Finger and Toadstool Leather Problem, info provided

[Tremelle]

I am having a problem with my Finger Leather and Toadstool Leather. The following is the info you request.

- The type of coral – Finger Leather and Toadstool Leather (don’t know scientific names)
- How long you have had the coral – ~1 year
- How long it has been having problems – 3 days
- The rate at which the problem is occurring/spreading – about a square inch a day
- Any changes to the tank – None
- How long the tank has been set up – almost 7 years
- size of the tank ( gallons or liters) – 105 gallons with 20 gallon sump
- nearby corals – mushrooms

Water quality:
- Ph – 8.3
- temperature – 79 to 80 F
- salinity – 1.025
- nitrate - <10
- phosphate - 1
- alkalinity – 13dkh

Tank information I care about :
Lighting – 260 watts PC
Water flow – 4 Maxijet 1200 plus Mag Drive 9.5 on the return
What you add to your tank on a regular basis and how much? Kent Super Buffer once every 2 weeks

A clear description of your problem.
The polyps on the Finger Leather do not extend at all. All that is visible is the tissue. The color of the tissue is normally a dark shade of pink. The tissue now is a light shade of pink with some gray tones. The leather is also slumped over.

The Toadstool Leather has about 75% of it’s polyps extended. There are 3 areas where the polyps do not extend. The tissue is still dark pink, except for the areas where the polyps do not extend. Those areas are a pale gray. The leather is still upright.

Is it possible this could be caused by 2 decaying and breaking up mushrooms? The mushrooms are not next to the leathers. Should I pull the rock with the 2 decaying mushrooms and remove them? I have performed a 10% water change and also started running some carbon. After which, the Finger Leather stood up but no polyp extension.

The only corals in the tank are mushrooms and the 2 leathers.

Any help or insight you can provide would greatly be appreciated.

[kypatriot]

I have a finger leather and recently added a toadstool = now they are both retracted.

I see it's been a while since you posted this, so I wanted to see whatever happened with yours?

[keckles]

Copied from another thread in this forum:

"Talking about Sarcophyton sp. (Toadstool)- "All shed a surface layer of dead waxy tissue from time to time. This is apparently not a regenerative action but does serve to rid the surface of accumulated algae and waste. Stronger currents in the aquarium will help limit the frequency of this process. During shedding, many aquarists observe a sickly-looking and withdrawn Sarcphyton and assume that the coral is dying or that something is drastically wrong in the tank. After the shed, however, the coral reexpands to full glory and appears larger and healthier than ever."
- Eric Borneman, Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History

This is something you will see periodically. It is nothing to worry about, and can be easily completed with the aid of strong water movement. You can achieve this by placing the coral in stronger water movement; or, if it is already attached, with the use of a turkey baster. I have found feeding to increase the effect of applying water movement alone."


Patriot, More information such as current water parameters and tank setup will be helpful to figure out if this a result of a problem with your system or a natural process of the coral. If they are simply not extending they could just be in the shedding process.

[DJ88©]

This thread has been moved to the current forum.

[kypatriot]

Here's the tank info:
135g, no sump, been up for over a year (it was up already when I got it)

Lighting – 384 watts PC (192w 10k, 192w actinic)

flow - 1 Maxi-Jet 1200, Eheim canister 2234 return same direction as M-J, Quiet One 3000 (pushing through a Rainbow Lifeguard mechanical filter, heater unit, and UV sterilizer), CPR dual Bak-Pak returning same direction as UV return.

Water Quality -
Temp 78.5-79.5
Salinity (SG) 1.025
Ph 8.3
ammonia & nitrite - 0 (zero)
nitrate - 10

The only corals in the tank are a small patch of star polyps (size of a half-dollar), the leather, and the toadstool. I had the star polyps a few weeks and added the leather. I had it for about 2 months, then added the toadstool.

After about a week or so, both started staying retracted. They both shed, as described above, and stayed open for 1 day after that. I did a water change, and the toadstool opened up a little for 1 day, but has stayed closed up since. It seems like chemical warfare.

With my setup (I inherited it), it is hard for me to run enough carbon, unless I make the whole Eheim do only carbon. (It currently has 1 unit of Chemi-Pure and a PolyFilter in it). Should I remove the filter media in it enough to use more carbon?


I'll post pix of them in a minute.

[kypatriot]

Here are the pix