Toadstool closed up and shrinking

boboyo

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Newb here - got my first batch of soft corals 2 days ago and they all seem to be doing fine. I’ve seen all of them open at least once except for my toadstool. I’m a little worried now.

The toadstool opened its polyps at least halfway then closes up again and every time it does this it gets smaller and smaller. There’s been 3 cycles of this since. It’s almost 1/10th of the size it was when I got it... should I be worried?
Ammonia nitrites 0
Trates 25-30 range
Phosphates .03
I turned on my skimmer for the first time today before it shrank for most of its size but it could just be a coincidence.

ive had a Sinularia as a “trial coral” and once it opened I got 3 kinds of zoas, Xenia, Duncan, gsp and the toadstool. My smallest frag of zoas hasn’t opened yet either but I’m less worried about that one since it’s super small and there’s only 2 minuscule heads. At least they’re not shrinking...

it’s in medium light and medium flow. Been dipped in peroxide prior to being in my tank and started it’s halfway open cycle within a few hours of being acclimated.
 
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boboyo

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Got a pic? Peroxide probably isn’t the best “dip” just for the record.

Sometimes they’ll shrink when they’re shedding.
I did read up on shedding but is it normal for it to half open/close multiple times in 48h and shrink every time they do so? Or should I not be worried and wait a week or so for it to shed? It was at least 10+ times bigger than this and at least twice this size just an hour ago before lights went out
 

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saltybees

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They’ll always shrink super tiny after lights out, my finger leather is literally 20x the size during lights on. I’d just leave it. Probably just acclimating. What strength peroxide do you use? I’d seriously get an actual coral dip like coralRX for new frags unless you’re trying to get rid of algae on the frags. Peroxide is super easy to overdose
 
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boboyo

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They’ll always shrink super tiny after lights out, my finger leather is literally 20x the size during lights on. I’d just leave it. Probably just acclimating. What strength peroxide do you use? I’d seriously get an actual coral dip like coralRX for new frags unless you’re trying to get rid of algae on the frags. Peroxide is super easy to overdos

Yea I guess I’m just worried for nothing. When should I start worrying? I a week or 2? I’m just worried because I don’t want to feel guilty in case it dies with the possibility I could’ve avoided it if I acted before it’s too late.

it was 3% peroxyde in a mist spray thingy just like the guy who sold me the corals told me to do.

All the other “beginner corals” he sold me got the same treatment with no issues
 

saltybees

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Yea I guess I’m just worried for nothing. When should I start worrying? I a week or 2? I’m just worried because I don’t want to feel guilty in case it dies with the possibility I could’ve avoided it if I acted before it’s too late.

it was 3% peroxyde in a mist spray thingy just like the guy who sold me the corals told me to do.

All the other “beginner corals” he sold me got the same treatment with no issues
I’d just wait it out, it’ll either die or get better. Sometimes corals just don’t make it. As long as your parameters are all good and it’s not getting hammered by flow or light I’m sure it’ll recover!
 
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boboyo

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I’d just wait it out, it’ll either die or get better. Sometimes corals just don’t make it. As long as your parameters are all good and it’s not getting hammered by flow or light I’m sure it’ll recover!
thank you
 
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boboyo

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Update on the toadstool : it opens up every day for 2 to 10 hours at a time when the lights are on. Polyps get extended about 90% of their size (comparing to when the toadstool was in my friends frag tank).

it’s still getting smaller and smaller in height tho... I’m attaching the latest picture of its height and a picture of when it’s open.

Could it be shrinking because there’s too much light? Assuming corals and plants tend go up when there’s not enough light)

Edit - it’s in medium light and medium flow as recommended everywhere

0525B053-4439-435C-9861-AC13C97A4FEA.jpeg 95D9B3E1-1467-4478-BC56-1FA0FA1CC05B.jpeg
 
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boboyo

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It’s about 1/20th of the size I got it 8 days ago. My friend said if it opens up it means he’s happy but I’m still worried since it’s not fully opening up yet and still getting smaller and smaller
 

WhiteSandsReefer

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Have you had all the waters parameters checked? Trites, pH, salinity, alk.

Leathers can occasionally be finicky, sometimes they do this for almost no reason also. They can come back from the smallest piece left as well.

Good luck!
 
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boboyo

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Have you had all the waters parameters checked? Trites, pH, salinity, alk.

Leathers can occasionally be finicky, sometimes they do this for almost no reason also. They can come back from the smallest piece left as well.

Good luck!
pH has been 7.8-7.9 for the longest time although since I got the corals and started running my skimmer it’s steadily rising slowly. It’s a little over 8 now.

alk : no idea yet I haven’t studied that part of the hobby which I plan on doing tomorrow

trates : I’m still using the garbage API cycling test kit, trates show a bit under 20 (waiting for a NYOS trates kit to ship so I can have a bit of accuracy.) ive been doing steady water changes to keep my diatom bloom in check : I cycled the tank so fast and didn’t run the skimmer to maximize the food for the good bacteria and overfed at first (since there’s no beginner guide on how to feed for a total newbie lol) so my trates were pretty high up until 2 weeks ago (40ppm range in the API test kit) where I’d do 2 5 gallon wc every 2-3 days and 10gal on sundays.

my diatoms have drastically stopped spreading since I did a 15 gallon wc 2 days ago
 

WhiteSandsReefer

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That was what I suspected.
Mine tell me their unhappy when I get a nitrate and sometimes nitrite spike.

