Frogspawn has two mouths? Is he stressed?

[nutturbutter]

Hi everyone,

I’m super new to reef keeping and just got my frogspawn coral almost two weeks ago. I have a small 5 gallon tank (yes, I know bad to start with such a small tank but, I am super limited on space). He’s the only thing in the tank except for the live rock and a starfish that somehow appeared.

The first week I had my frogspawn, he looked a lot more puffy during the day and his tentacles kind of “danced.” I did a water change about 5 days ago and moved him around a little during the day (that was a mistake, I won’t be doing that again) but, he didn’t really get damaged. I don’t see any polyp bailout.

He still puffs up in the light but it’s just not as much as before and I’ve noticed two mouths now starting to form when he’s sleeping at night. I’ve attached a picture below for reference. Is he splitting?? Do I need nitrates? Any advice is helpful as I really am finding the saltwater world to be a large learning curve.

Tank parameters when I checked last
Temp - 78
pH - 8.0
Ammonia, NO2, NO3 - 0
Salinity - 1.023
Mag - 1140-1170
Calcium - 490-500
Alkalinity - 14.4 dKh

I know the magnesium could be better and the dKh could be lower. This was the day after a water change using pre mixed saltwater from the store. The pic below is from about 4 days after that water change.

Thanks!

 

[Reeflix]

this just a another head!

 

[Reeflix]

calcium is a bit high, yes nitrate and phos are very important, i recommend .1 phos, 10-20 nitrate, also mag is a bit low, and alk is a bit high. my recommended levels are, calcium, 420-450, phos .1, nitrate 10-20, alk 8-9.5, and mag 1300 -1400.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Frogs need phos and nitrate. Mag in the middle 1300's up to 1400. Stability and proper flow. Salinity at 1.025 and descent light. Just my experience with mine.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone,

I’m super new to reef keeping and just got my frogspawn coral almost two weeks ago. I have a small 5 gallon tank (yes, I know bad to start with such a small tank but, I am super limited on space). He’s the only thing in the tank except for the live rock and a starfish that somehow appeared.

The first week I had my frogspawn, he looked a lot more puffy during the day and his tentacles kind of “danced.” I did a water change about 5 days ago and moved him around a little during the day (that was a mistake, I won’t be doing that again) but, he didn’t really get damaged. I don’t see any polyp bailout.

He still puffs up in the light but it’s just not as much as before and I’ve noticed two mouths now starting to form when he’s sleeping at night. I’ve attached a picture below for reference. Is he splitting?? Do I need nitrates? Any advice is helpful as I really am finding the saltwater world to be a large learning curve.

Tank parameters when I checked last
Temp - 78
pH - 8.0
Ammonia, NO2, NO3 - 0
Salinity - 1.023
Mag - 1140-1170
Calcium - 490-500
Alkalinity - 14.4 dKh

I know the magnesium could be better and the dKh could be lower. This was the day after a water change using pre mixed saltwater from the store. The pic below is from about 4 days after that water change.

Thanks!

May be a new head or splitting

 

[Cichlid Dad]

calcium is a bit high, yes nitrate and phos are very important, i recommend .1 phos, 10-20 nitrate, also mag is a bit low, and alk is a bit high. my recommended levels are, calcium, 420-450, phos .1, nitrate 10-20, alk 8-9.5, and mag 1300 -1400.

LoL, I was writing when you posted.

 

[nutturbutter]

calcium is a bit high, yes nitrate and phos are very important, i recommend .1 phos, 10-20 nitrate, also mag is a bit low, and alk is a bit high. my recommended levels are, calcium, 420-450, phos .1, nitrate 10-20, alk 8-9.5, and mag 1300 -1400.

Do you think a product like this would be safe and help get those levels up? Thanks for the tips.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Just feed the tank more (fish food) to get nutrients up. SLOWLY lower the alk and increase magnesium. Your salinity is borderline too low for coral as well, raise it to 1.025-1.026. Are you planning on adding fish?

 

[nutturbutter]

Just feed the tank more (fish food) to get nutrients up. SLOWLY lower the alk and increase magnesium. Your salinity is borderline too low for coral as well, raise it to 1.025-1.026. Are you planning on adding fish?

I’ve been doing a few drops of oyster feast every other day (this is what the fish store told me to do) but, I could increase it to daily. I wanted to establish solid corals first and then maybe consider adding fish. The tank is extremely small though, so my goal right now is mainly maintaining healthy corals.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Jedi1199]

Do you think a product like this would be safe and help get those levels up? Thanks for the tips.

Snake oil...

Avoid adding ANY unnecessary chemicals to your system. Nitrates will elevate by adding more food. The more the fish eat, the more they excrete, this in turn bumps your Nitrates as the waste is processed through the cycle. Save your money and just feed a bit more.

Avoid "chasing numbers" Your coral looks fine. It will adapt to your system in time. There is no "miracle cure" to magically make corals open overnight. They will do what they do when they want.

Best advice, keep your parameters as stable as possible and let nature handle her own business.

 

[Reeflix]

LoL, I was writing when you posted.

Happens all the time!

 

[Reeflix]

Do you think a product like this would be safe and help get those levels up? Thanks for the tips.

I personally use this, i would save as a last ditch effort if anything that you are not doing does not work. Up feedings to once every day, also feed the froggy Reef Roids, as those are very high in phos.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I would not consider dosing nitrate and phosphate as a last ditch. I have used a lot of neonitro and neophos with much success and I’m sure others as well . You can make it yourself with food grade ingredients for cheaper.

What salt are you using? How often do you do water change? Size of tank and how much water do you change if/when you do?

 

[nutturbutter]

I would not consider dosing nitrate and phosphate as a last ditch. I have used a lot of neonitro and neophos with much success and I’m sure others as well . You can make it yourself with food grade ingredients for cheaper.

What salt are you using? How often do you do water change? Size of tank and how much water do you change if/when you do?

I got home today from work and he doesn’t look good :/ he’s retracted (the light is still on) and I feel like I’m seeing some skeleton showing. Picture below for reference.

I checked the salinity and it’s now 1.024… I haven’t had time to test the rest yet since I’m literally writing this right after I saw it but the parameters really shouldn’t be that different.

It’s a 5 gallon tank and i just used the premixed water from the fish store.

Is there anything I can do? The fish store recommended moving him somewhere else in the tank. Right now he’s at a medium flow, top area around 100 PAR.

 

[nutturbutter]

Really retracted even with the light on

 

[Reeflix]

Pics under white please

 

[Reeflix]

I got home today from work and he doesn’t look good :/ he’s retracted (the light is still on) and I feel like I’m seeing some skeleton showing. Picture below for reference.

I checked the salinity and it’s now 1.024… I haven’t had time to test the rest yet since I’m literally writing this right after I saw it but the parameters really shouldn’t be that different.

It’s a 5 gallon tank and i just used the premixed water from the fish store.

Is there anything I can do? The fish store recommended moving him somewhere else in the tank. Right now he’s at a medium flow, top area around 100 PAR.

is that what you got for par under a reader? they need about 150-200 par

 

[nutturbutter]

Pics under white please

 

[nutturbutter]

is that what you got for par under a reader? they need about 150-200 par

I’m sorry it was actually around like 120ish last time I measured. I usually keep him under blue lighting. Let me know if the pics work.

 

[Reeflix]

It does appear to have some recession, once you get your levels all worked out, it should be fine. also what lighting do you have? and also what spectrum are you on?