Questions/ID on this coral

Kissfan79 · 05/20/2007, 08:49 PM

Hey guys...
First off....when I bought this coral I was told it was a candy cane coral. Is that correct or is in the trumpet family. Second...looking at the pictures...up until recently....all of the polyps looked like the one on the far left. As you can see....one of the ones on the right side has grown some serious hair algae (that is hair algae isn't it?). What is the best way to get rid of the algae? Also....you can see some green "specks" on the edges of some of the polyps. Any ideas what that is and what causes it? Lastly...looking at the tank shot....you should be able to see the coral in the picture. Is it high enough in my tank or does it need to be higher? I have the dual 32 watt bulbs for a total of 64 watts in my 24g Aquapod. Thanks for the read and any info on this!

Jim

Kissfan79 · 05/20/2007, 08:52 PM

While we are at it....what kind of leather coral is that? Is it a finger leather?

Thanks again!

Jim

bertoni · 05/20/2007, 08:57 PM

The top coral is a Caulastrea, I believe, and it's not doing very well. You could try scrubbing off the algae carefully. I use a toothbrush.

Finger leather sounds like a reasonable id for the second coral.

Kissfan79 · 05/20/2007, 09:15 PM

Besides the algae...any idea what would cause it problems? My parameters are pretty stable. My nitrates are high right now and I am doing small water changes to get them down. I think part of the problem with my nitrates is that the back chambers of my Aquapod need a hydroclean. There is some excess food on the bottom that needs to get sucked out.

PH 8.1
Alk 10 DKH
Calcium ~420
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 15ppm
Ammonia 0
SG 1.025

BTW...what is a Caulastrea? Is it in the candy cane family? To scrub it...would I just pull it out and into a small container with some salt water and gently scrub it? Do you think it has enough light?

Thanks, Jim

EDIT-Found the answer to the question about it being a Caulstrea on Drs. Foster and Smith.

Ricepicker · 05/20/2007, 09:22 PM

caulastreas are candy canes, trumprts etc... its the scientific name for that genus..

the second one goes by devil's hand, or finger leather, and belongs to lobophytum genus

i'd cut off the part covered in hair algae, u can snap it off with a pair of pliers, use dremel or ur hands..

they don't do well in direct light, try moving it and see if it gets better

Kissfan79 · 05/20/2007, 09:33 PM

Thanks for the reply. Would you snap off the part with the algae and then move it or move it to see if it gets better first.

Jim

Kissfan79 · 05/21/2007, 08:02 AM

I would appreciate all opinions and thouhgts as to whether or not I should just snap off the covered polyp and move it or try and move it and see if it recovers first before snapping it off.

Thanks,

Jim

theop · 05/21/2007, 08:11 AM

All the heads look like they are dying. You could try and pull the algae off of them. I agree that you should move the coral to a different area with a little less light and mild flow.

But overall your problem is excess nutrients, including nitrates, but also phosphates. That is why the hair algae is growing in the first place. I'd do water changes to get and keep your nitrates < 5 ppm and use some kind of phosphate remover. You can also try adding a ball of chaetomorpha macro algae in the display to help with nutrient export.

Kissfan79 · 05/21/2007, 08:31 AM

Thanks for the info. When you say excess nutrients.....does that basically translate to overfeeding? Will a poly filter help remove phosphates? My concern with moving it is that it would not have enough light if I moved it lower in my Aquapod. If I moved it to the bottom.....would it still have enough light to thrive? What is the best way to get rid of hair algae that is starting to pop up?

JIm

hmello@bermexin · 05/21/2007, 09:08 AM

Common Names

Trumpet Coral, Torch Coral, Candy Cane Coral, Candy Coral, Bullseye Coral, Cat's Eye Coral.

Notes

Greatly prefers bright indirect lighting
Strong (Metal Halide) direct lighting is detrimental
Prefers a surging current for best growth

Also needs to be target fed once a week or so. Mysis, Krill etc.
I'd do the cleaning with a toothbrusd as best you can, then do the fragging of each head and move them all to a different location that goes with the above recommendation. Then you can watch each head for signs of recovery/death and do what's appropriate.
I think you should be able to get 4 good heads out of what you have with a little TLC>

JMO FWIW

Frick-n-Frags · 05/21/2007, 10:58 AM

the coral is receding because it is not happy. there is no point in scrubbing off the algae, it will be back (this is why mithrax crabs are worth their weight in gold right here)

the ultimate solution is to make the coral happy and it will start growing again from where it left off and leave the dead areas behind. If you don't do that , it will just continue to shrink away.
my guess is that it really doesn't like the water.

Kissfan79 · 05/21/2007, 12:32 PM

Thanks for the info. If I frag the different heads...what is the best way to do it and how would I attach the frag to a new rock? For the time being.....I'll get it moved to try and stimulate recovery.

Jim

Kissfan79 · 05/21/2007, 12:58 PM

Would a mithrax crab cause problems for a mandarin goby or complete for food with? I have been thnking of bying one.

