I came home to find my torch partially closed. one head is still out but receded and the other two are kind of closed with some polyps sticking out... lights are off aswell. Usually they are out and moving but since have partially closed... should i be worried?
Coral is closed
- Thread starter PegasisR
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Hemmdog
10K Club member
That could be why, but it’s fine, they will adjust to the new flow. I wouldn’t worry.all i changed recently was the modes on my powerheads but that is all! and will do
P-Dub
The ocean is open to all, merciful to none.
This is a good example to make a point. Corals do the darndest things.
We, as enthusiasts, generally worry too much. When our corals are doing something that we think is out of the ordinary we generally start to worry. What we have to realize is that corals are animals and these animals respond or react to their whim, not ours. When this happens, we have a tendency to start doing things to correct the observed response to realize the status of the coral we are accustomed to. This is where things can go bad and snow-ball into actual problems.
When things look different they, most of the time, are in fact, just that, different. Provided all parameters are within range and have been consistent this is the time to just observe and not react. Barring any obvious signs of physical trauma, just observe, patiently. During this observation period, your corals will begin to tell you things. They speak softly most of the time. If the corals begin to decline or appear to slowly decline in overall appearance then it is time to do something, but not before.
When we react to coral behavior, we can actually cause the ultimate demise of an otherwise healthy coral and then we are left scratching our heads wondering what happened despite our best efforts. Take for example the OP's concern. Likely it was just the flow changing that caused the observed coral behavior. Now, something benign caused the coral to respond to this external stimuli. Had PegasisR reacted to this coral's behavioral response instead of responding by posting the question here, (good job @PegasisR ) by doing a coral dip, let's say, now the coral is now more stressed by this action. Lets now say that the parameters in the tank are actually, unknowingly, sub-optimal. Now we have stressed an otherwise nominally annoyed coral and placed it back in the DT after a dip. Now the coral is in danger of diminishing health, so it is really not looking happy. It is so not happy at this point, to our eyes it looks worse. This observation now prompts another dip or location change or some other action by the hobbyist further causing trauma or stress to the coral. We have just, at this point, possibly given a death sentence to an otherwise healthy coral all because we reacted to normal coral behavior.
This is a little extreme in example. Corals are wonderfully hardy animals given good condition or even just moderately good but consistent conditions. Trust me, I have witnessed corals baking in the tropical sun during low tide for hours only to shake off the experience like another day at the races. Like I said, hardy animals. The problems arise when we start mucking with things when we are better leaving well enough alone. Often, our DT parameters are not exactly as good as they should be in nature. Doing drastic things under these conditions or even many small things over a short period of time can have disastrous consequences when nothing was really "wrong" in the first place. Whatever you do, do things slowly and only after having determined that they are, in fact necessary.
We, as enthusiasts, generally worry too much. When our corals are doing something that we think is out of the ordinary we generally start to worry. What we have to realize is that corals are animals and these animals respond or react to their whim, not ours. When this happens, we have a tendency to start doing things to correct the observed response to realize the status of the coral we are accustomed to. This is where things can go bad and snow-ball into actual problems.
When things look different they, most of the time, are in fact, just that, different. Provided all parameters are within range and have been consistent this is the time to just observe and not react. Barring any obvious signs of physical trauma, just observe, patiently. During this observation period, your corals will begin to tell you things. They speak softly most of the time. If the corals begin to decline or appear to slowly decline in overall appearance then it is time to do something, but not before.
When we react to coral behavior, we can actually cause the ultimate demise of an otherwise healthy coral and then we are left scratching our heads wondering what happened despite our best efforts. Take for example the OP's concern. Likely it was just the flow changing that caused the observed coral behavior. Now, something benign caused the coral to respond to this external stimuli. Had PegasisR reacted to this coral's behavioral response instead of responding by posting the question here, (good job @PegasisR ) by doing a coral dip, let's say, now the coral is now more stressed by this action. Lets now say that the parameters in the tank are actually, unknowingly, sub-optimal. Now we have stressed an otherwise nominally annoyed coral and placed it back in the DT after a dip. Now the coral is in danger of diminishing health, so it is really not looking happy. It is so not happy at this point, to our eyes it looks worse. This observation now prompts another dip or location change or some other action by the hobbyist further causing trauma or stress to the coral. We have just, at this point, possibly given a death sentence to an otherwise healthy coral all because we reacted to normal coral behavior.
This is a little extreme in example. Corals are wonderfully hardy animals given good condition or even just moderately good but consistent conditions. Trust me, I have witnessed corals baking in the tropical sun during low tide for hours only to shake off the experience like another day at the races. Like I said, hardy animals. The problems arise when we start mucking with things when we are better leaving well enough alone. Often, our DT parameters are not exactly as good as they should be in nature. Doing drastic things under these conditions or even many small things over a short period of time can have disastrous consequences when nothing was really "wrong" in the first place. Whatever you do, do things slowly and only after having determined that they are, in fact necessary.
Last edited:
Dr. Dendrostein
Marine fish monthly
I adjusted perimeters on my tank 1 week ago, one coral was not happy. I thought it was a gonner. Week later back to normal. Close call
Lps like your torch i feed once a week broadcast reef chili over a power head. I also feed my feed my fish twice a day a mixture of frozen foods which i am positive my corals also consume. Only nps do you really need to be worried about more regular feedings imo anyway.
vetteguy53081
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I feed 2-3X per week and One feeding
