Is my leather dying?

[Blue04]

i've had this leather for just about over a week and it looked fine for a few days but now it doesnt seem to stand up anymore. I noticed a few branches fell off and thought it was splitting but im not sure. Here are some pics:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i167/mleach82/leather3.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i167/mleach82/leather2.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i167/mleach82/leather1.jpg

Any ideas? Thanks

[gflat65]

Dropping limbs can be propagation or a sign of water quality issues. Do you know what your parameters are (and what test kit). Leathers are tempermental, anyway, so they will just close up some times and not open for weeks, then be fine for months. Do a water change and check parameters and see where you are (don't forget Alk). Not a bad idea to run carbon just in case it is breaking down to help curb some of the potential issues (I run carbon 24/7).

[Blue04]

Here are my params:

SG: 1.021
Temp: 80.5
Calcium: 450ppm
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10ppm
PH: 8.2

I am planning on doing a 10 gallon water change after work today to see if that helps

[gflat65]

I'd be on the look out for the cause of the ammonia. Everything else look sokay (salinity is a bit lower than I run-1.026, but I used to run at 1.021). The WC should help some on the ammonia, but be on the look out for what is causing the ammonia. I'd check Alk/dKH, too. IMO, it is the most important, most forgotten killer in a set up tank (have to exclude special causes and uncycled tanks).

[gh0st]

Some of the tips appear to be getting necrotic, hard to tell for sure from the pic. Are the tips that look a little odd sort of slimey or falling apart?

If it is dropping limbs to reproduce, the ends should look pretty clean and healthy.

If they are breaking down, giving the coral a dip and cleaning the bad tips gently to get rid of any dying tissue, or even cutting of the bad tips with a clean sharp razor blade would probably be a good idea.

Afterwards put the coral in a pretty high water flow area in the tank and monitor it's health, this should help keep any mucus and further infections from developing.

I second the recommendation to check the Alk. Having a good high Alkalinity is very important. I try to keep my softie tank between 8-9 dkh.