Polyp Extension Tips?

[Evan West]

So i have a mixed reef between lps and sps with the sps ranging from acros to easier things like pocillopora. They are all colored up decently and growing but my PE is not where I want it on the acros. My perimeters are pretty normal and relatively stable (listed below). I run kessile a360we lights. Any tricks to get better PE.

Ph: 7.8-8.1
Alk: 8
Cal: 430
Mg: 1280
Sal: 1.026

 

[Cherub]

flow

 

[mckinney0171]

Yup lots of random flow. And good spectrum lighting.

 

[jwshiver]

My own personal experience has been that if my PO4 drops below .02 my PE is noticeably reduced. The NO3 doesn't seem to have that big of an effect on PE. I ran a ULN system with 0 NO3 and 0 PO4 and had zero PE. Along with a ton of flow I keep my NO3 between 2 - 5 and PO4 between .03 -.05 and have great PE on everything. My millies look like shag carpets.

Do they have PE at night when the lights are off?
If they are new it might take a few weeks to months for them to settle in and show some PE.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

What’s your fish list?

 

[Evan West]

My own personal experience has been that if my PO4 drops below .02 my PE is noticeably reduced. The NO3 doesn't seem to have that big of an effect on PE. I ran a ULN system with 0 NO3 and 0 PO4 and had zero PE. Along with a ton of flow I keep my NO3 between 2 - 5 and PO4 between .03 -.05 and have great PE on everything. My millies look like shag carpets.

Do they have PE at night when the lights are off?
If they are new it might take a few weeks to months for them to settle in and show some PE.

Yeah everything is nice and shaggy at night but most o my acros have very little day PE, even the ones that have been in the tank for a good 8 months. I have quite a bit of flow in my 20g from the return and 2 mp10 on random mode.

What’s your fish list?

1 clown
1 royal gamma
1 cherub angel
1 starry blennie
1 cleaner shrimp
assorted snails and hermits.

 

[Tahoe61]

My sps showed diminished PE in the presence of an Angel. I know a lot of hobbyist keep Angels and sps without issue. Perhaps because I had smaller tanks. All the Angel had to do was swim by the Acropora and they closed up.

What types of sps specifically? Not all sps show the some PE.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Yup, cherub angel.

I’m not an angel hater. I have two angels in my tank myself, and have always had at least one angel in all my tanks. However, I never have “good” polyp extension, even with angels that I never observe picking. This is even more likely the issue since you report “good” extension at night.

FWIW, lack of PE isn’t a problem - this is the natural state in the wild where there are angels, butterflies, and other polyp pickers cruising the reef all day.

 

[mckinney0171]

yup I agree that angels are often blamed for coral SPS polyp extension being poor but it is usually something else. My flame angel doesn't seem interested in mine. For me it is just time in the tank for the coral to get comfortable. Mine like to be high in the water column to really show their polyps. My SPS that I have down lower grow just fine but never seem as flashy in terms of polyp extension. Time, good lighting, strong / random flow, stability, and all their chemistry needs taken care of.

 

[Oscar Bravo]

My polyp extension is not so great during the day and that sometimes get me upset. I do get huge extension at lights out. My phosphate is at .03 NO3 at 25, yes a little high and I cant never get it down. I do have a flame angel but doesn't bother the corals. Maybe randomly.

 

[bubbaque]

If you have an angel and don’t think it bothers anything, it probably does.

I use to think the same thing until I sat down for an hr and watched it and I found it doing it.

 

[Evan West]

I literally stare at my tank for probably at least an hour each day and have never seen it pick at an SPS or LPS, really dont think its that.

My sps showed diminished PE in the presence of an Angel. I know a lot of hobbyist keep Angels and sps without issue. Perhaps because I had smaller tanks. All the Angel had to do was swim by the Acropora and they closed up.

What types of sps specifically? Not all sps show the some PE.

I have a lot ummm Jason Fox Flame, Pink Lemonade, Garf Bonsi, PC Rainbow Acro......just off the top of my head.

 

[jda]

PE is for the SPS to exchange gasses. They do not need it for food. A healthy acro will not risk extending polyps when there are predators around. ...so, PE is no indication of anything. You can do more damage chasing this than you can by leaving it alone.

Sometimes, extended PE can be a sign of bad tank water and the corals are not exchanging gasses properly. VERY low flow can also get you lost of PE because the corals cannot "breathe" as well - this is how some vendors take pics in a photo-box with no flow.

 

[29bonsaireef]

If you constantly watch you tank and never see it pick at the corals I would suspect it's something else. Pygmy's are deep water Caribbean species and do not typically feed on SPS coral polyps. Every now and then you'll get a polyp picker, but it's rare. I've kept a lot of these in SPS tanks without issue. More than likely IF it is the angel its picking off mucus on the coral (not the actual polyp) which causes the polyp to retreat. This won't really harm a healthy piece unless its singling out one. Corals deal with this naturally on a daily basis.

Like others have said, more flow will help bring out polyps for certain corals. Some never show much PE during light hours. If they are growing and have decent color then there's nothing to worry about.

 

[Dodo]

Check potassium

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I had little PE until I cranked up my flow. I have 3 Oregon torts that showed zero PE and and after just 24 hours their polyps came out and their color even got better. They were just dark brownish/blue but now they’re baby blue. My HW’s polyps are 1/2 a cm long now

 

[x2uranium]

Flow doesn't always do it. I have BB with MONSTER flow. and have very little polyp extension in the day time because of my Coral Beauty. I never though he picked until I closely watched him for an hour or so in the tank. Sure enough I saw him nip a few times. Although the corals are coloring nicely and growing great. Also the night time polyp extension is really ridiculous.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

If you constantly watch you tank and never see it pick at the corals I would suspect it's something else. Pygmy's are deep water Caribbean species and do not typically feed on SPS coral polyps. Every now and then you'll get a polyp picker, but it's rare. I've kept a lot of these in SPS tanks without issue. More than likely IF it is the angel its picking off mucus on the coral (not the actual polyp) which causes the polyp to retreat. This won't really harm a healthy piece unless its singling out one. Corals deal with this naturally on a daily basis.

Like others have said, more flow will help bring out polyps for certain corals. Some never show much PE during light hours. If they are growing and have decent color then there's nothing to worry about.

All it takes is a few nips a day and the corals will learn to stay retreated. You might never see them pick, but it happens. I agree they are not causing damage... but it will cause polyps to stay in.

Think about this... how often to you see your fish eat amphipods? Probably never, because amphipods stay hiding in the rocks all day. But if you check your tank at night, you will see tons. Well what about in your fuge with the lights on, or if you’ve ever had a tank running without fish? Amphipods will be crawling all over the place all day long, out it the open. Same exact thing happening with SPS polyps and angels.

 

[Peanut]

My polyp extension is not so great during the day and that sometimes get me upset. I do get huge extension at lights out. My phosphate is at .03 NO3 at 25, yes a little high and I cant never get it down. I do have a flame angel but doesn't bother the corals. Maybe randomly.

This is what you would find in the ocean, no polyps during the day and huge extension at night....that's "normal"

 

[Oscar Bravo]

Yeah probably normal. At first it though their was something wrong with my tank, but I will just let it be.