Help for receding torch

[puckstopshere]

Hi all - I’ve had this torch for about two months and it was doing great until the last couple of weeks. The only thing that I’ve noticed was a rise in phosphates which I’m working to correct. I think the source of that was an autofeeder that I used for pellets while I traveled for a few days. It had been opening during the day at least until yesterday and now it’s just staying closed. I hope there’s enough time to save it with the right approach. It’s beautiful when healthy. What can I do?

Feeding - have not fed directly but see it picking up reef frenzy when I feed the fish. Hammer and frogspawn in the tank are doing well and have been treated the same way. I can start feeding if that would help!

Salinity: 1.026
Alk: 7.5 (working to bring up, had fallen to 6.5 briefly last week)
Nitrate: 10-20
Phosphate .30 (down from .50 briefly, working to reduce)
Calcium: 450
Tank: 14 gallon IM Nuvo

The tank does have a couple of leathers but I run carbon.

Thanks!

 

[bubbgee]

Why it is closed ? Need to test for Mag. Euphyllias like it elevated around 1400-1450.
Then light -- too much or too little.
Most important flow -- too much will close it up, too little will close it up.

Try moving to another area with better flow first. Then to better light. It should react within an hour if it likes it there.

 

[puckstopshere]

Why it is closed ? Need to test for Mag. Euphyllias like it elevated around 1400-1450.
Then light -- too much or too little.
Most important flow -- too much will close it up, too little will close it up.

Try moving to another area with better flow first. Then to better light. It should react within an hour if it likes it there.

I wish I knew. It’s been spending more time closed every day.

As you can see behind in one of the pictures, it is at the same height as a Duncan and receives very similar lighting and flow. The Duncan opens big every day and is growing more heads. Should I aim for more light, more flow, than the Duncan is getting? Other Euphyllia in the tank get very similar flow and are only mounted slightly higher. When the torch is fully extended, the polyp tips are basically level with the hammer that also seems healthy.

 

[bubbgee]

I wish I knew. It’s been spending more time closed every day.

As you can see behind in one of the pictures, it is at the same height as a Duncan and receives very similar lighting and flow. The Duncan opens big every day and is growing more heads. Should I aim for more light, more flow, than the Duncan is getting? Other Euphyllia in the tank get very similar flow and are only mounted slightly higher. When the torch is fully extended, the polyp tips are basically level with the hammer that also seems healthy.

Duncans like lower flow though. It closes up on high flow (maybe if acclimated it can prefer the higher flow).
Same with Frogspawn and Hammers. They like really low flow.

Try to move to an area close to the powerhead but not directly blowing into it? How many powerheads do you have?

 

[puckstopshere]

Duncans like lower flow though. It closes up on high flow (maybe if acclimated it can prefer the higher flow).
Same with Frogspawn and Hammers. They like really low flow.

Try to move to an area close to the powerhead but not directly blowing into it? How many powerheads do you have?

I can certainly move it closer to a power head to increase flow. Happy to try that. Generally higher flow in my tank has higher light, it’s hard to separate those factors as I have things set up but I’ll give it a shot.

I have one power head, a Nero 3.
it runs from 15-30% on random most of the day, and calms to 10-20% random at night.

If I’m going to unglue and move it’, should I dip it during the process?

 

[bubbgee]

I can certainly move it closer to a power head to increase flow. Happy to try that. Generally higher flow in my tank has higher light, it’s hard to separate those factors as I have things set up but I’ll give it a shot.

I have one power head, a Nero 3.
it runs from 15-30% on random most of the day, and calms to 10-20% random at night.

If I’m going to unglue and move it’, should I dip it during the process?

I would dip only to help it fight any bacteria that's on the mouth and edge of the skeleton. Go with an iodine/peroxide dip. It's been a few days so it's probably going to bjd on you in a couple more days or so without treatment.

How to Dip Coral - Beyer, Peroxide, Iodine and More

Knowing how to dip coral can help you prevent bacterial infections, pests, rapid and slow tissue necrosis (RTN and STN). Overall, coral dipping can improve the overall success of your new coral! See how to dip coral here!

reefstable.com

BTW, do NOT feed it directly while recovering. That will not help. Move it to higher flow and light and see if that makes a difference. Just make sure it's not direct flow. You can move the power head a bit to the side so it will not be blowing hard on it while it's recovering.