The many "Faces" of a leather coral . . .

BigAl07 · 11-05-2009, 11:30 AM

I know we see questions all the time about leathers...

Quote:

"my leather doesn't look happy"

Quote:

"my leather is slumping"

Quote:

"my leather looks unhealthy and sickly"

The truth is Leather Coral have a LOT of "personality" and change almost daily without any real reason or warning. They are one of my favorite coral and one I have in all of my tanks in one form or another.

Today I'm writing (typing actually) to talk about and show pics of my
Finger Leather Coral
(Sinularia spp.)

This leather has been in my 12g tank for over 30 months now. It just keeps growing and growing. Every morning when I come into the office it's either before lights ON or right after they come on. It's always shriveled at that point but within a couple of hours it's FULL and HAPPY looking IF it's a Happy Leather day. Below are some pics of my leather over the last few days. All of these pics were taken around the same time and all within a 3 day time period. I believe this will show fairly well how much the Leather Coral can change from one day to the next.

This first one was taken 11.3.2009 (Notice it's got Xenia growing THROUGH the stalk)

Same coral 11.4.2009 approximately same time of day from the same angle (looks sickly doesn't it)

now HERE'S a major difference

Same coral 11.5.2009 approximately same time of day from the same angle (looks HAPPY doesn't it)

So you can see in the course of 3 days my
Finger Leather Coral
(Sinularia spp.)

has gone from looking pouty to looking SICKLY to looking AS HAPPY AS CAN be with no environmental changes. It's just how they "act"!!

Reefmack · 11-05-2009, 12:02 PM

Great topic Al. Those new to leathers usually get freaked out by the stages these weird corals go through.

redsea reefer · 11-05-2009, 12:24 PM

nice write up Al.

BigAl07 · 11-05-2009, 12:54 PM

Thanks. It just happened I got three days in a row of "Different Faces" of the same coral so I thought I'd put them ALL online in one thread

Wakeskater02 · 11-05-2009, 12:58 PM

Interesting.

cbrownfish · 11-05-2009, 01:00 PM

Nice overview with pics. Thanks!

Jess · 11-05-2009, 04:35 PM

Great thread! I might add a few pics of my Figi's many faces too, just for a goof.

11-05-2009, 12:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
Reefmack NaClH2O Addicted Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC, USA Posts: 6,156 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The many "Faces" of a leather coral . . . Great topic Al. Those new to leathers usually get freaked out by the stages these weird corals go through. __________________ aka Terry Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. No such thing as an evil crab. Only humans have the ability to be evil. "If you don't like what your fellow forum neighbors are doing, then don't pay so much attention to them" 34g Red Sea Max 130 (April 07), ~50-60 lbs. live rock, Aragonite substrate. Lighting: Current USA Outer Orbit Pro - 150W HQI, 2 x 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI, 2 x 24W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent by UVL, Vortech MP20, LifeReef RSM Siphon, EShopps RS-75 Sump, Euro-Reef custom sump skimmer, Simplicity media reactor, Tunze Osmolator ATO, ReefKeeper Lite L3 controller Reefmack's RSM 130 and...Red Sea Max Owners Club and My JBJ 6G in this thread[/color][/i]

11-05-2009, 12:24 PM	#3 (permalink)
redsea reefer Golden Moray Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: L.A, California Posts: 2,144 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The many "Faces" of a leather coral . . . nice write up Al. __________________ Eddie 34g RSM 130 with 45#'s live rock and 30#'s aragonite reef sand. Tunze 9002 skimmer with inTank media rack - Koralia 2 My Tank Thread

11-05-2009, 12:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
BigAl07 Do I look as lost as I am Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Waynesville, North Carolina Posts: 21,549 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: The many "Faces" of a leather coral . . . Thanks. It just happened I got three days in a row of "Different Faces" of the same coral so I thought I'd put them ALL online in one thread __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Live Rock Rubble will do the SAME thing as Bio-Balls and is NOT a suitable replacement for BIO-BALLS in a Reef System! It's ALL gotta go!!* Nitrate (NO3) reduction is directly proportional to percentage of Water Change. Allen's home-made formula...currentNO3-((%WC.01)currentNO3)=finalNO3 (thanks Luukosian) This means if you change 50% of your total water volume (That's EVERYTHING) you'll get a net reduction of (NO3) somewhere around 50%. Ask me about how to increase your REEF budget without going without FOOD!!* Big Al's 10g Julie's (BigAl's Gal) 6g NanoCube Gone but not forgotten BigAl's Slow 90g Tank Chronicle Allens OFFICE 12g Nano-Reef

11-05-2009, 12:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
Wakeskater02 Neon dottyback Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Southern California Posts: 621 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The many "Faces" of a leather coral . . . Interesting. __________________ --------------------------------------- 75g softie / LPS / SPS reef CPR Skimmer 36" Current Orbit Series fixture Fish Yellow Tang Scooter Blenny Blue/Green Chromis Yellow Stripe Maroon Bangaii Cardinal Pajama Cardinal Pair Cleaner Shrimp Corals Neon Green Tyree Toady Orange Lobo Green Acan Lord Green Acan Echinata Orange Acan Echinata Rics Red Flowerpot Tyree Green Leather Teal Birdsnest Red Monti Volcano Chalice Green Bubble

11-05-2009, 01:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
cbrownfish Reef Lobster Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,627 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The many "Faces" of a leather coral . . . Nice overview with pics. Thanks! __________________ *Confucius Say: "best way to save face, is to keep lower part of face shut".* CURRENT SET UP -- 90 gallon display, 30 gallon refugium, 6 gallon pod breeder, 100 gallon sump (complete with frag rack), 2X250 MH 14K DE HQI, Vortech MP40w and Koralia #4 for flow, 2X Tunze 9010 Skimmers, Sequence Dart return, 2X Ranco Controllers w/Titanium Heaters, 150 lb LR (90 in display, 60 in sump), 5" DSB, Mixed reef - Softies, LPS, SPS, Clams.

11-05-2009, 04:35 PM	#7 (permalink)
Jess Plate Coral Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ventura, CA Posts: 710 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The many "Faces" of a leather coral . . . Great thread! I might add a few pics of my Figi's many faces too, just for a goof. __________________ Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right. Some are known to drunk dial....I drunk feed. Confucius say man who fish in other man's sea bound to catch crabs My very first big girl tank The Nano

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