Trachyphyllia emergency!!

[jasonrusso]

Ok, so it's not really an emergency but I need some help. I got my trachyphyllia about 1 1/2 weeks ago. When I first got it, it would inflate fully during the day and then retract at night. I noticed last week (after a week) that it wasn't inflating as much anymore. This weekend I noticed that it was starting to bleach. It is still alive because it still inflates a bit, just not as much.

I moved it into a shaded area because I think it was getting too much light. Everything else in the tank is fully open and growing.

The tank is a Red Sea Max C-130 with the Steve's LED upgrade. The blue lights were set to 2400 (60%) and white is set to 1600 (40%). I also turned the blue down to 50%. The trachy is on the bottom (about 20" down with the sand depth).

Water is good. I have been chasing ALK a bit, it got down to 7.5 but I brought it back up slowly over 2 days to 8.5. Like I said, everything else is good.

Calcium is 400-410
PH is 8.0

Here is the trachy the day after I bought it.

Here it is today before moving.


Is it going to be OK? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[NickNiz]

What’s your salinity and magnesium? Nitrates? Trachy tend to like some nitrates as most other LPS do. Ideal levels for your tank will be:
Ca 450-500
Alk 8-9
Mg 1300-1400, maybe even 1500.


Any other coral around it that can be irritating it? What kind of flow is it in? If it is the light, try decreasing percentage of intensity. If you can’t do that because of other corals, put some masking tape or something over the bulbs that are over the trachy...

Do you dose anything? NOPOX? I did and my LPS ended up shrinking up for some reason. I stopped dosing it and they returned to normal.

 

[Fudsey]

#Reefsquad

 

[jasonrusso]

What’s your salinity and magnesium? Nitrates? Trachy tend to like some nitrates as most other LPS do. Ideal levels for your tank will be:
Ca 450-500
Alk 8-9
Mg 1300-1400, maybe even 1500.


Any other coral around it that can be irritating it? What kind of flow is it in? If it is the light, try decreasing percentage of intensity. If you can’t do that because of other corals, put some masking tape or something over the bulbs that are over the trachy...

Do you dose anything? NOPOX? I did and my LPS ended up shrinking up for some reason. I stopped dosing it and they returned to normal.

I just tested it again.

Alk is at 8.6 (so I got that up)
calcium is 410 (I thought you want between 400 and 420??)
MG is 1350
Nitrates are zero or close. I do have a bit of a GHA thing going on so I think that nitrates are available, just not registering. The tank is only 2 1/2 months old.

It was in medium flow. I have powerheads in the back corners, no direct flow. It just slightly moved from the flow. The only other coral in the area is a pulsing xenia, but is isn't touching it.

I DID lessen the blue light 10%, but I don't want to upset the other corals in the tank. They are all doing fine. I can't really cover up any LEDs, the light isn't that wide.

For now I put it under an overhang. It will only get reflected light for now. My fear is that the overhang isn't too big and if it swells up it will press on the sides of the rock. The color is still pretty good on the unbleached spots and it glows under the actinics. I might have to redesign something here if this works. Maybe get a big piece of plating coral and make a larger overhang. Will it ever acclimate to the light? I read that some of the colorful trachys come from deep water and can't handle the light.

 

[K. Steven]

How often and what are you feeding?

I'm going through something similar with a slightly bleached Acanthophyllia. Feeding small pieces of meaty food 2-3 times a week is helping.

 

[jasonrusso]

How often and what are you feeding?

I target fed some BRS Reef Chili, but I am not sure if it took any. I put some mysis on it the other day and I am pretty sure it took a piece. I haven't seen tentacles (I don't think), maybe because of the light?

I've only had it a week and a half. I don't want to douse it in food so I have only tried a few times

 

[K. Steven]

I target fed some BRS Reef Chili, but I am not sure if it took any. I put some mysis on it the other day and I am pretty sure it took a piece. I haven't seen tentacles (I don't think), maybe because of the light?

I've only had it a week and a half. I don't want to douse it in food so I have only tried a few times

I think you'll want to get your NO3 up a bit as well. Try spraying them with some mysis juice 5-10 minutes before feeding to initiate a feeding response and get them to open up.

