[Norvern Rob]

Hi all

I noticed this in the recent SPS shoot -



I got one the same from Jasons about 2 months ago, but since then it's dropped quite a bit of colour and has developed a few pale patches. All other SPS are fine and generally colour up nicely. I've tried it up in the light with strong flow and now 3/4 of the way down the tank with less flow, but it still doesn't look happy, in fact it seems to be going downhill quicker now than before.

Can anyone who's had success with them give me some info on how they have it positioned, as i'm tempted to break it up and try it in several spots around the tank.

Cheers

Rob

[Tony B]

Hi Rob,

Can I see a full tank shot please?

Also one close up of the above coral and a couple of close ups of your colourful corals too?

Please also list full water parameters?

Did you check the coral for bugs or parasites?

Regards,

Tony

[Norvern Rob]

Tony B, on May 27 2008, 08:58 PM, said:

Hi Rob,

Can I see a full tank shot please?

Also one close up of the above coral and a couple of close ups of your colourful corals too?

Please also list full water parameters?

Did you check the coral for bugs or parasites?

Regards,

Tony

Hi Tony

Pics are a problem, I only have a point and shoot so colours show all washed out. I'll put a few pics up if it helps at all though.




This is the coral in question when I got it - I haven't got the camera at present but it's basically a lot duller and has lighter patches on it in several places. Will try and get a pic tomorrow.




These before/after pics are all within 2-3 months, some less.

This is actually bright blue with green polyps, very poor pics










top 2" is now bright purple




This was brown when I got it


Params are: (All kits Salifert, PH is with a Pinpoint probe)

Ca 420
Mag 1300
Alk 7.7 These 3 are maintained with balling light so remain stable.

PH 8.0-8.1
PO4 - no reading on Salifert kit with doubled sensitivity, so somewhere under 0.03
NO3 - 0.2-0.5
Temp - 25.5 - 26.5

Main tank is 4x2x3, 150 gallons with 40 gallon sump.
2x400w Marine Lux lamps a couple of months old.
250g Rowacarbon run 24/7 in the sump, bag kneaded every couple of days.

Tank has no issues other than this, I've checked with naked eye for bugs but haven't checked with a magnifying glass yet.

Hope thats some help.

Cheers

Rob

[lindsay]

Hi m8 is this acro the one on the 13 th March 08 sps shoot number 29 .If it is it , it was quite high under 250 w 10k in good but not strong flow .The alk of the sps tank is kept at 9.3 to 10 .Is the acro clear of crabs ,check at night as this is when they are most active esp small teddy bear crabs ,a long shot but quite common with a lot of sps .

[Twistedpro]

i have this coral and its positioned around 5" under a 400w 12k colour is good and the growth is quick, i had a second frag is less light and the colour was still good but the growth had stopped. It might be worth giving the coral a dip in something like two little fishes coral revive and see if anything comes off

[Tony B]

Hi Rob,

Firstly, thank you for answering all my questions and requests.

The photos are not the best but they're OK and I would suggest you look at two things:

#1. Environment (light, flow, nutrients, additives etc).

#2. Bugs/parasites. You will not see red bugs with the naked eye, microscope is best or a very strong macro lense.

Before we get carried away looking for bugs and examining your animal husbandry, the coral does not look (to me) too bad, yes it's not doing very well, but sometimes they can take a month or more to settle.

How long have you had the coral? During this time, how many times have you moved it?

Do you dose any additives? If so, please detail?

Peter's advise regarding a dip in TLF Revive Coral Cleaner is good, but you will need to know what to look for as masses of critters fly off the coral's base when you dip them (most if not all are good guys) so 'train' your eye to spot the nasty stuff.

Many thanks,

Tony

[Tony B]

Norvern Rob, on May 27 2008, 10:02 PM, said:

I haven't got the camera at present but it's basically a lot duller and has lighter patches on it in several places. Will try and get a pic tomorrow.

This is not a good sign, pictures will help please.

[PeterC]

Can't help at the moment, but when I get it I'll keep you posted

Lindsay: It was 24th May shoot

[Social D]

I dont know if this is the same coral but no matter where i place this one its not happy in my tank
Not lost all its colour but i cant find the right place for it!.

[Norvern Rob]

Tim, on May 28 2008, 10:18 PM, said:

I dont know if this is the same coral but no matter where i place this one its not happy in my tank
Not lost all its colour but i cant find the right place for it!.

Hi Tim

Colours are definitely the same, growth pattern is different but obviously that could be just environmental factors when it was grown.

Girlfriend has left the camera at work and she's off until wednesday But mine is going downhill fast and I don't think it's going to survive. I've given it a dip in coral revive and all that came off was pods, definitely nothing I couldn't identify.

I think i'm going to frag off as much good tissue as I can and put it in different positions, but it definitely went downhill much faster when I placed it further down with less flow.

[ziggy]

Norvern Rob, on May 30 2008, 02:46 PM, said:

Hi Tim

Colours are definitely the same, growth pattern is different but obviously that could be just environmental factors when it was grown.

Girlfriend has left the camera at work and she's off until wednesday But mine is going downhill fast and I don't think it's going to survive. I've given it a dip in coral revive and all that came off was pods, definitely nothing I couldn't identify.

I think i'm going to frag off as much good tissue as I can and put it in different positions, but it definitely went downhill much faster when I placed it further down with less flow.

keep it in water preferably salt may see more colour.

[Simon Garratt]

Hi Rob.

Are you running ULNS..?

im hazarding a guess that the coral is suffering Alkalinity shock due to the wide difference between jasons system at 9-10DkH and your system at 7.7..

Ive noticed with my system that i run at a constant 8-9 DkH that if anything happens that allows the DKH to drop below 8.0 fairly quickly (reactor outlet pipe gets clogged etc) then corals rapidly loose pigment and start showing sighnes of stress.

Not enough to start stripping from the base or anything (that requires levels below 7.0) but they are very succeptable to shifts away from constant.

It may just be the case that this particular coral is more sensitive than other Sp and will take longer to adjust.


Regards

Si.