Beginner help. Rocks/coral falling over.

Jamakle

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I need some help/advice regarding coral. In the first two pictures you can see a piece of green coral (about a third of the way in from the left) that is surrounded by another type of coral. Since those pictures were taken the rocks to the left of the green coral have fallen down and completely covered the green one. I have tried to lift the two rocks up and put them back but the rocks move but the coral seems like it is stuck to the green one.
Can anyone advise me on how to sort this? Please forgive my lack of knowledge, I have inherited the tank and I’m still learning.
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MnFish1

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That is a nice look for a tank. Honestly - im not sure which coral you're trying to move./etc. There may be more with expertise here - but I would leave it - and let it survive or not. But - again - im not sure if you mean the smalll tiny green one - or the nice larger green one. Your tank looks great - so part of it it is 'do I like my tank how it is' or do I want to mess with the rocks to save the green one. Its up to you. Either way - both the soft corals will likely do fine.
 
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Jamakle

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Yeah the photos aren’t the best. I’ll get another one tomorrow that will show the difference more clearly. But it’s the larger luminous green one in the middle of the circle of toadstool leathers (I think that’s what they are) that is now covered, and some of the toadstools are now touching the front glass too. I want to move the rocks to maintain the aesthetics/layout but don’t want to do any damage, like I’ve said I’m very much a beginner that was lucky enough to inherit the tank.
 

CindyKz

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Softies are very hardy corals. I wouldn't worry too much about damaging them, just rearrange the rocks how you like while making sure they get light and flow.

Oh, but please wear gloves when moving rock. I just finished a 4 day hospital stay thanks to "a little scratch" that got badly infected. Amazon sells some good ones.
 
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Jamakle

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Softies are very hardy corals. I wouldn't worry too much about damaging them, just rearrange the rocks how you like while making sure they get light and flow.

Oh, but please wear gloves when moving rock. I just finished a 4 day hospital stay thanks to "a little scratch" that got badly infected. Amazon sells some good ones.
Which ones are soft coral? The rocks move ok but the way the toadstools have formed they have caused the rocks to fall down with the weight of the coral. And it’s the side of the toadstool that is stuck to something.

Will search for some gloves now, are they special aquarium ones?
 

CindyKz

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I see all soft corals in your picture, someone else might see something I missed. A couple of different types of sponges too, don't worry about them. They can survive darn near anything and are beneficial to your tank. That is a very pretty tank.

I ordered these. I haven't actually used them yet because I can't get my hand anywhere near the tank until it is completely healed LOL. But they seem like they will work well.

 
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Jamakle

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I see all soft corals in your picture, someone else might see something I missed. A couple of different types of sponges too, don't worry about them. They can survive darn near anything and are beneficial to your tank. That is a very pretty tank.

I ordered these. I haven't actually used them yet because I can't get my hand anywhere near the tank until it is completely healed LOL. But they seem like they will work well.


Thank you but I can’t take credit for the tank. The first picture was a few months ago before I bought the house it’s in, it’s all getting a bit overgrown now.
I really want the green one on show that’s in the first picture hence needing to move the two that have fallen. I just don’t want to break anything as the bits where the toadstools are attached seemed very flimsy
 

CindyKz

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I'm still not real clear about which two you want to move, but those corals are pretty tough. Even if you damage them a little at the attachment site they will just grow over, as long as you don't completely rip them off the rock or something. (Even if you did that, they would probably be ok but getting them to reattach to a rock is sort of a pain.) After you move them they will be grumpy and might not extend their polyps or inflate well, so expect that.

If they are attached to more than one rock and you need to separate them you can use a new razor to cut it away a bit. Don't be surprised if a whole new coral grows in its' place.

I am pretty sure the green one is a cabbage leather.
 
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Jamakle

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I'm still not real clear about which two you want to move, but those corals are pretty tough. Even if you damage them a little at the attachment site they will just grow over, as long as you don't completely rip them off the rock or something. (Even if you did that, they would probably be ok but getting them to reattach to a rock is sort of a pain.) After you move them they will be grumpy and might not extend their polyps or inflate well, so expect that.

If they are attached to more than one rock and you need to separate them you can use a new razor to cut it away a bit. Don't be surprised if a whole new coral grows in its' place.

I am pretty sure the green one is a cabbage leather.
0EB055D4-C79A-49BB-BA4A-47F530C7748B.jpeg

It’s those two rocks that have fallen and you can see the very thin bit that the coral is attached by
 

GThompson

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I would move them back where you want them, just try to move them slowly so if they are entangled on something it’ll have time to release. Like everyone is saying, they are a good bit tougher than you think. If torn they will usually grow back. Good luck with them. Good score on the tank. It looks nice.
 
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Jamakle

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I have managed to move them but couldn’t separate them as they had grafted themselves to the other rocks. One of them did snap off the rock but that one is joined to another so fingers crossed it will be ok.
I am a happier with the way it looks, I felt it was being over powered by toadstools in that area
 

MnFish1

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Honestly - I would not move anything. (partly because it looks good now) - they are hardy corals - but moving them - can cause them to release toxins, and cause other far worse problems. The green corals will move/grow where they want to - I think the tank looks great. I wiped out a nice tank trying to trim back a leather coral.
 
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Jamakle

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Hi everyone me again with a possible stupid question....
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Does anybody know what that green bit that appears to have attached itself to the other coral? Will it do it any harm?
 

BeejReef

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Sounds like your aquascape is unbalanced bc of coral growth and the pieces to the puzzle won't go back together and balance like they used to... correct?

As others have stated, u can just leave it alone and learn to love it the way it is, or you can get in there shoulder-deep and try to stabilize the rocks. It's slimy and gross, but god has provided us with gloves and showers :)

You could go all out, get a trash can full of saltwater, pull out rocks, drill them, and zip tie or piece them together with fiberglass rods. That's probably the best/most permanent solution. If it's just a rock or two and you want to try to fix it "in the tank," I've had good luck with marine epoxy like this https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/two-little-fishies-aquastik-underwater-epoxy-putty.html

Find 3 or four points where the problem rock naturally touches the base rock you want it to stay attached to. Knead the putty as directed. Put some superglue on one side of the epoxy ball and push it into the top rock (repeat 3x). Then apply superglue to all 3 or 4 of the epoxy balls that you've just glued to the rock you're holding. Lower the rock into the tank onto the target rock, apply gentle/firm pressure to smush the putty into the rock structure of the tank.

You wouldn't think it to be true, but superglue can be used in aquariums and actually seems to dry faster underwater. I just wouldn't trust it alone to hold together a rock structure.
 

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