open brain needs help

[aldo]

I don't know how to bring a picture here from my gallery so if you look there you will see how great it looked. (open brain)
Now it seem dried out & small, its not twitching or blown up and colorfull ????????
I moved it up higher up to a rock i know it likes to lie on the subtract but ???????? i thought more light would help ???????????
my # are all good
love the little guy please help
rest of tank doing fairly well.
aldo

 

[steve-s]

From the pic in your gallery post, the brain looks quite healthy. Have you uploaded a new one or is this the one you are refering to?

How long have you noticed the "deflated" appearance?

Depending on how long you've had the coral vs the 440w VHO, it could be a matter of too much light. These types of corals actually do better on the substrate due to irrtation from hard surfaces that can often cause the pressure on the coral skelaton to nercros where the flesh intercedes. They can be very sensitive to irritants and excessive water flow and are better left on a softer surface. 440w on a 66 gal tank should be more than enough for a trachyphyllia.

I did not see anything in the pic to suggest coral warfare but was there a nearby coral that might be the cause? How are the water specs and chem?

 

[aldo]

Hi Steve
This is the picture i mean. I have the coral brain about 5w he has been on the subtrak all the time centre tank as you can see,no coral near enough to hurt him.

a- niri- nitra -0
phos -2-cal-420 -kh-9 sal- .24 t-80d
lights 10am 10pm
the deflated app about 5d at night no movement no tenticuls so i cant feed him?????
Wish i knew how you got that picture there!!!!!!!!!
aldo

 

[steve-s]

Your numbers are great although I would bump the salinity another 0.001. That will not probabley help with the brain (if it needs help at all) but will aid in the overall tank health.

To be honest I do not really think there is a problem. I would suggest placing the brain back on the substrate where is gets gentle water flow. The lack of feeding response (sweeper tentacles) are not an indication of a problem. If the brain is always deflated and the flesh hugs the skelaton (which does not seem appearant in the pic?), then I would be inclined to look for some other possible irritant. Any other fish than the tangs? The shrimp picking at it? Unneeded suppliments?

One thing you might try is checking well after lights out for sweepers. Often on many of my LPS of this type they are not noticable until very early in the AM several hours before the lights come on. If there is sufficient nutrient in the water, it may not be in need of extra foods. What have you been trying to feed it?

Overall, the main concern here is you make mention of the color. What exactly is the color when you got it vs now? The pic shows a good amount of color and I cannot see any fading at all?

When you need to link to outside images, use the code:

.

Cheers
Steve

 

[aldo]

I will put all you told me together and see if i can find the trouble HOLE .
Thanks a MILLION
Have a GREAT holiday
aldo

 

[steve-s]

Just re-read your post on the numbers and need clarification. Was that 0.2 PO4 or 2 PO4?
High phosphates can also affect the coral by not allowing it to properly incorporate CaCO3. It should not hinder it's overall health really but will greatly limit it's growth.

Best wishes for the Season!
Cheers
Steve

 

[aldo]

My PO4- 0.2
got a new ca tester Red Sea Calcium Pro yesterday just took a reading
340 ca KH9 Low cal high ak ?????????
Using B-IONIC comp #2 15ml per day for ca nothing for KH

having hard time dropping po4 using di water - Kent Marine Phosphate SPONGE
aldo

 

[steve-s]

The 0.2 PO4 is not that much a concern although zerp would be ideal. (being a perfect world )

The alk is not high at all, just in relation to the Ca. Might want to try a few water changes to fix that before attempting to correct it with chems. I would not suggest you continue to dose one without the other. They are chemically balanced to compliment each other and could be a possible reason for the imbalance. Do you monitor magnesium?

Cheers
Steve

 

[aldo]

With reference to magnesium, I do not test for it as I have as yet never seen (I think) a test kit for magnesium. Is it that important to test for? As of today, I have started to add B-Ionic in its 2 stages and after a few days, I will see what happens.

I changed the location of my open brain as you suggested. This morning he still remains shrunken in and I have noticed that he discharged a clear slime with sort of small particles of his green skin colour. I helped blow it off with my baster. I know it is alive because of the sort of feather coming out of the little hole at the bottom of the coral.

Thanks again.
Aldo

 

[steve-s]

With reference to magnesium, I do not test for it as I have as yet never seen (I think) a test kit for magnesium. Is it that important to test for?

Magnesium can be very important for keeping alk and Ca balanced with each other. If the Mg is not high enough it will allow CaCO3 to precipitate. When alk or Ca are added to the water seperately when magnesium is low, the addition of one forces the other to fall out of solution. Mg should be maintained at about 1300-1500 ppm or 3x the Ca level. See here... Magnesium in Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley

As of today, I have started to add B-Ionic in its 2 stages and after a few days, I will see what happens.

Since your levels are unbalanced, adding them back in a balanced fashion will not correct this issue. A few 15-20% water changes would help much better. Get the alk/Ca balance back in sinc and then start dosing again as needed.

I changed the location of my open brain as you suggested. This morning he still remains shrunken in and I have noticed that he discharged a clear slime with sort of small particles of his green skin colour. I helped blow it off with my baster. I know it is alive because of the sort of feather coming out of the little hole at the bottom of the coral.

See what a few water changes will do, the imbalanced chem could be part of the issue. Be careful when blowing things off the corals in this fashion. If too much force, you could damage it further. If the flow in the area is enough (med-low), that should aid in removing the waste. The color of the expectoration could be an indication of the coral expelling zooxanthellae unless it is moreso brown than green. Now that it is in a more desired location, try not to physically interfere with it any more. The continued movement could be stressing the coral causing more problems.

Cheers
Steve