What is happening with my blasto?

[anddak]

Hi All,

I setup my tank around 6 weeks ago, it's fully cycled and I have a couple of small clowns and firefish with a couple of blue leg hermits.

I've added my first frag yesterday - I was reluctant to add more, first I want to make sure I can keep this guy alive.

Since the tank is a 13.5g evo with the stock light and I am without experience - no SPS for me, with softies I am trying to avoid the ones that can take over my tank so after some research, I went for a Blastomussa, btw this is what I was recommended at my LFS as well.

The trouble is - I have no idea if it is doing well or not, it expanded since yesterday I can see that, but now some brownish stuff is coming out of his mouth, could it be zooxanthellae? If so, what might be the reason and if it's bad, what can I do about it? Currently, he's 2cm above sandbed and considering the fluval evo lights and this thread: https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/389982-fluval-evo-135-par-stock-lighting/ I believe it's exposed to around a 100-130 PAR which should be alright as I've heard blasto's like low light.

Oh also - the base of the coral looks pretty strange, I'll upload a couple of pics hope someone can advise.



On the first picture - will it ever expand more?
Second: what is going on with the base?
Third: see brownish stuff in the middle.

 

[Kaboobie]

i would say 100-130 is not what I would call low light. low light is more like 75 and below personally but it looks real pale and like the skeleton is getting eaten away.

 

[anddak]

i would say 100-130 is not what I would call low light. low light is more like 75 and below personally but it looks real pale and like the skeleton is getting eaten away.

I can't recall, but I don't remember the skeleton looked like that 24h ago. I dipped into coral dip before adding to the tank. Any idea why that could be? Also would 100-130 direct light be too much for it?

 

[PicassoClown04]

Okay I agree with you that the base does look very weird. Could the LFS possibly have glued the blastomussa to another coral’s dead skeleton? In my area, a lot of them do that instead of buying frag plugs, saves money and helps integrate them more seamlessly into the rock work. That might be why the ‘skeleton’ looks weird. The first picture looks pretty good, nice shape and okay coloring. It should get puffier on the sides when it gets happier. IME, blastos take about a week to get happy and it’s probably acclimating because you just added it yesterday. Mine secreted brownish/ white stuff from the center due to stress, it’s okay I think.

 

[anddak]

Okay I agree with you that the base does look very weird. Could the LFS possibly have glued the blastomussa to another coral’s dead skeleton? In my area, a lot of them do that instead of buying frag plugs, saves money and helps integrate them more seamlessly into the rock work. That might be why the ‘skeleton’ looks weird. The first picture looks pretty good, nice shape and okay coloring. It should get puffier on the sides when it gets happier. IME, blastos take about a week to get happy and it’s probably acclimating because you just added it yesterday. Mine secreted brownish/ white stuff from the center due to stress, it’s okay I think.

So it is sitting on a frag plug that is not visible as I fitted into a hole. So imagine: frag plug, on that the damaged skeleton, then the head. If something is eating away, I can't imagine what - I've had live sand but it's unlikely that ever has anything in it the way I heard, the rock is real reef rock, this is literally my first coral and I dipped into coral dip - so really don't know what is eating it away.

Re the first picture, that is how it looked most of the day, then suddenly it started leaking that brownish stuff and after opening this thread around the mouth, just turned brown.

I turned off the lights and how it's closed up.

Should I just let it play out or should I move it to shade?

 

[TripleTruble]

What kind of flow does it have?

 

[PicassoClown04]

I know that LPS are susceptible to ‘brown jelly disease’ we have lots of posts about diagnosis and treatment of that, I’ve never had to deal with it myself so I don’t want to tell you to do the wrong thing. My blasto (sorry about the blue light) is in the direct center of my tank under full light. I got it 2 months ago and since then it has spouted 4 new heads that are beginning to get some size. Mine did look a little sad in the beginning but tbh I didn’t really pay much attention to it because it was a freebie and I had just started acros and my RBTA. The thing I would say though, is that mine hates a lot of flow.

