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Deep Water Acropora.
Dips; also archived on WWM
5/7/14 <Slightly depressed specific gravity... a thousandths or so... and a few times dosage of iodide-ate. Perhaps with a modicum of glucose (or other simple pentose, hexose) in if receiving a large number or valuable specimens. Bob Fenner> Thanks. Tarrell Re: Deep Water Acropora 5/8/14 Interesting, I've never heard of the use of glucose for coral dipping (only in calcium supplements in the form of gluconate in order to provide an energy source). Is this the same concept? <Nope... the former is a long-established SOP in the trade; not well-known amongst consumers/hobbyists... Tis what we do on importing several (from the ME meaning many) boxes distally... long hauls> Can you explain a little more or point me to a source? Thank you!! <Try the search tool on WWM; "coral dips". BobF> Acropora, hlth. 12/23/12 Branching Montiporas retracting polyps
11/12/11
Live Rock - Montipora Digitata 9/16/09 Montipora capricornis, hlth., reading 3/1/09 I added a Montipora capricornis to my 55 gallon tank 3 months ago. It was a three inch frag and had been growing and doing well until last week overnight it developed two white spots about the size of a pea towards the center away from the edges. The spots appear to be exposed skeleton. One day after the first spots appeared 1 more appeared. Now three days later they remain the same size and the rest of the coral looks healthy with polyps extended and a dark orange color. What do you suggest as a coarse <course> of action. I have some reef dip but didn't know if this would help. <Mmm... what are the ingredients? Likely some general I2 et al. materials would not hurt... The "dots" could be due to physical trauma (something eating, walking on the colony), or interaction with other life there (what other "corals" are nearby... within a foot?), even just chemical imbalance issues...> If I leave it alone will the flesh possibly grow back or should I just frag it and hope it doesn't happen again. <I'd leave all as is> My Ca. is 430, Alk. 3.31 meg., Ph 8.2, <Mg? W/in 3X or so conc. range?> Ammonia, Nitrite, nitrate all 0. <Need to have some NO3, HPO4...> I have 4 65 watt power compact bulbs, 2 1200 maxi jets and 2 600 MaxiJet. Any suggestions? Thanks, Greg <As usual, reading: http://wetwebmedia.com/acrodis4.htm and the linked files above, and/or the use of the WWM search tool... Bob Fenner> Re: SPS Boring Algae Better Living Through Ozone
(Nutrient Export and Coral Health) 12/16/07 Mich, <Scott
F. in for Mich on this one.> DOH! I just started running ozone a
week ago, for the past few months I have been chasing a proverbial
ghost. <"Who you gonna call...?" Umm- never mind...bad
1980's movie reference.> I couldn't figure out why these
Acros were not beaming like they should. Ultimately, it was that when I
set the system up, the sand I used was not thick enough for a DSB and
was emitting bad stuff, but phosphate and nitrate on Salifert were
registering zero (I was using Phosban as well) {must have been some
type of trace amount, enough to cause problems, that coupled with very
alkalinity levels as I was trying to stabilize ph!). <Well, it has
been debated that a sandbed in that "grey area"
(2"-3") might be too shallow for complete denitrification,
but too deep to be fully aerobic. Another one of the debates raging in
our hobby- imagine that?> I have since fixed it, started running
ozone, and have noticed a difference already. <I can imagine. Ozone,
if properly administered, can provide amazing benefits for a
system.> If you were me, would you trash any affected colonies,
saving the frags above the algae line? If I am interpreting your
response correctly, what your saying is don't necessarily worry
about the infected pieces but make darn sure the nutrient issue gone!
