Polyp Extension

[Brew12]

I never get anywhere near the polyp extension on acro's that I see in pictures. Mine or doing ok and growing slowly so I'm not too worried about it. In the general opinion of people here, what are the main reasons for poor polyp extension?

 

[HiddenUser]

I find that PE is based on water parameters being stable and in check as well as flow.

 

[Davy Jones]

Flow for me seems to be the most important. When i shut the pumps off for maintence, the (very few) sticks that i have exhibit their polyps more so than when the pumps are on. And most photos are taken with all pumps off

 

[bubbaque]

I think polyp extension comes down to water parameters, flow, pest and fish nipping. If I ever see my corals with no polyps I get worried something is wrong.

I think most take pics with the flow off not because it makes polyps come out but because it stops stuff moving around in the tank so you get clear pics.

 

[Battlecorals]

I never get anywhere near the polyp extension on acro's that I see in pictures. Mine or doing ok and growing slowly so I'm not too worried about it. In the general opinion of people here, what are the main reasons for poor polyp extension?

sometimes it can be a nipper. what kinds of fish have you got in there?

 

[Brew12]

sometimes it can be a nipper. what kinds of fish have you got in there?

Lets see...

Orchid Dottyback
6-Line Wrasse
Starry Blenny
4 Yellow Tail Damsels
Flame Angel
Magnificent Foxface
Yellow Eye Kole Tang
2 Yellow Tangs
Convict Tang
Hippo Tang

The Hippo Tang is also my Decorator Tang. He checks to make sure the frags are glued down well and that they don't spend too much time in the frag rack. I've never seen him nip a coral once he found it secured. Once he can't move them, he loses interest.

 

[Abhishek]

My assumption is you have checked for all possible pests

Just so you know - not having PE doesn't mean your acros are not healthy . In some of my millies, I wish I didnt have so much PE as it obscures the beautiful body color they have .

Also I would definitely look at the Flame Angel .

That said - how much flow do you run in the tank ? Example - I run 1 gyre 150, 2 Tunze 6095s, 2 Tunze 6055s and 1 Tunze 6105 n 30 in x 30 in x 18 in 70 gallon tank . Not saying you need this kind of flow but just a personal example and this is the PE I get from my BC glowstick during day hours . Night hours looks like polyps might fall off . Flow matters more than even light

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[Battlecorals]

Lets see...

Orchid Dottyback
6-Line Wrasse
Starry Blenny
4 Yellow Tail Damsels
Flame Angel
Magnificent Foxface
Yellow Eye Kole Tang
2 Yellow Tangs
Convict Tang
Hippo Tang

The Hippo Tang is also my Decorator Tang. He checks to make sure the frags are glued down well and that they don't spend too much time in the frag rack. I've never seen him nip a coral once he found it secured. Once he can't move them, he loses interest.

+1 on the angel as a possible reason. have you ever seen it nip at all?

 

[Abhishek]

Honestly I wouldn't worry about nipping and having a little less PE if you love angels . if acros are growing and encrusting fine , PE hardly matters atleast to me .
If possible, read about John Coppolino - Copps tank - the greatest wizard with angels and acro keeping



Of coarse , he's God father when it comes to reef keeping but it shows with enough space and sufficient feeding, you can successfully keep acros with angels.

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[Brew12]

Also I would definitely look at the Flame Angel .

+1 on the angel as a possible reason. have you ever seen it nip at all?

I've never seen the Angel show any interest in the corals. He is big on hunting pods and spends most of his time in the live rock caves, not among the coral.

That said - how much flow do you run in the tank ?

I have 2 XF250 gyres running at 60% running the oceanic gyre cycle . I had them up at 80% but I was worried that was too much flow. I have changed my rockwork around since then so maybe I can boost it back up.

 

[Brew12]

Just bumped the gyres back up to 80%. The fish will get a workout, but they are fat, they need the exercise!

 

[Abhishek]

If you see Austin Lefevre's presentation of Macna 2017 , you will see he says - you do not have enough flow until your fish is pinned to the glass . Such is the ripping flow in ocean !
They will be fine man !! If anything they would enjoy it .
It also helps in minimizing aggression a lot among my wrasses as the chasing breaks when they flow into high flow zones and get dispersed .
Leave it there and observe for a few weeks to a month to see if any improvement in PE occurs .

