Blue Tort Help
 

I recently purchased a blue tort sps frag and glued it to a shell. It went from MH lights to T5 lights.

My parameters are:

450-500 calcium
9.2 dkh
0 nitrate
0 nitrite

The polyps are out on the coral and some tips are showing white as if it is new growth.

Close to the base it looks like the blue is flaking off. It looks like there are new heads under the blue but I am not sure if this is a good sign or not.

Is this normal with frags? What should I do?

how long ago did you change the lights.. and how long ago has this been a problem?

there is a remote possibility that the t5 are more intense than the halides causing issues... but i'd think you'd see bleaching before necrosis

has anything else changed?... water flow, etc?

Well I bought the frag from someone who has an established tank. He simply snipped off a tip from his big piece. He has the halides and I have the T5's.

I have not have had this problem with my green slimer acro that I put in my tank a couple of weeks ago, it is growing happily.

I put the frag in about three days ago.

As far as water flow change I am not sure if it is more or less intense.

I can see that the polyps are out but the color seems to be flaking off towards the bottom. Although, under this spot I see a white head with blue in the center so I am hoping that it is just new growth.

Later on tonight I will take a picture and post it here.

Alright I move the blue tort a bit out of direct flow and it seems to be doing better. It's flesh seems to be peeling away from the base yet up top the polyps are out.

Do you think it will make it or is it surely doomed?

[img]http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs24/i/2008/011/6/5/Blue_Tort_by_Logzor.jpg[/img]

Here is a green slimer right next to it. Just to show that I do have an acro that is doing well.

[img]http://fc04.deviantart.com/fs23/i/2008/011/d/8/Green_Slimer1_by_Logzor.jpg[/img]

is that a coral thats bleached behind it? how high are the T5's above your tank?

Yeah that is a bleached coral behind it. The fixture is about 4 inches above the tank. I have not had problems with bleaching before.

I purchased three sps frags from a local reefer. The stag you see in the back ground, the blue tort, and a rose mili.

The rose mili is doing fine but the stag has lost its color and the blue tort is peeling away.

Here is a picture of the stag:

[img]http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs22/i/2008/011/f/2/Bleaching_Stag_by_Logzor.jpg[/img]

What kind of fish do you have? aefw?

Patience ......Your tank is wayyyyyyyy too young for Acro's

I have two clowns (babies) and a full grown diamond goby. I also have two skunk cleaner shrimp, hermits, and snails. That is it as far as live stock goes.

I also agree with dcs03tx, if you profile is correct and your tank is only 4 months old, i wouldn't add anymore acropora for a while, especially not expensive ones. Maybe try some montiporas such as a digitata, or cap, id consider them a "trail and error" SPS. Give them a few months and if they start taking off then maybe consider investing the money in prized pieces. Its never good to see a $500-$60 frag RTN because your tank is new and relatively unstable.

has there been any large fluctuation in pH? try testing your pH while your lights are on then a few hours after they turn off.

Your corals are bleaching & dying sorry to see that , but your tank is not mature enough for acros or sps for at least one year. Stay with lps & keep them low & bring up gradually,I lost corals too i think we all have patience is key.Good luck < PATIENCE.

It only seems to be those two corals that are succumbing to this.

I have brown, purple, and yellow digi's that are thriving. I also have three types of monti caps that are well colored and have had good growth.

I just figured that since my green slimer has been looking good and has excellent growth rate I could handle other types of acros.

Ill let you know how the rose mili is doing. It seems to be pretty happy.

I think with these two corals it was just simply chance or something. I feel that my tank is pretty well matured since I got all of my live rock, sand, and most of my water from 5 different well established tanks. I began my tank September 1st.

Overall I agree that I got ahead of myself as far as the nice acros go. I will wait awhile longer before I add anymore nice pieces. I still have a bit of hope for these corals. The polpys on the tort are coming out even more since the picture I took a little while ago. I will keep you all update on how it goes.

The first yellow cap I got was poorly colored and after about two weeks it finally started to color up and grow.

Yeah, your tank is too young for Stonies. IMO, you need some more fish in there too. The apparent lack of microalgae might indicate a lack of nutrients. And, don't take this the wrong way but the green slimer is browned out and hasn't yet began to grow a base so it's not out of danger yet either. The pic of the green slimer is of the shaded side, is the other side nice and green? :)

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11578656#post11578656 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by paveking1 [/i]
[B] but your tank is not mature enough for acros or sps for at least one year. Stay with lps & keep them low & bring up gradually < PATIENCE. [/B][/QUOTE]
A year!!!! I know alot of people who have set up tanks and had sps within a year. Myself included.
Logzor, having a healthy sps tank takes time and the montys you have may look alive and gowing but they may not be healthy. If you want my advice just take it slow and do things right. Make sure your water is always perfect and if you decide to add any new sps.....dip it.
Good luck and happy reefing