Bubble tip annenomes shrinking

[Javamynx]

So my bubble tips in my tank (13.5gal) have been doing well ( a little too well actually) but today i got home from work and i noticed they’re all shrunk down. My pulsing xenia also seems a little upset, with only some actually pulsing. I noticed my leather seemed to be shedding (polyps are closed and there was brown gunk sitting in the center) so i wondered if that could be causing it. I went ahead and siphoned out that gunk and cleared my protein skimmer to see if that solved the problem, but i wanted to get some opinions on weather or not y’all think that could be the cause. I tested the water and the nitrates are around 20ppm, usually at 0, and everything else was fine. I did a water change a little less than a week ago and added 5ml of API Complete Trace two days ago. all other corals/ critters (zoas, pallies, and some encrusters) all seem to be doing fine still. First pic was taken 3 days ago, second is what it looked like when i got home.

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

Do you run carbon at all? If not, you may want to as you have a pretty small volume of water and leathers can definitely produce a chemical reaction to fight off other corals.

If your nitrates are usually at 0 and the test is accurate that isn’t a good thing. With the corals you have you want some measurable nitrate and phosphate in the water.

If you are using the API nitrate test, I recommend getting something else as they are very error prone. Salifert or maybe even a hanna checker.

Sometimes my bubble tips will deflate for a portion of the day and then be back to normal the following day…so it may be nothing.

In 13.5 gallons the first step I would take is to do a water change and see if that helps.

 

[Airedale Reef]

Do you run carbon at all? If not, you may want to as you have a pretty small volume of water and leathers can definitely produce a chemical reaction to fight off other corals.

If your nitrates are usually at 0 and the test is accurate that isn’t a good thing. With the corals you have you want some measurable nitrate and phosphate in the water.

If you are using the API nitrate test, I recommend getting something else as they are very error prone. Salifert or maybe even a hanna checker.

Sometimes my bubble tips will deflate for a portion of the day and then be back to normal the following day…so it may be nothing.

In 13.5 gallons the first step I would take is to do a water change and see if that helps.

Couldn't have said it better if I tired!