Cali Kid Corals

Normal or Something Wrong?

ReyDeFarts

ReyDeFarts

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Hello folks! New and immature tank. Nowhere near stable but I decided to roll the dice anyway with adding coral.

This is one of two hammers I have. I picked this one up 11/7. Up until yesterday, it's looked fine. It is even pushing out a couple more polyps. You can see one teeny tiny one at the base glowing. But yesterday 11/20, I noticed this small area retracted and seemingly annoyed.

Another coral that appeared to be annoyed was my Duncan. Normally one polyp (top one) has taken a while to really settle in and open up but it seems to be the most sensitive to any changes. Yesterday, they all seemed annoyed and even the two baby polyps growing (not shown on the sides of the top polyp) were completely retracted.
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This morning, the one polyp normally opened (right side) and less sensitive is retracted. The other two slightly opened up. The top one has opened up a little more. Do they normally open up only under the blue spectrum?
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I did a 15-20% water change on Sat 11/18. My parameters were looking decent. Nitrate was a little high (API kit...it'sall I have so it could be 10 or 20). I also put in a carbon and phopsate bag into one of the chambers. Phosphate did drop since putting the bag in.

I also did some rearranging of my rock, which I'm going to do again. It's just not how I want it to look yet unfortunately. Still learning about coral placement and my light is the stock Fluval light (underpowered for the most part).

I know it may be hard to diagnose something in this manner but if there are any details I'm missing, I'd be glad to fill in the gaps. TIA

Also, excuse the lighting and images. I'm still trying to get better with my orpheck lens kit for my phone and editing presets for Lightroom.
 
Matthew Meyer said:
Normal
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That'd good to know. Why do they do that? Did something irritate those specific parts? Or is it pulling food in? I forgot to mention I tried feeding the fish some frozen food for the first time. It was a blend shrimp and phytoplankton. If it was food, wouldn't the whole head be sunken I'm to move the item to the mouth? I admit that I'm not familiar with the hammer anatomy so I'm not sure.
 
It isn’t due to food. When duncans eat they do suck in their polyps and look like a fat bulb, but then they are back to normal within 30 minutes.

The annoyance could be anything really, but does become concerning if it’s multiple corals over a prolonged period. Keep an eye on things and give it more than just a few days.
 
Invictus said:
then they are back to normal within 30 minutes.
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Ok. Good to know. I'll keep an eye on that. I was looking forward to feeding them. Before I tried that, I was going to let them settle in for a few weeks and see how they do.
Invictus said:
The annoyance could be anything really, but does become concerning if it’s multiple corals over a prolonged period. Keep an eye on things and give it more than just a few days.
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Got it. Those same area are annoyed today still so who knows. But it only appears to be this hammer and only that spot. I'll try not to get too anxious about it and keep observing. Thanks
 
Darkxerox said:
How are you measuring your salinity?
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At the moment, I'm trying 3 different methods. The cheap plastic hydrometer, a refractometer, and an inexpensive digital multi-sensor probe. So far the first two seem to be reading consistently. The latter being about 0.01-0.02 off. I did just order a salinity standard. @Matthew Meyer recommended doing that as a standard practice to ensure my readings are correct. Initially, I calibrated my refractometer using my RODI. That is currently reading 0 TDS.
 
I always recommend people use salinity over specific gravity as it's a better measure of what is in your water rather than something that is dependent on the temperature of your device, the calibration fluid, and the sample. https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/

I'd use the RO/DI to check the zero on your refractometer (make sure you have a seawater one) and then use the calibration fluid to calibrate. Be sure to keep that container sealed well (mark the volume with a sharpie to be sure it isn't evaporating over time).

The other thing too is that with a nano tank, you probably want to target a lower value like 33 PPT if you don't have an auto top off since evaporation will take you higher before you get to it. E g. 33 to 35 is safer than 35 to 37.
 
