Need help with Kenya Trees

[gmtopaz]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Corals need primarily blue light to survive and thrive, unfortunately giving it only one hour per day of blue is killing it. The other corals will also deteriorate sooner or later, its just not enough light for them. Whites are mainly for our viewing pleasure, but the blue's should be on for at least 8 hours a day IMO, my lights (blues) are on 12 hours a day

 

[Uncle99]

All parameters sitting “relatively well”.

What levels do you keep and how long have they remained stable? Should be 7 at least.

Always rule out water chemistry first.

 

[PAwarehouse]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

I see you have some diatom buildup (the brown stuff on your white rock) probably from having a new tank . Usually when I see soft coral close up like this it is due to lower salinity levels. You might want to have the salinity checked and it should be kept at 1.025 - 1.026. Kenya trees are very hardy and should thrive but if you dipped it in a solution for very long or if the salinity in your tank is low it will look like its getting burnt like in the picture.

 

[Marine Betta]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

How long have you had the Kenya tree? What other coral do you have? And how old is the system? Please share your parameters including salinity, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. I agree, the coral needs more blue light for a longer duration.

 

[gmtopaz]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

How long have you had the Kenya tree? What other coral do you have? And how old is the system? Please share your parameters including salinity, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. I agree, the coral needs more blue light for a longer duration.

I've had the Kenya for about 2-3 weeks, and my other is also a Kenya. It has stopped growing as quick as it was but still opens up when I do blue or the mixed blue and white. Entire system is almost a month old. I haven't rechecked parameters yet but will update soon

 

[ScottJ]

I've had the Kenya for about 2-3 weeks, and my other is also a Kenya. It has stopped growing as quick as it was but still opens up when I do blue or the mixed blue and white. Entire system is almost a month old. I haven't rechecked parameters yet but will update soon

A month is very new for a reef tank. Let things mature for a few months. You will go through several phases before things settle out. Read about 'ugly phase.'

 

[Double monti 61]

Yes let tank mature and do not believe that your coral will be happy with blue light all day mine do just fine with longer hours of full spectrum light

 

[Marine Betta]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

How long have you had the Kenya tree? What other coral do you have? And how old is the system? Please share your parameters including salinity, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. I agree, the coral needs more blue light for a longer duration.

New systems are very susceptible to spikes and swings. It happens to every tank. If the emerald crab died at the same time, it’s very possible there has been a swing in one of the parameters, or it could be unrelated. If your parameters are fine and haven’t fluctuated, it could be an easy fix. The lighting is a possibility. Leather corals can be weird. They’ll sometimes close up for a week and get this shiny look to them. They’ll then shed this to get rid of algae and detritus that has built up. How much flow is it getting? Kenya trees typically like moderate flow. We’ll have a better picture of what’s going on once you get the new test results.

 

[gmtopaz]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

How long have you had the Kenya tree? What other coral do you have? And how old is the system? Please share your parameters including salinity, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. I agree, the coral needs more blue light for a longer duration.

I've had the Kenya for about 2-3 weeks, and my other is also a Kenya. It has stopped growing as quick as it was but still opens up when I do blue or the mixed blue and white. Entire system is almost a month old. I haven't rechecked parameters yet but will update soon

Turns out I need to get more test kits, the one I have only has KH, phosphate, calcium, and nitrate. When I get paid I'll run to get some more test kits, but:

Calcium: 380 (about to do my treatment)
KH: 196.9
Phosphate: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm

 

[gmtopaz]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

I see you have some diatom buildup (the brown stuff on your white rock) probably from having a new tank . Usually when I see soft coral close up like this it is due to lower salinity levels. You might want to have the salinity checked and it should be kept at 1.025 - 1.026. Kenya trees are very hardy and should thrive but if you dipped it in a solution for very long or if the salinity in your tank is low it will look like its getting burnt like in the picture.

Ah yeah I checked my salinity yesterday and it was set around 37%, not sure of the exact translation at the moment

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Yes let tank mature and do not believe that your coral will be happy with blue light all day mine do just fine with longer hours of full spectrum light

Beautiful tank! Is that purple one a cyphastrea? I could never grow that coral for some reason.

