coral dying or bleaching?

[cooksalot]

I bought a new piece of coral on wednesday. it is some kind of brain moon...the center circles were all bright green...(and btw, the red dots there are just food..i had just fed it when i took the pic)

now i've noticed that four of the green centers have turned white (not the greatest pic, but look on the left side):

i thought it might be sand, so i tried blowing it off, but nothing came off. is this bleaching? or could something in my tank be eating it, or is it just dying. the known critters in my tank are:

2 orange cat's eye snails
3 nassarius
4 cerith
two scarlett hermits
one emerald green crab

anyone have any ideas and suggestions?
thanks!

 

[Deanos]

Dying

What light was it under when you bought it and what light is it under now?

 

[cooksalot]

it was in the lfs display tank..not sure what lighting. i have a 24G aquapod with stock flourescent lighting. is there anything i can do?

 

[regal]

It has only been two days since you got it. I doubt that it is your lighting although you may need to upgrade your lighting if you want to keep coral. 2 days of inadequate lighting is not going to kill your coral. What are your water parameters?

 

[cooksalot]

It has only been two days since you got it. I doubt that it is your lighting although you may need to upgrade your lighting if you want to keep coral. 2 days of inadequate lighting is not going to kill your coral. What are your water parameters?

i've been testing my water daily as it's a new tank and everything looks great and has stayed completely stable. my only other coral, a mushroom, is thriving...i've had it for a little over a week and it has already doubled in size (not too sure of the correct terminology, but the base split and there are two of them now), and the few frags that came with my LR are flourishing...seems to be just this one that is having trouble.

 

[loismustdie]

i've been testing my water daily as it's a new tank and everything looks great and has stayed completely stable.

What did you test for and what kits did you use? Is it possible the kits are expired, or you didn't test correctly? I've screwed tests up before.
You need better lights if you are going to try LPS. Mushrooms don't count. I swear they can grow in sewage with an incandescent bulb. My advice for you is to go T-5. Cheap and effective option.
I'm not sure exactly what's wrong, but I would guess some water parameter is out of wack. Probably PO4 (phosphate). FWI: at the beginning, you need to test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PO4. Once your cycle is complete and you begin adding livestock, you no longer need to test for ammonia and nitrite (well, you can do it occasionally since you have a small tank, just to be sure).
Then you need to test nitrate, phosphate, calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. Those are the big ones. I test them weekly. You can test other stuff.

 

[cooksalot]

thanks...calcium is 420, phosphate is 0 ph is 8.2 and alk is coming up a little low...it had been staying in the normal range, but just this morning is showing a lower reading...perhaps that's it? what can i do to correct the alk?

 

[loismustdie]

Low alk wouldn't cause this. High alk might. You can bake baking soda in the oven for 1 hour @ 300 degrees to make an alkalinity solution. 2 1/4 cups to every gallon of RO/DI. You should be checking magnesium as well. Calcium, alkalinity and magnesium are all related and when one is out of wack, your other kits can give false readings and be out as well. I don't want to get to deep into reef chemistry on this thread. Deanos posted an excellent link in the Advanced reef forum I think.
What test kits did you say you used?

 

[cooksalot]

Low alk wouldn't cause this. High alk might. You can bake baking soda in the oven for 1 hour @ 300 degrees to make an alkalinity solution. 2 1/4 cups to every gallon of RO/DI. You should be checking magnesium as well. Calcium, alkalinity and magnesium are all related and when one is out of wack, your other kits can give false readings and be out as well. I don't want to get to deep into reef chemistry on this thread. Deanos posted an excellent link in the Advanced reef forum I think.
What test kits did you say you used?

i actually found a good water chemistry link when i did a search on the alk before..thanks

i use red sea test kits, and instead of banging my head on the wall any more, i called my lfs when it opened this morning. they told me to bring in the coral and a water sample. they ran a battery of tests and everything checked out. they also said my lights are actually better than the lights they have on their coral tank, so that probably wasn't it. i told them exactly what i did, how i acclimated it, tank position, etc. and they said i did everything right, they had just gotten that coral in and it was probably just one of those things. they took it back (and put it in a QT tank to see what happens) and i exchanged it for this (and i can't believe after all the talking we did i forgot the name...anyone know?):

he said it should do better in my 24G aquapod than the brain did and is hardier in terms of any parameter shifts.

