Clove polyp disaster!

[Sharkbait19]

Hi,
A week ago, I purchased a couple new corals, one of which was a clove polyp colony. At the lfs, it was a large rock with dozens of healthy and happy clove polyps. I purchased it, and brought it home for my fluval 13.5. It was a beautiful colony. On the way back, however, I watched in their bag as one by one, the colony was falling apart! By the time I got home, only about 50% remained on the rock. I called the LFS, and they apologized, saying that the rock they were on was actually a sponge. They offered a complete refund if I returned it, but this store was not close, so I decided to salvage what I could. I took them off the sponge and threw the dying sponge out, and planted the coral across the tank. That lasted about a day. Slowly, many of the cloves deteriorated, melting and falling apart, leaving the crabs with plenty of food. Every day, there’s always at least one more dead clove polyp on the ground. I fear that by next week, I will have none.
Below is the state of the remaining polyps. Note that they are only closed because I just finished putting them back onto the rock, as my crabs like to make a big mess of my work.

To put things into perspective, here is how they looked yesterday:

I am open to literally any suggestions in saving the polyps, as I don’t want this much money going down the drain.

 

[DJ H]

Dip them in revive

 

[footgal]

I would break them off the sponge (carefully!) and try gluing them to a rock or plug. Hopefully they start reopening and doing well. Is anything else doing poorly? I’d imagine a sponge that big dying and decomposing in your tank can’t be great for water quality

 

[Sharkbait19]

I would break them off the sponge (carefully!) and try gluing them to a rock or plug. Hopefully they start reopening and doing well. Is anything else doing poorly? I’d imagine a sponge that big dying and decomposing in your tank can’t be great for water quality

I took them off the sponge as soon as I got them. I glued them to the rock all across the tank, but since then about 70% have died off.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Y’know, it’s at moments like this that I wish I didn’t have hermit crabs. They keep flipping everything over before anything establishes itself.

 

[Amstar]

I think you need to slow down and determine what is going on with your tank.

You have multiple threads of: unhappy xenia, potentially dying torch, toxic green trumpet losing color, clove polyp disaster, my snails keep dying, coral health crisis, concerning coral discoloration, new leather is dying, something is wiping out my fish

something isn’t right with your parameters, or your husbandry

 

[Leslie Tabor]

I just looked through your posts and I do have to agree with the above. You just started this tank in August, is this correct? So we are not even a full 3 months in? Saltwater in a tiny tank can be very difficult, you need to get your water parameters very stable. In these tiny tanks small changes become much more concerning. You mentioned skipping a cleaning and diatoms, velvet, and a lot of death which can muck up your water. I would stop. Take a breath. Then, test your water, clean your tank, and slow down. Nothing good happens fast in a reef...especially a teeny tiny reef.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I think you need to slow down and determine what is going on with your tank.

You have multiple threads of: unhappy xenia, potentially dying torch, toxic green trumpet losing color, clove polyp disaster, my snails keep dying, coral health crisis, concerning coral discoloration, new leather is dying, something is wiping out my fish

something isn’t right with your parameters, or your husbandry

So all those threads, if you actually did read through them, which I highly doubt, ended in them being nothing at all, just my paranoia and desire to do things right. Glad you can throw together titles and make assumptions, I can do that too. I can tell you with certainty my tank is very stable, and the only true crisis in the tank is a coral that was on a sponge, though I doubt you paid attention to that either. So thank you, but in 100% seriousness, NO THANK YOU.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I just looked through your posts and I do have to agree with the above. You just started this tank in August, is this correct? So we are not even a full 3 months in? Saltwater in a tiny tank can be very difficult, you need to get your water parameters very stable. In these tiny tanks small changes become much more concerning. You mentioned skipping a cleaning and diatoms, velvet, and a lot of death which can muck up your water. I would stop. Take a breath. Then, test your water, clean your tank, and slow down. Nothing good happens fast in a reef...especially a teeny tiny reef.

Thank you, but I learned from my mistakes with velvet. Now I quarantine. Lesson learned. Also, I’ve only skipped a cleaning once, because of personal reasons that kept me from doing so. I clean my tank every weekend, and just did so yesterday.
Gosh, I hate when people make assumptions without the full story. I did months of research, and getting fish from Petco with velvet is not poor husbandry or irresponsibleness. So...thanks?

 

[footgal]

Are these clove melting or falling off where they were mounted then withering away on the ground? Is it possible for you to Amazon prime in a magnetic frag rack if you don’t already have one? This way the hermits can’t bother them and they have a chance to recover. Regardless of other threads or comments, I just want to help you help these clove do well. I love clove and I have like 6 varieties, I think they’re gorgeous and I will always want them to do well no matter the situation or who’s tank they’re in

 

[Sharkbait19]

Are these clove melting or falling off where they were mounted then withering away on the ground? Is it possible for you to Amazon prime in a magnetic frag rack if you don’t already have one? This way the hermits can’t bother them and they have a chance to recover. Regardless of other threads or comments, I just want to help you help these clove do well. I love clove and I have like 6 varieties, I think they’re gorgeous and I will always want them to do well no matter the situation or who’s tank they’re in

Thanks! I’ll look into that! And I just want to thank you for how helpful you’ve been! Even through all my failures and losses, it’s good to have people who give helpful advice, so thanks!

 

[footgal]

Thanks! I’ll look into that! And I just want to thank you for how helpful you’ve been! Even through all my failures and losses, it’s good to have people who give helpful advice, so thanks!

