LPS bleaching selectively

[str8clownr]

hey guys, an lps euphylia i believe, an "octopus" coral maybe, is bleaching on two of the five heads, on the bleached heads there are small red areas and im wondering if i need to take any action

[str8clownr]

anyone please? i dont want my coral to die

[barbra]

Red areas like small red bugs?

[Travis L. Stevens]

Water parameters, lighting, flow, age of bulbs, etc. We need this information.

[str8clownr]

no not bugs because the splotches vary in size and are more like a red tissue than a bug or ant shaped parasite if thats what you meant by red bugs, otherwise i am not familiar with red bugs

[str8clownr]

65gallon tank nitrates nitrites are at zero, other params are all good although i do not have specifics bc i have not had water tested by LFS today, salinity is 1.022 i have one 175watt MH with two 56w actinics, mag 9.5 for return with 2 mj1200s with Hydorflows and one via aqua 400 for circulation, MH was changed 3 months ago from 20k to 14k

[Travis L. Stevens]

1) Get specific parameters including the following: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Alkalinity, and Calcium. It wouldn't hurt to also test for Phosphate and Magnesium.
2) Do them yourself unless the LFS will actually show you the results
3) Increase specific gravity to 1.025 slowly using properly calibrated devices. I recommend a refractometer calibrated with a solution and not freshwater.
4) Did you acclimate your tank to the new lights?
5) Do you know what flatworms looks like?
6) Pictures are worth 1000 words.
7) When was your last water change?
8a) Are you dosing anything?
8b) If so, what are you dosing and how much?

[frederickk]

bump

[str8clownr]

my fault, those red splotches or what seemed like red splotches are actually the real color of the head, Like the two coral heads are bleached about 90-95% and the splotches are actually the last bit of color still left on the coral. so now my question is if just two of the five heads are bleached what can i dip them in to help them out>

[Landolakes]

Are the 2 heads shaded by the others?

[ihopss]

Your salinity is a little low,

[str8clownr]

think of the coral as a hand, the thumb and pinky fingers aRE bleached, while the three center fingers are splitting in to two mouths each, yes my salinity is low, but ive read keeping it around 1.021-1.022 reduces how susceptable my fish are to parasites....

[csb]

Alkalinity & calcium - what are your current levels? What is your daily temperature fluctuation? How long is your photoperiod?

IMHO, 1.022 is fine ... 1.025 is preferred, but *stability* of a parameter is more important than the actual number itself. Do you top off manually? Does this parameter fluctuate between topoffs?

[RichConley]

1.022 means that alk is probably in 5 range, and Ca in the <300 range.

SO I'd say No, 1.022 is not fine for a reef.

[csb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10165216#post10165216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
1.022 means that alk is probably in 5 range, and Ca in the <300 range.

How did you arrive at that conclusion :confused: I could go mix some water right now and have 1.022 SG with an alk of 10 and calcium of 450.

If you're someone who never uses alk/ca additives, relying solely on your salt mix to provide alk & ca, then I could understand your point.

The original author of this post hasn't yet posted any alk or ca levels... alk is probably the primary candidate in this case, but we won't know unless we have some params posted.

[str8clownr]

im not sure on alk levels ill have that tested tom. but calc is around 340