Yellow leather?
- Thread starter jjgl
- Start date
saltaddict
Member
I have a leather in my tank now for 2 1/2 years. There are manu times when it will not open for weeks at a time . It seems to do this prior to sheding. Its very normal for them to do this.
slowest is fastest
Member
If your water parameters are OK and your lighting is adaquate then it may just be acclimating from the move. Sarcophyton elegans are a generally less hardy then other toadstools.
FWIW... In general a leather will only close up and develop a shiny, waxy coating when it needs to clean itself. If you find yours closing on a regular or consistant basis you may want to try and re-direct the flow in your tank to prevent anything from settling on it. If you have a toadstool that closes up for weeks at a time their is something wrong either with the coral or the tank (my expierence only).
Changing the location of the leather even within the same tank can cuase it to close for several days. The best thing IMO is to put it where you want it then leave it alone
I wouldn't worry about it unless the cap shows signs of deterioration or the stalk shrivels and becomes almost "woody" to the touch.
Good Luck
SiF
FWIW... In general a leather will only close up and develop a shiny, waxy coating when it needs to clean itself. If you find yours closing on a regular or consistant basis you may want to try and re-direct the flow in your tank to prevent anything from settling on it. If you have a toadstool that closes up for weeks at a time their is something wrong either with the coral or the tank (my expierence only).
Changing the location of the leather even within the same tank can cuase it to close for several days. The best thing IMO is to put it where you want it then leave it alone
I wouldn't worry about it unless the cap shows signs of deterioration or the stalk shrivels and becomes almost "woody" to the touch.Good Luck
SiF
slowest is fastest
Member
007
I should have another crop ready in a month or so...a small one for the nano?
SiF
PS I have been "lurking" around just not posting much
I should have another crop ready in a month or so...a small one for the nano?
SiF
PS I have been "lurking" around just not posting much
tush
Member
Could someone please tell me where a thread is for moving a leather coral. I just bought a real nice yellow leather coral only to find out that it is on a base made of shells. Needless to say the shells are breaking apart due to the weight of the leather. It can't stand up because of this. How do I put it on another rock. Never have done this before & pretty nervous to do this, but it is a must. Thanks.
slowest is fastest
Member
007...I will send you an email later today
Tush
If there is enough material left on the base of the leather (ie broken shells, rubble rock etc) then you can simply glue the coral to a new rock. I suspect that if it is, or was, attached to a rock then the base of the leather is much harder then the stalk. So even if there is nothing left on the coral you can still glue the leather directly to the new piece of rock. If you have to glue the leathers base directly to the new rock then you will have to support the leather until the glue fully dries and then maybe until the base attaches to the new rock (1-3 weeks) at which point it should be stable enough to stand on its own.
To glue it I would use super glue GEL. The regular super glue is to thin to use. Don't be stingy with the glue be sure to pile it on everywhere the coral or shells will meet the new rock. I would do this outside the tank. Gently pat the base dry and then the new rock it will be attached to. Apply the glue to the base of the coral then a puddle to the rock. Place the two together. The glue will generate heat so have a bowl of tank water ready and place the new rock with the coral into the bowl of water making sure to at least cover the glued area and being careful not to break it loose. The water will also help set the glue. Remember to lift it out of the water by the new base rock to prevent it from breaking loose. Replace the coral in the tank and discard thebowl of water. If you are able to glue to already attached shells etc then you should need no additional support. If not you may have to use additioanl rock or netting (bridal netting works great) to secure the base until the leather attaches to the new rock. Some people push a toothpick or plastic skewer through the base then attach that to the rock with rubberbands but I find that often does't work well with yellow leathers and simply causes the base to start rotting.
While not directly on topic I fragged one of my yellow leathers and many of the same things apply to a single piece, just on a larger scale, you can find the series of pics here
Fragging pics
Good Luck
SiF
Tush
If there is enough material left on the base of the leather (ie broken shells, rubble rock etc) then you can simply glue the coral to a new rock. I suspect that if it is, or was, attached to a rock then the base of the leather is much harder then the stalk. So even if there is nothing left on the coral you can still glue the leather directly to the new piece of rock. If you have to glue the leathers base directly to the new rock then you will have to support the leather until the glue fully dries and then maybe until the base attaches to the new rock (1-3 weeks) at which point it should be stable enough to stand on its own.
To glue it I would use super glue GEL. The regular super glue is to thin to use. Don't be stingy with the glue be sure to pile it on everywhere the coral or shells will meet the new rock. I would do this outside the tank. Gently pat the base dry and then the new rock it will be attached to. Apply the glue to the base of the coral then a puddle to the rock. Place the two together. The glue will generate heat so have a bowl of tank water ready and place the new rock with the coral into the bowl of water making sure to at least cover the glued area and being careful not to break it loose. The water will also help set the glue. Remember to lift it out of the water by the new base rock to prevent it from breaking loose. Replace the coral in the tank and discard thebowl of water. If you are able to glue to already attached shells etc then you should need no additional support. If not you may have to use additioanl rock or netting (bridal netting works great) to secure the base until the leather attaches to the new rock. Some people push a toothpick or plastic skewer through the base then attach that to the rock with rubberbands but I find that often does't work well with yellow leathers and simply causes the base to start rotting.
While not directly on topic I fragged one of my yellow leathers and many of the same things apply to a single piece, just on a larger scale, you can find the series of pics here
Fragging pics
Good Luck
SiF
slowest is fastest
Member
Looks like there is plenty left on the base to glue/attach to a new base rock. You should be fine :happyfish
Good Luck
SiF
Good Luck
SiF
tush
Member
:joy: Again, Many, many thanks. I was so worried about it, I posted my orginal message on 4 different boards, but you were the first to respond to my pleas & appreciate it very much. Don't want it to wilt away. I have another leather, not yellow though, & it's doing just fine. I am looking forward to a happy yellow. Here's a picture of my other one.
tush
Member
Below is a picture of another one of my coral. I'm also having trouble with it. As you might be able to see that it is lifting off it's rock & is not coming out like it should. My husband as seen a little, about the size of a quarter, what seems to be some kind of brittle star. I've seen it once & tried to catch it, but failed. The star looks white with little black stripes on the tenticals. I do see something that looks like the tenacles sticking out of the places where the coral is lifting. I can't seem to get whatever is underneath it. Any suggestions on how to get the little buggers? I thnink there is more than one under it. I circled the places it's lifting on the second picture.
slowest is fastest
Member
I hate to hijack this thread any further. Perhaps start a new one ....Ophiura, trouble with green star polyps and starfish.
Ophiura is the resident brittle star expert but FWIW I do not think the starfish are eating the GSP.
Start a new thread and I will post there if you do not get any answers.
SiF
Ophiura is the resident brittle star expert but FWIW I do not think the starfish are eating the GSP.
Start a new thread and I will post there if you do not get any answers.
SiF