Reef Discussion

[Adam_w]

Hey everyone,

No idea whats going on but I'm pretty sure my duncans are very sick!

Tank params are all okay from what i can test
ALK: 9dkh
Phosphate: .25 or lower
Nitrate: undetectable on API kit
Calc: is 430ppm

I recently added a club coral and birdsnest that you can see up top so I moved my duncans down onto the sand so it could be this but I dont think so. Anyway please see pictures (i can only take them on my phone) Duncan's been closed up for about a week now and today i had another look and the back polyps look like they're pretty much empty like the mouth is fully open to the wall of the hole - bit of white on the back end of the skeleton too

Only different betweeen first 2 pics is I had to move my elegance over next to the duncan so maybe it was this? But its the back polyps on the duncan that are sick but the front ones were closer to the elegance

First pic is about 2 or so weeks after i moved it down to the sand looking happy as anything (28/08/2016)

Second pic taken today 07/09/2016 not looking good at all!

Either way im lost looking for help

 

[Sam Parker]

Is there anyway you can put it back in the location it was before? Could be a lack of light or a difference in flow

 

[Adam_w]

I can try that, just thought best to move it lower to make sure the Club coral got a bit higher up to the light when i put it in

Was happy down there for like 2-3 weeks and now its just had it

I've got some coral revive stuff is it worth doing a dip in that?

One other thing i forgot to mention was that recently it just started sprouting new heads. Like I've had it maybe 6-7 months and no new heads and now theres like 3 new heads growing on each one. is it possible it just tried to grow too quick?

 

[slin1977]

Using tap water or RODI or sea water?
Have you changed your carbon recently ?
How your salinity tracking?

 

[MagicJ]

... is it possible it just tried to grow too quick?

No

Corals are fairly adaptable, within reason, but you may have moved it to a place that is not suitable - not enough light; or flow etc. Unfortunately, they can't move themselves to a better place. What lights do you have? What is the depth of the tank?

The elegance does need plenty of room around it as they are strong stingers, but as you have mentioned, the major issue looks to be on the opposite side :confused:

 

[Adam_w]

Okay thanks for the info I've moved it back up to where it was, my best guess now would be the back heads weren't getting enough light. It's just so hard to tell because it's not actually a shadowed area in the tank so I cant be 100% sure

Tank is probably about 40cm deep I've got AI prime light just sitting right above in the middle of the tank so it should have been getting enough light at that part

Update from my end - I just picked it up to get a closer look and the back 3-4 heads all fell out completely. I've moved it back closer to where it was so hopefully that helps

Now the question is do i remove the dead parts some how? Or just leave it at is for the front end to recover. If I need to remove is any special tool recommendation?

Pretty mad cause this is my first real death in the tank since a clown fish jumped right back when i started

 

[MagicJ]

You should remove the polyps that have 'fallen out' but the remaining skeleton won't be a problem.

 

[slin1977]

As this is a moderately difficult coral to keep, you should ensure your dKH, Cal and Mag levels are maintained at all times with minimal nitrate and phosphate levels. As this coral also has a calcified skeleton, it will consume calcium from your water. In set-ups with a good amount of LPS corals, it is not uncommon to have to dose dKH and Cal in order to keep the water parameters in line. With only a few LPS corals, a good water change schedule may be enough to maintain your parameters. This coral can also benefit from maintaining strontium levels if you do not have a good water change routine using a very good quality salt.

Duncan corals, as with all other LPS corals, should be added to mature aquariums. Provided all their requirements are met, they can grow to a very large colony within a few short years. Unless you are planning to move or frag your duncan coral, you should give it as much as 20 inches of space in your tank.

The Duncan coral will release sweeper / feeder tentacles from its heads to collect food. This will mostly happen when the tanks lights are off. These tentacles can also sting and damage or kill other corals within reach, which is how the duncan coral will defend itself. What makes the duncan coral more peaceful than most LPS coral is that its sweeper tentacles are much shorter in comparison only measuring a few inches in length.

