What could be wrong with my Ric's?

[cam78]

I got purple Ric's about two weeks ago that had about 20 rics. The LFS had them for only about a day or two before I snatched them up (which were under MH). I brought them home and they were fine until I came home from vacation 2 days ago. They were melting (dying) and there were not nearly as many on the rock as there were. I have PC's and had them placed mid high in my tank. I lowered them yesterday because they weren't looking too hot.
My levels are:
Salt 1.024-1.025
Nitrite: 5ish
KH 6
PH: 7.8-8.0 kinda hard to tell it was a light purple
Calicum 360

 

[snaredrum]

PH is kind of low. Ca also a little low. hmm 5ish on the nitrite. What are the other parameters? NH, Nitrate, Phosphate, alk..

 

[shrimpi]

I assuming they werent aquacultured, many corals dont do well in the home aquarium, especially if theyve recently been 'taken'. Rics can be a pain.
was someone feeding your tank while you were gone? I suspect some overfeeding leading to poor water quality.
are there any other corals in the tank, if so how are they doing?

 

[theappe3]

I have a bunch of rics under PCs and they are all splitting and flourshing

 

[shrimpi]

Originally Posted by theappe3
I have a bunch of rics under PCs and they are all splitting and flourshing

Same here.. have pcs, tank is 22" tall and rics are on the bottom and doing wonderful.

but, I just bought MH (its not here yet) so we shall see how that effects them.

 

[cam78]

I just had another Ric come off of a rock? Whats going on here? This Ric has been in my tank for about 6 months. I guess I have to reattach it somewhere.

 

[shrimpi]

has anything changed in your tank that could make it unhappy? like a new skimmer thats not working well or working too well? or maybe different lights, or change in flow? whats your tank temp?

 

[myreef05]

Originally Posted by CAM78
I just had another Ric come off of a rock? Whats going on here? This Ric has been in my tank for about 6 months. I guess I have to reattach it somewhere.

That is one way they propagate. It jumped off the rock to start another colony.

 

[cam78]

Originally Posted by Shrimpi
has anything changed in your tank that could make it unhappy? like a new skimmer thats not working well or working too well? or maybe different lights, or change in flow? whats your tank temp?
Nothing has changed. The temp is about 79 degrees. Im lost here. These were my favorite in the tank. I guess they are just going to die? They look like they are bleaching, then turning to mush.

 

[cam78]

Originally Posted by myreef05
That is one way they propagate. It jumped off the rock to start another colony.
I can rubberband it right? How do I know how tight to make it?

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by CAM78
Nothing has changed. The temp is about 79 degrees. Im lost here. These were my favorite in the tank. I guess they are just going to die? They look like they are bleaching, then turning to mush.
RICs are expensive, take them back to the LFS tank and beg them to hold until you figure it out?
Mc

 

[farslayer]

Well, they've been moved from MH to PC, so maybe that's the problem? If they were used to MH they may simply not be adapting well to the PC lighting. Can you post a pic?

 

[cam78]

I could post a pic but there really is not much to see. Give me some time, I will post.

 

[fishgeek01]

Originally Posted by Farslayer
Well, they've been moved from MH to PC, so maybe that's the problem? If they were used to MH they may simply not be adapting well to the PC lighting. Can you post a pic?
maybe in line with this thought is the fact that the lfs had them for only a few days, so here is my take...
First they were probably were not aquacultured, meaning they were taken directly from the sea, shipped (causing stress) acclimated to a closed system (causing stress) Dropped under MH lights (causing a lot of stress) left there for a day or two to stress, then bagged and taken home (causing more stress) then placed under less lighting than they were already trying to get used to (causing more stress) that coupled with an elevated nitrite reading (causing a lot more stress) probably has them stressed a lot. Add to that an elevation in toxins due to possible over feeding while on vacation, and the fact that some have died while you were away causing more toxins and more stress. Add that to a low ph, low calcium and that is a lot of stress factors I would say that a few water changes are in order, maybe 5-10 % 2 times over the next week, shorten the light cycle just a little, and hope for the best. they are pretty stressed...
Them being stressed and the toxins are probably what also caused your ric of 6 months to jump ship and take a swim... re-attach and hope for the best...
Just my thoughts