Coral hibernation?

[Fishfinder]

i don't know how to word the title so here is what happened...

A couple months ago I started to get into SPS, Acros and montis. And just as I figured I had some trouble. A couple alk swings, big nutrient shifts, a lighting change, and a hurricane really hurt the frags. Almost all browned out and 1 or 2 died. A couple bleached in the tips. But... they still have PE

Anyway for the last month things have been very steady in my tank. So I decided to try a couple more pieces. The new pieces I put in are doing great. They are encrusting, some have vertical growth. I can watch some of the montis grow the daily change is noticable. But my old pieces still look the same. No growth, brown, white tips, pale. So my question is.... do they go into like "hibernation" more when under a lot of stress? I would think that they would start growing if everything else is. Are they stuck in this ugly state or will they slowly recover themselves? Thanks for the help

 

[recess62]

I think it can take some corals months to recover

 

[DSC reef]

I agree. The other corals that are doing good will continue to do so. The corals that got stressed still need to recover and that can take some time.

 

[Fishfinder]

Ok so they will overgrow the parts of dead skeleton?

 

[jda]

They will overgrow the dead skeleton, but not as fast as they can heal and grow new branches if you snip them off. If they are in limbo, I would just let them be until you see signs of them pulling out of it. Stressed corals can stay alive, but need all kinds of time to thrive again.

Water parameters nearest to NSW, good flow and high quality MH or T5 lighting will help for a faster recovery. Higher nutrient levels and swings might not kill them, but it can set the back or keep them from advancing. LEDs are fine when everything is perfect, but are not as good as the other sources when things are on the rocks - IMO, they are like winning a Superbowl with Trent Dilfer which is only possible when the other 21 positions are doing their job to the max. I don't know what any of your parameters, lighting and flow are, but if they are not ideal, it will take a bit longer.

Lastly, pests can put corals into hibernation. Red bugs, AEFW and nudis can all keep them alive but keep them from thriving.