Although the duncan coral will get what it needs from the lighting in your tank, it can also benefit from micro plankton or manual feeding of small pcs of meaty foods placed directly on the mouths at the center of each head. Although manual feedings are not required, it will help to accelerate growth.

 

[ReeferRob]

Which way was the water flowing around that coral? Was it flowing from the Elegance side or from the Duncan side? If it was from the Elegance side, look no further, there's your culprit. Elegance do swell, but they're insidious little shits. When the lights go out, they send out sweepers and will kill anything they touch. Back in the 80s I had one that grew from about 10cm to well over 40 cm when fully inflated and it would send out sweepers after the lights went down. I lost a beautiful wall hammer to it. Duncans do like a nice random water flow, not too strong for long and not too weak.

 

[Adam_w]

Well it's either elegance of lighting to blame, the dead flesh has been removed now and i moved it up higher to see if it can recover

Just to reply to Slin - my tank has been running close to 2 years only started adding coral this year - and i do dose alc and cal following that Randy's method posted on here. Birdsnest coral is happy as well as everything else so i would assume water is okay it was something else that irritated it

 

[slin1977]

Can you test your salinity?
When last did you change your carbon?
What is your evaporation top up method , auto , manual, tap water or RODI?

 

[Adam_w]

Changed have chemipure elite as the carbon I read to change this every 6 months or so - had it for close to 3 months now

Have checked salinity - at the moment doing a mix of the thermometer I have and a brix refractometer waiting for my new refractometer to get here but its at 1.026 across the board on this so think that's ok

Evap top up at the moment is manual RODI 2-3 times per week each time I'd say its maybe 3-4 litres of water? Working on ATO but my sump is a tiny DIY job i did myself as there's only a very small cavity under the tank to place it so still working out how i can set that up

 

[slin1977]

Changed have chemipure elite as the carbon I read to change this every 6 months or so - had it for close to 3 months now

Have checked salinity - at the moment doing a mix of the thermometer I have and a brix refractometer waiting for my new refractometer to get here but its at 1.026 across the board on this so think that's ok

Evap top up at the moment is manual RODI 2-3 times per week each time I'd say its maybe 3-4 litres of water? Working on ATO but my sump is a tiny DIY job i did myself as there's only a very small cavity under the tank to place it so still working out how i can set that up

As carbon goes you need one that is going to be gentle on your system, my personal opinion is a carbon containing DI resin and GFO is a waste of money.

IMO - a gentle carbon should be changed monthly.
Look at Aqua forest carbon for an example of a good activated carbon.


Gotta love their claims:

"Chemipure also stabilizes water chemistry while keeping your pH levels perfectly constant. "

"Helps fish have a better appetite"

"Provides positive neurological reactions in fish"

"Increases fish life span"

and my absolute favorite:

"Prevents ion antagonism"

Don't you just hate it when your ions antagonize each other?

I am glad to hear you are investing in a refractometer.
Salinity swings of 3-4 liters are quite significant, glad to hear you are looking at an automatic top up option.

 

[Adam_w]

Yea my progress has been very slow on this tank just so you all know haha

At first I had it for like 3 months cycle with no fish then added 1 and then kept just fish for about a year

Found some mushroom polyps on sale for $5 so bought them after about a year and a half. Now slowly upping my game since my birthday last year when i got a better light and after a built my sump (not sure how much it does but hey)

I used bought the chemipure because before I was using RODI water i had algae everywhere but my nitrates were still low and being the noob i was didn't have a phosphate kit so i was like IT MUST BE PHOSPHATES THEN. Anyway bit of research here and there and i ended up with chemipure.

Very good to know my ions arent antagonizing eachother it ruins the whole tank when they fight


Pretty much now that I've moved it I'll just keep an eye on it and see if the other polyps open up. would there be anyway of the old ones coming back to life. They're just empty skeletons but do they regrow in that or will it just start sprouting new again?

