Birdnest polyps not extending

[jdpeters]

Newer setup about 3 months old. Have several easy sps I added 2 weeks ago. I have a fuzzy green birds nest that the last few days has slowly started not extending all of its polyps. Any ideas? Salinity is 35ppt alk 8.8. I have a minor suspicion is might be a little too close to a power heads direct flow but other sps are similarly placed and seem unaffected. I think there might be a spot where the tissue is gone, hope nothing is eating it. Can birdnest not always handle as much flow as similar sps?

Also this hologram hammer came in looking great from TSA but slowly the last few days the head has been retracting. Nothing obvious seems to be irritating it. No brown jelly. Should I dip it?

 

[pooootiqe]

Did you put in any additives (amino acids, carbon source etc) or absorbents (GAC) recently?

 

[jdpeters]

Did you put in any additives (amino acids, carbon source etc) or absorbents (GAC) recently?

Negative, I ran carbon about a week ago for 2-3 days. I’ve check at night with a flash light and haven’t been able to see any potential pest.

 

[jdpeters]

Did you put in any additives (amino acids, carbon source etc) or absorbents (GAC) recently?

I was hoping to get a little more traction. Unfortunately with these corals coming from TSA I assume they were coming from near perfect parameters and my tank is only about 3 months old. I figured the birdsnest would have been easy as cake but polyps are still mostly sucked it. Not seeing any tissue loss. Nitrates are less than 5ppm.

Would trying some acro power might help it perk up? My digi, spongodes, stylophora, leptoseris all are doing good, minor growth and full polyp extension.

Would you suggest maybe dipping the hammer?

 

[pooootiqe]

I'm afraid I'm not experienced enough to suggest any actions. From personal experience my SPS would retract polyps when there's a sudden swing in light intensity, additives (my milka stylo would retract its polyps almost immediately after dosing Zeostart), flow (usually from low to high), etc.

You could do a larger water change and see if it helps? If things improve there could be something undesirable in the water, running a small amount of carbon could be useful in that case.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Newer setup about 3 months old. Have several easy sps I added 2 weeks ago. I have a fuzzy green birds nest that the last few days has slowly started not extending all of its polyps. Any ideas? Salinity is 35ppt alk 8.8. I have a minor suspicion is might be a little too close to a power heads direct flow but other sps are similarly placed and seem unaffected. I think there might be a spot where the tissue is gone, hope nothing is eating it. Can birdnest not always handle as much flow as similar sps?

Also this hologram hammer came in looking great from TSA but slowly the last few days the head has been retracting. Nothing obvious seems to be irritating it. No brown jelly. Should I dip it?

I suspect too much flow for the birdsnest. Could you try to get a video demonstrating the flow that the coral is getting? My stylophora (very, very similar to birdsnest) was getting too much flow, and wasn't opening. The spot that was getting too much flow lost all polyps. I slightly adjusted the flow and now the corals polyps are longer than ever see before.

 

[jdpeters]

I suspect too much flow for the birdsnest. Could you try to get a video demonstrating the flow that the coral is getting? My stylophora (very, very similar to birdsnest) was getting too much flow, and wasn't opening. The spot that was getting too much flow lost all polyps. I slightly adjusted the flow and now the corals polyps are longer than ever see before.

That’s a pretty good guess but the flow was already pretty gentle, all my other sps are getting equal or more and still are fully extended. It might be a worthwhile experiment to try moving it the power head.

I’m gonna get a phosphate test to see where I’m at but is nitrate less than 5ppm a little too clean?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

That’s a pretty good guess but the flow was already pretty gentle, all my other sps are getting equal or more and still are fully extended. It might be a worthwhile experiment to try moving it the power head.

I’m gonna get a phosphate test to see where I’m at but is nitrate less than 5ppm a little too clean?

My nitrates are at 2.5, way too low for my liking but I haven't had any issues of my water being too clean... yet. Well, I guess I had dinos but thats as when I was going through the ugly stage. What kind of lighting is the birdsnest getting?

 

[jdpeters]

My nitrates are at 2.5, way too low for my liking but I haven't had any issues of my water being too clean... yet. Well, I guess I had dinos but thats as when I was going through the ugly stage. What kind of lighting is the birdsnest getting?