Jim

05/20/2007, 08:49 PM	#1
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	Questions/ID on this coral Hey guys... First off....when I bought this coral I was told it was a candy cane coral. Is that correct or is in the trumpet family. Second...looking at the pictures...up until recently....all of the polyps looked like the one on the far left. As you can see....one of the ones on the right side has grown some serious hair algae (that is hair algae isn't it?). What is the best way to get rid of the algae? Also....you can see some green "specks" on the edges of some of the polyps. Any ideas what that is and what causes it? Lastly...looking at the tank shot....you should be able to see the coral in the picture. Is it high enough in my tank or does it need to be higher? I have the dual 32 watt bulbs for a total of 64 watts in my 24g Aquapod. Thanks for the read and any info on this! Jim

05/20/2007, 08:57 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The top coral is a Caulastrea, I believe, and it's not doing very well. You could try scrubbing off the algae carefully. I use a toothbrush. Finger leather sounds like a reasonable id for the second coral. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/20/2007, 09:15 PM	#4
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	Besides the algae...any idea what would cause it problems? My parameters are pretty stable. My nitrates are high right now and I am doing small water changes to get them down. I think part of the problem with my nitrates is that the back chambers of my Aquapod need a hydroclean. There is some excess food on the bottom that needs to get sucked out. PH 8.1 Alk 10 DKH Calcium ~420 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 15ppm Ammonia 0 SG 1.025 BTW...what is a Caulastrea? Is it in the candy cane family? To scrub it...would I just pull it out and into a small container with some salt water and gently scrub it? Do you think it has enough light? Thanks, Jim EDIT-Found the answer to the question about it being a Caulstrea on Drs. Foster and Smith. Last edited by Kissfan79; 05/20/2007 at 09:22 PM.

05/20/2007, 09:22 PM	#5
Ricepicker Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hamilton, Ontario Posts: 146	caulastreas are candy canes, trumprts etc... its the scientific name for that genus.. the second one goes by devil's hand, or finger leather, and belongs to lobophytum genus i'd cut off the part covered in hair algae, u can snap it off with a pair of pliers, use dremel or ur hands.. they don't do well in direct light, try moving it and see if it gets better __________________ It's because I don't touch it. 25g Mixed reef (36x12x12) 250W 14000K HQI

05/21/2007, 09:08 AM	#10
hmello@bermexin Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,205	Common Names Trumpet Coral, Torch Coral, Candy Cane Coral, Candy Coral, Bullseye Coral, Cat's Eye Coral. Notes Greatly prefers bright indirect lighting Strong (Metal Halide) direct lighting is detrimental Prefers a surging current for best growth Also needs to be target fed once a week or so. Mysis, Krill etc. I'd do the cleaning with a toothbrusd as best you can, then do the fragging of each head and move them all to a different location that goes with the above recommendation. Then you can watch each head for signs of recovery/death and do what's appropriate. I think you should be able to get 4 good heads out of what you have with a little TLC> JMO FWIW __________________ Henry Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known. Current Tank Info: 29g BioCube, AI SOL 12" Super Blue

05/20/2007, 08:52 PM	#2
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	While we are at it....what kind of leather coral is that? Is it a finger leather? Thanks again! Jim

05/20/2007, 09:33 PM	#6
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	Thanks for the reply. Would you snap off the part with the algae and then move it or move it to see if it gets better first. Jim

05/21/2007, 08:02 AM	#7
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	I would appreciate all opinions and thouhgts as to whether or not I should just snap off the covered polyp and move it or try and move it and see if it recovers first before snapping it off. Thanks, Jim

05/21/2007, 08:11 AM	#8
theop Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 1,493	All the heads look like they are dying. You could try and pull the algae off of them. I agree that you should move the coral to a different area with a little less light and mild flow. But overall your problem is excess nutrients, including nitrates, but also phosphates. That is why the hair algae is growing in the first place. I'd do water changes to get and keep your nitrates < 5 ppm and use some kind of phosphate remover. You can also try adding a ball of chaetomorpha macro algae in the display to help with nutrient export.

05/21/2007, 08:31 AM	#9
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	Thanks for the info. When you say excess nutrients.....does that basically translate to overfeeding? Will a poly filter help remove phosphates? My concern with moving it is that it would not have enough light if I moved it lower in my Aquapod. If I moved it to the bottom.....would it still have enough light to thrive? What is the best way to get rid of hair algae that is starting to pop up? JIm

05/21/2007, 10:58 AM	#11
Frick-n-Frags Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: north central OH Posts: 10,740	the coral is receding because it is not happy. there is no point in scrubbing off the algae, it will be back (this is why mithrax crabs are worth their weight in gold right here) the ultimate solution is to make the coral happy and it will start growing again from where it left off and leave the dead areas behind. If you don't do that , it will just continue to shrink away. my guess is that it really doesn't like the water. __________________ Only Dead fish swim with the current. Current Tank Info: 2 50 gal tanks, sump, still BB

05/21/2007, 12:32 PM	#12
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	Thanks for the info. If I frag the different heads...what is the best way to do it and how would I attach the frag to a new rock? For the time being.....I'll get it moved to try and stimulate recovery. Jim

05/21/2007, 12:58 PM	#13
Kissfan79 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 558	Would a mithrax crab cause problems for a mandarin goby or complete for food with? I have been thnking of bying one. Jim