 

[ReeferRob]

Duncans will tolerate a wide range of lighting from bright to lower light. they change colour depending on where they're placed. I have one colony right now that's in pretty dim lighting at 70cm deep and another that's about 30cm deep. Both are doing well and reproducing. Not the long stem Duncans, I can't keep them to save my ass, lol. I sell the hell out of them, and I saved a single polyp to try it in my one LPS run to see if I can keep it.

 

[Sam Parker]

Whilst the marketing department may have got excited and stretched the truth about Chemipure a bit, I still believe it is a decent product (well, great for nanos anyway).

I've used it for years in my RSM130 and it just works well. That being said, the InTank media tray forces water through it ala reactor style and the space you have to work with wouldn't allow much other options in the way of carbon, gfo and silicate remover.

But, if you have a sump, I agree - switch to something like AF carbon and run in a gentle reactor and switch out every 4-6 weeks.

All that being said, I would be surprised if that is the issue. Looks more like elegance warfare :)

 

[ezza]

I keep Duncans in the top third of the tank and they enjoy strong indirect flow. They multiply like crazy :) I'd say it's both the movement and the warfare that caused problems. My Duncan grows very well, I've had to cut it into pieces a couple of times to spread around the tank due to the increasing size, the Clowns love it. Hopefully now you have adjusted the position, it will do better.

 

[Susan Bates]

As this is a moderately difficult coral to keep, you should ensure your dKH, Cal and Mag levels are maintained at all times with minimal nitrate and phosphate levels. As this coral also has a calcified skeleton, it will consume calcium from your water. In set-ups with a good amount of LPS corals, it is not uncommon to have to dose dKH and Cal in order to keep the water parameters in line. With only a few LPS corals, a good water change schedule may be enough to maintain your parameters. This coral can also benefit from maintaining strontium levels if you do not have a good water change routine using a very good quality salt.

Duncan corals, as with all other LPS corals, should be added to mature aquariums. Provided all their requirements are met, they can grow to a very large colony within a few short years. Unless you are planning to move or frag your duncan coral, you should give it as much as 20 inches of space in your tank.

The Duncan coral will release sweeper / feeder tentacles from its heads to collect food. This will mostly happen when the tanks lights are off. These tentacles can also sting and damage or kill other corals within reach, which is how the duncan coral will defend itself. What makes the duncan coral more peaceful than most LPS coral is that its sweeper tentacles are much shorter in comparison only measuring a few inches in length.

Although the duncan coral will get what it needs from the lighting in your tank, it can also benefit from micro plankton or manual feeding of small pcs of meaty foods placed directly on the mouths at the center of each head. Although manual feedings are not required, it will help to accelerate growth.

I just read this on duncans, very interesting, my Duncans are the one thing that is going well and growing crazy in my tank(touch wood) they sit 3/4 of the way down the tank, and they also like to eat pellets that fall on them,but I didn't know to leave 20 inches of space around them,looks like i might run into trouble, i will take a photo when the lights are on and put it up here

 

[ezza]

I just read this on duncans, very interesting, my Duncans are the one thing that is going well and growing crazy in my tank(touch wood) they sit 3/4 of the way down the tank, and they also like to eat pellets that fall on them,but I didn't know to leave 20 inches of space around them,looks like i might run into trouble, i will take a photo when the lights are on and put it up here

Don't stress! If they're happy, don't change anything. I have always assumed they're an easy coral because mine thrive. Just leave it!

 

[Adam_w]

Will post more pictures when I get home! The old Duncan is still holding on to dear life - the flesh has stopped dying off. The front head is fully alive still and showing signs of new growth, even took some food the other day. The second head only died about half way through the polyp so I've no idea whats going to happen there.

Does anyone know while this starts regrowing (if it continues to do so) will it fill in the other dead parts that are now just skeleton? Or will that stay dead and it'll just have new growth from the living end