I don’t have a parmeter but I suspect it’s under 200 based on the diagram that I got from reef breeders. It’s a photon v2 pro. I moved one of my Nero 3s a bit maybe that will help. Flow is so hard for me to dial in

 

[jdpeters]

My nitrates are at 2.5, way too low for my liking but I haven't had any issues of my water being too clean... yet. Well, I guess I had dinos but thats as when I was going through the ugly stage. What kind of lighting is the birdsnest getting?

I’ve read that some BN are a little more finicky than others, I just assumed they were bullet proof. On the underside of one branch there is a little bit of missing tissue, maybe it was flow related. On the opposite side of the tank there’s a FF red digi basically near my other Nero 3 getting the same level of flow and doing just fine.

I moved the power head just a bit. If it’s flow related, is it possible for it to recover. The polyps most exposed to that direction of flow were the first to start retracting.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

What’s your mag at? The torch being like that makes me wonder if your mag has dropped out.

 

[jdpeters]

What’s your mag at? The torch being like that makes me wonder if your mag has dropped out.

No idea I don’t test for it. I probably should own a magnesium test kit just to know what my baseline is.

It’s a hammer. It was a little more puffy this evening. I tried feeding it frozen mysis but I’m not convinced it was successful

 

[Sdoutreefer]

No idea I don’t test for it. I probably should own a magnesium test kit just to know what my baseline is.

It’s a hammer. It was a little more puffy this evening. I tried feeding it frozen mysis but I’m not convinced it was successful

If you're not testing for Mag you should be. Hammer, my bad. Euphylia is Euphylia IMO. Need to get a test kit for the big 3 major elements and list those paremeters before people can start trouble shooting.

Also your No3 is pretty low for LPS. They like a dirtier water. Get your No3 to at the very least 10ppm.

 

[jdpeters]

If you're not testing for Mag you should be. Hammer, my bad. Euphylia is Euphylia IMO. Need to get a test kit for the big 3 major elements and list those paremeters before people can start trouble shooting.

Also your No3 is pretty low for LPS. They like a dirtier water. Get your No3 to at the very least 10ppm.

I’m starting to suspect that my birdsnest and hammer coral were reacting to carbon that I ran for 2-3 days. I had a bacterial bloom and wanted to clear it up a little bit. I was also using a clarifier. I think that combined with low nutrients might have been the culprit.

Slowly my hammer is getting back to being fluffier each day, birdsnest isn’t but it’s not worsening.

Is a negative response to GAC a potential?

 

[jdpeters]

I'm afraid I'm not experienced enough to suggest any actions. From personal experience my SPS would retract polyps when there's a sudden swing in light intensity, additives (my milka stylo would retract its polyps almost immediately after dosing Zeostart), flow (usually from low to high), etc.

You could do a larger water change and see if it helps? If things improve there could be something undesirable in the water, running a small amount of carbon could be useful in that case.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

I’m starting to think that the half cup of carbon I ran in my media reactor that I plumbed in for a few days was the culprit. Hammer is starting to look better.

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

I run (Red Sea or Seachem) carbon 24/7 and have no issues with hammers or birdsnest. Do you rinse it before use?

 

[Maize & Blue]

From what I’ve read, it’s not a good habit to move your powerhead for one or two corals If the rest are doing well. You may fix the one or two but damage the other ones that were good. It’s always easier to move the coral unless you’ve crazy glued it in place.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

I’m starting to suspect that my birdsnest and hammer coral were reacting to carbon that I ran for 2-3 days. I had a bacterial bloom and wanted to clear it up a little bit. I was also using a clarifier. I think that combined with low nutrients might have been the culprit.

Slowly my hammer is getting back to being fluffier each day, birdsnest isn’t but it’s not worsening.

Is a negative response to GAC a potential?

Yes, you could see a negative response from GAC, especially if you are using too much.

Check your mag too when you can.

 

[pooootiqe]

Are you running ROX 0.8 or something very efficient? Try https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator/carbon-calculator-aquarium and see if you're running too much carbon.

If the timeline of running carbon and polyp retraction don't match up, it probably isn't the direct cause. DOC should only increase overtime without carbon.

 

[pooootiqe]

Some pocilloporidae can definitely handle a lot of flow. Here’s my purple stylo right under MP40 flow looking extra fluffy, more than usual. Not sure why but ain’t complaining.