Thats not normal coral behavior, Something is bugging them. It could be the lack of light or too much flow The Fluval light is good for Softies but I dont think it has the power to support LPS. The moving around of the corals can have an effect as well with different PAR and flow. What i do in these situations when I have corals looking bad is test the tank. You may be able to detect a problem. The addition of carbon was a good idea because that will pull out any contaminates that you cannot test for.
 
Darkxerox said:
I always recommend people use salinity over specific gravity as it's a better measure of what is in your water rather than something that is dependent on the temperature of your device, the calibration fluid, and the sample. https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/

I'd use the RO/DI to check the zero on your refractometer (make sure you have a seawater one) and then use the calibration fluid to calibrate. Be sure to keep that container sealed well (mark the volume with a sharpie to be sure it isn't evaporating over time).

The other thing too is that with a nano tank, you probably want to target a lower value like 33 PPT if you don't have an auto top off since evaporation will take you higher before you get to it. E g. 33 to 35 is safer than 35 to 37.
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Thank you for including that link. Helped me switch my thought process. I got lucky today. I picked up some used equipment. Got a new Hanna Salinity meter included with the deal. My calibration solution arrives later today as well so I'll be sure to start dialing that in. I did purchase some other cheap digital meters but they proved to be inconsistent and I could not calibrate them. Those are getting returned now. I'll be shooting for 33 for now until I get my routine down. I don't have an auto top off, but I will get one installed soon. I'm not losing much to evaporation because I'm still using the stock lid. That will be coming off soon though for an upgraded light.

Finnaddict said:
The Fluval light is good for Softies but I dont think it has the power to support LPS
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Yeah, I've got some mixed reviews about it. Some folks say it will be fine and others say it won't. I'd prefer a better light anyway. Thankfully, I'll be getting my hands on a much better light soon! Now to decide on complete open top or get a mesh/clear lid?
 
Well...something is VERY wrong. I could use your input please folks. This hammer has gone from meh to this is roughly 24hrs. It was looking sad the past couple days but really took a turn for the worst today. A couple of things to note...I made a huge mistake a couple days ago. I turned off the heater to try out a new return pump and didn't turn it back on! It was at ambient heat for about 36hrs! Everything else in the tank seems fine, except this coral. It's got a bunch of stringy mess coming from the heads and I believe I watched it slough off a polyp. Another thing to note is...what in the hell is that worm thing attached to the side of it?! I just noticed that it was alive today when I saw its head going in and out. Friend of foe?

At this point, I don't know if the coral is dying from a disease, pest, or my stupid mistake. Or it's just upset and might bounce back.

Would you pull it out and toss it? Or wait it out?

I'm sorry for spam tagging you guys. I'm freaking out. Just trying to ask for help from those I have had an interaction with. Thank you
@Matthew Meyer @Srt4eric @Coral reefer @Finnaddict @Darkxerox @Invictus @Hella_Salty650

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Vermetid snail on the side, you can crush it with needle nose pliers. The hammer is probably just mad from the heater being off. A tip is to always keep your heater in a section that doesn't drop its height when flow is turned off or on, and when the tank evaporates a bit.
 
Darkxerox said:
A tip is to always keep your heater in a section that doesn't drop its height when flow is turned off or on, and when the tank evaporates a bit.
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Yes. It is indeed low enough that I technically did not have to turn it off. It was a paranoid me that turned it off anyway, because I've caused a melted mess in the past with a major water change in a freshwater tank. It scares me now. LOL But you're right, it's not something I should do. I do have a wifi thermostat on order though, so in the near future, I'll get notifications about temps! Lesson learned!

So do you think it's dying? Should I relax and just wait to see how it responds?
 
Well...I took off the snail. Went to gently clean off the apparent slime it had all over its polyps and started to disintegrate. Now it's like this! Wow...
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I'd just keep an eye on it for now. You can just crush the snails. Killer images though. You are a photographer too?

Edit: Also, General Rule of Thumb is to post your parameters when asking for help.
 
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