how high is to high for a leather coral

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divedeep1689

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Aug 27, 2008
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hey everyone i have my toadstool leather about 2 inches away from the water surface so about four inches away from my lighting is this to close i am wanting to move it closer to lights to get maximum amount of light so this coral might grow faster i dont know if closer to light would make a coral grow faster but i dont see why it wouldnt. does it?
 
lowered it a inch last night i was afraid the light might get it to hot anyone got anything on this i want this coral to be the highest thing in my tank plus i want it close to the light
 
I dont see why it cant be near the top. When I had mine it was about mid level. It does not have to be near the top to thrive.
 
I think you are okay as long as the toadstool has enough water movement to and around it.
 
wat about bleaching guy at my local petstore said my power compacts might bleach it the coral has been thriving were it was for a year now but i moved it closer to light to see if it will grow faster but wat about bleaching i have never seen a bleached coral and dont know how they get that way
 
Hi there,
Your leather coral doesnt need to be close to light to grow, in fact leather corals will grow in quite dimly lit aquaria in comparison to other corals. It will grow just as well from the bottom of your tank as it does half way up!! My baby leathers are on a piece of rock on the sand at the bottom of the tank and are growing at an alarming rate! If your water quality is half decent and its not in tremendous flow (moderate is ideal) then your leather will be fine lower down. Bleaching is when the light "burns" the coral, normally something more associated with SPS or LPS corals as the secondary bacteria leave the hosted calcium skeleton due to incorrect conditions, thus leaving the white calcium skeleton (hence bleaching).
Your coral could go into shock if you suddenly move it near the light, but it should recover. More importantly what will likely happen is that the head of the coral will grow larger (as expected) and cause a shadow on everything below it, possibly putting other corals into darkness and depriving them of light, which will lead to their sad demise.
I would leave it growing from the bottom upward, and unless its your only coral, it should be fragged when it gets too big (like i did mine) or you could also end up with warfare problems!!

Hope this helps.

Regards, headsonfire!!!
 
it does it has been mid level in the tank since i have had it i think i will return it there i just was thinking it would grow faster there but it has been growin dfast enough as it is i guess :) i like change lol
 
Theres nothing wrong with change!!, just be aware of consequences, do you feed your leather?, do the polyps come out?...
I have a luminous green headed leather about half way up the tank and my 4 baby common ones on the bottom and all the polyps are out permanently, i add frozen Liquid LIfe Marine Plankton every week, just one squirt, i found this made a big difference to all my coral growth.
 
every so often i add kent microvert almost out now this bottle i have had for months in the fridge it smells awful lol i guess its still good but my toadstool comes out everyday right now it looks as if hes about to shed or the clowns are bothering him one he has been opening and closing he has long polyps on him always been a healthy coral the healthiest i have except for my zoas "my first coral" i am thinking about fragging my leather i am scared to do it tho i want it to be big yet if i cut a piece now i will have two in a few months to a year but someone said fraged toadstools will not grow stalks. is that true it came from a reliable person
 
leather talk (lol)

I had my clowns trying to host my leather until i got them a sand anenome (which doesnt move around tank, only the bottom - so no risk of powerhead fatality), and that used to make it shut down regularly.
It maybe "shedding" as you have moved it(?) a typical leather defence - releasing its toxins to ward off predators.
I fragged my large leather and sold the frags on, but the base stone now has a few "baby" leathers growing from it - all on stalks!!
The fragged head has also grown new stalks on some of them, but not all - having said that, they all survived healthily.
If you frag it, it does take time before it regrows, its not an overnight thing, its quite traumatic for the coral but will survive it - done properly.
You need:
1) a clean worksurface
2) a very clean, sharp knife
3) some small rocks to attach the frags to
4) some elastic bands to attach the frags with
5) guts
You need to remove the rock if possible which the leather is attached to, place it on the worksurface and:
slice the base along the rock,
slice the head into squares approx 1"sq
attach the frags to the rocks with elastic bands - not too tight or they will split in time
place the original rock back into the tank
house the frags

You need to be quick, once you remove the corsal it will begin shutting down, making it a difficult process, If you have a seperate tank then put the frags in there ans they will all let off toxins as the coral "bleeds".
I have fragged softies, SPS, starpolyps, & LPS successfully. The secrets are: clean tools - new stanley knife blades are ideal, dont make frags too small (a frag is a frag - give it a chance to live on!) or they wont survive.

Hope this helps.

:hat:
 
yea it helps but you said cut the whole thing alot of people say you can just cut peice off the top of the coral leaving your main coral looking healthy and looking like a coral.
 
I have never done it that way but yes, i guess you could just cut a "pizza" shape from the head and it will probably grow on and main coral will likely grow back in time and heal.
I would not cut into the base though or you will risk killing it.
very sharp scissors should be the weapon of choice and leave it in situ whilst making the cut.
 
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