OUCH! Colt Coral not looking so good.

[Dewman]

I just got back from a trip yesterday and noticed that my Colt which usually is about 10" high and feathery, now looks like Cauliflower and is about 4 inches tall.
All of the polyps are closed so tight, they are almost black. The trunk is all wrinkled and shriveled.

I pumped about 2ml of DT's over the top of it and it opened a little, but I cannot figure out what is wrong.

Here are my param's, all taken with Salifert test kits.

30 Oceanic cube/ 45 gallon system (with sump)
Temp - between 76.8 and 77.4 always
NO2 /3 - undetectable
Salinity - 1.020 +/-
DKH- 9
CAL -above 490
PH - just below 8.2/ 8.165 (Salifert/Probe)
150 watt 20K MH / with actinic supplementation set on an 11 hour day.

I Dose with B-ionic 2 part and with 2 teaspoons of Strontium/Molybdnum per week.
30 drops of ESV potassium iodide per week.

The only other things I see are the pom xenia is not as feathery and the green star polyps are about 3/4 extended.

Any ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

You have clowns?

They have a host?

Betcha five sump bucks they were "playing" in the colt, and it is not happy about it!

Keep an eye on it, but I bet it will be OK!

 

[davesafc]

i have a colt myself and a few weeks ago it sagged and drooped like a bunch of grapes, the buds also went in but not like they did when lights go out more like shrivelled one branch also fell off and ithought it was a goner!. i moved it to a good flow and about 15 inches under light (triple 39w t5's) left it alone and eventually it came back out bit by bit now its dropping a few branches but looks really healthy .


gl

 

[Dewman]

Thanks,

Yeah, the clown has a Green BTA that is about 9 inches across, and he loves the thing. It's hard to get him to go anywhere else in the tank.
I have never seen him in the Colt, but stranger things have happened.

I am thinking since all of the softies are having the same problems, it may be chemistry somehow still.
I'm going to keep an eye on it a couple more days and see what happens.

 

[trido]

Salinity - 1.020 +/-
DKH- 9
CAL -above 490
I am thinking since all of the softies are having the same problems, it may be chemistry somehow still.

Do you run carbon?
IMO your salinity is low and your balance between dkh and Ca is off. 1.020 is what the LFS keeps their fish only systems at to keep parasites better at bay. 1.025 is a better target for a reef tank. Do you test for Magnesium? Low Mg can cause you to get an imbalance between alk and Ca. Levels closer to 1300 keep things more balanced. I just learned this by doing it. A few good water changes and you will probably be right back on track. Mg can easily be dosed with a few DIY recipies. Here is one, http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... 4/chem.htm Look for part three. Here is a good dosing calculator for supplementation http://reef.diesyst.com/.

I still think that water changes can work wonders.

 

[Anonymous]

I still think that water changes can work wonders.

Ayup, most underrated technique for keeping a sucessful reef IME/IMhO.

 

[Dewman]

trido

I took my salinity up to 1.025 today.
DKH is about 8 (point something) today and Cal levels are still around 490.

I thought a High DKH and High Cal level were good?
I have seen Calcium reactors telling folks that it could keep DKH up around 11 8O
So does my DKH need to be higher? 11 Seems a little high to me but I can start adding more alk buffer.
My Calcium levels have always been above 400.

 

[davesafc]

just to add, could lighting not be the problem as i know colt corals are a fairly low light coral and mine starts to retract after about 9 hours under triple t5's ( about 15" under surface), i used to have a nano with a single 50/50 light and the colt was fine but once i moved to my current tank with the t5's im sure it wasnt long after when it started to deteriorate. as said previously i left it and after a few weeks it came back to life no target feeding done at all.

could 11 hours under halides not be the cause?

 

[trido]

I am far from an expert in Dkh/Ca balance. Alot of reefers with SPS tanks try to run the dkh at closer to 11 and the Ca. at near 450. I was just observing that your Dkh seemed low for as high as your Ca. is. I have finally got my Ca. to 400 and Dkh to 10.2 and feel that this is a good balance for this level. My Ca has always ran low until I brought my Mg. level up.
With the chemistry calculator that I posted above. It claims that a perfect Alk/Ca. balance (closest to NSW, but not a target) with Ca levels of 490, are off my Salifert charts at near 20 Dkh. A perfect balance with Ca. levels at 450, is a Dkh of 12.5.

Regardless of any of it, I dont have a clue if the Ca/Dkh would have a bad effect on a softy. I still think that a couple water changes, and higher salinity should do the trick for you. A little chemistry is just a nice bonus. Vacations can be a bugger, I came home to a sick brain coral after my last one.

 

[saltank]

Dewman. Did you say "I took my salinity up to 1.025 today"?

This type of change should be done gradually, over weeks or perhaps months for a change of that significance.

It is not unusual for colt corals to display the behavior now and then that you are describing. As for the previous post, a branch or bud dropping of is its method of reproducing.

Iwould also be careful with the iodide additions, very easy to overdose. I agree with previous posters, rely on water changes to replenish these types of trace elements, this way you won't overdose.