Damage or Expanding Favites?

[Laranzu]

https://imgur.com/a/Kqhc5co
Album of what looks like damage?

I came home today to a blue legged hermit crab sitting on my Favites (pretty sure its Favites) and picking away. They coral has been in my tank about 3 days. It happily ate a bunch of Mysis shrimp yesterday.

Now they all look either A) Super messed up or b) Maybe they are all so happy they are expanding?

Any ideas? Damage or Happiness?

(I banished all the hermits to the Sump just in case. I also mistakenly banished a Snail who was peacefully just sleeping on my Green Star Polyps)

 

[Brian1f1]

Was it just one tiny blue leg? If so, no way it ate that polyp. I doubt it ate any of the polyp itself. It’s possible it irritated it a little and that’s why it pulled back. The polyps generally look well expanded, so far as I can tell in the photo. If it was very distressed it would likely all be shrunken back.

It’s new, these corals (like most LPS and softies) can suffer from too high light if you don’t acclimate carefully, so hopefully you are, if not, it’s not too late to start that.

 

[Laranzu]

It's one Current Orbit IC in a 20g long. Hopefully it's not too much light compared to the lfs it came from.

Just in case I'll drop them down a level

 

[Fishfinder]

That is an acan, the bottom one looks unhappy but not dead. I doubt the hermit ate it but it may have damaged it trying to pull food from it when you fed

 

[DSC reef]

+1, looks like a micromussa lordhowensis with tissue recession

 

[Laranzu]

For reference when brand new and not expanded. It's mostly their loss of shape I was worried about.

 

[DSC reef]

If a hermit is picking at it then it's most likely eating dead tissue or food if you just fed the tank. Low to medium light with low to moderate indirect flow for that coral.

Edit: @Fishfinder beat me

 

[Brian1f1]

For reference when brand new and not expanded. It's mostly their loss of shape I was worried about.

You bought it with receding tissue. One polyp in the back is absent, the ones in the front look like they’ve receded a bit, and that’s probably what your seeing when expanded. The recession can be stopped, new polyps grown, if it gets the conditions described above.

 

[Laranzu]

Thanks for the assistance. Think I should drop them down to a tiny bit of rock at sand level? Or maybe another inch or two? They really seemed pretty happy up there.

I have my Current Orbit IC running at 80% Blue 30% White 50% Red 50% Green. 20g Long

 

[Brian1f1]

Thanks for the assistance. Think I should drop them down to a tiny bit of rock at sand level? Or maybe another inch or two? They really seemed pretty happy up there.

I have my Current Orbit IC running at 80% Blue 30% White 50% Red 50% Green. 20g Long

They don’t look unhappy or bleached as yet. Mostly preexisting damage I see.