Leather coral problem

[swedishreefer]

I have some leathers that have been in my new tank for like 5 days (they looked nice for like 2 days) and it seems like they are shedding. And they have retracted theit polyps, The other corals seems fine. (Well atleast much better than the leathers) i dont know why but I have always been bad at keeping leathers. Any ideas?
Ph 8.1
Temp 26.2 celcius
1.024
No3 10-15
No2 0
Amonia 0.12
Kh 16 (used well water insted of rodi for start up bad idea)

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Photos of the leather and your tank

Light and PAR

Flow

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Pictures will help... Leathers sometimes sulk and shrink for several days at a time.

But in general I find leathers like medium-to-high flow and medium-to-high lighting.

 

[swedishreefer]

 

[swedishreefer]

I have been using a t5 or t8 do t really know. The bulb was purpel isch, probebly 10+ years old. But I just switched to maxspect razor since I had some lying around. Thought they might didnt get enough blue light.

 

[UNREEFER]

I wouldn't completely panic. I had leathers shed / "deflate" for weeks then pop up for a day then go for another few weeks till they eventually seem to be acclimated then stay out extended. Just make sure the general params of your tank are good. As well every other type of coral / invert seems to be doing well.

With the light change In my experience its also good to keep them in a lower par spot until they seem to stay out more then you can move them to a desired spot.

 

[swedishreefer]

I wouldn't completely panic. I had leathers shed / "deflate" for weeks then pop up for a day then go for another few weeks till they eventually seem to be acclimated then stay out extended. Just make sure the general params of your tank are good. As well every other type of coral / invert seems to be doing well.

With the light change In my experience its also good to keep them in a lower par spot until they seem to stay out more then you can move them to a desired spot.

Okay thnx for the answear i,ll try to keep calm and maybe lower the light a bit :)

 

[BonnieB]

I had the same experience as you when I first got my leathers. My Kenya tree was the quickest to acclimate and perk up. But my cabbage shrunk to half the size for about a month and then suddenly opened up bright and beautiful. My toadstool did that as well for a couple of weeks. Now my cabbage will close up for a few days every other month or so. Leathers go through a shedding process every so often that makes them shrink up and look like they’re dying. I, like @UNREEFER , have mine in low light, as a matter of fact they are in the sanded. They get low to medium flow, enough to keep detritus and sand off them. Have patience and watch to see whether there are any signs that they are struggling.

 

[swedishreefer]

I had the same experience as you when I first got my leathers. My Kenya tree was the quickest to acclimate and perk up. But my cabbage shrunk to half the size for about a month and then suddenly opened up bright and beautiful. My toadstool did that as well for a couple of weeks. Now my cabbage will close up for a few days every other month or so. Leathers go through a shedding process every so often that makes them shrink up and look like they’re dying. I, like @UNREEFER , have mine in low light, as a matter of fact they are in the sanded. They get low to medium flow, enough to keep detritus and sand off them. Have patience and watch to see whether there are any signs that they are struggling.

Well some of the leathers looked "good" (they had their polyps out) for 2 days after i introduced them. But now for like 3-4 days they look like they are dying. Could it be the drastic change of aquarium that made them shrink and sheding? I have bad experience with leathers from earlyer before i took a break from the hobby. (Other corals worked better)

 

[BonnieB]

I had the same experience as you when I first got my leathers. My Kenya tree was the quickest to acclimate and perk up. But my cabbage shrunk to half the size for about a month and then suddenly opened up bright and beautiful. My toadstool did that as well for a couple of weeks. Now my cabbage will close up for a few days every other month or so. Leathers go through a shedding process every so often that makes them shrink up and look like they’re dying. I, like @UNREEFER , have mine in low light, as a matter of fact they are in the sanded. They get low to medium flow, enough to keep detritus and sand off them. Have patience and watch to see whether there are any signs that they are struggling.

Well some of the leathers looked "good" (they had their polyps out) for 2 days after i introduced them. But now for like 3-4 days they look like they are dying. Could it be the drastic change of aquarium that made them shrink and sheding? I have bad experience with leathers from earlyer before i took a break from the hobby. (Other corals worked better)

What are your parameters?

 

[swedishreefer]

What are your parameters?

