Finger Leather Coral

[lynxpilot]

I have a green Fiji finger leather that just doesn't seem happy. Any good tricks out there to get them to polyp out and grow?

Water conditions are ideal, so that's not an issue.

 

[baldyguy]

Try moving to a different spot in the tank it might be lighting or flow.

 

[melosu58]

You know that leathers will slough? When they do they will look bad but a day or two later they will look pretty good. How long has yours looked like this?

 

[kgriffith]

Lets see some parameters and lighting/ flow specs

 

[lynxpilot]

Like I said, water parameters are ideal. No ammonia, nitrite, or phosphates, nitrates fluctuate between 10 and 20, and calcium is rock solid at 400. pH has always been 8.3 plus or minus 0.1 and I keep salinity at 1.023.

In the store, it showed polyps. I got it home and it polyped out at night only. I had him higher in the tank than I should have, so I bumped him down a notch. He still polyped for a day or two and now he's just sucked in and I don't see him stick it out any more. It has made snotty sheds (very little) and otherwise shows no significant spotting or discoloration. It just shrunk and hasn't come out to play in a good many days now.

 

[baldyguy]

If it polyped when it was higher then it was happy? Maybe move it back and see if it improves.......

 

[melosu58]

What kind of flow is he getting?

 

[lynxpilot]

What kind of flow is he getting?

Right now, on the low end of moderate. His lower-in-the-tank location was a little bit more. I have him back up high now and he hasn't done anything for a few days. I'll probably bring him down a little lower again.

I'm really embarrassed because they are supposed to be easy to care for.

 

[baldyguy]

Don't be embarassed this is weird hobby one thing that is easy for others may be hard for another.......after all they are an animal with their own mind.

 

[melosu58]

I would make sure he`s getting moderate flow. As mentioned above dont be embarrased. I`ve had the simplest of thing baffle me. It`s all about learning.

 

[mgriffiths1984]

i have a cathedral finger coral who shrunk down a few weeks back and i thought it was dying as im relatively new to marine. 5 Days and he was back to his original self thriving in the tank and looking double the size it was when i frst got it just over month ago.

Its quite natural for them to think sod it im not coming out, making you worry and then one morning you look at him and hes fully retracted!

 

[gooyferret]

I have had leathers before, and it always seemed that for the most part they like water flow. My last leather i had at moderate to high flow and it grew like crazy

 

[thincat]

Don't over due the moving around thing. Give it a chance to adapt to the light and flow of the area that you moved it to.

 

[catmel]

It took my tiny toadstool leather a while to get use to the tank ( about 1-2 weeks) before it fully opened. It seems to like medium flow ( indirect). Its about half way up my tank as well with 200 watts of PC on.