Acans seem like they are turning brown?

[Marcellina]

I had orange acans that I placed on the middle top rock of my tank. That is where they seemed the happiest. They were at their biggest and bulbous up there. I have had it a little over a month and the three heads and they had little back acans at the base about 4 of them. Tonight I noticed that this acan was shriveled up and hard I never saw it like that before! I have two other acans at the bottom of the tank and they were the same way! Now I turned the lights off for awhile and decided to check on the tank and they look like they are starting to puff once the light goes on???

The top orange acan's baby acans are a little bit brown. What can it be? Is it dying?

I am having a bit of a brown algae issue in my tank, not overwhelming just enough to be ugly. I added a phosphate binder in my middle chamber bw the filter floss and the chemipure.

 

[Josh]

Do you have a photo of the acans? They could just be changing color due to lighting or some morphing.

P.S. The phosphate binder should be in its own reactor, it needs to trickle/tumble and it won't do that in between two other filters.

 

[SevTT]

I had orange acans that I placed on the middle top rock of my tank. That is where they seemed the happiest. They were at their biggest and bulbous up there. I have had it a little over a month and the three heads and they had little back acans at the base about 4 of them. Tonight I noticed that this acan was shriveled up and hard I never saw it like that before! I have two other acans at the bottom of the tank and they were the same way! Now I turned the lights off for awhile and decided to check on the tank and they look like they are starting to puff once the light goes on???

The top orange acan's baby acans are a little bit brown. What can it be? Is it dying?

I am having a bit of a brown algae issue in my tank, not overwhelming just enough to be ugly. I added a phosphate binder in my middle chamber bw the filter floss and the chemipure.

Acans usually deflate at night when they extend all their feeder tentacles. Were the lights off when you noticed this?

 

[Awibrandy]

Have you checked all of your parameters? Please post them, as well as a pic if you can.

 

[flipit13]

i would check parameters mainly alk & mag those are the 2 factors that would change the colors since they have been in the same spot for awhile.

 

[Marcellina]

Thanks for your help everyone.

My parameters were
SG 1.025
Nitrite: .5
Nitrate 5
Ammonia 0
PH 8.2
Phosphates .5
Calcium 340
Alk: 9 dKH

The ones that were brown looking were on the underside of the bigger heads. They seem to look ok now. I had never seen the acans so retracting like that before.

I did a 5G water change yesterday as well and they all look good now. Could they have reacted that way bc the nitrite was bit up?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Pics please?

 

[Marcellina]

It kind of hard to tank a photo of them bc there is a shadow. Its the heads that are on the bottom that were 'browned' I think they may still be brown but the inflate and eat so that seems like a good sign.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Looks fine.

 

[saltygeek75]

they look ok there tents are out. maybe the lights are running to many hrs a day

 

[Marcellina]

Thanks for the responses. I wasnt able to take the picture when they were super retracted.

The top big ones are the correct color, orange. The one directly under the big head on the left and the one to the right of that still are brownish.

This is a coral that someone gave me for free, he said it was an acan. He kept it on the top of his tank. I have 2 other acans that are much smaller than this and they like bottom placement. I glued one to the side of my bottom LR and the other is in the sand. All three had retracted alot that one time, so much that they didnt look like rings but solid colors, my purple and red just looked red, my red and blue just looked solid red too. Now they all seem back to normal.

This one pictured is the only one that has the smaller heads that changed from orange to brown though. It is an acan right? Its not a blastomussa is it?