Dude, you guys are life savers! Tom <As usual, Mich is right on
target! It's certainly best to frag the affected colonies and
salvage what you can. Seek and maintain high water quality, and your
system will be in great shape sooner than you can say, "Dude,
Michelle is a Chick!" Hope this helps! Regards, Scott F.>
Mysterious Coral Bleaching, Not Such A Mystery (Antibiotics Administered To The Display System) -- 08/08/07 Dear WWM Crew, <<Hello Bill>> Please lend me your thoughts. <<Sure thing>> Recently (within the past week) I noticed two Montipora corals in my tank that have been acclimated and growing well begin to bleach. Within the past two days a few small Pocillopora and Acropora began to bleach as well and polyps hid. <<Mmm, an environmental issue of some sort>> I've checked the tank parameters - everything seems rather on par -- 75 gallon tank -Alkalinity - 4.2 (may be a bit high?) <<Considering you Calcium is over 400...yes, a bit>> -Calcium - 420 -Nitrate - 0 -Temp - 74 - 76 night and day <<Probably fine but a little on the cool side in my opinion>> -SG- 1.024 <<Better than many I've seen but bumping to NSW levels (1.025/1.026) is best>> -Lighting - 2 * 250 10K, 4 * 96 actinic. All the corals have loved the light to this point. <<Unless the bulbs are 'very' old this is likely not the issue>> I think my problem may be one of two things, or a combo of both. I used a cycle of "Chemi Clean" Cyanobacteria remover which threw my protein skimmer way out of cycle. <<Ugh! It has done much more harm than that I fear...you have likely wiped out much of your biological filtration. You didn't list an Ammonia reading but you need to check this right away...as well as preparing/performing large water changes and adding chemical filtration (Carbon/Poly-Filter/Chemi-Pure) to try to keep the buildup of nitrogenous compounds under control until bacteria has a chance to repopulate>> It is creating massive amounts of micro-bubbles so I haven't been able to run it properly. <<Possibly overcome by the increased organics load...perhaps you can adjust it 'down' a bit>> I am doing a third partial water change today (in the last week) to try to remove excess chemicals so I can get my skimmer running normally (not overflowing the collection cup constantly). <<The water changes probably explain why your Nitrate reading was zero. Do try to get the skimmer back in service...perhaps throttling it back a bit to slow down the overfilling of the skimmer cup>> There is also one leather coral in the tank, could the lack of chemical filtration for the past two weeks, or that in conjunction with the leather emitting toxins be killing these previously healthy corals? <<Is definitely a contributor...at the very least is exacerbating the situation. Get some chemical filtration going!>> Any advice? <<Yes...don't administer antibiotics to your display system...and start reading here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm>> Thanks! Bill <<Regards, EricR>> Acro Color -- 04/30/07 Sometimes I wonder the average number of questions you get hourly on your site... Sorry to bother you but I had a question I haven't been able to find an answer to normally. I recently purchased a dark green Acro (no specific name was given by the online retailer) about 2 or 3 weeks ago. In the bag it was a nice dark green color, they labeled it Hunter Green, similar in color to perhaps grass. At any rate, after about a week or two I noticed its color changing from green base with whitish polyps to something else. The base/skeleton is like a Coral Lipstick or Peach color with white polyps, even when viewed from an angle, straight on, or from above. I'm kind of wondering if its similar to an anemones Zooxanthellae (sp?) that can be expelled due to some sort of stress? <Yes> He's on a high point in the tank, around 3" in width total <Mmm... well, depending on your lighting... and how this colony has been kept recently... starting it down in depth a bit to start is generally advised> if I'm being generous, and he's grown about a 1/2" total since I got him (I'm so proud!). It completely baffles me, wish I had a before/after picture but I never got to take a before pic. I haven't moved him at all since placing him in the tank and the only potential predators are a small Green Bubble Tip Anemone, <Incompatible... could be your answer here> which is smaller than the Acro, and a dime-sized hermit crab that hasn't taken notice to him. There's also a Yellow Watchman Goby - awesome fish! - but no other mobile buddies. I've been dosing Kent Invert food every few days for my small Crocea clam, about a drop per gallon or less depending on my steadiness with my hands. I was also thinking that I haven't glued him to a rock, he's sitting on the rock and I was just going to let him do his thing. The color doesn't really bother me, I really like it, but I want to make sure its not a sign of something bad. The polyps are still extending and he's in an area of pretty high flow, so maybe he's just playing Chameleon? I have PC lights and the tank is only about 8" deep, I'm just scared that he's starting to bleach for some error on my part and I really don't want that. Thanks. <Mmm... well, the growth and polyp extension are good signs... and if you don't mind the color change... I would leave all as is. Such color changes are often due/led by lighting, current, water quality differences... Bob Fenner> HELP... Montipora hlth.