It’s no problem! I’m not here to start a fight, I just want to help people to the best of my ability! My job here is to help people take the best care of their livestock as they possibly can, that’s it. Cloves are pretty hardy and grow fast so if you can save just a few polyps out of all of them, you’ll have a colony the same size as the original within a year

 

[Sharkbait19]

It’s no problem! I’m not here to start a fight, I just want to help people to the best of my ability! My job here is to help people take the best care of their livestock as they possibly can, that’s it. Cloves are pretty hardy and grow fast so if you can save just a few polyps out of all of them, you’ll have a colony the same size as the original within a year

Thanks!

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Thank you, but I learned from my mistakes with velvet. Now I quarantine. Lesson learned. Also, I’ve only skipped a cleaning once, because of personal reasons that kept me from doing so. I clean my tank every weekend, and just did so yesterday.
Gosh, I hate when people make assumptions without the full story. I did months of research, and getting fish from Petco with velvet is not poor husbandry or irresponsibleness. So...thanks?

No one is making assumptions. I went back and literally read all your threads to try to help you. If that is not the full story I apologize. You seemed, based on your posts, to have had a lot of struggles with many different aspects of your tank. IMO taking a step back and regrouping is a valid suggestion not a judgment. Wish you the best with your cloves, they are tough, they will come back.

 

[jeffchapok]

If this tank is only 3 months old as mentioned, I suggest you slow way down and not spend a lot of money on anything just yet. I didn't have a great deal of success with many corals until my tank was 9 or 10 months old. Even zoas, which are commonly recommended as good starter corals, would just slowly waste away. Now they grow like weeds.

I was fastidious about testing, but there's just something about new tanks that takes a while to settle in. Now I hardly test at all and just do water changes when things don't seem to be thriving like they should.

If you want to try corals now, stick to the hardier and cheaper stuff like some mushrooms and leather corals. I had the most luck early on with those, especially hairy shrooms, toadstools, cabbage leathers and kenya trees.

 

[homer1475]

Weeds.

Let them die, you'll thank me later when your tank is overrun and nothing grows but the cloves.

I actually rebooted a tank many years ago because of just what I said above. My rocks and glass were literally covered in clove polyps. Nothing grew except the cloves because they grow like weeds and strangle anything else out. Their means of coral warfare is how prolifically they grow.

FWIW, I would tend to agree with some of the above posters. If you cannot grow clove polyps, there is something chemically, or biologically wrong with your tank.

Saying your tank has rock solid parameters means nothing to us. What you may think is right, may in fact be way off. Post some actual numbers.

 

[homer1475]

So all those threads, if you actually did read through them, which I highly doubt, ended in them being nothing at all, just my paranoia and desire to do things right. Glad you can throw together titles and make assumptions, I can do that too. I can tell you with certainty my tank is very stable, and the only true crisis in the tank is a coral that was on a sponge, though I doubt you paid attention to that either. So thank you, but in 100% seriousness, NO THANK YOU.

Gosh, I hate when people make assumptions without the full story. I did months of research, and getting fish from Petco with velvet is not poor husbandry or irresponsibleness. So...thanks?

FWIW.....

Attitude like this, won't get you much help around here. Theres an old saying.... You'll catch more bees with honey, then with vinegar. Some people like to just rip people apart. Be the better man and just ignore it. Don't fuel the fire by responding in such a manner.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Thanks everyone for your help. I agree I was more irresponsible towards the beginning, and I am certain you all are here to help, and I think I will slow down for the benefit of my tank. I definitely want to do things right, and will try my best to take as best care as possible of my tank. Thank you.

 

[Amstar]

I dont think you are being irresponsible, i think you have a case of - I want my tank to be corals and fish and look great ASAP -- cant blame you, we all want that. Patience grasshopper - with the help of R2R you and your tank will get there

with the filtration in your fluval chambers what are you using for media? are you just relying on your live rock for beneficial bacteria? What are your parameters - ph, nitrates, nitrites. ammonia - post your numbers? are you dosing anything?

Also when you do your "cleaning" of the tank = how do you do this/what do you do (clean the glass? change water? water changes?) What type of water are you using for your new batch of water when you do water changes? Are you trying to match your new water with the tank water (temp, ph, salinity, etc) before you do your water change?

What is your lighting schedule? do you see some cloves doing better than others? ones in certain flow in the tank or light (lower part of the tank, middle part of the tank etc)?

 

[Sharkbait19]

I dont think you are being irresponsible, i think you have a case of - I want my tank to be corals and fish and look great ASAP -- cant blame you, we all want that. Patience grasshopper - with the help of R2R you and your tank will get there

with the filtration in your fluval chambers what are you using for media? are you just relying on your live rock for beneficial bacteria? What are your parameters - ph, nitrates, nitrites. ammonia - post your numbers? are you dosing anything?

Also when you do your "cleaning" of the tank = how do you do this/what do you do (clean the glass? change water? water changes?) What type of water are you using for your new batch of water when you do water changes? Are you trying to match your new water with the tank water (temp, ph, salinity, etc) before you do your water change?

What is your lighting schedule? do you see some cloves doing better than others? ones in certain flow in the tank or light (lower part of the tank, middle part of the tank etc)?

Thank you! I find that the smaller and younger cloves look the best, the ones situated in the middle of the tank. I am currently running on stock filtration and flow but plan to upgrade that soon, as I am looking into a powerhead and random flow generator. My lighting schedule is 12 hours a day with stock lighting. I clean my tank once a week, sometimes more, and do 10-30%, usually 30%, especially recently. I scrape algae off of the glass and rocks and sift through the sand, sometimes siphoning stuff out if there seems to be a need for that. I use RO water when I fill the tank back up with reef crystals. I match the temperature and salinity as best as I can.
As far as testing water goes, I have not done that in a while. However, I purchased a brand new reef test kit, and I will be sure to test the water later today and post it as soon as I can.