Colt Help?

Draco

Active Member
So, I have this Colt for several months. It was beautiful when I got it.. branched nicely with polyps.

Now it's shrunk and no longer branching/polyps. I can't tell if its dead or just hanging on.

Water testing shows its all good (I can post results later, i am at work now and can't remember on top of my head).

It's high up to the light, and has good flow.

Here's a bad photo of what it looks like now.. any ideas how I can improve its health or is it long gone?

Colt2_zpsvks3kvso.jpg
 

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
from what i recall they are quite sesitive to phosphates.... are you running carbon btw?
also... is that a frogspawn next to it?? they are very susceptible to being stung...
 

Draco

Active Member
I have a frogspawn below it, about 5 inches down. There's a duncan next to it, which you may be seeing in the photo. It's closed since I had just moved it up a bit

No carbon is being run in the tank.. do I need carbon?
 

blazend

Member
Carbon takes unwanted things out of the water. You don't necessarily need carbon but i have always liked running it because of price and what it actually does.

Checking phosphate levels and mag/ca are the 3 things i check when my anemones or corals don't look right.
 

Draco

Active Member
I've moved the Colt to a different part of the tank, further away from the other corals.

I've added Chemi-pure and replaced my Skimmer (As the other was unreliable). Hopefully that'll improve conditions a bit more
 

frisbee

Well-Known Member
I wonder if it's getting ready to shed? That looks more like a Sinularia coral as opposed to a Colt and as far as I know Colt corals don't do this. As long as your parameters are within reason & the lighting is sufficient your best bet IMO is to increase the amount of chaotic flow the coral is receiving. This might speed up the process a bit. GL.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3352+3354+3365&pcatid=3365
 

Draco

Active Member
thanks for the reply! You are right, it does look more like a Sinularia coral. Guess the guys at the LFS had it labeled wrong?

I will read up on it and give it more flow. I actually just gave it less flow thinking it was too much. When I get home, I will move it again. poor thing
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
A few things I have noticed -

Are the clowns hosting in the colt coral? Clowns sometimes do this and this can sometimes really bother the coral.

How long has it been all shrunk up? Soft corals often will shrink to be able to grow. They often shed a wax like "skin" at this time. They can stay shrunk up for a week or so.

What is your water change schedule? Making about a 20% water change may get it to perk up a bit. Make sure you exactly match temp and SG.

Corals can get involved with "chemical warfare" between different species. If you can try to isolate the coral from other corals.

Look for damage to the coral. Something may be eating it. Also, give it the smell test. A normal colt will smell bad. One that is going bad on you will smell really foul. Look for black areas that have decayed.

If the coral has gone bad on you, frag off any good parts, and use the toothpick method to attach them to pieces of live rock. By the way, colt corals throw a lot of really foul smelling slime when you work on them. Always do the frag work in a different bucket, never in the main tank. Discard any water you use while cutting frags, and wear rubber gloves.
 
Top