The same as in the original post

 

[swedishreefer]

The same as in the original post

I have like 45l of ready rodi water so I could do a decent water change if that would be a good thing. Im just worried that another change in parameters would make things worse right now. (Even if the parameters would be better) or is it the opposit?

 

[BonnieB]

What are your parameters?

The same as in the original post

So your alkalinity is at 16dKH? And what kind of flow are they in?

 

[alexisawerewolf]

I have some leathers that have been in my new tank for like 5 days (they looked nice for like 2 days) and it seems like they are shedding. And they have retracted theit polyps, The other corals seems fine. (Well atleast much better than the leathers) i dont know why but I have always been bad at keeping leathers. Any ideas?
Ph 8.1
Temp 26.2 celcius
1.024
No3 10-15
No2 0
Amonia 0.12
Kh 16 (used well water insted of rodi for start up bad idea)

I would try to bring that KH down to around 10-12 range and then see how they do. I don't know just how leathers react at that high KH but i have some that won't open up over 12 (mushrooms)

 

[swedishreefer]

So your alkalinity is at 16dKH? And what kind of flow are they in?

Yes i have verry high dkh, is that bad for the leathers? The other corals look good still. I have high dkh becaous i used well water for startup instead of rodi. The flowrate: i have one filterpump blowing 1500l/h and one 660l/h. But the guy i bought the corals from only had a small steamer for his whole tank and they where absolutley thriving in there, growing on the glass and all.

 

[BonnieB]

So your alkalinity is at 16dKH? And what kind of flow are they in?

Yes i have verry high dkh, is that bad for the leathers? The other corals look good still. I have high dkh becaous i used well water for startup instead of rodi. The flowrate: i have one filterpump blowing 1500l/h and one 660l/h. But the guy i bought the corals from only had a small steamer for his whole tank and they where absolutley thriving in there, growing on the glass and all.

When alkalinity is too high, soft corals may/can/will show signs of stress by retracting their polyps or not extending them fully. If the problem isn't addressed, the soft coral may recede from its edges and eventually melt away completely. Alkalinity should be between 8-10 dKH, according to most experts. A slow (1 dKH per day) lowering of the alkalinity would most likely help them reopen and not stress out your other corals.

 

[swedishreefer]

I would try to bring that KH down to around 10-12 range and then see how they do. I don't know just how leathers react at that high KH but i have some that won't open up over 12 (mushrooms)

Oh okay i got rodi water now so I should be able to get it down with waterchanges. I can try that. It would explain why i was no good with leathers before. I used rodi for water changes and well water for top up. So I likley had high kh back then

 

[swedishreefer]

When alkalinity is too high, soft corals may/can/will show signs of stress by retracting their polyps or not extending them fully. If the problem isn't addressed, the soft coral may recede from its edges and eventually melt away completely. Alkalinity should be between 8-10 dKH, according to most experts. A slow (1 dKH per day) lowering of the alkalinity would most likely help them reopen and not stress out your other corals.

Oh okay I Will try that. May be hard to only lower exactly 1dkh per day but I guess small water changes. Thank you alot for the awesome help :D

 

[BonnieB]

When alkalinity is too high, soft corals may/can/will show signs of stress by retracting their polyps or not extending them fully. If the problem isn't addressed, the soft coral may recede from its edges and eventually melt away completely. Alkalinity should be between 8-10 dKH, according to most experts. A slow (1 dKH per day) lowering of the alkalinity would most likely help them reopen and not stress out your other corals.

Oh okay I Will try that. May be hard to only lower exactly 1dkh per day but I guess small water changes. Thank you alot for the awesome help :D

Small frequent water changes and test alkalinity and ph after each change to monitor that you’re on track. Be patient and I would test the alkalinity in your saltwater mix before you add it to ensure it is within the range you want it to be. If you take it slow you should do great!

 

[swedishreefer]

Small frequent water changes and test alkalinity and ph after each change to monitor that you’re on track. Be patient and I would test the alkalinity in your saltwater mix before you add it to ensure it is within the range you want it to be. If you take it slow you should do great!

I was thinking like 20l waterchanges. Cheking alkalinity,salinity,ph and temp before puting it in so I dont cool down the aquarium a bit