SPS Help

patrickpernell · 11/09/2017, 07:36 PM

I have a 29-gallon BioCube. It has been running for about 4 years, so I guess you can say I am not a newbie. But I just took the leap into keeping a particular SPS coral so I am a newbie in this regard.

I just purchased a beautiful Acropora echinata Hawkins Blue-Green Echinata on Wednesday. I got it acclimated to the tank, using various methods so there was no shock or anything like that. It was its normal blueish green all day and all night Wednesday and then all morning and afternoon today (Thursday). This evening, I went back to check and it looks as though all the blue "skin" (I don't know the scientific term) is falling off. Is this normal for it to get acclimated to my tank? Or is this already dying not even 24 hours of being with me??

My tank has:
Candy Cane Coral (one of them)
Ultra Acan Frag (one of them)
Green BTA (one)
Zoa colony (one)
2 black and white clowns
1 lawnmower blenny

When I went back, it appeared the clown was hanging awfully close to the Acropora, closer than it would hang to any other coral. Don't know if this has anything to do with it. No other coral is anywhere near the Acropora so nothing is competing for space or stinging the coral. See two pictures.

pH- 8.4
Salinity- 1.026
Magnesium- 1400ppm
Alkalinity- 9.7dKH
Calcium- 488ppm
Phosphate- 0.09ppm
Nitrite- 0.013ppm
Nitrate- somewhere between 0.5-0.75ppm
Ammonia- 0ppm

Please, any suggestions on what I can to keep this alive? And if it does happen to die, how can I tell it is dead?

RobZilla04 · 11/09/2017, 08:00 PM

If its shedding down to the hard white calcium core that's nit a good sign. I recommend moving it to the bottom in a medium lit medium flow area to let it adapt to the new parameters. Could be shock going from tsnk parameters which were significantly diff than yours. Esp Kh.

UTCReefer · 11/09/2017, 10:48 PM

Once the skin falls off that part is dead.

Your parameters all look normal, but what really matters is what were the parameters of the tank you got it from, including light types?

I would consider fragging a few branches as far away from the dead part as possible and see if you can save some of it if it looks like its getting worse. Or you can try to wait it out.

Jeramirez85 · 11/10/2017, 02:50 PM

Yea maybe he lighting is not what it’s used to. Move it down more towards the bottom

Leopardshark · 11/10/2017, 03:17 PM

frag it.

crawlerman · 11/10/2017, 03:23 PM

If I were to guess I'd say the alk in the tank it came from was a lot lower. Alk swings can cause STN/RTN, which is what's going on. You may get lucky, but usually once the tissue starts going it's just a matter of time until it's dead. Is it starting at the base or tips?

Lsufan · 11/10/2017, 06:20 PM

I would snip off the white parts & let it be. Your params seem ok so there really isn’t much u can do. I don’t think it’s a lighting issue being it has only been 24 hrs. Some corals we get are healthier than others when we get them. If they are healthy they can acclimate without any issues. If they are already stressed they don’t handle the swings in parameters well, specifically alk.

five.five-six · 11/10/2017, 09:12 PM

If it looks like the Narcosis is continuing, I would try to get a couple good frags from it. If it looks like the Narcosis has stopped I would just do nothing and watch and wait

11/09/2017, 08:00 PM	#2
RobZilla04 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: St. Augustine, FL Posts: 1,857	If its shedding down to the hard white calcium core that's nit a good sign. I recommend moving it to the bottom in a medium lit medium flow area to let it adapt to the new parameters. Could be shock going from tsnk parameters which were significantly diff than yours. Esp Kh. __________________ 90g Mixed Reef

11/10/2017, 03:17 PM	#5
Leopardshark Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Mexico Posts: 2,633	frag it. __________________ "To understand the bonds that unites us to all the living beings and to better judge the miracle of our own life, let the first wave of the sea break over you" Jacques Ives Cousteau Current Tank Info: 110 gal SPS tank, 3 G4 Pro Radions, Geo 618 calcium reactor, 2 x MP 40 Vortech, Vectra M return pump, Octopus Elite 200-int skimmer, APEX controller

11/10/2017, 09:12 PM	#8
five.five-six Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Corona Posts: 7,827 Blog Entries: 6	If it looks like the Narcosis is continuing, I would try to get a couple good frags from it. If it looks like the Narcosis has stopped I would just do nothing and watch and wait __________________ Originally posted by yellowslayer13: "I hate that hole" Current Tank Info: SCMAS Member 225 peninsula euroreef RS180 Apex 400W X 3 20k radiums / Spectra mixed SPS

11/09/2017, 10:48 PM	#3
UTCReefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 652	Once the skin falls off that part is dead. Your parameters all look normal, but what really matters is what were the parameters of the tank you got it from, including light types? I would consider fragging a few branches as far away from the dead part as possible and see if you can save some of it if it looks like its getting worse. Or you can try to wait it out.

11/10/2017, 02:50 PM	#4
Jeramirez85 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Houston Posts: 50	Yea maybe he lighting is not what it’s used to. Move it down more towards the bottom

11/10/2017, 03:23 PM	#6
crawlerman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 503	If I were to guess I'd say the alk in the tank it came from was a lot lower. Alk swings can cause STN/RTN, which is what's going on. You may get lucky, but usually once the tissue starts going it's just a matter of time until it's dead. Is it starting at the base or tips?

11/10/2017, 06:20 PM	#7
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	I would snip off the white parts & let it be. Your params seem ok so there really isn’t much u can do. I don’t think it’s a lighting issue being it has only been 24 hrs. Some corals we get are healthier than others when we get them. If they are healthy they can acclimate without any issues. If they are already stressed they don’t handle the swings in parameters well, specifically alk.