ailing candy cane - ideas?

kolosy · 01/31/2009, 11:18 PM

my candy cane seems to be doing doing worse than my acro (which is doing just fine).

it's been in the tank for about 6 months now, doing just fine, and then the other day this happened:

as you can see, about half the heads are rapidly losing color. water params are good, and the same as they have been for some time. the only thing i've changed is that my alk was low (just under 6 dKh), so i've been dosing part b of the kent two-part, about 2 oz every night.

everyone else is doing fine.

only other thing i can think of is that just about the time this happened, i noticed a stow-away crab hiding insde the heads. i chased him off, but he came back the next day. chased him off again, we'll see if he reappears.

Maxi · 02/01/2009, 01:05 AM

Get that crab out, and feed the heads at night! That's the best thing you can do now. My candy cane colony gets like that when it hasn't been fed.

Capt56 · 02/01/2009, 01:07 AM

Once you get your alk back to normal, you should be okay if your other parameters are fine. However, that crab might be an issue. Do you have any fish that developed an appetite for it? I had a flame angel decide that it was going to munch on some of mine. Once I removed it, it was fine.

Stanley-Reefer · 02/01/2009, 07:33 AM

It looks like it's too high to me. If it's a brown/green one it needs to be much lower on the rock.

otrlynn · 02/01/2009, 07:45 AM

I was wondering about bleaching from too much light also. It looks like the polyps that are the most exposed to the light have lost the most color. As noted above, feed it after the lights go out by squirting some cyclopeeze disolved in tank water towards it (use a turkey baster). Also, you are continuing to test your alk. aren't you...you want to make sure it is not swinging too high. I'm no expert in reef chemistry, but you want to make sure that you are also testing for calcium. My understanding is that too much of the part B (bicarbonate) will drive the Ca down, and that the two parts are designed to be used in concert with each other.

01/31/2009, 11:18 PM	#1
kolosy Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 655	ailing candy cane - ideas? my candy cane seems to be doing doing worse than my acro (which is doing just fine). it's been in the tank for about 6 months now, doing just fine, and then the other day this happened: as you can see, about half the heads are rapidly losing color. water params are good, and the same as they have been for some time. the only thing i've changed is that my alk was low (just under 6 dKh), so i've been dosing part b of the kent two-part, about 2 oz every night. everyone else is doing fine. only other thing i can think of is that just about the time this happened, i noticed a stow-away crab hiding insde the heads. i chased him off, but he came back the next day. chased him off again, we'll see if he reappears. __________________ not yet. maybe someday. Current Tank Info: 90L RR mixed reef, panworld 150ps external pump, t5/mh/led, 20g under-tank sump, 27g above tank sump, 27g fuge with 4" dsb, macro and lr rubble.

02/01/2009, 07:45 AM	#5
otrlynn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chester County PA Posts: 1,508	I was wondering about bleaching from too much light also. It looks like the polyps that are the most exposed to the light have lost the most color. As noted above, feed it after the lights go out by squirting some cyclopeeze disolved in tank water towards it (use a turkey baster). Also, you are continuing to test your alk. aren't you...you want to make sure it is not swinging too high. I'm no expert in reef chemistry, but you want to make sure that you are also testing for calcium. My understanding is that too much of the part B (bicarbonate) will drive the Ca down, and that the two parts are designed to be used in concert with each other. __________________ Lynn 1 horse, 1 dog, 2 cats, small pond with a few koi. The fish tank is gone.

02/01/2009, 01:05 AM	#2
Maxi Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 1,381	Get that crab out, and feed the heads at night! That's the best thing you can do now. My candy cane colony gets like that when it hasn't been fed.

02/01/2009, 01:07 AM	#3
Capt56 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Long Beach, Ca Posts: 522	Once you get your alk back to normal, you should be okay if your other parameters are fine. However, that crab might be an issue. Do you have any fish that developed an appetite for it? I had a flame angel decide that it was going to munch on some of mine. Once I removed it, it was fine.

02/01/2009, 07:33 AM	#4
Stanley-Reefer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stanley, NC Posts: 1,933	It looks like it's too high to me. If it's a brown/green one it needs to be much lower on the rock.