What has helped your Polyp Extension?

[Lostreefin]

I have seen a decline in some of my corals PE recently. I'm not trying to troubleshoot that in this thread, instead I would like to hear what other reefers have done that improved their SPS PE. Changes in equipment (ie lights, etc.), water parameters, maintenance, or any husbandry modifications. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing those polyps fully extended.

 

[wesman42]

I have seen a decline in some of my corals PE recently. I'm not trying to troubleshoot that in this thread, instead I would like to hear what other reefers have done that improved their SPS PE. Changes in equipment (ie lights, etc.), water parameters, maintenance, or any husbandry modifications. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing those polyps fully extended.

I would say stabilizing my parameters and using an ATO helped the most....at least that's the largest difference I recall.

 

[Michael Naegeli]

Nutrients. Must have proper Phos and Nitrate levels. Not too high not too low. Just right... flow also a top determining factor. Also I love me some pohl’s coral vitalizer daily.

 

[NewbsReef]

Stability is key. What works for me is keeping my nutrients low, flow and i feed my fish once every other day and i use polyp labs polyp-booster and acids once a week.

 

[reefrf]

In my experience two of the biggest causes are pests, like red bugs & AEFW. Types of fishes like Angels will nip at your acro’s & will cause polyps to be withdrawn.
In my case some of my angels were grazing all day nipping here & there. They would never cause any damage but eventually the polyps would be non-existent during the day. Once I removed those fish within a month or two the corals were very happy & hairy as could be. [emoji2]

[emoji6] good luck.

 

[jda]

Get rid of your fish.

PE is only needed for gas exchange, but if the coral is otherwise not threatened, then they might try and catch some food. ...so not having any is not a bad sign, and having some is not always a good sign. PE always seems to make the hobbyist feel better.

Tangs, angels, blennies and others can all nip and it only takes once or twice a day to keep the polyps at bay. Even though this tang does no damage, it keeps the polyps in their home. I have a purple who does this from time to time too.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Get rid of your fish.

PE is only needed for gas exchange, but if the coral is otherwise not threatened, then they might try and catch some food. ...so not having any is not a bad sign, and having some is not always a good sign. PE always seems to make the hobbyist feel better.

Tangs, angels, blennies and others can all nip and it only takes once or twice a day to keep the polyps at bay. Even though this tang does no damage, it keeps the polyps in their home. I have a purple who does this from time to time too.

I usually agree 100% with anything and everything JDA has to say but I had months of stn/rtn issues and they always started with polyp recession. When my acros are happy and growing they have great polyp extension.

 

[Stickboy15]

Arco power helps me the sps just love it and look great after its dosed

 

[Scorpius]

I wouldn't worry about polyp extension. Look for overall growth and color. If you get these two down polyp extension usually follows suit, but you may only see polyps out at night.

 

[jda]

This tank that I took that video in has nearly no PE, zilch - these tangs, and probably a FlameBack Angel keep them at bay except during the night. I have a newer tank with just a few fish and everything is hairy... only Genicanthus Angels and a Sargassum Trigger in this tank and they do not nip at anything.

The polyps are out at night to help with gas exchange since the zoox are not helping the coral with gasses without any light/energy. No PE can be a sign of bad things... but so can too much PE in the case of too little flow, high ammonia or nitrite. Like Scorpius said, look for growth and color as a better indicator, but also pay attention to corals that used to have X amount of PE that now have a different amount.

As colonies get larger, then you can get more PE since the stupid fish cannot get down inside of the branches.