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as40

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Oct 12, 2003
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Hey all...

Okay, I'm worried. I've had some star polyps (which everyone says are easy to keep) for a couple months now, or thereabouts. Two pieces, actually. Also a rock with yellow polyps. Did a 25% water change yesterday (usually do a 10% weekly, did more this time because I've got some relatively new additions in the tank and am trying to keep the water conditions pristine until they become used to their new tank). Temp., parameters all fine. They closed up during the change (usual), but one rock of the star polyps didn't open up afterwards. The other ones did. I waited, but this morning they still weren't open.

I looked at the star polyps; there are little brown, shriveled dead-looking wisps on both pieces, not overwhelming or anything, but unsightly. On the piece that didn't open up, I tried gently with a turkey baster squirting some water at it, and noticed that a lot of silt and gunk came off the rock. I waited, but still it hasn't opened up. Is this normal for star polyps to close up for an extended period of time? Do you think it's dying? What can I do to help it get better, if anything? I've been feeding the tank phytoplankton daily, have plenty of light over the tank, the water is fine; I can't think of anything that could be wrong. Also, my "yellow" polyps look more brown than yellow. I was told they spread fairly quickly, but when I first got them a few died off, the rest have been fine, other than loosing some of their initial yellow coloration.

Any help would be much appreciated!
 

mogurnda

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Apr 29, 2003
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If I'm reading your specs right, you have 130W of light over a 60 gallon tank. That's relatively low. Not ridiculously low for those corals, but low nonetheless.

Issue 1, brown "yellow polyps." They are probably turning brown because their zooxanthellae are proliferating to make up for the low light. I have seen this with my zoanthids as the corals above them grow out and shade them. Wre they a lot brighter when you got them.

Issue 2, retracted star polyps. This happens sometimes with my green star polyps, usually after I abuse them by cutting off pieces or putting kalk paste on the edges to keep them from spreading too far. They close for a day or two, then oppen back up. Any handling tends to make them close up for a while. If they don't show signs of life by tomorrow, then it may be time to worry.

I'm not sure what the wisps are. Are they part of the coral?
 

as40

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Oct 12, 2003
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Thanks for the info...
Through it's technically labeled as a 60 gallon, with all the LR and DSB there's actually a little less than 40 gallons of water in there. So I figured the lighting at about 3 watts per gallon, which I had heard was okay for these types of "hardy" polyps. Also, I make sure there's nothing shading them from the light.

They weren't a WHOLE lot brighter, but a bit. I make sure to run my lights at around 12 hours a day because I thought this might help everything get enough out of the light there is.

The wisps look like they might be old dead parts of the polyps. They're attatched.

Again, thanks for the info. I'll hope they do better tomorrow... I'll keep you posted.
 

mogurnda

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Apr 29, 2003
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The watts/gallon thing really isn't about the amount of water. It has more to do with the amount of light per unit area. Whether it's empty or full, a 60 gallon tank has certain proportions. One thing that will make a difference is how close the corals are to the lights.

I wasn't trying to say that the light wasn't enough, just that it was a little low, and that the corals may be compensating.

I think the wispy things are just a few tentacles that are extending. I hope to hear that a lot more are coming out tomorrow.
 

as40

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Oct 12, 2003
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Well, once again, thank you for responding. :)
I'm always learning on this side of the hobby; it's amazing.
I talked to a guy yesterday in the area that said in his experience sometimes he's had a star polyp that got "mad" at him after a water change, handling, etc., and had it close up for as long as a week, but that they came back okay. So I'm hoping that these will do the same, but I am worried because they still haven't opened up. :shake:
 

mogurnda

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Apr 29, 2003
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brown not purple

As I was staring at my tank, I realized there was another example of "browning." I traded a fellow reefer for a purple montipora. In her tank, under 400 watt metal halide, the polyps were beige and the coenosteum, the "body", was purple. Now that it's under my PCs it has turned pretty uniform brown. It's happy and growing, but brown, even though it's only a few inches from the light.

You never know what color or growth form you're going to get until it's in the tank and settled in, I guess.
 

as40

Give it to us raw and wriggling!
Oct 12, 2003
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Improvement...

Well, made sure ALL the polyps, star and yellow, are in strong current and very near the lights. Did another water change, checked all the parameters; and the star polyps are beginning to all emerge again. Not all of them are out yet, but more than half, so I'm thinking they'll be okay. The brown wisps are not, as far as I can tell, tentacles or anything living from the polyp. I think they're dead bits. Wish my friend with a camera could snap a pic of it. I'll work on getting a pic up for identification. Dave, thank you again for your help.
 

mogurnda

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Apr 29, 2003
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Current is good. I haven't experienced it personally, but people say these guys can be overrun by algae if debris is allowed to collect.
 
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