Strange BTA BEHAVIOR

[Sophie"s mom]

So a question, my RBTA has always been big and very open other than at night when it shrinks down to maybe a quarter of its size. But today mid day I was shocked to see it almost totally receded into the hole in the rock it is attached to. I just put a new fairly small toadstool in my tank last night. So my question is, even though they are a good distance apart, is there any way it could have gotten stung if the toadstool shedded or something. The RBTA is down flow from the toadstool. Should I move the toadstool?

 

[Jekyl]

Nems do what nems do. I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[DED65]

Are you running any carbon to help with the toxins that leathers produce? I don’t know if this is your issue, it doesn’t hurt to try.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Are you running any carbon to help with the toxins that leathers produce? I don’t know if this is your issue, it doesn’t hurt to try.

Thank you but yes I do run activated carbon . I didn’t know that helped with that though so this is good to know because that was a concern for me as this is my first toadstool

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I agree with Jekyl. Nems have a mind of their own. Nems can look like they are about to die, then be fine in a hour. As long as conditions are right, this is perfectly normal!

 

[Lavey29]

Leather corals release turpenes into the water as their defensive mechanism. Carbon takes care of this but some inhabitants of the tank can be irritated for a period of time.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I agree with Jekyl. Nems have a mind of their own. Nems can look like they are about to die, then be fine in a hour. As long as conditions are right, this is perfectly normal!

Thank you, just made me nervous as it has never done this before, so I attributed it to the new toadstool

Leather corals release turpenes into the water as their defensive mechanism. Carbon takes care of this but some inhabitants of the tank can be irritated for a period of time.

thank you, this is what I am thinking. Is is something that other inhabitants will get used to? I do run carbon at all times

 

[Lavey29]

Thank you, just made me nervous as it has never done this before, so I attributed it to the new toadstool

thank you, this is what I am thinking. Is is something that other inhabitants will get used to? I do run carbon at all times

Well i have finger leather and sinularia. Never really saw any issues with other corals because I run chemipure blue with carbon however lately the leathers have grown large and sometimes their shedding irritates a few corals. I think it really depends on if they do release turpenes then how much? So far my SPS are unaffected. I suspect since your leather was just introduced to a new environment it probably unloaded a nice bit of turpenes into the water column but most likely this will not be a regular occurrence so I wouldn't worry about it very much.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Well i have finger leather and sinularia. Never really saw any issues with other corals because I run chemipure blue with carbon however lately the leathers have grown large and sometimes their shedding irritates a few corals. I think it really depends on if they do release turpenes then how much? So far my SPS are unaffected. I suspect since your leather was just introduced to a new environment it probably unloaded a nice bit of turpenes into the water column but most likely this will not be a regular occurrence so I wouldn't worry about it very much.

Thank you

 

[DED65]

If it is worrisome, change the carbon out and see if it makes any difference.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

If it is worrisome, change the carbon out and see if it makes any difference.

Yep, when I get home that is the plan for sure. But I do stay on top of changing it. Pretty much every 2 weeks, which is probably more often than I need to , but I would rather go thru more Carbon than run it unchanged for too long. That is just how my mind works

 

[Sophie"s mom]

If it is worrisome, change the carbon out and see if it makes any difference.

Okay, I got home, the BTA is starting to open back up a little, so I changed out my carbon, and we will see what tomorrow brings. Thanks to everyone here for helping me destress about this. I have never had a leather coral before, so I was concerned.