is a low line power compact light, good only for soft corals, the corals you have need higher light. I sent you a PM

 

[bubblegurl]

That's fantastic advice thank you so much!! Don't think I'll be able to return the supplements, but will pack them away. I did add what foods we are currently using into my profile, we have alot of it at the moment.
Will look into lighting, I know it cost us over $300 at the time. The PM hasn't shown up yet, I have to run out for a bit. Check back later!
Cheers

 

[bubblegurl]

Well I think there's finally progress. Stopped at the lfs this weekend to discuss the issues with my bubble. We discussed lighting and decided to add the Vertex illumina led lights to work with our t5s. We placed on the tank asap and my bubble started to show signs of improvement within hours. I don't know about feeding but I put some mysis shrimp on him tonight, left it for an hour then turned out the lights. Just went to check and what a difference. He was almost fully inflated and tentacles out, had to switch the light back on bec I couldn't believe what I was seeing!! I've read about LEDs and understand there are conflicting opinions, but for now it works. Will stick to soft corals going forward, but right now, huge relief! Will post updated pics this week! Also bought better testing kits for calcium, magnesium and ph and treating red algae, with water change later this week think we are on the right track. I hope so anyway!