I do not disagree at all, my main tank runs a 14k MH light which is pretty white to the eyes. In this case we are talking about the fluval stock light which is a 30 watt light, which is not strong, many people with this tank upgrade the lights at some point. So by cutting half the wattage all day, its just not putting out enough par

 

[Marine Betta]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

I see you have some diatom buildup (the brown stuff on your white rock) probably from having a new tank . Usually when I see soft coral close up like this it is due to lower salinity levels. You might want to have the salinity checked and it should be kept at 1.025 - 1.026. Kenya trees are very hardy and should thrive but if you dipped it in a solution for very long or if the salinity in your tank is low it will look like its getting burnt like in the picture.

Ah yeah I checked my salinity yesterday and it was set around 37%, not sure of the exact translation at the moment

Yes, I would double check your salinity. That could have caused your crab to die as well. Your other parameters listed shouldn’t cause the issues that you are having at those levels. Ca is a little low, and Alk/carbon hardness is higher than I would recommend keeping it especially at that Ca level. Your nutrients could be higher. The only way to rule out the other parameters is to test. The crab could have died due to an unrelated issue, but a sudden shift in pH or an ammonia spike could cause these issues as well. Inverts tend to be sensitive to pH shifts and ammonia spikes, but I would expect your shrimp to have issues before your crab. If your parameters are in check I would try moving the coral into a higher flow area. Kenya trees like to gently sway in the current. There is a chance it is still getting used to your tank. Leathers can be weird and sometimes don’t fully adapt to tank right away.

 

[exnisstech]

Turns out I need to get more test kits, the one I have only has KH, phosphate, calcium, and nitrate. When I get paid I'll run to get some more test kits, but:

Calcium: 380 (about to do my treatment)
KH: 196.9
Phosphate: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm

With the exception of salinty what you test is all I have ever tested for even in an acro tank. Phosphate of 0 can be a concern. I like to see it detectable at least.

 

[ScottJ]

^^ I agree with exnisstech. ^^

What you test for is good. I like Hanna for alk, all else Salfert.

 

[gmtopaz]

Yes let tank mature and do not believe that your coral will be happy with blue light all day mine do just fine with longer hours of full spectrum light

Beautiful tank! Is that purple one a cyphastrea? I could never grow that coral for some reason.

I do not disagree at all, my main tank runs a 14k MH light which is pretty white to the eyes. In this case we are talking about the fluval stock light which is a 30 watt light, which is not strong, many people with this tank upgrade the lights at some point. So by cutting half the wattage all day, its just not putting out enough par

Do you happen to know of any lights that would fit the stock lid? From what I could find there's only one similar but it's either been discontinued or is just out of stock everywhere

 

[gmtopaz]

Hi. Ive been doing a lot of searching and have yet to find a really good answer regarding the health of my Kenya Trees.

I have a basic Fluval EVO 13.5g tank and the Fluval mini protein skimmer. All of my parameters are sitting relatively well and I do water changes once a week. Giving 1 hour of blue light, 8 hours of white light, and then off the rest of the day. One of my corals looks like this. The other was doing super good but has started going downhill here lately. I feel really bad that they've gotten to this shape but this is my first ever tank

I recently added the medium sized live rock behind it that had a load of algae on it but figured my CUC could handle the amount of algae it was putting out. That doesn't appear to be the case and I'm not sure if that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, and I'm not sure if I should cut my losses and remove it.

Tank includes 2 firefish goby, CUC is 2 nassarius, an emerald crab, and a banded shrimp

Edit to add: Just came home to find my emerald crab dead as well. Super upset so I'll check my parameters again

Hey! Water quality would be my first question after adjusting to a better balance between blue and white light (more on the blue side). If you are confused about water quality you can try out mypocketreef.com to get an idea of if your parameters are in a good range! Getting a tank going can be challenging but taking it one step at a time is the way to go! Starting with water quality;)

I kinda got my water quality under control but I will definitely start using apps for longer term tracking. Unfortunately that one coral didn't seem like it made it due to too many swings in parameters but the other one managed to survive, and I've added a few more corals, inverts, and small fish for phosphates. Everything is doing much better so I'm gonna be patient with it!