Leathers Look Bad???

[BLANKENSHIP76]

I have a spaghetti, a toadstool, a massive sinularia, and a colt that are all looking relatively bad over the last few days, closed up with no polyp extension. I have no idea why i checked my water parameters and everything seems to be OK, I have been being a little more aggressive with my calcium levels, but beyond that everything is exactly the same.

The funny thing is that everything else in the tank is healthy the from the scolymia to the GSPs, Zoas, frogspawns, hammers, favia, etc.....

I did switch from 2 carbon bags w/ 1 nitrate bag to 2 nitrate bags w/ 1 carbon bag in my can filter recently, however i just switched it over to full carbon to see if this will help, any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

[BLANKENSHIP76]

I have been using AZ-NO3 to help eliminate the pesky nitrates, but I have used this many times with no ill effect, and I have been more aggresice sith 2 part alk and calcium lately????

[tobyp]

i have the same prob. somtimes

[tinyreef]

what do you mean exactly by being more aggressive in regards to calcium levels? are you dosing more calcium? increased flow thru a reactor? etc.

can you post a picture of the tank and how everything lays out?

how high are your nitrates?

have you changed any flow directions, equipment, or livestock lately? even a few days prior to the downturn.

more carbon and a waterchange can't hurt imo.

[BLANKENSHIP76]

My nitrates are not that bad, and if anything are better now than they have been in a long time.

I am using a 2 part solution(Oceans Blend) I just tested I am at 430 on the calcium and alk is normal.

I have changed flow recently but only for a few days to get an anemone to relocate. That is however when the problem began.

My biggest concern is that i noticed a little algae growth on the massive sinularia, so I used a maxi-jet to blow most of it off, but you can still see it. I did feel the coral and it is still soft like it should be.

I really do not want to lose this coral, by the wayt everything else in the tank is doing great except one other leather. The cabbage leather that was suffering has made a full recovery.

[tinyreef]

i've had anemones bother corals so it could be that. it depends a bit on whether there's contact or floating stingers.

the sinularia is another possibility as they're pretty noxious ime. probably the most noxious of softies.

i'd continue with the carbon and throw in some extra waterchanges for good measure and wait a few more days to see if the others improve. the one's improvement is a good sign obviously.

[BLANKENSHIP76]

I can't seem to get the algae to quit growing on the massive sinularia, I have blown it of with the powerhead and wiped it off with my hands. but I can not gwet it to slow down.

I do not have an algae [problem in my tank at all, so I am confused at why it growing on the coral.

I just moved the coral from the side of the tank to the middle, so maybe the flow will cut the algae out, I don't know.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[tinyreef]

sorry, i've a bit busy lately.

what kind of algae is growing on the sinularia? can you post a pic of it? are you sure it's algae or maybe a bacterial film? has the coral been reacting poorly to the algae or growth? you noted it was on the coral but not a detrimental effect.

is it a film-type of algae? if so, it could be feeding off the mucus of the coral itself. not sure what you can do then other than periodic cleaning. sometimes such growth doesn't affect the coral if kept to a minimum.

if it's a bacterial film feeding off the coral mucus, it could be an indirect result of something affecting the coral rather than the actual root of the problem. i.e. treating a fever when a virus is actually the culprit.

have you tried reverting back to your previous schedule of additives/maintenance/etc. to see if it was a recent change that brought this on?

[Broog]

Are you keeping your alkalinity in check as you raise Calcium level? and how are you checking your Alk and Calcium levels? What kind of test kit? Toadstools and leathers in general are sensative to Alkalinity and needs to be kept in check. Hope this helps. Good Luck and keep us posted.

[BLANKENSHIP76]

All softies look great except the massive sinularia, the toadstool and spaghettis look as good as ever, but the sinularia is still shrunk up and has been getting algae growing on it. It is still alive but has looked bad for a week now. i moved it to the middle of the tank in order to increase the flow, and have reduced feedings so the tangs will eat the algae of of it. but still no progress on it. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

[BLANKENSHIP76]

Here is a pic of it looking good and then there is the pic of it now.

Also my levels are good, I use salifert test for calcium and a cheapy for alkalinity. Everything test fine however, and I have backed up on the calcium maintaing a level of 420-430.

I however been getting a little more algae on the glass as of the last week or so.

Also my nitrates are gone so thats no longer an issue and I do not have a phosphate test kit???

Any more advice would be appreciated????

[tinyreef]

i think that's more of a bacterial film than an algae film. i don't think the tang would pick at it. has it nibbled on any of it?

i think you'll have to remove as much of it by hand/gentle blasts. doublecheck the rock base if there's anything bothering the sinu, e.g. something nibbling on it, growing partly underneath, recent injury, etc.

i'd gently blast the coral at close angles to try and get under the film. this might be best if it was removed and done in a separate container that you could keep it submerged and work on it, e.g. bucket. a decent-sized waterchange wouldn't hurt either (5-gal.).

afterwards i would be a bit more aggressive with the carbon too. it's already been over a week so i would change out the carbon with a new batch. the po'd sinu has probably been coral-farting all week long as well. so the carbon might be full up with sinu stink anyways (very noxious coral). good luck!

[BLANKENSHIP76]

No the tangs haven't nipped any of it off or anything, they have kept the algae from getting out of control.

I will take it out now an give that a whirl, and I'll let you know how it responds.

[BLANKENSHIP76]

Ok I just changed out the carbon, did a 12 gal water change, and gave the sinularia scrubbing in a 5 gallon bucket. We will see how it reacts, I just hope the sponge on the rock doesn't die off from the transfer from the tank to the bucket.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

[tinyreef]

Originally posted by BLANKENSHIP76
...I just hope the sponge on the rock doesn't die off from the transfer from the tank to the bucket.

in the future, you can try a submerged transfer. basically, you take a large enough container to hold the rock and coral and submerge it into your tank. place the rock and coral into the container and remove (remember to take into account the volume you're losing in that removal though).

i like this method because it eliminates the possibility of airing sponges, tunicates, etc. also it lessens the shock on the coral as it thinks it's still in the tank. sometimes the corals never even contract when i do this.

just remember to take your ATO (if you have one) offline when you do this. alsi, when i perform this procedure i usually just toss the transfer water and waterchange at least that amount. especially if the coral is more noxious than average (like a sinu) or if there's a suspected infection/pathogen issue.

good luck!

[BLANKENSHIP76]

The coral still looks rough, I am debating whether this is a losing battle or not??? It is alive and not falling apart, but man it has been a week.

I will send new pic tonight.

[Broog]

I would recommend getting a good quality alk test, its its a cheapy it will have a wide test range and even though the test says goods it could be at the low end of the spectrum. My yellow Fiji is really sensative and i consider it my primary alk guage , my cheap test kit will say okay, but my Salifert test kits says something else. if you dont want the expense of buying a higher end kit, you could ask your LFS to run a test for you if they have the higher end test kits for usually little or no charge. Hope you find out what the cause is.

Dave

[BLANKENSHIP76]

Good news, it is starting to perk up, and Broog funny thing, I bought a salifert alk kit at premium aquatics on thurs it is 10dkh which is a little high, and my cheap kit actually said it was on the low end.

I will post a pic tomorrow to let everyone see the progress.

[BLANKENSHIP76]

Here is link with pics of my tank today!!!! Thanks for everyone's input things are almost back to normal!!!!

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=987154