Palys not Happy

[El Toro]

Of all my Corals, my Paly Grandis colony has been really unhappy for 2 weeks. They're shrunken, closed and one looks like it melted away. My daily parameters test within 5% of those listed in my Signature. The colony is on a rock "island" in a low flow eddy area which gets about 90 par for 6 hours in my schedule. They were happy here for months and suddenly closed up. No other corals are within 5 inches of them.

Because they are in an eddy, lots of food passes through their rock so I dont have any reason to believe theyre starving. They also get 2x week Reef Energy.

Their rock has some other critters, brittle stars, bristle worms, copapods, filter clams, emerald crab, and a few dozen tiny Vermitid snails which I smash when I get a chance but they were there since before I bought the colony.

HELP ME SAVE THE COLONY!!

I dont know what else may be going on

 

[blecki]

Pictures?

Parameters?

Also IME green grandis palys like a bit more par than the average paly.

 

[El Toro]

Parameters in my Signature. I test 4-5 times per week. Temp is steady at 77.5.

 

[El Toro]

I should have mentioned the rocks other coral are a bunch of different Zoa pups. All were original to the rock and have grown from 1mm to their present size of 4-6mm in a few months.

 

[blecki]

Ah, those aren't green grandis, that looks like P. cf. mutuki. And... in that case no idea. The stretching might indicate they want more light; but I have tons of these guys and they grow in the dark. Something of a pest actually. Parameters look fine. Maybe something is eating them?

 

[blecki]

Maybe try the mystery melt thread for some ideas: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/m...h-for-a-cure-follow-my-journey.977967/page-11
Thinking about it more - do an iodine test if you can. I have mostly large colonies of zoas and palys and dose iodide for them - but this is one you only want to dose if you've got test results saying so; otherwise just let water changes replenish it.

 

[Uncle99]

Are you sure that phosphate is .25ppm seems on the higher side and your running a fuge….

Looks hungry.

 

[El Toro]

Are you sure that phosphate is .25ppm seems on the higher side and your running a fuge….

Looks hungry.

I only have the API test for Phosphate and it has only once been above .50ppm. Usually I guesstimate it from .15ppm to .35 but most tests are almost exactly .25pmm.

I broadcast 10ml Reef Energy 2x weekly. Im feeding the Chromis 1/4 pinch of Ocean Nutrition flakes 5x daily and a fair amount flows thru Paly's Condo Complex. They are still grabbing some of these tiny flakes and eating as far as I can determine.

As long as I have tested, my Chems have been stable 4x-5x weekly.

I have a Plenaria infestation that showed up maybe a week before the Palys started showing stress but I dont see any on them or Zoas on their rock. So far I have only vacuumed the worms off mushrooms and torches and check the Paly rock each day for signs of infestation.

 

[blecki]

Flat worms can irritate them and make them stay closed which makes them slowly waste away. But if they aren't on it - eh.

Higher phosphates wouldn't hurt these guys but I have the same species and regularly measure 0. You might never find a specific cause. Sometimes you can get multiple frags off the exact same colony and put them in the same tank right next to each other and some will thrive while others melt.

 

[El Toro]

Is there any trace elements which I should check for? Ive never done an ICP test and can only test for
pH, dKh, Amm,NO3, NO4, PO4, Calc, Mg so am wondering what may be too high or low that particularly affects Palys

 

[Uncle99]

I only have the API test for Phosphate and it has only once been above .50ppm. Usually I guesstimate it from .15ppm to .35 but most tests are almost exactly .25pmm.

I broadcast 10ml Reef Energy 2x weekly. Im feeding the Chromis 1/4 pinch of Ocean Nutrition flakes 5x daily and a fair amount flows thru Paly's Condo Complex. They are still grabbing some of these tiny flakes and eating as far as I can determine.

As long as I have tested, my Chems have been stable 4x-5x weekly.

I have a Plenaria infestation that showed up maybe a week before the Palys started showing stress but I dont see any on them or Zoas on their rock. So far I have only vacuumed the worms off mushrooms and torches and check the Paly rock each day for signs of infestation.

My API phosphate does not seem to read below 0.25ppm.
It’s never showed lower than that in a year. It made me believe I should lower from 0.25ppm so I tried to GFO it downwards, but no matter, API said 0.25ppm.

So I got an ICP and it reported .1ppm
My Hanna UL Phosphorus says 0.08ppm (converted)
This more in line with expectations as I run a huge fuge and 5 year old system.

Seachem phosphate same, showing 0.25ppm.

Had been on a wild goose chase for months.

As for trace, no way to test accurately for these, no data on their effect in home reefs but you can maintain the minute levels with simple water changes with most good salts.

 

[El Toro]

I knew the API wasnt great for UL and I only test to catch unusual spikes.

Im still frustrated by this Paly shrinkage. I watched a video when I first added the Palys that said basically "Palys are the easiest corals to own, and if you can't keep Palys alive, just give up"! They were expensive but it was a neat colony with a bumch of volunteer Zoas. Wish I knew what changed.

 

[blecki]

Is there any trace elements which I should check for?

Yes, iodine.