Acros die in a domant softe tank???
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Zoas, Hammers, Frogspawn, and Candycanes aren't really softies. Zoas are in a group of their own and don't really do broadcast chemical warfare. The Others in the list are LPS corals which can do warfare, but it is usually contact of close contact warfare.
Leathers do have chemical warfare properties and can cause issues with acros. There is an easy fix to this though which is to run some good carbon in the sump. Carbon removes or neutralizes the chemicals used in the chemical warfare.
Honestly though, the corals you listed are on the "easy" scale for corals... I'd be looking into other things like the parameters of the tank (Salinity, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate). All of this can affect corals, especially SPS corals like acros. Please post up this information so we can better assist in finding the cause of your issues with acros.
Also do you perform water changes at all? What interval and quantity?
What size tank do you have and what fish do you have for livestock?
What equipment do you have running in the sump (or are you running a sump)?
Leathers do have chemical warfare properties and can cause issues with acros. There is an easy fix to this though which is to run some good carbon in the sump. Carbon removes or neutralizes the chemicals used in the chemical warfare.
Honestly though, the corals you listed are on the "easy" scale for corals... I'd be looking into other things like the parameters of the tank (Salinity, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate). All of this can affect corals, especially SPS corals like acros. Please post up this information so we can better assist in finding the cause of your issues with acros.
Also do you perform water changes at all? What interval and quantity?
What size tank do you have and what fish do you have for livestock?
What equipment do you have running in the sump (or are you running a sump)?
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Absolutely, Coral Allelopathy is a fact but it also occurs in stony corals but more so in softies it seems, but in your case I doubt it probably due to something else like some water chemistry problem. Most of those corals are not softies but are hardier than sps.
Dave Polzin
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markak
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Tank size 220gal 3 years old with 150 lbs live rock, sump 60gal, cheato, some live rock, ASM skimmer, Vertex Dual calcium reactor, panworld return pump, heaters, and chiller in sump. I run kent reef charcoal in a fluval 305 hooked up to the display tank. Also 2 vortec 40's and 2 koralia's. Parameters are Mag 1450, calcium 400, nitrates 25, ammo 0, phos .05, nitrite 0, alk 9, all test done with Elos test kits, PH 8.2, salt level 1.026. Tank mates 2 yellow tangs, 1 sailfin tang, 4 anthias, 3 clowns, coral beauty, copper band, a dozen mixed snails. a few crabs. I do a 30 gal water change every 4 weeks with RO/DI water, I use Kent and RC salt, First time I ever used Kent normaly use RC salt. Feed 2 times a day with mysis and brine, and little flaked food in the morning, dose phytoplankton once a week. I think thats all. Thanks for replies.
Good info already. What types of sps are you trying? You should try a Monti cap or digi. My first sps was an Ora scripps green stag and it grows like a weed. Unless you have a whole lot of leathers I don't believe chem warfare is your problem. I have a large leather and a Kenya tree in my sps dominant 75 and haven't ran carbon in some time and haven't lost anything that didn't have a clear reason for dying. I'm sure I've sacrificed growth and color by not running carbon though.
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colonies or frags? Colonies will do this and usually starts because of low circulation around the base of the coral and sometimes just not enough light but this is not a problem with frags.
Dave Polzin
cymaster007
Ex-Socal Resident
Noticed either the coral beauty or copper band nipping at any of the coral, also check for any pests? Although usually the recession from base-up sounds like PH or Alk swinging.
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markak
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No nipping from fish, no pest that I can see. I did have a Alk problem about 2 months ago. Got the Alk down from 15 to 9-10 been there for a month now. PH has been stable, day 8.2-8.3 nite 8.0-7.99.
spscrazy
Well-Known Member
nitrates are high at 25 even if you get them going they are gonna brown out with it up that high what are you dosing for ph/alk/calcium? I didn't have much luck with sps till I got the nitrates to 0 and started to drip kalk made a huge difference for my sps now they have color & are growing
UCedumacasion
Active Member
do you run carbon? the only thing I found that kept my sps somewhat happy with my leather was carbon. that said, I have a leather and an a. elegans about 2-3 inches away from each other (leather is about 3-4in in diameter).
also, don't put acro downstream from the leathers, in my 20 the acro is upstream so it gets clean water instead of leather water.
also, don't put acro downstream from the leathers, in my 20 the acro is upstream so it gets clean water instead of leather water.
Zombie
Active Member
The reason I asked about the Sarcophytons/Toadstools is that if you even have 1 in your tank with acroporas I have noticed that acroporas will have very slow growth or even die in the same tank. If you eliminate them you will have no problem keeping Acroporas. In my own tank I keep a mixed reef and I had very slow growing acroporas for a long time. I had one huge Sarcophyton in my tank. I even knew that this may not be a good idea but I like Scacophytons. I sold it because it was too big and over the next few years I had acroporas I had for years with almost no growth, growing too close to the surface of the water, they tripled in size.
You can do heavy skimming and carbon to try to keep the two together but it is easier to sell off the Scaros.
You can do heavy skimming and carbon to try to keep the two together but it is easier to sell off the Scaros.
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