Without knowing fully, I would say your tank is still cycling. You have to ride the "wave" it gets worse for days or a week sometimes 2. Before it all drops. Your beneficial bacteria is trying to establish. Water changes help but not a lot. Let it do its thing, if you need to have your buddy hold any coral and what not if you are concerned.

I personally would wait it out, don't do more than 10% water changes till it has settled. Every time you change it you are interrupting the cycle forcing it to take longer.

A protein skimmer should be your main source of containing the nitrate levels right now.

Hope this helps
 
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boboyo

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That was what I suspected.
Mine tell me their unhappy when I get a nitrate and sometimes nitrite spike.

Without knowing fully, I would say your tank is still cycling. You have to ride the "wave" it gets worse for days or a week sometimes 2. Before it all drops. Your beneficial bacteria is trying to establish. Water changes help but not a lot. Let it do its thing, if you need to have your buddy hold any coral and what not if you are concerned.

I personally would wait it out, don't do more than 10% water changes till it has settled. Every time you change it you are interrupting the cycle forcing it to take longer.

A protein skimmer should be your main source of containing the nitrate levels right now.

Hope this helps
My tank has been cycled for more than 3 weeks. Not once have I seen ammonia or trites & the trates are old trates that will take a long long time to get out. Mathematically speaking, from 40ppm to 20ppm in trates is 7-8 10% water changes. Trates aren’t really rising as of now since I stopped over feeding and got a good cuc and turned on my skimmer

Edit - my buddy holding my coral is pretty solid advice but he says it’s fine since it opens from time to time. He also lives a solid 40min drive away from me. Just checking if there’s anything I could do before doing the worst case scenario. I refuse to let my corals die in my tank even tho I paid next to nothing for them
 

WhiteSandsReefer

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Just for reference.

I have moved my 120 many times over the years. The last time I started it from scratch. I used reef crystals and straight tap water treated with prime. It took 8 weeks before I could safely put my first pair of fish in. Honestly, I was impatient and should have waited 2 more weeks.

It was a longer breakin because of the tap having high levels of nitrates.

I think that your tank is still cycling. Water changes or not it is going to spike for a few more weeks. I am sure your sealife can ride it out. But be prepared to get it out of the tank quick if anything dies. Because if you leave anything dead in overnight you will be in for a real nightmare.

I hope it clears up quickly for you, no matter the issue.
 
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boboyo

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Just for reference.

I have moved my 120 many times over the years. The last time I started it from scratch. I used reef crystals and straight tap water treated with prime. It took 8 weeks before I could safely put my first pair of fish in. Honestly, I was impatient and should have waited 2 more weeks.

It was a longer breakin because of the tap having high levels of nitrates.

I think that your tank is still cycling. Water changes or not it is going to spike for a few more weeks. I am sure your sealife can ride it out. But be prepared to get it out of the tank quick if anything dies. Because if you leave anything dead in overnight you will be in for a real nightmare.

I hope it clears up quickly for you, no matter the issue.
I still do I daily dose of microbacter7 JUST in case something goes wrong and it’s not fully cycled as you say. I was told you can’t put too much so I’ve been dosing it as I’m still cycling the tank for an extra few weeks (a heavier dose also makes diatoms not spread as easily, BRS’s theory worked for me but I’m not sure if it’s the bacteria or the wc or both). My 7 other corals are doing super amazing and my 2 Duncan heads are twice as big since I got them 8 days ago!!

I guess I’ll wait it out another week or 2 and revive this thread if it shrinks and flattens down to the frag plug
 

DirkCourage

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I still do I daily dose of microbacter7 JUST in case something goes wrong and it’s not fully cycled as you say. I was told you can’t put too much so I’ve been dosing it as I’m still cycling the tank for an extra few weeks (a heavier dose also makes diatoms not spread as easily, BRS’s theory worked for me but I’m not sure if it’s the bacteria or the wc or both). My 7 other corals are doing super amazing and my 2 Duncan heads are twice as big since I got them 8 days ago!!

I guess I’ll wait it out another week or 2 and revive this thread if it shrinks and flattens down to the frag plug
I feel you! My toadstool was kicking for 5 weeks, added a colony of sinularia nearby and it hadn’t been the same. One week of shrinking with cyclical minor polyp extension. These are supposed to be hearty corals
 
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boboyo

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I feel you! My toadstool was kicking for 5 weeks, added a colony of sinularia nearby and it hadn’t been the same. One week of shrinking with cyclical minor polyp extension. These are supposed to be hearty corals
Well my toadstool is doing a lot better now. He’s growing in height but the stem is a little skinnier than it used to be. He’s still smaller than when I got him tho. And yea I feel you on supposedly being a hardy coral. Maybe they’re just stubborn lol
 

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Mine close up for days and shrink but it's usually from snails trying to push them out of the way. They always come back.
 

Treefer32

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Toadstools are good water quality measurers... Mine definitely doesn't like certain conditions... If my alk gets too high (typically above 10) it won't open. . It's 10" in diameter, so, when it doesn't open, it doesn't look great! If salinity is too high it may not fully open, just part way, depending how far off salinity is. I had my salinity hit 1.027 and my toad stool was not a happy camper at all! Took me a couple days to figure out what was wrong. . .Needed to calibrate my refrac and realized the salinity was off. Reduced salinity, the next day it was happy again. . . It's one of those corals that can help you see if something is wrong with water quality. Though, I will say, mine didn't care about phosphates. My phosphates it .55 and my toadstool grew in the dirty water... So, they don't detect everything that's bad. . . Lol.
 
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