What happened to my bubble coral?

[JumpingFlea]

My bubble coral has been closed for 2 days and I really didn’t think anything of it, but when I came home yesterday the bubble corals flesh was completely gone and I found it on the sand bed the next day. Is it too late to save it? I’m new to the saltwater world.

My parameters:

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
Calcium: 490ppm
Magnesium: off the chart
dKH: 10.2 dKH
Phosphate: 0ppm
Salinity: 1.020sg

 

[2021 reefer]

Salinity is too low. Should be at least 1.023

 

[JGT]

Polyp bailout, it’s a goner.

 

[2021 reefer]

Polyp bailout, it’s a goner.

Unfortunately yes

 

[uhgster1]

Make sure there’s absolutely no flesh on the skeleton. I’ve had them recover from just slivers of flesh

 

[Shirak]

Salinity is too low. Should be at least 1.023

I would go up to 1.026
Confirm your salinity first though to make sure your measuring device is giving you a correct reading.

 

[JumpingFlea]

I would go up to 1.026
Confirm your salinity first though to make sure your measuring device is giving you a correct reading.

I would go up to 1.026
Confirm your salinity first though to make sure your measuring device is giving you a correct reading.

It reads 1.020, but how would I bring up the salinity safely?

 

[2021 reefer]

It reads 1.020, but how would I bring up the salinity safely?

If your reading is correct try bringing it up little by little. If your fish are weakened or u have shrimp or crabs they might get shocked and die if you salinity goes up too quickly and suddenly

 

[Shirak]

What are you using to measure salinity? By confirm the measurement I mean get a second opinion with another device or from a LFS or if you are using an instrument that can be calibrated, check the calibration. The last thing you want to do is assume the measurement is accurate from a single device unless it has been recently calibrated and add salt thinking it is too low.

How big is the tank? You could mix up a bit of salt water and add it slowly or you could do your usual water changes with water mixed to 1.026 and it will come up over time.

 

[JumpingFlea]

My tank is a 55 gallon tank. Inhabitants:
2 Percula Clownfish
2 Frostbite Clownfish
Orange spot goby
Candy cane pistol shrimp
Starry Blenny
Brittle Star
10 Hermits

Also would I buy something like this?

 

[Rmckoy]

4 clownfish in a 55 gal setup probably won’t end well .....

How long has the tank been running ?
When did you confirm cycle , and start adding livestock ?

Sadly , the bubble coral is a goner ,
Low salinity ? Too new of a tank ,
Alk is too high for the low level nutrients .

 

[Shirak]

My tank is a 55 gallon tank. Inhabitants:
2 Percula Clownfish
2 Frostbite Clownfish
Orange spot goby
Candy cane pistol shrimp
Starry Blenny
Brittle Star
10 Hermits

Also would I buy something like this?

My go to is the refractometer that I check periodically with refractometer calibration fluid. I have a handheld Hanna conductivity meter but it needs calibration frequently so I don’t use it often. In the past I have used swing arm hydrometer but they are frequently off from the actual value by a certain amount. If they can be checked with a know salinity then will know the correction factor. I also have a traceable floating bulb hydrometer which is highly accurate but time consuming and a bit of a pain to use.
As long as you are in the 1.026 range and it stays consistent over time, you’re good.

Try to keep some phosphate detectable 05ppm or so. Corals need some to stay healthy. When it’s 0 the stony corals can’t grow the skeleton and detach ie bailout.
Are you using some sort of phosphate remover? If you are, I would remove that. If not you can increase feeding a bit.

 

[JumpingFlea]

My tank has been cycled for 2 months and I do use a phosphate remover. I am planning to upgrade to a bigger tank in July because I am redoing the living room.

 

[Shirak]

My tank has been cycled for 2 months and I do use a phosphate remover. I am planning to upgrade to a bigger tank in July because I am redoing the living room.

Is there a local pet shop you can take a water sample for analysis?

What salt are you using?

What test kits are you using?

Puzzling why your Ca is near 500 and you say Mg is off the chart with over 10dkh alk at 1.020 salinity.
Are you dosing anything for Ca, Mg, and Alk?

2 month old tank with a very light bio load and not too many corals? You shouldn't need much for chemical filtration other than maybe filter sock, skimmer and a bit of carbon. Regular water changes should keep up with most everything.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Salinity is too low and tank is too new for starters.

 

[JumpingFlea]

Is there a local pet shop you can take a water sample for analysis?

What salt are you using?

What test kits are you using?

Puzzling why your Ca is near 500 and you say Mg is off the chart with over 10dkh alk at 1.020 salinity.
Are you dosing anything for Ca, Mg, and Alk?

2 month old tank with a very light bio load and not too many corals? You shouldn't need much for chemical filtration other than maybe filter sock, skimmer and a bit of carbon. Regular water changes should keep up with most everything.

I bought the refractometer and it reads 1.032! I used tap water to calibrate it but I just ordered the 35 ppt solution to try to get the most accurate results. I use instant ocean sea salt and I use API for Nitrate, Nitrite, etc and I use Saliert for magnesium, calcium, and dKH. Also, the last time I dosed was a month ago and it was magnesium because I read the test wrong and I thought magnesium was zero but it really was off the charts.