btw, for anyone on LI, this was aquarium adventure...i know a lot of people complain about their prices, but i have to say i've been happy there so far. they gave me a baby snail i liked last week for free because i thought it was cure and today gave me a glass lid for my QT tank for free, and there was no hassle at all on returning the coral. it doesn't hurt that they are having 40% off all their livestock right now...not sure i'll want to pay those prices when the sale is over though.

i also got my first fish! a false perc, he's adorable and is drip acclimating now (he's going in my QT tank which has been set up for a week).

thanks again for all the advice.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Looks like a carnation coral, I could be wrong but I believe they don't have the best track record.

 

[cb747]

I see your in Roslyn so ill mention 2 other stores that are local to us incase you dont know. Pets of New Hyde Park has a decent selection and also Pet Barn in Franklin Square. Good luck with your new additions

 

[cooksalot]

I see your in Roslyn so ill mention 2 other stores that are local to us incase you dont know. Pets of New Hyde Park has a decent selection and also Pet Barn in Franklin Square. Good luck with your new additions

i go to pets of new hyde park a lot for my other pet supplies and dry marine supplies...how do you find their livestock? not sure if i feel as comfortable with their marine section as i do with AA...and when i've talked to the marine guy there, he has given me a lot of wrong advice. i'll have to check out pet barn. thanks!

 

[Deanos]

i exchanged it for this (and i can't believe after all the talking we did i forgot the name...anyone know?):

Looks very much like Dendronephthya sp. According the Aquarium Corals by E. Borneman, the "spiny, brightly colored sclerites" aid in identification.

Excerpt: All members of Dendronephthya are extraordinarily difficult to keep, and all but the most experienced and dedicated aquarists should resist purchasing them...The need for large amounts of food makes it all but impossible to maintain high water quality within a typical marine reef tank.

Good luck in any case.

 

[reefman]

heres an article on these corals

 

[cb747]

There livestock is pretty decent. Ive never really asked them for advise so i cant vouch on that aspect. Pet Barn is on Franklin Ave (New Hyde Park Road) a few blocks south of Hempstead Turnpike.
If your looking for a bionic coral i will gladly give you some Capnella.

 

[cooksalot]

[/I]Good luck in any case.

thanks..looks like i'll need it lol. i'm feeding it plankton..we'll see what happens.

ok, so what are some good practically indstructable corals, i.e. mushroom sturdy?

 

[cb747]

Pretty much most softies are hardy. Mushrooms, leathers, Capnella/ Kenya tree etc.
The hardest thing to do is have patience. Stock slowly!

 

[cooksalot]

Looks very much like Dendronephthya sp. According the Aquarium Corals by E. Borneman, the "spiny, brightly colored sclerites" aid in identification.

Excerpt: All members of Dendronephthya are extraordinarily difficult to keep, and all but the most experienced and dedicated aquarists should resist purchasing them...The need for large amounts of food makes it all but impossible to maintain high water quality within a typical marine reef tank.

Good luck in any case.

ok, now i'm a little confused..when i looked this up, i thought yes, that's it and great, i have a high maitenance coral that doesn't like a lot of light (a little hard to accomodate in a 24G aquapod). but then i started looking further and came across lemnalias. when the above pic was taken, i had just gotten the coral and apparantly it was closed up. it has sinced open and has branches...it is not clumped together as in the above pic. and from what i've read on lemnalias, they are also not easy, but they have more of the requirements in keeping what the lfs guy said. does anyone know if this could be a lemnalia instead of a carnation? thanks!
ok, here's a pic with the branches open:

 

[Deanos]

More excerpts from Borneman's book:

Dendronephthya sp: Colonies are somewhat broccoli-like, with strong upright stalks and branches with bushy or ball-shaped bunches of polyps at the terminal ends.

Lemnalia sp.: The tall thin stalk does not produce polyps, and the primary and secondary branches (also long and thin) are also sterile.

 

[Deanos]

Soft Corals of the family Nephtheidae

Lemnalia sp. excerpt: Slender branched, tree-like soft corals with long, bare, thin stalks and branches, small roundish polyps sparsely distributed on branches, twigs, and cannot retract into body.