02/17/07 Hi guys, I will probably get scolded for
this one, I didn't research nor spell check. (Sorry) I will never
do it again, but I need you desperately and quickly. I ordered a
Montipora Cap offline. Great piece and excellent seller. He shipped On
via USPS on Tuesday. I just got it in. This thing is gorgeous, only it
has been in shipping bag, lost in mail for 3+ days. I floated it for 10
minutes and placed carefully in hospital/quarantine tank directly under
BioWheel filter output. I have nothing in the tank but live rock and a
pair of sailfin mollies to keep unused tank cycling. Due to live rock
and usage for quarantine on live rock as well as new corals, I keep
regular additions of strontium and calcium in this tank. Salinity is
1.023, PH 8.3, Nitrates 10, nitrites 0, ammonia 0. I have low 30 watt
Pc lighting on quarantine tank. The color is very pale on the Monti,
the water was bad cloudy and pretty pungent odor. I actually tested the
bag water once I got the coral removed from the toxic waste. I was
amazed nitrates 10, Ammonia <50, nitrites 0, temp was very cool
68-70 (guessing) Ph was just below 8.0 reading. Is there anything else
I can do for it? Please help. Seller has been great, says he will
refund or replace but has nothing comparable to this guy. It wasn't
his fault anyway. Please help me! I have never owned a Monti yet always
wanted one. I have researched plenty about their general maintenance,
but nothing about recovery or emergency care. What advice can you give
and what can I expect for his pending doom. He definitely isn't
happy, and had some pretty drastic temp changes I'm sure between CA
and SC.
Thanks
for being there!!!
Cindy
<<Cindy: At this point, the best thing you can do is provide it
with clean water, good flow and decent lighting. Since the
coral is obviously stressed out from the move, you should not disturb
it for a few days. Hopefully, it will quickly adjust to the
conditions of your tank and recover quickly. Best of luck,
Roy>>
Coral
Bleaching - 12/12/05 Hello, <<Howdy>> I hope you are
well. <<I am...thank you>> I have a problem, I have been
keeping Acropora (several different species) for about 4 months, and
now one of my smaller frags and my biggest colony is starting to
bleach. The smaller one was bleaching in more of a
traditional sense (as far as I'm concerned), by turning white, and
all the polyps have vanished, but I have seemed to counter act that by
moving it closer to the lights, and it seems to be doing
better. Is that possible? <<Maybe...if the change was
not extreme...if the coral was suffering/bleaching from absence of
light. Maybe you got lucky...>> Is the act of
bleaching reversible? <<Certainly...if it hasn't progressed
too long and you can determine/eliminate the stressors causing the
bleaching event.>> Also, my biggest colony a few tips (maybe 4 of
50) have started to turn a puke green color, instead of the purple they
once were, as well as a portion around the base. Is this
some sort of bleaching? <<Mmm, maybe tissue damage/loss and the
skeleton is being colonized by algae.>> Can this be repaired, and
I'm sorry I could not send a picture due to camera problems, but if
you can help me that would be great. <<If the damage does not
continue (as in being caused by a predator), it will likely stop/heal
on its own.>> Thank You <<Regards, EricR>> Alkalinity drop 7/23/04 I had been using Rowaphos for a few months with no problems. Unfortunately while on vacation, my Calcium Reactor output hose clogged up and the alkalinity dropped from around 10 to 6 ! This severely stressed out several of my favorite colonies including: Tri-Color Acro - this is the worst one hit but there are some live branches with many polyps under the dead white tips. Hydnophora - looks like this may recover from the bleaching Baby Blue Acro Frags- have many of these so not a biggy Blue Acro tortuosa - Tips are turning white, not sure if it will make it. One of my more expensive and most favorite pieces. <I am not convinced that a drop in Alk to 6 would be enough by itself to cause this. How sure are you that nothing died while you were away, causing an ammonia spike and how sure are you that your temperature did not rise more than about 4-6 degrees above normal?> My questions are: What is the difference between bleaching and RTN ? My colonies did not all die in a matter of hours, but instead are bleaching slowly....although now that I have stabilized the water parameters (Ca = 430, Alk = 10) the bleaching has slowed but still continues. <Bleaching is the expulsion of Zooxanthellae. RTN is a condition where the coral "self destructs" and the animal itself dies and the tissue sloughs off of the skeleton. I agree with your move to correct the alkalinity, and recommend carefully monitoring temperature, alkalinity, pH and other parameters and focus on STABILITY! I would not try to aggressively correct any other parameter unless it is dangerous (ammonia?).