I think we Yuma Ricordea lovers need to have a serious discussion as to the care of these wonderful corals. I think the point of the discussion shouldn't pics as much as the trading of info on your tank set-ups and parameters that allow you to be successful with them. I know from personal experience that they can be difficult to keep. A few years ago I purchased 7 hot pink ricordea and all 7 of them died and melted away. Each one melted within 2 weeks or 14+/- days from acclimation.
My tank at that time wasn't as aged as it is now, but the parameters had checked out and were in acceptable ranges as far as the test could tell me. At that time I did 3 test each PH, Ca, Nitrate, Phos, alk.
The lighting I had at the time was 4 x 110w VHO that was broken down like this 2 x Super actinic and 2 x actinic white which at it's face wouldn't seem to be to much light due to the even dispersal of the spectrum across the bulb and tank. The tank had a medium gravel bed( 3") which at first I had an under-gravel filter that wasn't in use but more a hide away for pods and copapods due to me having a mandarin fish. Which actually worked great for having a continual supply of pods. I also kept maintenance up on the first 1/2 or so if the bed to keep it as free as possible of detritus.
IN the last 2 1/2 years I have removed the UG filter and added a 250w Metal halide system that is SE with mogul base. So lighting is not an issue as far as having enough but maybe to much when concerned with Yumas.
Even though these test at the time told me the water was in-line I still could not keep them for anything. I had a colony of green ones and a few others besides the pinks that kept coming in and going out. As the pinks melted I would see some of the others would start to melt as well. Now these other rics had been in the tank for a year or more and were bought locally where as the pinks were bought on-line of course.
So after serious threats by my wife I quit getting the pinks and then as the last one melted I also quit getting other color morphs. So for the last 2 1/2 years or more I would not keep Yumas but could keep Florida rics with no issue so the point of this discussion shouldn't include them.
Personally I think that the reason that these rics melted was due to a bacterial infection that was either with the ricordea during collection or they picked them up when stored in the wholesalers vats with yumas that had infections and as they sat they them were exposed to this infection.
One of the tell tale signs I found of these ricordea that had this infection was the gaping of the mouth and then the retracting of the polyp face. In each one at the end of the 2 week period I noticed that as the mouth would gap open you could see through the mouth to the rack that was beneath it. As though the base of the foot directly under the mouth was eaten away or began to rot from the internal infection and then caused the polyp to not be able to create the positive pressure within the coral itself.
Continued......
My tank at that time wasn't as aged as it is now, but the parameters had checked out and were in acceptable ranges as far as the test could tell me. At that time I did 3 test each PH, Ca, Nitrate, Phos, alk.
The lighting I had at the time was 4 x 110w VHO that was broken down like this 2 x Super actinic and 2 x actinic white which at it's face wouldn't seem to be to much light due to the even dispersal of the spectrum across the bulb and tank. The tank had a medium gravel bed( 3") which at first I had an under-gravel filter that wasn't in use but more a hide away for pods and copapods due to me having a mandarin fish. Which actually worked great for having a continual supply of pods. I also kept maintenance up on the first 1/2 or so if the bed to keep it as free as possible of detritus.
IN the last 2 1/2 years I have removed the UG filter and added a 250w Metal halide system that is SE with mogul base. So lighting is not an issue as far as having enough but maybe to much when concerned with Yumas.
Even though these test at the time told me the water was in-line I still could not keep them for anything. I had a colony of green ones and a few others besides the pinks that kept coming in and going out. As the pinks melted I would see some of the others would start to melt as well. Now these other rics had been in the tank for a year or more and were bought locally where as the pinks were bought on-line of course.
So after serious threats by my wife I quit getting the pinks and then as the last one melted I also quit getting other color morphs. So for the last 2 1/2 years or more I would not keep Yumas but could keep Florida rics with no issue so the point of this discussion shouldn't include them.
Personally I think that the reason that these rics melted was due to a bacterial infection that was either with the ricordea during collection or they picked them up when stored in the wholesalers vats with yumas that had infections and as they sat they them were exposed to this infection.
One of the tell tale signs I found of these ricordea that had this infection was the gaping of the mouth and then the retracting of the polyp face. In each one at the end of the 2 week period I noticed that as the mouth would gap open you could see through the mouth to the rack that was beneath it. As though the base of the foot directly under the mouth was eaten away or began to rot from the internal infection and then caused the polyp to not be able to create the positive pressure within the coral itself.
Continued......
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