What's the secret with LPS: I need help ASAP

[silvercvic]

I am having problems maintaining LPS in my tank, I have some SPS and softies, clams, fish, shrimp/anemones that are doing great, but anything like that is large polyps, just dies on me. My parameter seems correct:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Calcium: 425
PH (day)8.4 (night) 8.1
salinty: 1.023 - 1.025

My lighting is 2x150MH(10K) and 2x130PC(actinic) on a 120g (5'long). My flow is from a mag24 (partially closed) on a SCWD setup, tunze 6100, & hagen 403 (powerhead). The area that I keep my frogspawn and torch is about midway in the tank with medium flow. I've tried them near the top and I lose a head, I've tried on the bottome and I lose another head, now I keep it halfway and I lose 3 heads. I feed the tank with DT live twice a week, keep my floss renewed every other day and I run ozone. I 've spent too much money on this, along with a CA reactor and I drip kalk (every other week). I've been successful in much everything else annd I've upgraded all my equipment....this is driving me crazy and broke, but I want huge frogspawns/hammers and torches, and corals that actually move in the current.

What am I doing wrong???? I'm about to tear my tank down and retire from this hobby:mad2:

[clsund]

It could be many things. What kind of fish do you have? could be nipping and iritating your corals. Some shrimp also are known to pick at LPS.
Do you feed your LPS? Spot feeding will provide them the extra nutrition needed to help them grow and stay healthy. When I spot feed, I turn off all my pumps.

[WendyMc]

Those are all good suggestions. I used to care for a 180 g for a banker who insisted on throwing fish in without my approval 1st. Everytime he got an angel, there went his LPS. It would be really helpful if you could post pics of the whole set up, and some shots of the LPS in trouble.

[lemonhead]

many of the LPS are sensitive to change. Are you buying the corals that are under brighter light than your home aquaria?
How did the rest of the coral look when the first head died?

[silvercvic]

i don't have fish that would do harm, right now its only:
1 clarkii
1 sleeper goby
1 clown goby
3 chromis
1 lawnmower
1cleaner shrimp
2 peppermint shrimps

I will try to post pics tonight if I get around to it, as far as what they looked like when I lost my head....the polyps started staying in the branch, then be hanging from a string while the body of the polyp was hovering over the branch, white slime covered parts of the branch head to the floating body of the polyp.

the places I bought them from had them normally under 250w, lower to midway in the display tanks. My wattage is lower, so I put mine high up in the tank....no good, I still lost a head

[sunnysmom]

Iodine?

[WendyMc]

It sounds like those polyps were physically damaged. Could have been injury due to handling, rocks/etc. falling on them, or being stung by other corals (also predation, but we've ruled out fish). Or it could have been burn from more intense lighting than it was used to. Do you have the frogspawn & torch near eachother? They both put out long sweeper tentacles at night, with incredible reach, and they will war with eachother. How far are the LPS colonies from other types of corals? What type of current are they currently in? I've seen torches thrive in higher current than the frogspawn prefers. Also, do you ever feed them a meatier type of food? I've heard of shrimp using their pinchers to cut through polyps to get the food out. Lots of possibilities...Also, you might try this thread on Dr. Ron Shimek's forum. He's really good with this stuff.

[acroconut]

sunnysmom, I was thinking the same......sounds like it might be a bacterial infection. A coral dip or lugol's dip might help stop what's going on. Also I guess that everyone's experience is different, but my branching frogspawn and torch have been living intertwined for several years, and both have been thriving all too well. Have had to frag both colonies frequently due to trying to take over their corner of the world. and both are in moderate to low flow areas of the tank. Just relating my experience here....different for other people it seems.

[Typo]

peppermint shrimp are known to eat lps if they are underfed.

[clsund]

Yeah, the white slime doesn't sound like stinging. Sounds like bacterial infection. Try doing a lugols dip. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

[mussel20]

Ok, I don't know how much flow the pumps you mentioned in the first thread generate. With that said, I know that SPS require more water flow than LPS do. LPS like to have just enough water movement to "sway" them back and forth. Too much flow will often iritate the heads and make them die. I don't know how much flow those pumps have so you be the judge of that. Also with lighting, SPS need more. If I were you when I bought any LPS I would first place them on the sandbed for a week or two, then to the middle. This will help acclimate them to the bright lighting that Metal Halides generate. Besides flow and lighting, I believe almost everything else is similar to SPS. Your water params should be just fine for LPS. Don't worry, once you get one or two to thrive you will love them. Once you figure them out for the first time it will be easy! Good luck and enjoy!

Jeff

[WendyMc]

In your guys' experience, is it common for lps to suffer from bacterial infections without physical damage occurring first? I've been told if there's a bacterial infection it's necessary to treat, but also the root of the infection should be explored. Anyone have an infection occur w/out physical damage 1st? I'm just trying to learn as much as possible, thanks.

[acroconut]

Back in the early 90's when a lot of us were using subgravel filters and trickle filters, and the Red Sea Berlin skimmer was the latest big deal, and many of us were pretty skeptical about the Berlin System of reefing......I lost several LPS to bacterial infections. I noticed the polyps not expanding very well, and then not at all, and then I would see the white slime cover the area where they weren't expanding. I would try to syphon out the decaying tissue and place the coral in an area where the flow was better. Sometimes it worked and the infection would stop, and sometimes I lost the whole coral. I was doing 10 to 15% water changes weekly, but I didn't have an RO unit, and water was from a well. I tnink that my nitrate and phosphate levels were at the root of my problems. Thank goodness todays technology and advancements have made reefing a much easier albeit still expensive hobby.