> Should I remove the affected colonies ? <I would not. Moving them would be another undue stress.> Should I frag the affected colonies to save what I can, or leave them alone and hope they recover ? <I would leave them alone.> Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. <In the mean time, I would recommend lowering your light levels a bit. I would do this by reducing intensity first (fewer lamps running, raising lamps higher above tank) and only shorten the photoperiod if you don't have any other choice. After a week or so, work your lighting back to normal over a week or so. Best of luck! Adam> Acropora bleaching question I just acquired three pieces of medium Acropora which came in fine. <be careful of such statements or beliefs. Most corals are somewhat to severely stressed for the first couple of weeks on import. Its just not that obvious unless flesh is falling off> After slowing acclimating to my 30g holding tank (before I put it into the main tank), it was fine for a day. Then the next morning (2 days after acquisition), <Yowza... a problem already my friend! A mere two day holding period was more harm than good. This animal that was put through several changes in lighting (and extended periods of darkness) on import had to go from another lighting scheme at your vendors holding tank to your holding tank to your display tank all within the same week. Such drastic changes are a great burden on the limited resources of a coral. A longer QT in mod light with mod to heavy feeding would have been better. 4 weeks is a proper QT acclimation. Also, do review the following: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm> the whole tank was cloudy and everything in that holding tank was dead (2 snails, a small Kole tang). All three pieces of Acropora were bleached white. I guessed something caused it to release its Zooxanthellae. <stress indeed> Anyhow, my question is this, will these pieces of Acropora slowly recover their Zooxanthellae or are they pretty much dead. <that depends on if the corallum is denuded of tissue or the tissue simply bleached pigmentation. If the latter, then yes it will recover. You should see clear polyps extended conspicuously if so. Heavy feeding with zooplankton will be critical then (do so in a small QT please). Live rotifers would be excellent> They were fine 24 hours ago, and have been moved to the sump of my main display. Thanks Jim <Jim... moving any coral is truly one of the most dangerous things to do. Even moving an established coral 2-3 times in a week can be enough to kill it. It is a bad habit, my friend and has contributed to the demise of this animal at least to some extent. To better days... Anthony> Bleached coral- how to handle We have a 20 gallon reef tank in our home. Recently we have been given an Acropora. However it is white with blue/purplish tips. <Ahhh... bleached with only U.V reflecting pigments left. This coral will die within a year if it is not fed and colors up (likely brown... hopefully... with purple tips> I have read about them and understand that there is no naturally white Acropora. <exactly correct> I came across a post on your website that described a similar Acropora. The Acropora we have although white is loaded with green polyps. What is your opinion on this Acropora? The coral is indeed bleached and the pigments you are looking at are reflective proteins and not Zooxanthellae> Would the polyps still be open and thriving if the Acropora was bleached? <absolutely...one thing has nothing to do with the other (feeding organismally on nanoplankton versus symbiosis. What you need to do is fed this coral... but because the polyps are so small (and your mention of a 20 gall display leads me to believe that you do not have a plankton generating refugium), there is likely little hope for this coral to survive here. If you do not choose to move the coral to another tank, however... my advice is to make sure that you have a source of nitrogen in the tank (allow nitrates to linger). If your nitrates are low, you can make an ammonium or nitrate solution to dose the tank with (carefully) to feed the coral. Also, know that this coral will not eat bottled green phytoplankton. It needs zooplankton so small that you cannot provide it from a bottle or can. Do consider adding an upstream refugium to your tank (no Caulerpa though). Gracilaria or Chaetomorpha will help you to grow nutritious plankters for your corals below> Thanks for your time and help. Sincerely, Tana Landau <best regards, Anthony> |
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