Waving Hand Polyp Dying?

[shaney]

Hello. I purchased a Waving Hand Polyp about 4 days ago. When I first put it in the tank, I saw the back part of the coral very gray and withdrawn, looking dead.

Since then, it seems to have started to gray else where.

Is there not enough flow? Is it too late to save the back? Should I just leave it alone or take that part out?

 

[DaveK]

Xenias can be tricky at times. Sometimes they grow all over the place, very quickly, almost becomming a "weed" in the tank. Other times they fail for reasons that are not quite clear. Here are a few things to check.

Is it getting a large blast of current? They may not like extreme flow.
Xenia is a soft coral, and to grow it's got to retract for a few days, shead, and then come back larger. Also it's a new coral in your tank, and sometimes they just retract for a few days as they get use to the new environment. Keep an eye on this, because if you see decay, you have a problem.
Like all corals, xenia doesn't like anything like copper in the system. Sometimes a partial water change will go wonders, but do it carefully, matching the SG as close as possible.
Xenia is often vulnerable to toxines and being stung by other corals. A partial water change might help here also.
Keep an eye on the coral, if you see any decay, frag off the good part of the coral, and start that good part on a piece of LR.

Hope this helps.