Is this normal?

rpate2 · Feb 17, 2017

Is this normal behaviour for a Leather Coral? It's retracted all its polyps and looks like a kind of white rash in parts. I've heard these guys shred from time to time but don't really know what I'm looking at. It was a gift from a friend when it outgrew his nano, so I'm not certain of the exact species.

50 gal
Nitrate - 5
N04 - 0.5
PH - 8.2
KH - 10
Dosing RedSea Nopox

My LED is only 40 watts but I'm told by my LFS it's suitable for Softies and some LPS.
Unsure of salinity since I broke my hydrometer two weeks ago and am waiting on a new refractometer from eBay, but I've never had a salinity issue before.

Joeganja · Feb 17, 2017

Looks like it's shedding.

Tahoe61 · Feb 17, 2017

I am a tad concerned about the white dusting you see on the surface. While Sarcophyton do typically close to shed the waxy coating I would keep an eye out for small white nudibranchs.

rpate2 · Apr 6, 2017

Well a month on and this guy is now thriving. Not sure what the issue was. My salinity was running a little high at 1.027 now under control, and I've added a 156w T5. Otherwise it might have just been shedding.

Oh well, it's all good now! [emoji16]