Acan and Candy cane Coral detaching From skeleton but still alive.

[BennytheBlenny1]

I recently bought a 150 gallon fish tank and While I was waiting for the water and base rock\live rocks to grow some healthy bacteria and get the water parameters to the right levels all of my LPS corals in my 55 Gallon started detaching from their skeletons one by one. Four Acan corals and a Candy cane Coral.

The candy cane coral had three heads all in which were splitting:thumbsup: then everything went south. long story short I moved everything to the 150 gallon. I found three of the four Acan coral heads and the almost divided in two Candycane. once I moved them into the 150 Gallon the recently detached heads and all the rest of the corals were wide open and looking lively.

My question is will my detached coral stay alive and grow new skeletons?

Here are the water parameters in both tanks.

150 Gallon ---- 55 Gallon
PH 8.4 -------- 8.2

KH 11 --------- 7

CA 400 ------- 440

PO4 .50 -------- .25

No3 0 ---------- 0

AM 0 ---------- 0

SAL .023 ------ .023

[sculpin2]

If the corals are still alive status post skeletal detachment, I would treat them like mushrooms (keep them in a container with a plastic mesh top in low-moderated light and flow). Also, if they show a feeding response (tentacle extension), I would definitely try feeding them.

I kind of wonder if that wasn't an example of polyp bailout.

[BennytheBlenny1]

I put them in some little white single serving butter cups with some gravel sprinkled in them so they wont float away but had nothing to put over it. I did have to use some tongs and gently opened and shut them over them to flip them back over a few times because they were upside down. Then i fed them some LRS Reef Frenzy. They ate and still have their tentacles out.

I wonder why they bailed in the first place? I wish I knew so I don't make the same mistake again.

[BennytheBlenny1]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=335228&stc=1&d=1449163014http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=335229&stc=1&d=1449163203http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=335230&stc=1&d=1449163239

[BennytheBlenny1]

Sorry I tried real hard to post the pictures of the detached coral.

[sculpin2]

If it eats, feed it. Assuming good conditions, it may form a new skeletal structure over time. That will take awhile, though.

[BennytheBlenny1]

Well the 55 gallon is now a fish only tank and I'm still investigating what caused the stress to the coral. The only thing that didn't survive was my most recent purchase, a very big and expensive frag of Purple Favia :(
It died surprisingly fast.

[Member No. 1]

SNIP --->
Here are the water parameters in both tanks.

150 Gallon ---- 55 Gallon
PH 8.4 -------- 8.2

KH 11 --------- 7

CA 400 ------- 440

PO4 .50 -------- .25

No3 0 ---------- 0

AM 0 ---------- 0

SAL .023 ------ .023

For the most part, everything looks good. Only issues I see is the ALK shock going from 7 dKH to 11 dKH. That's a big jump. Also I would work SLOWLY on getting your salinity up closer to 1.026.

[BennytheBlenny1]

So LPS corals like higher salinity? I have fish in there too like Clown fish and Gobies. I'm raising it tonight I'm aiming at .025 I'll check the levels in the morning.

[BennytheBlenny1]

Ok so I upped the salinity, calcium, and apparently the DKH. The PH dropped slightly and the phosphate went down a bit.

So here are my new parameters.

PH 8.2

KH 13dkh

Calcium 440

Phosphate .25

Nitrate 0

Ammonia 0

Salinity 1.0255

So I read that 13dkh is a bit high but not harmful and that the best thing to do is to let it go down on its own. But other than that all of my LPS corals look very happy and are wide open. Please let me know if this thread helps anyone. I'll give an update later on about how the loose polyp heads are doing but as of now they are open and eating.

[schriss]

It's an old thread, but just to add as it might help someone:
My Acans bailed in main display tank most likely because of Alk drop OR some red slime getting very close to the heads.
I moved them all to quarantine tank which had perfect water just made from a salt bucket and they immediately puffed up and seem happy.
Detached head I have put it on a clean rock and put netting over it to keep it there. It puffs up, tentacles are out through the netting and it has been like this for 5 weeks now.