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[MTBake]

I had a Potters angel years ago that I never saw nip at coral. Once I took him out of the tank most sps had pe within hours. Not sure if he really nipped or if it was just the corals response to how he fed off the rocks. He also kept kept aptasia retracted as well. As those were out the day after in full force.

 

[Brew12]

Is there any evidence that high or low light impacts polyp extension?

Does high or low PO4 or NO3 affect it?

Does high flow bring out polyp extension? (From discussions already, it seems to be the case)

Is Alk and Calc stability key?

I seem to always see very generic terms when this comes up. Its something I haven't found much literature on. I love the chemistry because I can understand the equations. I love the fish diseases because I understand the parasite lifecycles. Coral is more like art than science. Art isn't my strong suit.

 

[Brew12]

They will be fine man !! If anything they would enjoy it .

I agree! The reason I turned it down earlier was that I had one high rock that was getting blasted that had a nem on it that wouldn't leave. The fish did absolutely love it.
I have kept 2 MP40's I can put on the back glass if I really want to mess up the gyres with more turbulent flow. I was planning on doing it once the coral grow in more just to keep things rocking.

 

[bubbaque]

Even though you never seen your angel nip it's a high probability that is the cause for decreased polyp extension. I remember sending Adam a message about this same question and he asked what fish I had. I had a small angel that I never seen nip either at the time but he suggested that it was probably the reason. So one day I sat down for an hour in front of the just watch the angel only, and sure enough he was pecking at the corals. I removed the angel and all the polyps came back out.

You said your corals are doing great and growing but lack the extension, definitely seems like there's a nipper.

 

[RedSox81]

My assumption is you have checked for all possible pests

Just so you know - not having PE doesn't mean your acros are not healthy . In some of my millies, I wish I didnt have so much PE as it obscures the beautiful body color they have .

Also I would definitely look at the Flame Angel .

That said - how much flow do you run in the tank ? Example - I run 1 gyre 150, 2 Tunze 6095s, 2 Tunze 6055s and 1 Tunze 6105 n 30 in x 30 in x 18 in 70 gallon tank . Not saying you need this kind of flow but just a personal example and this is the PE I get from my BC glowstick during day hours . Night hours looks like polyps might fall off . Flow matters more than even light

Regards,
Abhishek

What sand do you have in your tank?

 

[Brew12]

You said your corals are doing great and growing but lack the extension

I wouldn't say they are doing great, but they are staying alive and growing slowly.

So one day I sat down for an hour in front of the just watch the angel only, and sure enough he was pecking at the corals

I won't say it isn't possible, but I typically spend a few hours a night sitting next to the tank and haven't seen him do anything. It is possible he is more active and doing it during the day when I am not home.

What sand do you have in your tank?

Aragonite special grade.

 

[Battlecorals]

Something I have noticed in my own systems. My display is pretty nutrient rich. The hanna phos blinks "200" and nitrate is over 50 for sure, and every thing in that tank has exceptional PE, better than anywhere else here for sure. There may be some kind of connection between "dirty" water and PE.

like wise, I have noticed significantly reduced PE when my nutrients have bottomed out. Zero phos mostly for what its worth . How's your nutrient load in that system?

 

[Brew12]

Something I have noticed in my own systems. My display is pretty nutrient rich. The hanna phos blinks "200" and nitrate is over 50 for sure, and every thing in that tank has exceptional PE, better than anywhere else here for sure. There may be some kind of connection between "dirty" water and PE.

like wise, I have noticed significantly reduced PE when my nutrients have bottomed out. Zero phos mostly for what its worth . How's your nutrient load in that system?

Not as high as I would like it. I feed pretty heavy and have a high bioload. In addition to feeding the fish I add phyto and coral frenzy on alternating days. My PO4 tops out around 0.04ppm and NO3 around 4ppm. I pulled half the chaeto from my fuge 2 weeks ago trying to reduce its consumption. I have turf algae in my DT that I feel is keeping my nutrients from rising where I would like them. I have an urchin coming tomorrow that I'm hoping will recycle those nutrients back into the water.