 

[Dextereef]

ugh tracys....gotta lovehate relationship. They like nitrates but not too many, they like food but not too much, they like warmer temps but not too warm, they like low flow but not too low.....I think you get the idea. One of the most finicky corals out there, IMO. You could build a whole system dedicated to their preferences and they could one day change their minds and fall apart. Keep tweaking the system until you find it's sweet spot. Not trying to be negative but they are moody things.

 

[DSC reef]

If it keeps bleaching I'd move it to a little lower light. Definitely want some nutrients in the tank. I keep my phosphate low and my nitrates around 15ppm. 410 calcium is fine. Don't target feed unless you see tentacles from a feeding response. Broadcast some reef chili and if tentacles come out you can spot feed some mysis. I keep our tank at 77-78 degrees.

 

[jasonrusso]

My tank is about 78.5 to 79.5.

How do I raise NO3 without causing an algae issue? I've only tried to lower NO3 in my fowler

 

[Dextereef]

Turn your skimmer off for awhile. I know a few sps nuts who run their skimmers periodically vs all the time so they don't starve the corals. Long term solution could be to add more fish to up the bioload. Quit using any additives or chemical filtrations in the short term.

 

[DSC reef]

My tank is about 78.5 to 79.5.

How do I raise NO3 without causing an algae issue? I've only tried to lower NO3 in my fowler

Temp is fine. I wouldn't make drastic changes. Try feeding a little more, but not excessive. I think a little lower light and possibly slower acclimation to the leds will work.

 

[jasonrusso]

Temp is fine. I wouldn't make drastic changes. Try feeding a little more, but not excessive. I think a little lower light and possibly slower acclimation to the leds will work.

Maybe I'll feed a bit more. I already decreased the lights a bit. Maybe I'll cycle the skimmer a bit.

Do you think that the trachyphyllia can acclimate? I've already considered getting a big piece of plating coral and making a bigger overhang if the shade makes it come back.

 

[jasonrusso]

Turn your skimmer off for awhile. I know a few sps nuts who run their skimmers periodically vs all the time so they don't starve the corals. Long term solution could be to add more fish to up the bioload. Quit using any additives or chemical filtrations in the short term.

I'm not using any additives other than alk and calcium. Why remove carbon? Doesn't that just remove impurities?

 

[K. Steven]

You could try feeding more often, if possible. I always prefer decreasing nutrient export than increasing nutrient import, so skimming less or cutting down on any NO3-reducing methods are what I'd recommend to slightly bump your NO3 up.

 

[DSC reef]

Sounds like a plan. I think it can recover, it doesn't look to bad. Give it time and make changes slowly.

 

[Dextereef]

I'm not using any additives other than alk and calcium. Why remove carbon? Doesn't that just remove impurities?

Yes, Sorry leave the carbon online. I should have specified chem filts like purigen, gfo, or any of the bacteria cleaners.

 

[jasonrusso]

You could try feeding more often, if possible. I always prefer decreasing nutrient export than increasing nutrient import, so skimming less or cutting down on any NO3-reducing methods are what I'd recommend to slightly bump your NO3 up.

I think the GHA is absorbing a lot of the nutrients, but that's part of an infant tank.

I really don't want to turn the skimmer off. I feel the aeration is beneficial and the temp is set with the skimmer pump running. Maybe I can lower the gate so it just doesn't skim anything and recirculates.

 

[Dextereef]

I think the GHA is absorbing a lot of the nutrients, but that's part of an infant tank.

I really don't want to turn the skimmer off. I feel the aeration is beneficial and the temp is set with the skimmer pump running. Maybe I can lower the gate so it just doesn't skim anything and recirculates.

Yeah I feel ya on that. Lower it so it's dry skimming and if that doesn't help maybe take it below the skimmer neck. Good luck!

 

[JCM]

While it is obviously unhappy, it can most certainly be saved. I've seen them come back from way worse.

What fish are in the tank? They are easily picked on by coral nippers.

Do you have a screen top? If you do, move it back to its original location and use a piece of paper on the screen top to shade it.

While I agree with others that getting your nitrates up to 5ish would be beneficial, i wouldn' go making drastic changes to your system if everything else seems happy. Maybe try feeding the whole tank more each day.