saltwaterkid
Member
Anybody have success with these corals? They are very bright in color and look amazing. I've had my eye on one at my LFS.
Yellow Fiji Leather
- Thread starter saltwaterkid
- Start date
saltwaterkid
Member
My brand new yellow fiji leather doesn't seem to be doing so well. I got him yesterday and he continues to shrink. I placed him towards the top of the tank when I got him because I thought they required intense light because of their yellow color. I have now placed him near the bottom to see if any changes happen. My water parameters have never been better. All of my other corals are fully open and growing by the second. I will post water parameters in about an hour to update you on what they are. My lighting consists of 6 VHO bulbs (3 white, 3 blue). I had him placed about 3 inches away from the lights. Now he is probably 12 inches away. Anybody know what might be the problem? Is it shock from him just arriving? Should I just be patient and wait a few days?
saltwaterkid
Member
Here are my water specs. They don't seem to be the problem.
ph = 8.2
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrites = 0ppm
nitrates = 5ppm
alkalinity = 9.0dkh
calcium = 400ppm (could be a tad higher)
any ideas?
ph = 8.2
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrites = 0ppm
nitrates = 5ppm
alkalinity = 9.0dkh
calcium = 400ppm (could be a tad higher)
any ideas?
saltwaterkid
Member
Phosphates are undetectable and the alk in me/l was about 3.2.
green mariner
New Member
Sarcophyton Elegans, are one of the harder leather corals to keep. They require high amounts of light and water flow, without the high water flow they tend to sag and then disintegrate. The hardest thing about them is finding a healthy one. If you should buy one and it takes a turn for the worse my advice would be to frag it into smaller pieces. I got one about 6 mos. ago, it looked very bad in the LFS but I bought it with the intention of fragging it, I now have 3 frags that are doing very well!!
HTH
HTH
saltwaterkid
Member
So you are recommending me putting it back up towards the top of the rockwork where the light is more intense and the water current is more rapid? As for fragging it, I'd probably do more damage attempting to frag it since i've never done that before.
green mariner
New Member
SK, yes, I would try to move it to different locations to see how it reacts! If it starts to look worse then try to frag it!
To frag it all you would need to do is cut it along the upper rim of the coral, then place it on a rock and cover it with wedding veil until it attaches. Sarcophyton elegans will take longer to attach than most leathers, possibly 3 to 4 weeks, mine took about that long! Once you have fragged them and they have attached to the rocks you will have some very nice frags, you will have to make sure that the frags have high amounts of light and good water flow over them!
HTH
Oh yea, I almost forgot if you decide to frag it, what I did was mix some lugols solution with some tank water and soak it for about 5 to 10 mins. before I fragged it and I also placed the cut frags into the soluton for about the same amount of time then I placed them on the rocks and coverd them with the wedding veil until they attached.
You could also try dipping in a strong mix of lugols for about 5 to 10 mins. to see if that helps before you try different locations in the tank. If you decide to frag it and would like some tips feel free to e-mail me. greenmariner@home.com
[ May 25, 2001: Message edited by: Green Mariner ]
To frag it all you would need to do is cut it along the upper rim of the coral, then place it on a rock and cover it with wedding veil until it attaches. Sarcophyton elegans will take longer to attach than most leathers, possibly 3 to 4 weeks, mine took about that long! Once you have fragged them and they have attached to the rocks you will have some very nice frags, you will have to make sure that the frags have high amounts of light and good water flow over them!
HTH
Oh yea, I almost forgot if you decide to frag it, what I did was mix some lugols solution with some tank water and soak it for about 5 to 10 mins. before I fragged it and I also placed the cut frags into the soluton for about the same amount of time then I placed them on the rocks and coverd them with the wedding veil until they attached.
You could also try dipping in a strong mix of lugols for about 5 to 10 mins. to see if that helps before you try different locations in the tank. If you decide to frag it and would like some tips feel free to e-mail me. greenmariner@home.com
[ May 25, 2001: Message edited by: Green Mariner ]
saltwaterkid
Member
Thanks, I'll take a look at the coral when I get home from work and see how it looks. I'll then try doing a lugol's dip and see if that helps. If not, I'll email you tomorrow on how I should frag it. Thanks again for everybody's help.
saltwaterkid
Member
Well, I filled a large cup full of tank water and then added 10 drops of Lugol's solution to it. Wasn't exactly sure how much solution to add but the bottle said add 40 drops to every gallon for dipping corals. I figured my extra large cup was 1/4 of a gallon or close to it. I left it in there for about 3-5 minutes and then placed it back in the tank on the upper shelf of the rockwork. I instantly noticed a difference. It's pores opened up and the coral opened up a little more. Then 10 minutes later my lights went off. Oh well, we'll see what tomorrow brings. 
paulytee
Member
Saltwaterkid- I have a couple of basic leather corals(im bad w/ scientific names!) and when i added each one they shrank and stayed small for about 2-3 days. It's my opinion that the corals get a little stressed from the move and the change in water.
I was worried but after the 2-3 days, they opened up when the lights went on in the morning, when I did my feedings, and just random sometimes. Also, I read,and heard from my LFS buddy that a higher temperature change in your tank will cause the leathers not to open his pores. I had to run 3 fans to cool my tank the other day when it hit 98 degrees outside and my water temp hit 83 degrees! Just another idea/opinion to think about!
Good luck!
I was worried but after the 2-3 days, they opened up when the lights went on in the morning, when I did my feedings, and just random sometimes. Also, I read,and heard from my LFS buddy that a higher temperature change in your tank will cause the leathers not to open his pores. I had to run 3 fans to cool my tank the other day when it hit 98 degrees outside and my water temp hit 83 degrees! Just another idea/opinion to think about!
Good luck!