Partially bleached coral

[bootz]

Back Story: So i received my birdsnest coral via mail last Wednesday when i opened the box the frag was detached from the plug and all the polyps were inside of the coral and about half way down the coral was white. Do to my inexperience in reefing i chalked that up to lack of light over the course of the shipping process.

Now: the coral over the past few day has looked more "full" each day but the bottom portion of the coral is still white even though there a few live polyps coming out

I monitor all my levels and dose my calcium to keep it at 420ppm

Question: can my coral make a full recovery? and do i need to dose/test for alkalinity when i dose and test for calcium? ( i sucked in chemistry lol)

Thanks guys i know this is kind of a hard question and i have researched it prior to posting but i need some good aquarium advice :P

[Gregcoyote]

Many species can fully recover. I think you might see it grow back onto the original skeleton.
I have rescued several corals from the LFS that were going south and now have to frag them they are so big.
+400 on calcium and +8 on KH are numbers to shoot for. Just my opinion.

[bootz]

yeah i was never so sure on alk just because i thought cal and alk were interconnected but i have to pick up some alk and an alk tester

[Gregcoyote]

They are connected. Read up on it. A two part additive like B-Ionic or generic brand will help maintain those higher levels. A good brand of reef salt will get the whole process started and may be enough in itself.

[bootz]

yeah i use instant ocean salt and do 10% water change weekly.

[Gregcoyote]

Originally Posted by bootz

yeah i use instant ocean salt and do 10% water change weekly.

I might suggest going to their "Reef Crystals" as it is the same basic price, but has more calcium in it.

[bootz]

alright dude, thanks much appreciated

[bootz]

Stupid question but does a basic KH tester, account for the alkalinity? i know its a measurement of water hardness but just curious thanks,

[Gregcoyote]

Here is a good thread on the topic.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/water-ch...ine-48627.html

[bootz]

btw this is what it looks like sorry i know it under the moonlight


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[Gregcoyote]

Polyps are out, it should repopulate the lower stem. I have a similar frag that got burned accidentally by a piece of acropora and mine is healing back fine.

[bootz]

Nice to hear the good news. Even better , i was fully refunded since fedex screwed up the shipping and the guy refunded me for sending a partial dead coral. I will post some more in a few weeks to see if any growth starts

[bootz]

Update: so nothing has changed i went out and purchased some alkalinity as well as a kh tester but all my levels checked out. So i was considering purchasing some Coral RX any one have good experience with this. ( i was going to buy it anyway for when i introduce more coral)

[Gregcoyote]

No polyp extensions? I was a fan of stuff like "liquid gold" to promote coral growth, but I have come around over the years to agree with the majority, that if you can't test for it, don't add it. There are too many tanks out there full of SPS coral that don't use all the fancy additives. Flow, salinity, alkalinity, calcium, temperature, PH, proper lighting and zero organics grow coral. I don't think you can subtract any of those things and be successful long term.

I hit the calcium hard with B-Ionic AND Kalkwasser additions. I also use a reef salt high in calcium. For me, that has set the LPS and SPS corals into growth mode.

[bootz]

i got the kh to test for the hardiness that is why purchased the alkalinity by seachem just in case i needed to add any. I would never add anything if i could not test for it. I asked about the Rx just incase this was a case of RTN even thought nothing has chanced would suggest it not that rapid lol. I finally found a LFS about an an hour and a half away from where i live but i travel to philly so im going to give it a look so i never have to purchased from the internet again unless it liveaquaria.

[Gregcoyote]

I have had mixed results with fish and coral on the Internet. It was either really good, or really, really bad. But I have lost things gotten from the LFS over the years. My karma has changed since I started rescuing corals from the LFS and locals when they almost kill them. I got my "reef thumb" going on after 30 years of being an idiot.

[bootz]

lol well hopefully i can still rescue this frag. I found another reef farm located in Maryland and even though i am in jersey they offer a reasonable shipping rate to my location in Jersey. So i am willing to give the ordering coral over the internet one more shot.