Softy ID

[Rick76]

Dear all,

I am still a relative newbie to all of this ... Well 6 mths or so with a nano tank.

I recently purchased a soft coral, which seemed fine for 3-4 days. Then it had a major 'drooping' session. Half of the colony has picked up and done well.. The other half doesn't seem too happy. All of my water parameters have been stable, I just have a couple of questions...

1) Can anyone ID my softy
2) is it normal for drooping over the first week or so?
3) why does half of the coral seem fine, with the other half not doing so well?

Thanks for anyone's reply in advance

Rick

 

[frisbee]

It looks like a Cladiella. Softies like this can be kind of temperamental sometimes. As long as your parameters are within reason & the lighting is sufficient it should bounce back to normal in no time. GL.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/product-leather-cladiella

 

[Rick76]

Dear Frisbee,
Thank you for the ID... Yep look and sounds perfect & a good one for beginners like me. At least I know I can trust the shop that sold it to me as a good starter.

I'm glad to hear they can bounce back. I'll keep on top of my parameters and keep my fingers crossed it learns to love my tank.

Thank you

 

[Rick76]

After adding my Cladiella last week half is still not looking too good. Unfortunately now my Zoa seems to be also in trouble. Over the past 3 days they have not opened as much and some are detaching. I have kept up with my water changes & nitrates are not even registering. Ever since I had the Zias I have been using the Red Seas Reef Energy A & B, every other day and it was all fine.

I have attached pictures of my Zoa three weeks ago and now. Is this normal? Are my zoos dying? Anything I can do?

 

[frisbee]

What exactly are your parameters? Have you checked your zoanthids for pests? I'm not to familiar with "Red Seas Reef Energy A & B," but you might want to hold off on those for a week or so and see what happens. Both of these corals you have are fairly undemanding, so you don't really need to be dosing anything at this point IMO. GL.

http://www.coralpedia.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=384

 

[DaveK]

More to the point, what are your exact readings for all tested parameters?

It's usually kind of tough to kill zoas, but they can get unhappy and close up like you are seeing. I agree with frisbee, discontinue the Reef Energy for awhile.

For now just leave things alone. Most soft corals go through periods where they don't open all the way. It's normal.

 

[Rick76]

Hi Frisbee and DaveK,

Thanks for the advice... I stopped everything & also decided to invest in a good water testing kit rather than using 'Dipsticks', which had already read perfect parameters ..... Long and short of it:

pH 8.4
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0.2 ppm
Nitrate: 50 ppm! Eeekkkkk! The dam sticks in the past had always read 0!
KH: 9 dKH

I think I need to sit back and re-evaluate everything from feeding, stocking and filtration.

I should had just brought the more accurate water testing kit in the first place!

 

[DaveK]

Just consider that you learned a lesson about the test strips. This whole hobby is a long education process.

Over all, 50 ppm nitrate is more that you would want to see, but don't panic. You should be able to deal with it. Your plan to reevaluate your system is what I would have recommended. Also, test the new water your using for water changes. Sometimes that can be part of the problem.

Items like nitrate control are usually solved by doing several things to your system and the way you maintain it. Don't expect one thjing to fix they problem. Don't rush out and add lots of new equipment without careful evaluation.