Small toadstool Leather is constantly angry looking

[DragonWrasseFan]

Hey there, I’m hoping some of you guys can help me out. My tank is only 15 gallons and I have a few soft corals who most of the time look great, with the exception of my leather. I have no idea what to do at this point because I’ve tried lighting intensity changes. I’ve tried food. I’ve tried different nitrate and phosphate levels, carbon and no carbon, different places in the tank and different flow. Mind you all of these changes have been done spaced out and not back to back so it didn’t shock the coral. He will shed, come out for maybe a day or two not even fully swelled up polyps not even completely extended, then go back to a shrunken angry mess. Rinse and repeat. This has been going on for several months now and there is no growth appearance. In fact, he looks smaller than when I bought him. Any ideas? Photo on the left is when I first bought him, he looked even better in the fish store, and the photo on the right is what he looks like most of the time. Now I will say the photo on the left he was under a much stronger whiter spectrum because I had my tank initially under an anemone spectrum before I switched to a soft coral spectrum. He definitely did not like the anemone spectrum

 

[Subsea]

What specific leather are we looking at?

Also, list specific inhabitants of tank: fish, coral, CUC.

Full tank shot with white light.

Hey there, I’m hoping some of you guys can help me out. My tank is only 15 gallons and I have a few soft corals who most of the time look great, with the exception of my leather. I have no idea what to do at this point because I’ve tried lighting intensity changes. I’ve tried food. I’ve tried different nitrate and phosphate levels, carbon and no carbon, different places in the tank and different flow. Mind you all of these changes have been done spaced out and not back to back so it didn’t shock the coral. He will shed, come out for maybe a day or two not even fully swelled up polyps not even completely extended, then go back to a shrunken angry mess. Rinse and repeat. This has been going on for several months now and there is no growth appearance. In fact, he looks smaller than when I bought him. Any ideas? Photo on the left is when I first bought him, he looked even better in the fish store, and the photo on the right is what he looks like most of the time. Now I will say the photo on the left he was under a much stronger whiter spectrum because I had my tank initially under an anemone spectrum before I switched to a soft coral spectrum. He definitely did not like the anemone spectrum

If everything else is good, then consider gifting leather to LFS.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Need more information about your tank

Parameters
Light and flow
How old is the tank
What does everything else look like?

 

[Rocks reef]

Not really sure what an 'anemone spectrum' or 'soft coral spectrum' is. Both love intense light, preferably more white than heavy blues. For instance, one of my leather corals sits in about 500 PAR and is always open and growing.
The numerous light changes is probably what is upsetting it. They need time (several weeks or longer) to acclimate to a new lighting schedule.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If you've had it for months and it hasn't grown at all, my first thought is the lighting is too low. Its losing its color and slowly turning white, another sign that the lighting is too low.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

My experience with toad frags this small is that the tentacles are always shorter than if they were grown out. I’ve also noticed that a small frag is stunted way longer as well. I usually set them off to the side and try to forget about them and let them do their thing.

 

[DragonWrasseFan]

Nitrate is currently 20, phosphate is going between 0.5 and 1, alkalinity is 8.3 with AFR dosing otherwise it sits around 7 if i dont dose. I’m currently out of calcium and magnesium test and I need to buy more, but those were normal the last time I tested, which was about two weeks ago. I’ve had my nitrate and phosphate down to almost undetectable levels and it still acting like this. It has been acting like this since I first got it. It started doing this right away. I just know it’s a green toadstool leather, per my LFS. I have the AI blade light that’s a 20 Watt, I have it at 57% intensity, and right now I have it on the soft coral setting through the Mobius app. I haven’t changed my light setting and probably four or five months at this point so it’s not the light swings. My other corals look fine and healthy but they are growing slow as well. I have been hesitant to increase the lighting because everybody at my LFS said that 57% intensity is more than enough for my tank size. The leather frag currently sits on the top of my rock work, so he’s not super low in the tank. CUC is blue leg at hermit crabs, and various snails. They never bother the corals. My tank will be 1 year old next month.

