What's wrong with my leather finger coral?

griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
I noticed a few yellow spots on my coral yesterday morning...Has anyone seen this before? Can anyone identify it? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
Thursday night the coral had been knocked over by a turbo snail or something....and was face down in the sand...I don't know if this has had any effects on it? I also noticed that is had been bumped by something after I had replaced it back to its spot and one of the fingers were touching the live rock in the tank...maybe this has something to do with the spots.
 
N

nemo_66

Guest
i dont know about the yellow spots, but it might not open for two or three days since it was face down in the sand. good luck finding info.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
what are your water parameters at?
leathers close up like this on occasion as they grow and sloth off a wax layer they can stay closed for 2-3 days at a time while this happens. To rule out something else the water parameters will help in that.
Mike
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
did they give you a numerical number for the readings.
LFS's idea of OK is not always what we want in our tanks.
IE the LFS I went to long time ago decided that up to .5 ammonia was expected and ok 1ppm nitrite was OK and salinity of 1.019 is OK and all inline.
which in fact .5 ammonia is deadly 1ppm nitrite is deadly and 1.019 is alright for fish but inverts need it higher around 1.025-1.026.
Do you have your own test kits if not I would suggest getting a set and then having readings double checked by the LFS and ask for actual number readings instead of a generic its OK and good to go.
Mike
 
griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2638528
did they give you a numerical number for the readings.
LFS's idea of OK is not always what we want in our tanks.
IE the LFS I went to long time ago decided that up to .5 ammonia was expected and ok 1ppm nitrite was OK and salinity of 1.019 is OK and all inline.
which in fact .5 ammonia is deadly 1ppm nitrite is deadly and 1.019 is alright for fish but inverts need it higher around 1.025-1.026.
Do you have your own test kits if not I would suggest getting a set and then having readings double checked by the LFS and ask for actual number readings instead of a generic its OK and good to go.
Mike

I know what you mean Mike. I have great trust in this LFS and they have been more that helpful on their end.
I do have my own test kit and will double check the readings.
THank you for your help.
 
griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
pH - 7.8 (lights have only been on 1 hour so far today when I ran this test. I was told you should have them on for about 4-5 hours before you test this. I will retest this one some hours later and see what it reads then.)
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 20 ppm
I had them test the calcium a couple weeks back at the LFS and they gave me some calcium blocks to raise it back up into the proper range.
2 weeks ago calcium was about 280....1 week later it was 380...and then they gave me another block to get it up into the proper range.
I also just purchased some Kent Marine Iodine and Kent Marine Essential Elements yesterday. I added them for the first time yesterday.
 
griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2638495
what are your water parameters at?
leathers close up like this on occasion as they grow and sloth off a wax layer they can stay closed for 2-3 days at a time while this happens. To rule out something else the water parameters will help in that.
Mike

I did see what you say as somewhat of a "wax" layer on it. It appeared to be a little bit glazed or "shiny" looking. I have directed some more current at it from the powerhead to assist it in shedding this layer. The coral has not opened up completely yet today either.
Is this correct???
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
what are the blocks your talking about? I have never seen these. I would look at a good 2 part calcium supplement like kents it will go farther in helping maintain levels.
Do you have a test kit for the iodine and elements? if not you really dont want to add them. The iodine isnt used up as much or fast as other elements and can become toxic if levels get to high. The elements IMO are a waste of money there is nothing in there that a water change wont readd back into the tank when they are done on a regular basis.
Do you have a sump or refugium on your tank>?
Mike
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
yeah it wont open all the way back up till the wax layer is shed off the coral it can take a few days though but its the corals way of cleaning itslef aswell. kinda like a snake does.
Mike
 
tankgeeks

tankgeeks

Member
what kind of flow is it getting? water flow will help keep detrius from settling on it and irritating it (for a leather low flow will do, dont blast it)....if youre saying it has a waxy layer on top it would be a good idea to get some more flow in its direction to help it clean itself off. just a suggestion..... good luck!
 
griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2638563
what are the blocks your talking about? I have never seen these. I would look at a good 2 part calcium supplement like kents it will go farther in helping maintain levels.
Do you have a test kit for the iodine and elements? if not you really dont want to add them. The iodine isnt used up as much or fast as other elements and can become toxic if levels get to high. The elements IMO are a waste of money there is nothing in there that a water change wont readd back into the tank when they are done on a regular basis.
Do you have a sump or refugium on your tank>?
Mike
These are the blocks I was talking about.
****
I do not have an iodine test or elements test kit.
I use an emperor 280 without the biowheel.
 
griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
Originally Posted by Tankgeeks
http:///forum/post/2638597
what kind of flow is it getting? water flow will help keep detrius from settling on it and irritating it (for a leather low flow will do, dont blast it)....if youre saying it has a waxy layer on top it would be a good idea to get some more flow in its direction to help it clean itself off. just a suggestion..... good luck!
I have redirected the powerhead this morning so the leather is getting more flow.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
I deleted the link to that store since SWF.com is a store links to competitors is not allowed to be posted.
I will look those up and see what I can find though
since you dont have a test kit for the iodine and such I wouldnt add anymore till you got one it can be disasterous if it gets to high.
Mike
 
griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2638661
I deleted the link to that store since SWF.com is a store links to competitors is not allowed to be posted.
I will look those up and see what I can find though
since you dont have a test kit for the iodine and such I wouldnt add anymore till you got one it can be disasterous if it gets to high.
Mike
Sorry about the link...I should have known that.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
IMO they are a waste of money. The salt that we use has all of the elements in them so a water change will readd them back into the water as we do regular tank maintence.
there are alot of chemicals and such out there that sound good and claim to readd what the tank needs etc. but in reality unless you have a massive SPS tank and the tank uses them super fast there is no need for these aditives.
Mike
 
griffey_mojo

griffey_mojo

New Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2638677
IMO they are a waste of money. The salt that we use has all of the elements in them so a water change will readd them back into the water as we do regular tank maintence.
there are alot of chemicals and such out there that sound good and claim to readd what the tank needs etc. but in reality unless you have a massive SPS tank and the tank uses them super fast there is no need for these aditives.
Mike
I always get my water from the LFS premixed.
I change my water every first of the month.
I have a 54 gallon with 60 lbs of LR and there is just a torch coral and the leather finger coral in there so far. along with 2 maroon clowns and a yellow tang...and a bubble tip anemone for the clowns....12 turbo snails...50 blue legs...8 nassarius snails...and 1 horseshoe crab.
 
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