My coral went from this to this, what happened?

Jmm07e · Jan 17, 2021

Here's two pictures of my coral, it changed within the past couple.kf hours. All the other coral looks fine. It's done this before, but I just want to make sure it's normal.

What should I do?

patrick886 · Jan 17, 2021

How long have you put it in the tank? I would suggest monitoring for a couple of days first.

Red_Beard · Jan 17, 2021

Looks like something irritated it. If it stays like that long term it is bad news and it will starve. But occasionally closing up is ok. Watch it for a while and make sure it opens back up and keep an eye out for stuff(fish, snail, pest, flow sometimes) that is making it unhappy and if it does it a lot, do something to mitigate that.

Jmm07e · Jan 17, 2021

Red_Beard said:
Looks like something irritated it. If it stays like that long term it is bad news and it will starve. But occasionally closing up is ok. Watch it for a while and make sure it opens back up and keep an eye out for stuff(fish, snail, pest, flow sometimes) that is making it unhappy and if it does it a lot, do something to mitigate that.

How long should I keep an eye on it before taking action? I was thinking if it's still closed up this evening, check everything, test everything. It could be something as simple as the peppermint cleaner shrimp touching it, but want to be sure.

Jmm07e · Jan 17, 2021

patrick886 said:
How long have you put it in the tank? I would suggest monitoring for a couple of days first.

It's been in the tank for more than a week. Still new, the lights arf on acclimation mode. It's looked really healthy so far.

Red_Beard · Jan 17, 2021

Jmm07e said:
How long should I keep an eye on it before taking action? I was thinking if it's still closed up this evening, check everything, test everything. It could be something as simple as the peppermint cleaner shrimp touching it, but want to be sure.

Couple days or so. They can be closed up for a few days and be fine, as long as they open up after and stay open frequently to get enough light/food. My coral also hate my cleaner shrimp lol, but usually open up pretty quick from him bugging them.

Jmm07e · Jan 17, 2021

I checked alkalinity, seemed a little bit low, so I added .5 ml of carbonate, it's a nano tank.

Almost instantly I can def the coral starting to open. Hopefully that's what was causing.

I'll continue to test everything.

Normally I test like one thing a day. Whether all, mag, calc, or trace elements.

Jmm07e · Jan 17, 2021

Ehh, they closed up again. I also turned my acclimation lights up from 50% to 75%.

Jmm07e · Jan 17, 2021

It looks fine now

Red_Beard · Jan 17, 2021

Jmm07e said:
It looks fine now

Good deal! New to tank coral can be like that sometimes, i really wouldnt sweat it unless its been like a full day without opening at all for the first couple weeks. (Unless you have some chemistry out of whack, them by all means do something! Just dont make sudden swings, gradual is usually best) After a few weeks or a month, it should hit a rhythm and you will be able to guage its 'mood'.