Devil's hand dying?

[Thalia]

This is the same guy that got detached a few weeks ago, he's attached to this bit of rubble and I moved him into a slightly less strong light/flow area. He had been extending his polyps but the last two days or so he's not and he's developed this teal colour. What's going on? Is there anything I can do to help?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Toadstool leathers like light and good amount of flow and nutrients in the water, these are the 3 keys. Seeing it turn white is not good, means its dying.

We all have different opinions on what is low flow and low lighting, so if you can share more details about your tank - water parameters, type of lighting and flow - then folks can offer more suggestions.

 

[Thalia]

Toadstool leathers like light and good amount of flow and nutrients in the water, these are the 3 keys. Seeing it turn white is not good, means its dying.

We all have different opinions on what is low flow and low lighting, so if you can share more details about your tank - water parameters, type of lighting and flow - then folks can offer more suggestions.

75 gallon tank, running fluval aquasky for sunrise/sunset/moonlight and Coralife actinic 39w t5 ho and 10k 39w t5 ho lights that are on for 8 hours. I have a gyre (hygger 18w) on one side and a wave maker (hygger 6w) on the other, which is the same side the return (sunpole vsr 9000 at 3rd speed) comes in on.
Tank parameters have been mostly stable, I'll check them tomorrow but as of a few days ago, salinity 35 ppm, pH between 8.35-8.1 (this is different it used to stay between 8.4-8.3 but the last week it's been dropping), alkalinity 8 dKH, ammonia/nitrite 0,calcium 360 (I'm slowly switching from IO salt to reef crystals, so this is coming up slowly with each water change), nitrate 5, phosphate trace (not yellow but not green enough to be on the scale).
A few things happened this week that might have affected it. I tried spot feeding phyto to all my corals. I also accidentally bumped this guy and he fell over while I was doing some maintenance. The place I got it from said they're basically unkillable, but I'm worried.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I'm not familiar with t5 lights so maybe someone can help, but if I read correctly you have 2 t5 bars of 39 watts, so basically 80 watts? Again I'm not familiar with t5, but I do use metal halides, and its always been my understanding that MH and t5 can both use the same watts per gallon formula, the formula is 3-5 watts per gallon. I have a 40 gallon tank, my MH is 150 watts, and for a 75 gallon tank you should have 225-375 watts. I'm not sure if you have other corals and how are they doing, or if you have ever taken a par reading in your tank, but I would suggest to do a little more research into the lighting aspect. Good luck

 

[Thalia]

I have other easy corals that seem to be pretty happy. Discosoma mushroom, cespitularia, Kenya tree, hammer, hairy green mushroom, rusty gorgonian, candy canes and cloves all seem to be doing pretty well. The cloves were struggling initially, but they've been looking much nicer the last week or so.
I've had a hard time finding info on t5's too, I'll do some more reading. From what I've been able to find my aquasky alone should be adequate for these. My macroalgae is also thriving. Unfortunately, getting a parr meter is a no go they're too expensive and no one rents them near me.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Your lights are fine and parameters look good too for what you have in your tank. I would let things (mainly your bacterial biome) stabilize a bit before worrying. Leathers are pretty forgiving if not “drama queens”. You have a lot of softy corals which like water on the dirtier side so you’ll have to monitor your nutrients so that they’re happy and that it doesn’t cause an algae explosion. The best thing right now is to let what you have grow out and let the bacterial biome in your tank develop with the coral you have. Overtime as your tank matures with bacteria you’ll have less fluctuations and more stability, once this happens you’ll see your corals take off. Routine is the key to success!! You got this!!!

 

[Thalia]

Your lights are fine and parameters look good too for what you have in your tank. I would let things (mainly your bacterial biome) stabilize a bit before worrying. Leathers are pretty forgiving if not “drama queens”. You have a lot of softy corals which like water on the dirtier side so you’ll have to monitor your nutrients so that they’re happy and that it doesn’t cause an algae explosion. The best thing right now is to let what you have grow out and let the bacterial biome in your tank develop with the coral you have. Overtime as your tank matures with bacteria you’ll have less fluctuations and more stability, once this happens you’ll see your corals take off. Routine is the key to success!! You got this!!!

Thank you! My nitrates had been steady at 20 for weeks before I added my corals and they've bottomed out the last 2 weeks. I've been feeding a little heavier to try to help, I also added some new fish. I'll test today and make sure nothing has gone totally wonky. My well water has high nitrates (around 40) so if I really get in a pinch I can use that to top up and see if it helps levels.
I specifically picked soft/easy photosynthetic corals. The drama queen aspect I hadn't anticipated lol I'll try not to worry, the teal colouration seems to be spreading...

 

[MDahms]

Check to see if those coloured blotches are actually the mucus layer being shed. If it is you’ll be able to gently brush them away. These corals are very tough but one thing they struggle with is deteriorating if they can’t successfully shed that mucus layer. Even a very soft tooth brush to gently exfoliate it works well. Areas that have a failed shed can turn white/grey and start to rot.

 

[Thalia]

Check to see if those coloured blotches are actually the mucus layer being shed. If it is you’ll be able to gently brush them away. These corals are very tough but one thing they struggle with is deteriorating if they can’t successfully shed that mucus layer. Even a very soft tooth brush to gently exfoliate it works well. Areas that have a failed shed can turn white/grey and start to rot.

Oh ok, I'll try some gentle exfoliation tomorrow. It is still fluorescing, not sure if that's a good sign or not?

 

[MDahms]

Oh ok, I'll try some gentle exfoliation tomorrow. It is still fluorescing, not sure if that's a good sign or not?

It looks pretty good in the photo. It may just be some uneven colouration and nothing to worry about. I just know from experience to always watch them closely if they close up for longer than a day or two.