Cannot keep a birdsnest to save my life.

[Agsellers04]

I cant keep a birdsnest to save my life. They just do not do well in my tank. I have moved them all over and no success. I thought these were a beginner coral.

I have acros, stylos, poscillopora, montis, blastos, zoas, leptos, etc and they are all thriving.

Any idea what the deal is with the birdsnest? Something they are particularly sensitive to?

 

[PicassoClown04]

They seem to like high light and moderate flow. It is by far my fastest grower. I’m sorry I don’t know more to help you . No coral warfare right?

 

[boacvh]

One of my nemesis corals. I consider them impossible level!. Following

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I'm in the same boat. I can't keep seriatopora or stylophora. They just wither and die over time. I have no problems with pocillopora, acropora or montipora. Acros in particular are growing great.

 

[t5Nitro]

They seem to like high light and moderate flow. It is by far my fastest grower. I’m sorry I don’t know more to help you . No coral warfare right?

Whaaat!!! That tank is wild.

Mine was in the category of extremely rapid tissue loss.

 

[Everything Aquatics]

I have no problems with birdsnest put them in high light and medium flow and there growing like crazy, hopefully you can find a answer

 

[PicassoClown04]

Whaaat!!! That tank is wild.

Mine was in the category of extremely rapid tissue loss.

I find that usually indicates too much light too quickly. I to a lot of R&R for people (taking in dying/bleached corals and rehabbing them, then giving that person a free frag as a thank you) after receiving several birds nests (the massive green colony you see was a result of one of these projects) I have found that they require very little flow and very little light, partially shaded is best with reefroids at least 1x per week. Every week move it a little (1st week move into full light on the bottom, 2nd 1/2”-1” up the glass, etc etc) slow and steady with these guys and if they aren’t fluffy yet don’t change anything or even move back a step. Slow and steady with these guys, I had one fully rehabbed on the frag rack then put it on my rocks directly underneath the light but at the same height in the tank and it died.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That is strange as their one of the hardiest in the same class as stylo and and digi for care.
Ince upon a time i had similar issue until i placed them at highest point of tank in moderate water flow

 

[Agsellers04]

Yeah I have three and have lost one entirely. One Suffered 50% tissue loss and I was able to save but it is growing slowly. One lost 80% of its tissue in the past 24 hours is is likely on its way out. The other is starting to lose tissue from the bottom up.

I may take that advice and just keep them in moderate lighting for awhile until they perk up. I have tried putting them all over though but this advice seems to be sound.

 

[Fishko]

That is strange as their one of the hardiest in the same class as stylo and and digi for care.
Ince upon a time i had similar issue until i placed them at highest point of tank in moderate water flow

Thats good to hear, i had killed one a few months ago and recently decided to try them out again. But with more stable paramaters and higher flow. Wish me luck. Getting .2dkh per day. Prob more since they have settled in.

 

[92Miata]

That is strange as their one of the hardiest in the same class as stylo and and digi for care.
Ince upon a time i had similar issue until i placed them at highest point of tank in moderate water flow

I've heard this over and over again - and found exactly the opposite. I can keep literally anything except Seriatapora and Stylophora. And people who can keep acros having trouble with birdsnest doesn't seem uncommon at all.



It really makes me think there's some specific trace element that they're sensitive to (either low, or high) and those of use who have trouble with them are just in the wrong place with it.


Mine typically do nothing for a month or two, and then just start losing tissue.

 

[Reefer40b]

Birdnest as frags don't need much flow, as they get bigger will need lots of flow or die from the inside out. They don't need a whole lot of light 150 par is fine but can be acclimated to higher lighting no problem.

Birdnest are like the canary in a coal mine, if they are dying something is off or you had a swing.

 

[Dysto]

I've also had this issue before. The birdsnest i've got right now did well at the start, and then started dying off rapidly. After my urchin uprooted the plug again, it appeared to have almost no flesh and no polyps, so I tossed the whole into the dark corner of my tank. A month later, I was in that corner looking for another frag that the urchin had made off with, and pulled the skeleton out to get it out of the way, when i realized it still had a 2 inch branch covered in flesh and polyps, or had managed to grow back that much in the dark, dim part of my tank. It has since been moved to a brighter spot, receiving more flow, but it was much more gradual process than it was initially, so they may just be more sensitive to rapid changes than acros.
If you look at my birdsnest, you can still see bits of the old dead skeleton surrounding it.

 

[dennis romano]

Mine were growing like crazy. They even survived without power for three days after a storm. Then, all of a sudden, they start going downhill. All other coral doing fine.

 

[Hincapiej4]

hmm, I brought one back from the dead. Bought it for 25 because it was dieing....not anymore.
I'll see if I can figure out exactly what I did right lolololol

 

[Agsellers04]

OK so I did a bit of rearranging in the past 30 mins... I trimmed off as much dead stone as I could and moved them all to a spot about 50% of the way down and in moderate flow.

Thoughts?

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I cant keep a birdsnest to save my life. They just do not do well in my tank. I have moved them all over and no success. I thought these were a beginner coral.

I have acros, stylos, poscillopora, montis, blastos, zoas, leptos, etc and they are all thriving.

Any idea what the deal is with the birdsnest? Something they are particularly sensitive to?

Me either, man. They hate me.

 

[t5Nitro]

I have also heard people with very successful acro tanks being unable to keep birdsnest for some reason or another. @footgal it may have been too much light. My green birdsnest was placed middle of the tank that is 20 inches tall on a flat rock directly under an orphek that was 10 inches above the water. My new frags were there for 1 week after which I increased my orphek to 14.5 inches above the water. The green birdsnest started with tissue loss at the tips and then just kind of blew apart in a short amount of time. I've since lost a pineapple birdsnest frag in the same location as well as German blue polyp and purple montipora frags. The bubblegum digi isn't looking great but still has some tissue and some polyps. All of these coral were on the same flat rock for 1 week under the light before coming home from vacation when I raised the orphek up to the 14.5 inches. The green birdsnest didn't make it past that week of vacation. The others just kept going downhill and I tossed the branched montis and dead birdsnest frags yesterday. Crossing fingers the other sps frags stay well!! Hoping that bubblegum digi fully recovers.

 

[PicassoClown04]

I have also heard people with very successful acro tanks being unable to keep birdsnest for some reason or another. @footgal it may have been too much light. My green birdsnest was placed middle of the tank that is 20 inches tall on a flat rock directly under an orphek that was 10 inches above the water. My new frags were there for 1 week after which I increased my orphek to 14.5 inches above the water. The green birdsnest started with tissue loss at the tips and then just kind of blew apart in a short amount of time. I've since lost a pineapple birdsnest frag in the same location as well as German blue polyp and purple montipora frags. The bubblegum digi isn't looking great but still has some tissue and some polyps. All of these coral were on the same flat rock for 1 week under the light before coming home from vacation when I raised the orphek up to the 14.5 inches. The green birdsnest didn't make it past that week of vacation. The others just kept going downhill and I tossed the branched montis and dead birdsnest frags yesterday. Crossing fingers the other sps frags stay well!! Hoping that bubblegum digi fully recovers.

Maybe you should try moving them down, or under less direct light. They are able to handle high light if given time to adjust. Patience with these guys

 

[t5Nitro]

What do you think about the timing in that I've had these sps frags since somewhere around August 20. Other than the first week of more intense light, do you think enough time has passed to keep them where they are now or still move them down? Should be in my tank going on a month now. I can certainly move it (bubblegum digi) since that one definitely has some recovery to do. My question is if it has been long enough now and especially with raising the lights is it likely to be accustomed to its current placement?