Ricordea looking strange

Kira42 · Apr 30, 2020

Hi,

I had this Ricordea for the last 5 months and it looked fabulous every day. It’s one of my favorite corals in the tank.
however, this morning it looks pretty terrible and I don’t know if I should worry? is it just splitting ?
yesterday I added three more corals to the aquarium but they are well far from the Ricordea. i also did a weekly 20% water change I can only test for alkalinity and that’s 7,3.
Pic shows how it it today and how it looks normally

Kira42 · Apr 30, 2020

i think maybe it’s just closing up

Katrina71 · Apr 30, 2020

Looks like it's splitting.

Kira42 · Apr 30, 2020

Thanks, but when a Coral splits is it such a sudden change? I thought it takes days for coral to split

Kira42 · Apr 30, 2020

I did time lapse of how the Ricordea was behaving today. I really hope it’s not dying

!!!!

LRT · Apr 30, 2020

Agreed looks like its splitting. Not sure if there is a set time limit on how long it takes for them to split. I have a cpl in the middle of splitting which seems like forever now.
What are your water parameters?

Kira42 · Apr 30, 2020

I wish so much I knew my water parameters, beside kh which is 7,3, but I ain’t got myself any more test kits yet

Kira42 · Apr 30, 2020

How long have yours been splitting for now ?

LRT · Apr 30, 2020

About a week on one of them.
These corals are super hardy I cycled a system with them not to long ago so I know certain species could care less about certain things.
Main thing is temp and salinity.
And you want to invest in a test kit soon only because something may come up that if you allow it to go to long you could end up with bigger problems that are hard to deal with.
What's your average temp? Salt?
It's the swings that I think are the biggest issue here with these corals.

Kira42 · Apr 30, 2020

My temp is 25,5, I have two heaters just in case. I also keep salinity at 1.026 mainly my because I’m using sea salt instead of reef salt, so the higher the salinity, the more elements I guessed

I had to go a bit cheap with the setup since I’m still a student xD
My corals actually look pretty great, mainly the Ricordea, that’s why I got a bit freaked by it’s strange behavior... you’re right tho about the tests!

LRT · Apr 30, 2020

Kira42 said:
My temp is 25,5, I have two heaters just in case. I also keep salinity at 1.026 mainly my because I’m using sea salt instead of reef salt, so the higher the salinity, the more elements I guessed I had to go a bit cheap with the setup since I’m still a student xD
My corals actually look pretty great, mainly the Ricordea, that’s why I got a bit freaked by it’s strange behavior... you’re right tho about the tests!

Can you translate C to F here? Sorry im programmed like a robot that cannot think outside its zones haha.
Dont worry these mushrooms are super hardy and can probably live through anything believe me I've tested them lol.
I have found 1025 easier to maintain especially during the temp swings.