MischiefReef
Active Member
Hi everyone, I know there has been a few threads on this topic in the past but wanted some feedback on my particular situation.
So I have had this green birdsnest coral for about 5 years. In that time it has been fragged many times and the current colony in question was grown from a frag of the original colony. In the same tank I also have other frags from that original colony growing in different flow rates and slightly different PAR. In higher flow rates I’ve gotten thinner branches and no issues with shading/STN on the shaded areas. For this one colony it is sitting in a much slower flow and the branches grew in thick and very densely, it’s now starting to lose flesh off the base as well as on some lower branches.
Sorry for the long description but my questions would be:
Short of adjusting the flow in that area, is there any methods you guys know of to keep the birds nest from so aggressively shading itself out?
If I frag and trim back the top growth to get light back on the lower areas is there any hope in recovering the tissue and polyps in the bleached areas at the bottom that appear to be bare skeleton now?
Given the current appearance, do you guys think it’s better to frag and regrow the colony or just keep letting the lower branches die?
From what I’ve observed it takes about 1-2weeks for a shaded branch to go from healthy to bleached and about another week for tissue to dissolve. Does this seem like it could be anything more serious than shading related loss? Due to the slow progression, it doesn’t seem like RTN to me and the other SPS, including clones of this colony are all looking fine. That being said, I only label this progression as slow relative to “beginner me” who could nuke an SPS colony in under 24 hours without breaking a sweat.
Params:
Salinity: 1.025
Alk:11.5-12
PH:8.3
NO3:10-40
PO4:0.-0.5
Calcium:450-470
Mag:1350-1380
Pics below. First pic is colony in question. In second pic, the red circle is the location of the colony. The yellow circles are the locations of all the other clones of this colony. None of the others have this issue. Sorry for the blurry pictures, my fish think every photo should be of them and they diligently photobomb any coral photos I try to take.
Any and all feedback appreciated. Thanks in advance!
So I have had this green birdsnest coral for about 5 years. In that time it has been fragged many times and the current colony in question was grown from a frag of the original colony. In the same tank I also have other frags from that original colony growing in different flow rates and slightly different PAR. In higher flow rates I’ve gotten thinner branches and no issues with shading/STN on the shaded areas. For this one colony it is sitting in a much slower flow and the branches grew in thick and very densely, it’s now starting to lose flesh off the base as well as on some lower branches.
Sorry for the long description but my questions would be:
Short of adjusting the flow in that area, is there any methods you guys know of to keep the birds nest from so aggressively shading itself out?
If I frag and trim back the top growth to get light back on the lower areas is there any hope in recovering the tissue and polyps in the bleached areas at the bottom that appear to be bare skeleton now?
Given the current appearance, do you guys think it’s better to frag and regrow the colony or just keep letting the lower branches die?
From what I’ve observed it takes about 1-2weeks for a shaded branch to go from healthy to bleached and about another week for tissue to dissolve. Does this seem like it could be anything more serious than shading related loss? Due to the slow progression, it doesn’t seem like RTN to me and the other SPS, including clones of this colony are all looking fine. That being said, I only label this progression as slow relative to “beginner me” who could nuke an SPS colony in under 24 hours without breaking a sweat.
Params:
Salinity: 1.025
Alk:11.5-12
PH:8.3
NO3:10-40
PO4:0.-0.5
Calcium:450-470
Mag:1350-1380
Pics below. First pic is colony in question. In second pic, the red circle is the location of the colony. The yellow circles are the locations of all the other clones of this colony. None of the others have this issue. Sorry for the blurry pictures, my fish think every photo should be of them and they diligently photobomb any coral photos I try to take.
Any and all feedback appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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