 

[TripleTruble]

I have a few 3 blastos and they all probably have like 120-150 par light and are thriving

 

[TripleTruble]

If you think it’s brown jelly disease you can try a fresh water dip

 

[anddak]

What kind of flow does it have?

I've got a Jebao SOW-4 set to the lowest and swapped the built-in return pump to the Eheim compactOn 1000 with a Random Flow Generator installed to the output. I've heard blasto's like low flow so I placed at the front of the tank. The return pump output and wavemaker are at the back of the tank and the blasto is protected by a rock, so it only gets the flow bouncing from the front wall.

The tank is 13.5 gallon approx 55 cm long so it gives a better idea for the flow.

 

[TripleTruble]

Curious what’s your water parameters?

 

[anddak]

Curious what’s your water parameters?

Temperature 25-27C (78-80 F)

Ammonia, Nitrite 0
Nitrate 3
pH 8.1

kH is 6.5 - working on raising it atm
Calcium 480
Magnesium 1500
Salinity 35ppt

no trace of phospate

 

[OrangeCountyReefer]

I have a number of blastos and from my experience they always seem to do better in lower lighting. Mine have had the best coloration and polyp extension while in the sand bed. Also they do well with frequent feedings, I do twice a week. I’d brush the hair algae off with a tooth brush and put it in the and bed and wait a week then feed it.

 

[anddak]

I have a number of blastos and from my experience they always seem to do better in lower lighting. Mine have had the best coloration and polyp extension while in the sand bed. Also they do well with frequent feedings, I do twice a week. I’d brush the hair algae off with a tooth brush and put it in the and bed and wait a week then feed it.

Wow, they look amazing - I am ashamed of this guy of mine, haha. Would you say it's enough if I place it to the sandbed, direct light or should I also look for a spot with shade? The evo's light got around 50-90 PAR in the sandbed.

Also if it's on the sandbed, would it worth to place it close to a small rock so it can extend? Not sure where to grow and attach new heads if there is only sand.

 

[anddak]

UPDATE: It might be the light guys... Since I turned it off it closed and opened a couple of times, that brown stuff is not coming out from it's mouth anymore and the green where it turned brown, it's green again.

 

[OrangeCountyReefer]

Wow, they look amazing - I am ashamed of this guy of mine, haha. Would you say it's enough if I place it to the sandbed, direct light or should I also look for a spot with shade? The evo's light got around 50-90 PAR in the sandbed.

Also if it's on the sandbed, would it worth to place it close to a small rock so it can extend? Not sure where to grow and attach new heads if there is only sand.

No need for shade. In the sand bed will be fine, mine have been sitting around 50 to 75 par for a long time and have been steadily growing new heads and have great color and polyp extension. They have the best feeding response I’ve seen from a coral. They catch and eat food every time I feed my fish and I also direct feed them reef roids. No need to place them next to a rock as long as they are glued to a drag plug or a piece of rock at the base their stony skeleton will continue to grow with the new heads that develop. They are one of my favorite corals forsure.

 

[uhgster1]

Lower the light or put it near a ledge. Don’t stress out over its looks. It’s going to take a little while (months) before it gets used to your parameters. First pic is a recent and the second is when I got it

 

[anddak]

Lower the light or put it near a ledge. Don’t stress out over its looks. It’s going to take a little while (months) before it gets used to your parameters. First pic is a recent and the second is when I got it

What a transformation!

 

[anddak]

So, I pulled it out and as much as I could I cleaned off the hair algae. I placed it to the sand bed, not in a shade but not directly under the lights either. I discovered a very tiny head on the main one as well, I hope it survives now

Thanks everyone for all your help. I will post an update here in a few months, it will be nice to see what happened.

 

[Kaboobie]

i have one kind of outlandish question. You said this is your first coral right? If so have you checked your ph? If the ph is off by enough it could potentially break down the skeleton. It sounds ridiculous and I doubt it is the problem but do keep in mind this is exactly how a calcium reactor works low ph through CO2 in the reactor dissolves coral skeletons.