Kenya Tree not opening

[tripper]

I have had a Kenya Tree Coral for about a month and a half now. It has been looking great and growing rather quickly. For some reason, this coral has not opened up for the past 4 days. Even when the lights are on it is all shriveled up, like it looks at night. The only thing I have changed is I was leaving the light on 24/7 on my HOB fuge instead of leaving it on the same timer with the rest of my lights. Leaving this light on did let some light into the main tank. Could that cause a problem? The tank is just under a year old and my water params are:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: <5
pH: 8.2
Ca: 450

Thanks for your help

tripper

 

[steve-s]

Tree corals do go dormant although rarely but it should come back soon. Pretty much every soft corals species will go through some variation of sloughing from time to time. As long as you are not seeing any kind of necrosis or rapid limb loss, it should be fine. Gently fanning the coral with your hand should tell you if there is anything amiss.

The Ca's a tad high. How's the alk and pH?

Cheers
Steve

 

[tripper]

I have not noticed any necrosis or limb loss, it just looks shriveled up like it typically does at night. I will give it some time.

Is it ok to leave the light on in the HOB fuge eventhough the light does shine into part of the tank?

You said to fan the coral . . . what should i be looking for?

My Ca is a little high, but I do not dose, that is just what the Oceanic salt leaves my Ca at. I do not have a test for alk, i guess i should invest in one but don't have any really pick corals so I hadn't bothered yet. pH is 8.2

thanks

tripper

 

[steve-s]

Is it ok to leave the light on in the HOB fuge eventhough the light does shine into part of the tank?

It won't bother the corals any but it can be a source of stress to fish. As long as they are not being bothered by it then it's no problem.

You said to fan the coral . . . what should i be looking for?

Chunks/pieces of the coral floating away 8O

Cheers
Steve

 

[ashobson]

I have one of them well now two of them my has a baby. It was my first coral it did as you decribe yous doing I started adding iodine 2 eyedropers full and 1 eyedroper full of coral boost every nite and it has grown and started spreading my zina has began to spread and my mushroom has tripled in size. I sugjest if you don't already add these 2 additives and watch the deference your hole tank will have.

 

[steve-s]

Be extremely careful if you decide on additives of any kind. Most can easily poison a system if not monitored properly. Be sure for iodine especially, you get an accurate test kit to measure your the iodine (iodate & iodide) levels in the tank.

Iodine in Marine Aquaria: Part I

Iodine in Marine Aquaria 2: Effects on Macroalgae Growth

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve r]

my tree coral did the same thing. it never closed up really, but then it decided to stayed closed for a week. since then it has been very healthy and self frags about 5-10 babys a month. on that note, i have decided no more new soft corals for that very reason. one week they look great, the next the look dead for a couple of days.

steve r

 

[tripper]

Mine actually ended up dying. I still can't figure out exactly why. It just continued to shrivel up and fade into nothing. It had been in the tank for a long time so it wasn't an acclimation issue and my water parameters are great. Everything else in the tank is nice and healthy. I'm guessing it was just a weird instance.

I'm still convinced that the light coming from my HOB aquafuge at night (that light is on 24/7) caused a problem. I now only have it on when the rest of my lights are on.

tripper

 

[steve-s]

I'm still convinced that the light coming from my HOB aquafuge at night (that light is on 24/7) caused a problem. I now only have it on when the rest of my lights are on.

How long has the fuge been in place? Could be that the macro algae (if any) was out competing the coral for food. The tree coral is only partially photosynthetic and relies a fair amount on dissolved organics in the water as a food source. If the tank was "too sterile" it may have ended up wasting. Could also be a result of the type of algae in the fuge. I seriously doubt the light itself was any part of the problem.

Cheers
Steve