New torch coral

Reefer1978

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I’m sorry, Hincapiej4, but I don’t have anything to test calcium, magnesium, or alkalinity, so therefore can’t tell you anything. I know that’s a problem. Sorry.
As far as updates on the torches’ status— good and bad. The tentacles are starting to pop out of the skeleton again, but many of the ones that are already out are either deflated, droopy, or half there. Honestly I think it looks bothered by the flow, and hopefully removing excess flow will help. Seeing the old tentacles coming back where I thought they all melted away is reassuring. It looks ticked though, which I am 90% sure is the emerald crab’s fault. I am starting to think Sebastian has to go. I am still concerned about the coral though and won’t be surprised if it dies.

Most of the time, crabs including emeralds eat algae. In a healthy torch, there should be no algae inside the healthy tissue/skeleton, so if a crab is bothering a torch, it's already a worrisome situation.
 
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Sharkbait19

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Most of the time, crabs including emeralds eat algae. In a healthy torch, there should be no algae inside the healthy tissue/skeleton, so if a crab is bothering a torch, it's already a worrisome situation.
Well the crab has gotten feisty with all my corals. He’s the reason my Xenia is all over the place now. I think he’s been like that ever since I removed the hair algae. He’s been picking on my shrimp, fish, and hermits as there is no large food source. I think he’s more curious than anything, but is still very nippy towards everything.
 

Johniejumbo

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Don’t give up on it! I had a tank crash on me a couple of years ago. I put a hammer coral in my backup tank and left it alone for a few months. Thought it was dead for sure. Only saw flesh in the very center of the skeleton when the blue light was making it glow. I noticed one day it was starting to come back a bit. Here is a pic of it after it had recovered a little. And another of it I took a few months ago.
F3B79853-F5AE-4C37-B169-54D2F382781F.jpeg
0C258CA8-64FB-48DF-97E9-FFD8252A2BB2.jpeg

Do your best to keep the parameters stable.
(tip- let you saltwater mix good for a couple of hours before doing your water change. It lets everything dissolve good) Flow is good but don’t blast it directly. They do eat but I rarely target feed mine. If you have low nitrates and phosphates you might consider feeding it. If you do feed it. Cut off the water flow in the tank and feed it a small amount of something meaty or a slurry of reef roids (use reef roids sparingly if at all in a new tank. It can wreck water quality if overused) and make sure nothing steels the food from it while it’s eating. The emerald crab make be bothering it too. I had to dump mine for picking at my duncans and destroying a Montipora. They can be unpredictable. Especially if the tank doesn’t have much natural food for them to scavenge and most really young tanks don’t.
 

ScubaFish802

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*INHALE* *EXHALE* .....I GET SO ANNOYED! hahah

Naw, it's just basic stuff. Like you can do a quick google search and see anywhere how important. It's like ammonia being 0 = ALK. They are both so important, we can talk about flow and lights, etc. But if ALK isn't right..it's pointless.
A forever classic here on R2R

0D5DAFF3-F915-4D22-BBA1-471268F117F8.jpeg
 

ReefLab

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For testing IMO you need to have alkalinity and phosphate first.

for phosphate I would go with the Hanna ULR phosphate checker ($50) and for alkalinity the Hanna is great also but Red Sea's alkalinity test works well enough.

With how quickly this torch reacted there's probably an alkalinity issue.
 
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Sharkbait19

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Don’t give up on it! I had a tank crash on me a couple of years ago. I put a hammer coral in my backup tank and left it alone for a few months. Thought it was dead for sure. Only saw flesh in the very center of the skeleton when the blue light was making it glow. I noticed one day it was starting to come back a bit. Here is a pic of it after it had recovered a little. And another of it I took a few months ago.
F3B79853-F5AE-4C37-B169-54D2F382781F.jpeg
0C258CA8-64FB-48DF-97E9-FFD8252A2BB2.jpeg

Do your best to keep the parameters stable.
(tip- let you saltwater mix good for a couple of hours before doing your water change. It lets everything dissolve good) Flow is good but don’t blast it directly. They do eat but I rarely target feed mine. If you have low nitrates and phosphates you might consider feeding it. If you do feed it. Cut off the water flow in the tank and feed it a small amount of something meaty or a slurry of reef roids (use reef roids sparingly if at all in a new tank. It can wreck water quality if overused) and make sure nothing steels the food from it while it’s eating. The emerald crab make be bothering it too. I had to dump mine for picking at my duncans and destroying a Montipora. They can be unpredictable. Especially if the tank doesn’t have much natural food for them to scavenge and most really young tanks don’t.
Thanks for the encouragement! I am happy to say he is making a comeback! I am seeing less skeleton and more torch again. On the flipside, many of the tentacles are shriveling, but, like this post says, anything can happen! Thank you!
 
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Sharkbait19

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There is no longer any skeleton exposed on the coral. Now my only concern is the deflation and bursting on some of the tentacles. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a full recovery, though!!
 
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Sharkbait19

Sharkbait19

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Where did you get that torch from? Just curious. You order online or at a lfs?
I ordered online from an LFS about 30 minutes away, called aquarium care center. I would’ve gone to the store but liked their online order policies and that particular piece they were offering.
Could it be shocked from the overnight transfer? It began to open up in about a half hour after it was put in.
 

Johniejumbo

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Yeah. Give it some time. Don’t fuss over it and don’t move it around. Corals can take a few days to settle in. Sometimes our tank parameters are very different from the stores and it takes a while for the corals to adjust. It’s tough, especially for excited new reefers, but have patience. Watch it and make sure nothing is actively pestering it. If it gets worse after a couple of days let us know and we can see what else may be bothering it. You will need to have some test results or the parameter junkies with give you fits. In case you haven’t noticed lol. I use API for the nitrates, ammonia, nitrite, and PH. The ammonia will often give false positives though so you may consider a different one like salifert. I use that brand for alkalinity and calcium. I don’t test for phosphate because I’m cheap and don’t want to spend the money on a Hanna checker.
Really though try to keep your hands out of the tank.Be patient. And post up a new pic! We like those.
 
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Sharkbait19

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The carbon is replaced, and since then the torch has opened up even more. It is very large and full. There is some skeleton still exposed, damage I think may be irreversible, but the rest of the coral has for the most part stopped deteriorating. I have also installed an ammonia alert badge to constantly give me good ammonia readings.
 

Hincapiej4

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The carbon is replaced, and since then the torch has opened up even more. It is very large and full. There is some skeleton still exposed, damage I think may be irreversible, but the rest of the coral has for the most part stopped deteriorating. I have also installed an ammonia alert badge to constantly give me good ammonia readings.

DO NOT TRUST THE AMMONIA BADGE.
 
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Sharkbait19

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My tank is also about 3 month old. I don't have torch. Only hammer, and it isn't doing too well :(
I’m sorry to hear that. I think the big takeaway that I’ve learned is that LPS, especially Euphilyias, need more time and a much more established tank. Hopefully with a little love and care, though, I can help my coral regrow. It’s going pretty well so far...
 

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