Frogspawn Heads Dieing

eraml · 03/21/2006, 04:49 PM

I have had this frogspawn, with 6-8 heads, for about one year now. And all of the sudden, i havent changed any of my water parameters, two of its heads have slwoly died off. That was about a week ago, and not another head appears that it is also starting to die.
Why is this happening?

anjhof · 03/21/2006, 08:25 PM

I had the same problem with both frogspawn and a torch coral. I believe there were two causes - 1. my PC lights got old - I lost about 3 heads on my torch coral - after I replaced them - the other heads did fine. My frogspawn starting losing heads too - but they lost for a different reason. I think they died because I had too much flow hitting half of it. I also think they died because my calcium was way low. All my problems have been fixed now and it just sprouted 2 new heads in the past month.

eraml · 03/21/2006, 10:37 PM

Aight thanks, i may need to change my lights, but they are only around 5-7months old, so not to old at all. Yea i was also thinking of the flow, as i just cleaned my pumps, so the flow has greatly increased.
I am a MJ 900 and MJ 600 in my 20gallon tank, is that two much, or about right?
Any other possibilities?

eraml · 03/22/2006, 07:03 AM

And where can i get a test kit that will only test my calcium?

anjhof · 03/22/2006, 09:41 AM

marinedepot.com, premiumaquatics.com to name a few places to buy test kits for calcium. Seems like most people like the salifert kits.
I am willing to bet that the flow is hitting the corals too hard. You do not have too much flow in your tank, but you probably want to aim your power heads at the surface of the water - one on each end. That way the water swirls around more and is not shooting out a spray directly at the corals. Indirect flow is what you want.
If you have had your tank running for a few months, and if you have not been keeping up on your water changes - your calcium is almost certainly too low. For a 20 gallon tank - if you just replaced 2-3 gallons of water every two weeks, and assuming you don't have a lot of corals in there, you probably would not need to use any calcium supplements.
I would take a water sample to your local fish store (one that you trust) and ask them if they would test calcium and alkalinity. Even if they charge you a couple of bucks it is worth it. I find the calcium test kits difficult to use so I just let the pros do it.
Also, have you tested for nitrates and nitrites lately? What kind of skimmer are you using? How many and what kind of fish do you have? Do you have sand in your tank? Live rock?

eraml · 03/22/2006, 03:35 PM

Yea my powerhead are pointing at the surface. My tank has been running for two years now, which is why this is very weird that this coral has began to die. I have both LR and LS. I perform a water change about every week, of 2 gallons. I have one orchid dottyback, approx. 1 year old. And 2 o. clowns which i have had for around 4 months. I also have some ricordia, anthelia, colt coral, bubble coral, and some green mushrooms. I have 2 pepermint shrimp.
My lighting is 2x65 watt PC(10000K and atinic) but i have no protein skimmer, and just dont have the room for one given my tank location.
So anyone know what could have happened?

03/21/2006, 04:49 PM	#1
eraml Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 365	Frogspawn Heads Dieing I have had this frogspawn, with 6-8 heads, for about one year now. And all of the sudden, i havent changed any of my water parameters, two of its heads have slwoly died off. That was about a week ago, and not another head appears that it is also starting to die. Why is this happening?

03/21/2006, 08:25 PM	#2
anjhof Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 746	I had the same problem with both frogspawn and a torch coral. I believe there were two causes - 1. my PC lights got old - I lost about 3 heads on my torch coral - after I replaced them - the other heads did fine. My frogspawn starting losing heads too - but they lost for a different reason. I think they died because I had too much flow hitting half of it. I also think they died because my calcium was way low. All my problems have been fixed now and it just sprouted 2 new heads in the past month.

03/21/2006, 10:37 PM	#3
eraml Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 365	Aight thanks, i may need to change my lights, but they are only around 5-7months old, so not to old at all. Yea i was also thinking of the flow, as i just cleaned my pumps, so the flow has greatly increased. I am a MJ 900 and MJ 600 in my 20gallon tank, is that two much, or about right? Any other possibilities?

03/22/2006, 07:03 AM	#4
eraml Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 365	And where can i get a test kit that will only test my calcium?

03/22/2006, 09:41 AM	#5
anjhof Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 746	marinedepot.com, premiumaquatics.com to name a few places to buy test kits for calcium. Seems like most people like the salifert kits. I am willing to bet that the flow is hitting the corals too hard. You do not have too much flow in your tank, but you probably want to aim your power heads at the surface of the water - one on each end. That way the water swirls around more and is not shooting out a spray directly at the corals. Indirect flow is what you want. If you have had your tank running for a few months, and if you have not been keeping up on your water changes - your calcium is almost certainly too low. For a 20 gallon tank - if you just replaced 2-3 gallons of water every two weeks, and assuming you don't have a lot of corals in there, you probably would not need to use any calcium supplements. I would take a water sample to your local fish store (one that you trust) and ask them if they would test calcium and alkalinity. Even if they charge you a couple of bucks it is worth it. I find the calcium test kits difficult to use so I just let the pros do it. Also, have you tested for nitrates and nitrites lately? What kind of skimmer are you using? How many and what kind of fish do you have? Do you have sand in your tank? Live rock?

03/22/2006, 03:35 PM	#6
eraml Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 365	Yea my powerhead are pointing at the surface. My tank has been running for two years now, which is why this is very weird that this coral has began to die. I have both LR and LS. I perform a water change about every week, of 2 gallons. I have one orchid dottyback, approx. 1 year old. And 2 o. clowns which i have had for around 4 months. I also have some ricordia, anthelia, colt coral, bubble coral, and some green mushrooms. I have 2 pepermint shrimp. My lighting is 2x65 watt PC(10000K and atinic) but i have no protein skimmer, and just dont have the room for one given my tank location. So anyone know what could have happened?