Torch Coral Shrinking

[BlueSi4]

I got a Torch Coral from House of Fins yesterday, and a couple minutes after it went into the tank, it opened up and looked the same way it did at the store, same thing today, it was looking great.
Then, when i added the RO/DI water to top off, it started shrinking, and now it's not extended except a couple tentacles, what happened?

 

[latino277]

Did you dump the fresh water/top off water into the tank or did you dip/siphon it in slowly?

If you dump it in, your changing your Salinity to fast and it may not have liked that.

 

[BlueSi4]

Did you dump the fresh water/top off water into the tank or did you dip/siphon it in slowly?

If you dump it in, your changing your Salinity to fast and it may not have liked that.

I poured it in using a small bucket, i would say about 1/4 gallon or so. That's what i was thinking as the reason why that happened, but i just wanted to make sure.

 

[latino277]

You really should try and siphon the water into you tank. This way the change is over a time span of 15 -20 min or more and it does not stress the animals.

 

[BlueSi4]

You really should try and siphon the water into you tank. This way the change is over a time span of 15 -20 min or more and it does not stress the animals.

Thank you, i appreciate your help!!

 

[tosiek]

how long has it been looking like that?

ITs normal for torches to deflate a little for a bit, few hours before lights off to expell wastes.

If its like that for a day or two i would be worried.

 

[tosiek]

Can ya take a pic? also you giving it just enough flow and not too little, not too much?

 

[BlueSi4]

I don't think it's a problem of flow, because it happened really fast after i put the RO/DI water in. I'll check tomorrow morning and see how it's going.

 

[tosiek]

Yeah if its not looking better by tommorrow night i would be worried. Doubt the top off did that much to stress it out but it did cause a reaction, like for it to expelle some zoanthelle or waste or soemthing. How bigs the tank? I doubt 1/4 gal put into the tank would stess the torch out that much.

 

[BlueSi4]

No, i probably put about 5-6 gallons of water, just 1/4 a gallon at a time within a period of about 10 minutes

 

[KathyC]

Oriol...why did you need to add 5 or 6 gallons of water to a 46 g tank..was it just to fill the tank back up after your acquscaping project?
You're saying ro/di water ..was there salt in it so that it matched the SG in the tank? Was the temp about the same in the tank & the water you added?

If you are 'topping off' due to evaporation, you should just add ro/di water with no salt.
If you're filling your tank back up for whatever reason (water change ..removed some rocks..) you should be using ro/di water with salt in it that matches the SG of what you have in the tank & the temp should either be the same or just a tiny bit warmer.

Hopefully your coral had just gone to 'sleep' for the night..do keep us updated!

 

[BlueSi4]

The torch doesn't seem to open as much as it did the first day i put it in...only a few tentacles are coming out and opening, i really don't know why.
I tested Alk and i got a 10, the test kit said that between 7-10 is the desired range. I got the test kit from Greenwich Aquaria as well as i got the B-Ionic 2 part...i added yesterday 1ml per every 4 gallons of water (20ml total)
I keep the lights on for about 8 hours or so, and all the parameters are stable, what should i do?

 

[BlueSi4]

1. I did my research on the Torch regarding flow, water quality, light, etc...i also made sure that before i bought it, i talked with the guys at the store to let them know my tank and my setup as well as my parameters, and they told me that it should be fine.
2. I added the water because after i did the aquascaping, i was short on water, so i let it settle before i added any more water. Then the salinity was a bit high so i just added fresh water.
3. I didn't acclimate the torch, but it was doing fine before i put the water in...

 

[nanoreefer22]

You added rock and coral in the same day?

 

[EmilyT]

my torch was a little fussy the first few days i got it. You probably know it shrinks up like that during the night, but just making sure. I actually freaked out because one of the heads wasn't opening up. I would monitor it, and like everyone else has said, take it a little slower on the water changes. I find my torch to be pretty durable, but im not saying that thats true for all torches.

 

[BlueSi4]

You added rock and coral in the same day?

No, i just changed the rock around and did some aquascaping, then the next day after it was all settled and stuff, i added the torch.