I refuse to pull the plug

[Craig]

A few weeks ago at my LFS I saw a blue-ish leather that I regretted not buying. I popped my head into the store today and was in shock. Their reef tank looked like complete $h!t. The water was foggy and every coral had been knocked over. The blue leather was squished into a little ball in the corner.

I remembered how great it looked a month ago and decided to get it. My smooth talking fiancee got the manager down to $10. He tried to talk us out of it stating that it was about to die, but he eventually caved in.

I put it into a 2.5 gallon all-glass tank and did a drip acclimation for hours (with a bubble stone running) until all of the fish store water was gone.

I've now got the leather in my tank but it's a bit curled up and the color is toned down.

What should be done to revive it? SHould I put it high or low? Lots of flow or minimal flow? Did I make a major mistake or is this something that some of you have managed to pull off?

 

[marrone]

Put it low and not a lot of flow and then just leave it alone. It should reopen in time but just watch to make sure it doesn't start to go. Leather are tough corals.

 

[Craig]

Thanks for the tip. I've dropped it down to the bottom of the tank.

Here's a pic from 5 minutes ago. I'll post an update in a few months

 

[reefman]

i've revive leather from the worst possible conditions. as long as your water is good (good enough for lps to thrive), just provide gentle flow at first n gradually increase to med flow with low to med lighting. if it's still in solid form, it will expand again. extra dose of iodine will help.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I found that if you tease the leather a bit by blowing the surface with a powerhead then let it sit at a low flow but high light area would help it to open up.

When you blow it, it does not look there is any slim on it. Then when you wake up next morning you will see some slim skin peeling off. Soon you will see the buds coming out.

Also I can clearly see that there are goose bumps in your leather and that means it wanna come out when your water is right.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

You could also dose some Iodine for the leather. About half the recommended dosage.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

You could also dose some Iodine for the leather. About half the recommended dosage.

Can you elaborate on how to dose iodine-like any brand , should we administer it as a bath ......

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

You could also dose some Iodine for the leather. About half the recommended dosage.

Wingnut it doesn't matter the brand I use kent. Read the bottle for the dosage and put half the amount in the tank with the leather.

 

[Craig]

I let the powerhead blow on it from a bit of a distance. It kind of looks like the outer layer of skin (?) started to blow off. I'm not sure if I did more harm than good.

Before I start pumping iodine supplements into the tank, is there a test for iodine levels? What level of iodine should be in the tank?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I let the powerhead blow on it from a bit of a distance. It kind of looks like the outer layer of skin (?) started to blow off. I'm not sure if I did more harm than good.

That's good don't dose anything just kep it in some of that same flow.

 

[masterswimmer]

Craig, leathers (like the one you saw in my tank also) will slough off their skin every now and then. A perfectly healthy leather will, from time to time, retract all polyps for a week or two and just peel away some skin.

My recommendation would be to just let your leather be for awhile. As long as you don't see it deteriorate any further, just leave it alone. If it starts going downhill we can reassess the situation and determine if another course of treatment is necessary.

Everytime you move it, blow it with powerheads, change lighting, etc. you're going to cause it to withdraw its polyps (if they are extended). If the polyps aren't extended, then they surely won't extend them with all the changes and manipulating.

Sit back and enjoy it. With good water parameters you'll have a healthy leather in no time ('no time' is a relative term :biggrin: ).

Good luck and keep us posted with a pictorial update every now and then.

swimmer

 

[DevIouS]

What type of leathers come in blue?:scratch:

 

[Tonyscoots84]

:scratch: good ? phil.......

 

[masterswimmer]

What type of leathers come in blue?:scratch:

There are lots of reports of divers, suppliers dying certain coral. Leathers would seem to be one of the easier ones to dye, IMO.

swimmer

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Some leathers require low to moderate flow too so I would put it in indirect medium flow and it may open up a little quicker.

I agree russ Leathers seem to be one of the easier corals to dye.

Also Leathers are notorious for being tempermental and "pouters" Once they find a spot they like they open right up.

 

[DevIouS]

There are lots of reports of divers, suppliers dying certain coral. Leathers would seem to be one of the easier ones to dye, IMO.

swimmer

That's what I thought.


They will eventually fade out.

 

[masterswimmer]

That's what I thought.


They will eventually fade out.

If it was dyed, yes.
I'm not saying this one was dyed. We all know colors in coral can be very subjective. What someone calls red, others call brown. I've just never heard of a blue sarcophyton. But there's lots of things I haven't heard of in this hobby. :wink1:
IF this one was dyed, then I would say the coloration won't last long.

swimmer

 

[Craig]

I probably should have said grey with a slight blue tint

 

[nanoreefer22]

I probably should have said grey with a slight blue tint

Most toadstools from what I've seen will appear to be grey wth a hint of blue, if you look hard enough. When it expands it's most likely going to be your normal toadstool. Still a really nice coral , I want one back:Up_to_som.

 

[Craig]

The leather has taken a turn for the worse. It's getting browner and seems to be "melting". A thin slime that is the same color is covering some neighboring rocks and a sponge. The top half has crumbled.

I've moved him to the back where he cant slime anything else.

Is this a lost cause or can this still be recovered?