Toadstool Leather Coral

[Luke7e]

Don't know if anyone can help, but here goes...I bought a med sized Toadstool Leather almost 3 weeks ago and it has not stopped oozing out the clear/brown ooze. I come home form work in the afternoon and it is strung out all over my live rock and still hanging from the Coral. I am constsntly sucking it off with a baster. The thing is, despite the ooze, it looks realy nice and opens wide during the day and has great color. Is this normal? I have it in a JBL 12g Nano delux model tank and it seems to have plently of flow going over it.. I have almost 0 Ammonia, Nitrates or Nitrites in my tank. SG of about 1.023 and am using Sea Labs No 28 automatic replentisher blocks along with Reef Solution to maintain calcium and other trace elements. I have 2 Perculas in the tank along with sand sifting snails, but they do not bother with the coral. I am stumped and so was the Fish store lady..what else could cause the toadstool to do this?

 

[Warnberg]

Luke7e, a toadstool leather will on occasion slime... it's it's way of growing, however I noticed that your SG is "about" 1.023, that is a little low for any coral this may be what is causing the constant slime. I would suggest you slowly raise your SG to 1.025 to 1.026 also you may want to increase flow over the leather to aid it in getting rid of the slime. You also said you have "almost" zero ammonia, nitrates and nitrites, if you Ammonia and Nitrites are not zero (or undetectable by testing) that also could cause the leather to slime. Leathers slime for two reasons, growth (normal occurrence) or irritation (water not ideal, etc)

Good Luck

 

[Dragon Wrasse]

Luke7e, a toadstool leather will on occasion slime... it's it's way of growing, however I noticed that your SG is "about" 1.023, that is a little low for any coral this may be what is causing the constant slime. I would suggest you slowly raise your SG to 1.025 to 1.026 also you may want to increase flow over the leather to aid it in getting rid of the slime. You also said you have "almost" zero ammonia, nitrates and nitrites, if you Ammonia and Nitrites are not zero (or undetectable by testing) that also could cause the leather to slime. Leathers slime for two reasons, growth (normal occurrence) or irritation (water not ideal, etc)

Good Luck

Ditto....you need to slowly raise your SG....I have a toadstool and other softies and keep my SG between 1.0245 and 1.025 also keep your temp between 78 - 80 Nano's have a way of fluctuating.

 

[Luke7e]

Yeah, my temp fluc from 76.8 to about 78.8... here are some of the pictures of the slime...

 

[Witfull]

thats a shed,,,all is good~

 

[Luke7e]

Are you sure....its been going on clsoe to 10 days now....Man, if you are right I feel much better...

 

[ReefLady]

thats a shed,,,all is good~

I would agree 100%. Polyps are extended, it's not shriveled or deteriorating. Looks normal to me.

 

[Dragon Wrasse]

Here is some information from "wetwebmedia".........
Environmental: Conditions

Habitat

Soft corals rely on currents to bring them food and oxygen, and carry away their wastes. The best circulation arrangements involve strategies for periodically varying the direction and intensity of water movements in addition to filtration.

Chemical/Physical

Despite claims that some species tolerate less than ideal water quality, all soft corals should be maintained in clear, metabolite free environments. Pre-mixed seawater should be made up to a matching high specific gravity (1.025), and efforts made to sustain a high pH (8.2-8.4). Remember that most of these species are found in parts of the reef with the greatest current, facing the open ocean.

Filtration

Practically speaking, reef or invertebrate systems with soft corals cannot be over-filtered. Take note that the actual biomass of alcyonaceans is easily ten times that of hard corals; as the octocorallians bodies are composed almost entirely of live tissue, whereas the scleractinians are mainly non-living matrix.

An oversized protein skimmer, source of calcium replenishment, and use of activated carbon are requisite.

Lighting

In my opinion even the non-photosynthetic species of Nephtheids appreciate a good 2-4 watts of full-spectrum illumination for 12-14 hours per day. The other two families showcased here are definitely positive light-responsive. My long-standing favorite lighting mode is boosted fluorescents, though other writers have recorded success with metal halides and mercury vapor.

Notice the recommended SG and PH
Hope this Helps.....

 

[ReefLady]

Ditto....you need to slowly raise your SG....I have a toadstool and other softies and keep my SG between 1.0245 and 1.025

Sorry - my fault for reading too quickly. This is definitely correct - should aim for 1.025.

 

[Dragon Wrasse]

Bump... for Luke7e