Frogspawn splitting or dying?

[tee89]

Hi R2R folks,

I've had this frogspawn for about 8 months and it use to puff up but since mid July its slowly started to close up. Wondering if its stressed or splitting. I don't see any tissue recession but i've heard when euphyllia starts to split they look like crap and that its a normal thing. Any advise or input is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Parameters

Alk - 8.3 - 8.7 daily range
Ca - 415 - 430
Mag - 1500
PO4 - 0.03
NO3 - 4.4

 

[fishski13]

Yeah when euphilliya split they sometimes look really bad. Do you have any pictures from the top? Check if there is a split in the mouth. From this pic it look like two separate head are forming but I am not sure.

 

[tee89]

Yeah when euphilliya split they sometimes look really bad. Do you have any pictures from the top? Check if there is a split in the mouth. From this pic it look like two separate head are forming but I am not sure.

Thanks fishski13, kinda difficult to get a shot from top but lights are going down and it closed up a little more and i see a split.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi R2R folks,

I've had this frogspawn for about 8 months and it use to puff up but since mid July its slowly started to close up. Wondering if its stressed or splitting. I don't see any tissue recession but i've heard when euphyllia starts to split they look like crap and that its a normal thing. Any advise or input is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Parameters

Alk - 8.3 - 8.7 daily range
Ca - 415 - 430
Mag - 1500
PO4 - 0.03
NO3 - 4.4

Very receeded from stress. Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of your coral. This coral will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank. The trick would really be just to avoid the extremes. Avoid extremely bright locations or areas of very high current, and avoid areas that are too dark or with currents that are too low. Fast currents risk damaging the soft, fleshy polyps (and getting an infection). Bright lights will cause bleaching. Insufficient lighting will cause the poor coral to wither away and starve to death.
Frogspawn corals only require a moderate amount of light for photosynthesis and can grow well in the intermediate regions of your tank. Just about any reef LED lighting should be sufficient for most tanks. Reduce white light intensity and get it off the sand bed which sand can irritate it.
The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.

 

[fishski13]

it looks like the center is pinching inward

 

[tee89]

Very receeded from stress. Since they are a large polyp stony coral, calcium and alkalinity are two very important water parameters that will affect the growth of your coral. This coral will start to die off if the calcium levels are too low. A calcium level of about 400 ppm is just right.
This coral species isn’t terribly picky when it comes to the proper placement in your tank. The trick would really be just to avoid the extremes. Avoid extremely bright locations or areas of very high current, and avoid areas that are too dark or with currents that are too low. Fast currents risk damaging the soft, fleshy polyps (and getting an infection). Bright lights will cause bleaching. Insufficient lighting will cause the poor coral to wither away and starve to death.
Frogspawn corals only require a moderate amount of light for photosynthesis and can grow well in the intermediate regions of your tank. Just about any reef LED lighting should be sufficient for most tanks. Reduce white light intensity and get it off the sand bed which sand can irritate it.
The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.

thank you vetteguy53081, so my parameters are fine. the tank is 35g and got a nero3 and nero5 so decent flow and frogspawn is not getting hammered by high flow. Im wondering if the lighting is not enough but i havent touched the coral since i added it and it was doing great. Wondering if i should move it to another spot or leave it be.

 

[tee89]

it looks like the center is pinching inward

pinching is not good. How do you tell the difference between pinching and splitting?

 

[vetteguy53081]

thank you vetteguy53081, so my parameters are fine. the tank is 35g and got a nero3 and nero5 so decent flow and frogspawn is not getting hammered by high flow. Im wondering if the lighting is not enough but i havent touched the coral since i added it and it was doing great. Wondering if i should move it to another spot or leave it be.

I keep mine which are many at lower third of tank in the path of moderate light and water flow

 

[fish farmer]

Hi R2R folks,

I've had this frogspawn for about 8 months and it use to puff up but since mid July its slowly started to close up. Wondering if its stressed or splitting. I don't see any tissue recession but i've heard when euphyllia starts to split they look like crap and that its a normal thing. Any advise or input is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Parameters

Alk - 8.3 - 8.7 daily range
Ca - 415 - 430
Mag - 1500
PO4 - 0.03
NO3 - 4.4

Fwiw, I've never seen my three hammers look stressed when they are about to split, I just notice the heads look bigger and see a second mouth.

The other corals look fine in the area, do you have anything that could pick at it, like a shrimp? I noticed shrimp picking at one of mine at night.

 

[tee89]

Fwiw, I've never seen my three hammers look stressed when they are about to split, I just notice the heads look bigger and see a second mouth.

The other corals look fine in the area, do you have anything that could pick at it, like a shrimp? I noticed shrimp picking at one of mine at night.

@fish farmer only shrimp i currently have is a cleaner. Never seen it pick on this coral just randomly started to close up. I agree with you, i have hammers and torches that split never looked bad. So kinda lost at this point and im trying not to move it and stress it further.

 

[fish farmer]

@fish farmer only shrimp i currently have is a cleaner. Never seen it pick on this coral just randomly started to close up. I agree with you, i have hammers and torches that split never looked bad. So kinda lost at this point and im trying not to move it and stress it further.

Did anything happen in mid July? Param/temp swing? Change flow?

 

[tee89]

Did anything happen in mid July? Param/temp swing? Change flow?

Water flow did change i had to up the flow on my nero 3. No temp swings, no parameter swings outside of the daily consumption and maybe a slight drop in Calcium but nothing too crazy.

 

[Uncle99]

Tasted.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

pinching is not good. How do you tell the difference between pinching and splitting?

The head pinching in the center means it is splitting.

 

[tee89]

The head pinching in the center means it is splitting.

in that case its definitely pinching, I think im going to leave it alone and see how it does in a few weeks. thank you

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

in that case its definitely pinching, I think im going to leave it alone and see how it does in a few weeks. thank you

As others have said above, if lighting, flow and parameters are good, you don't have anything picking at it and it has no pests, I wouldn't really be sweating it. The tissue does not appear to be in bad shape and that's often a canary in the coal mine

 

[WetPringleChip]

How did this go? I have something weird happening with my frog spawns and wanted to know if yours made it