Perpetually Shedding Toadstool Leather

uberlink

uberlink

Active Member
My toadstool leather never seems to stop shedding. He'll look nice and normal for two or three days, then go into a two or three day shedding cycle, and then repeat. Over and over again.
I thought these guys were supposed to shed once a month or so, not once a week!
My parameters are:
28 gallon tank
79.5 degrees
SG 1.025 (though it had gotten up to 1.029 a few weeks back...back to normal now)
Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites: 0
Calcium: 650 ppm (high, I know...no idea why)
I have a couple of clowns in the tank, who hardly go near the toadstool. Also have a cleaner shrimp, a brittle star, ten hermits, ten astrea snails, a colt coral, some mushroom polyps, and a lot of little zoo polyps.
Nothing is near the toadstool, though he is near a powerhead (doesn't blow directly on him) and he is near the tank's heater.
Any thoughts?
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
What other corals do you have in the tank? are your water changes often enough to keep your Iodine and strontium high? (though usually toadstools arent that picky) With you calcium so high it could be causeing your tank to percipitate magneseum (not sure) what is your alk? what is your general hardness?
to figure mag hardness just subtract your calcium hardness from your General hardness. and you will know by default (with out testing for it)
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
they also do this as they grow so if its growth rate is high it will shedd more often.
another reason for shedding is to clear debris off the coral so look and see if there might be a lot of debris getting on it from fish dropping stuff on it hermits walking on it that kind of thing.
Mike
 
reefrank

reefrank

New Member
Don't worry to much about this, it sounds to me like it is a good thing. Shedding, as mentioned previously is normally attributed to growth. Mine would shed about once a week, now its at about once every other month. It is huge as compared to six months ago, it has doubled in size.
As long as it isn't drooping your good.
 
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