symphillia

[Susan Edwards]

I've posted for help twice in the LPS forum but am not getting much response so I'm going to post here in case not many check out the coral threads. I really need some advice on this coral.

I've had this coral since beg. of August. It has never fleshed out. It gets a bit of flesh showing after lights out but never fully. I've also never seen feeding tentacles. I put pellets or frozen food on it and it just gets blown away.

I had it on the bottom initially, moved it up 2/3's thinking it needed more light. It looked worse, put it back down. On advice of one person, moved it under an overhang for even less light. Seemed to not do any better, maybe worse. Moved it back up a few weeks ago, not quite as high as before. Fleshes out a bit at night but just doesn't seem to be doing well no matter where I put it or for how long.

All other corals are thriving. Currently putting together pics of when I first got and now to put in my build thread. Some are doing amazingly well.
Am: 0, Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 20ish, PO4 .1-.2 as a rule, MG usually around 1300 though a bit lower now since I started auto dosing. Trying to get it back up slowly. CA 400, Alk 8-9

Pics of when I first got it and currently. Just not sure what to do with it or if it was near dead when I got it and it's a lost cause.
Aug 2017

This month. this is the most flesh I've see on it.Taken lights off, maybe early morning And not everyday. It is the best so far in this position. Under t5's Never fleshed out this much anywhere else. But that is it. Lights come on and recedes.

Pic just now taken. This what it looks like every day with lights on and even on the sand bed during day

Full tank shot

 

[thaitopher]

I've posted for help twice in the LPS forum but am not getting much response so I'm going to post here in case not many check out the coral threads. I really need some advice on this coral.

I've had this coral since beg. of August. It has never fleshed out. It gets a bit of flesh showing after lights out but never fully. I've also never seen feeding tentacles. I put pellets or frozen food on it and it just gets blown away.

I had it on the bottom initially, moved it up 2/3's thinking it needed more light. It looked worse, put it back down. On advice of one person, moved it under an overhang for even less light. Seemed to not do any better, maybe worse. Moved it back up a few weeks ago, not quite as high as before. Fleshes out a bit at night but just doesn't seem to be doing well no matter where I put it or for how long.

All other corals are thriving. Currently putting together pics of when I first got and now to put in my build thread. Some are doing amazingly well.
Am: 0, Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 20ish, PO4 .1-.2 as a rule, MG usually around 1300 though a bit lower now since I started auto dosing. Trying to get it back up slowly. CA 400, Alk 8-9

Pics of when I first got it and currently. Just not sure what to do with it or if it was near dead when I got it and it's a lost cause.
Aug 2017

This month. this is the most flesh I've see on it.Taken lights off, maybe early morning And not everyday. It is the best so far in this position. Under t5's Never fleshed out this much anywhere else. But that is it. Lights come on and recedes.

Pic just now taken. This what it looks like every day with lights on and even on the sand bed during day

Full tank shot

In one of those pics it looks a lot like brown jelly disease. If it is, I would throw out the entire coral before it spreads to all of your other coral. It might just be the color of the flesh of the coral??? Hard to tell

 

[Susan Edwards]

I think it is just the flesh as it recedes with light and returns in the dark. It has always been like this since day 1

 

[thaitopher]

I think it is just the flesh as it recedes with light and returns in the dark. It has always been like this since day 1

Gotcha. I don't have these coral so I am no help. Sorry.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Have you seen any fish picking at it?

High flow can also stress out the fleshy brains.

Last thing is (and could be most likely) have you had alk swings lately? I know you said you were dialing in an auto doser. Alk swings can wreak havoc on stony corals

 

[reef lover]

I would put in lower light and low flow area. The pellets getting blown off tells me there's too much flow on the flesh of the coral.

 

[Susan Edwards]

@Labridaedicted No on fish picking at it. In fact it was in a fallow tank until a couple weeks ago. I have a scooter blenny and 2 chromis back in there now. My alk has been pretty steady between 8-9, no big swings.

I've had it down on sand bed in low light and low flow and even shaded. I'll try moving it back down again. There are a couple rocks I might be able to tuck it into. Here is what it looks like this morning. this is typical and what it has been like since I bought it in august.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Today I moved the coral back to the sand bed but close to a rock on other side of tank and close to 2 mushrooms on rocks. I could tell by them that the flow was pretty low. Tonight it has fleshed out the most I've ever seen and much faster. So the issue wasn't too little or too much light but flow. I'll be curious to see what it looks like in the am before light come back on.