EDIT: I also currently run 1 teaspoon of ROX 0.8 carbon because when I went carbon free, and when the leather does shed, it irritates the heck out of the rest of the corals

 

[DragonWrasseFan]

Forgot to attach a pic. I’ll take one in white light as well when I get home.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

From what you’ve posted, all sounds just fine for a toad. They really don’t need much at all to survive. I had to QT my toads one time and they sat in a tank, albeit in front of a window, with no tank lights and they actually grew a ton.

It could just be a slow grower and a more cranky variety. For example these two frags are the same age; however, as you can see, one has really grown a ton while the other just seems to be taking its time. The big one is a run of the mill green toadstool and the other is a japanese green toadstool.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

Forgot to add, i’d move him to the sand. When all else fails, i move a grumpy coral lower. If they are unhappy i find less light might just give them more time to work out what ails them.

 

[Subsea]

I have two different species of green toad stole leather from IndoPacific SeaFarm and the don’’t look like your picture at all.

https://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/img_7817-jpeg.4370549/

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

Ooh that is a nice and chunky one! Mine always grow tall and the crown is always relatively thing. That said, i feel like “green toadstool” could be a catch all.

 

[X-37B]

Hard to tell from the pics but it could use more light.
Here are 2 leathers in my 15.
They have grown quite well at around 200 par. 5 months growth.

 

[DragonWrasseFan]

Forgot to add, i’d move him to the sand. When all else fails, i move a grumpy coral lower. If they are unhappy i find less light might just give them more time to work out what ails them.

He was on the sand bed for the first few months and that’s why I moved him to the rock work. He also improved slightly on the rock work. He was out more and he shed more often. He hated the sand.

 

[DragonWrasseFan]

Hard to tell from the pics but it could use more light.
Here are 2 leathers in my 15.
They have grown quite well at around 200 par. 5 months growth.

I spoke to my trusted guy at my LFS again and he wants me to bump my light intensity up slightly per week and see if that helps. Everything else seems fine so lighting might be a factor with all my corals, and maybe that’s why they’re all growing so slowly. So I’m definitely going to try that.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

Hard to tell from the pics but it could use more light.
Here are 2 leathers in my 15.
They have grown quite well at around 200 par. 5 months growth.

Nice stylo

 

[X-37B]

Nice stylo

Thanks. I have a large one in my 150. This one grows well in the nano.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I have the AI blade light that’s a 20 Watt, I have it at 57% intensity, and right now I have it on the soft coral setting through the Mobius app.

I have a 15 gallon tank with AI Prime, which is 55 watt light, set at 80% for 12 hours per day, and my toadstool is very happy with this lighting. Personally I think your coral will appreciate more light, just my opinion, good luck.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

I have the AI blade light that’s a 20 Watt, I have it at 57% intensity, and right now I have it on the soft coral setting through the Mobius app.

I have a 15 gallon tank with AI Prime, which is 55 watt light, set at 80% for 12 hours per day, and my toadstool is very happy with this lighting. Personally I think your coral will appreciate more light, just my opinion, good luck.

Your comment made me have to look. My AI 32HDs are 90 watts apiece

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

From what you’ve posted, all sounds just fine for a toad. They really don’t need much at all to survive. I had to QT my toads one time and they sat in a tank, albeit in front of a window, with no tank lights and they actually grew a ton.

It could just be a slow grower and a more cranky variety. For example these two frags are the same age; however, as you can see, one has really grown a ton while the other just seems to be taking its time. The big one is a run of the mill green toadstool and the other is a japanese green toadstool.

For me, the stem gives the clue, the stem should be short and fat, if its long and thin then its stretching upwards to get more light. If you google images of toadstool, you will notice the stem. Leathers grow tall, but they also grow wide as they grow tall