Help! Tubs Birdsnest turning white!
- Thread starter My180Reef
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Most likely water quality issues. We need some more details about your set-up, do you have other sps?
My180Reef
New Member
Not much, but I do. Everything else is doing great. Started turning white so I moved it to my frag tank....thought it might not like the light on my main tank.....but it is even whiter today. Do you think I can save it? If so, how?
110reef
Active Member
Is it turning white as in dead, or is it turning white as in bleached? If bleached, it may come back but IME it may take a couple of months before it colors back up. If it still has meat on it, ie polyps, it may just be bleached and is still alive, so keep it and see if it comes back. If the meat is gone and it is a skeleton, from STN or RTN, then toss it.
Cause could be bad water parameters, especially changing water parameters, or too much light.
Cause could be bad water parameters, especially changing water parameters, or too much light.
My180Reef
New Member
Thanks so much for the advise Ken and Darren! I really appreciate it. How can I tell the difference between "white" dead and "bleached".....it has color at the base and then white and then some color on some of the branches but most of it is white. Can it be bleached just in the middle? If I just leave it alone will it continue to turn white until it dies? I would hate to frag it...it has a great shape and size....but I don't want to lose the entire thing either. Help!
Lazys Coral House
Well-Known Member
Tubs Birdsnest likes lower light. I bleached mine from to much. Not saying that is your problem just my experience with one once. It did recover, took about three months in low light and extra feedings since it lost its ability to photosynthesis.
waxy
unregistered
Is it bleeching from the tips or from the base?
If it's tips, it's too much light.
If it's from the base, it's an Alkalinity issue. ( Check your Ca Rx and calibrate it )
*Also leads to RTN
A CaRx running with water through without CO2 being pumped in, increases your Alk by a large amount.
If you don't run a CaRx it may be lack of resources.
Your SPS's will turn brown from Phosphates or Nitrates.
Turns white from too much light because the flesh becomes burned, soon you'll see algea growth. That's when that area is dead.
There may be other reasons, but parameters are typically the case before the light.
If it's tips, it's too much light.
If it's from the base, it's an Alkalinity issue. ( Check your Ca Rx and calibrate it )
*Also leads to RTN
A CaRx running with water through without CO2 being pumped in, increases your Alk by a large amount.
If you don't run a CaRx it may be lack of resources.
Your SPS's will turn brown from Phosphates or Nitrates.
Turns white from too much light because the flesh becomes burned, soon you'll see algea growth. That's when that area is dead.
There may be other reasons, but parameters are typically the case before the light.
My180Reef
New Member
Thanks for the help everyone. I think I'll be able to take it from here. I do have some nice frags that broke off during shipping and they are doing well.....so it'll be ok. Thanks again!
The base of my birdsnest is turning white also. It wasn't yesterday but is today. The only thing that has changed in my tank perimeters is that I put chemi-clean in for cyano and turning sump light of at night (I wasn't doing this before as I heard it helps keep PH stable to leave it on). I Have owned this frag for about 3 weeks and slowly got it used to AI Sol Blue LEDs and is still not at the top of the tank. It is also not in direct 40* but in the 70* optic range 24" from the lenses. It is completely around the base so it doesn't look like bleaching and the tips are not white either. Actually, it appears to be growing.
Salinity 1.026
CA 470
Alk 10dkh
PH 8.3
NO3 0
PO4 0
I have only supplemented amino acid (as directed) and strontium -(only a very small amount every other week). All other coral is doing great. Any ideas?
Salinity 1.026
CA 470
Alk 10dkh
PH 8.3
NO3 0
PO4 0
I have only supplemented amino acid (as directed) and strontium -(only a very small amount every other week). All other coral is doing great. Any ideas?
I wish I had seen this sooner. I had other people tell me that Tubbs liked high light and to put right under one of my Kessils. It was doing okay but hubby lowered the lights a little because my Rastas on the bottom were losing color. So after one day of that my Tubbs is 1/2 white 
the parts that’s are still colored polyp up so I’m waiting to see how he does. Put him on the bottom of the tank for now. I hate to have to cut him up in frags
the parts that’s are still colored polyp up so I’m waiting to see how he does. Put him on the bottom of the tank for now. I hate to have to cut him up in frags 
IDK... I have several birds (pink, green, ponape, sour apple and birds of paradise) under T5 with some just under the water line without any issue.
blasterman
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It's not your T5s...its not LEDs....its not halides.
Birdsnests are notoriously fussy about phosphate and nutrient levels. More so than some acropora like green slimers.
Quick nutrient swings or uber low phosphate is what kills most birdsnests.
Birdsnests are notoriously fussy about phosphate and nutrient levels. More so than some acropora like green slimers.
Quick nutrient swings or uber low phosphate is what kills most birdsnests.
Cbones1979
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Makes sense as I battled dinos so low phosphates and bounced back up to .21 now back to .07
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