duncan trouble

[Wiz]

I bought a duncan as one of my first corals. it had three heads when I bought it. it has grown like a weed. it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 to 15 heads now. it has had days where it did not open well or as much as normal. but the last 3 or 4 days have been strange. it started to close tighter each day. for the last day or so it has been closed up very tight with just one or two whiskers protruding from the center hole of one or two polyps. the rest are closed tight with just the center hole showing. I am starting to get concerned that it is not doing well. I have done some research and seeing the duncan are known to close for days occasionally with no obvious reason. my water parameters are normal. with the exception of some clove polyps that have zoa pox my other corals seem fine. I did switch to LEDs about a month ago from vho. but it has been a month and the duncan has seemed fine until the last 4 days. any opinions?

 

[Rob Top1]

As you noted they can close up for a time and as of yet we don't fully understand why. As a general rule closed tight means too much light and spread wide is not enough light. That generalization works for most lps and softies. It won't hurt to dim the light to see what happens. What sort of flow do you have hitting it? Are you feeding it if so how often and what

 

[kacrocorals581]

Duncan corals are sensitive to pH swings and higher temps so check that out they also sensitive to low mag and shrimp fish picking at them

 

[Wiz]

as I said it has been in the same spot since I got it about a year ago. I would say the flow is moderate. I do spot feed half a cube of mysis mixed with half a cap of marine snow twice a week. I probably spray about a milliliter of this mixture over the top of the duncan. the way my vhos we're set it was getting a bit less brightness I would say then it is now with the LEDs. but would have taken a month for this to affect it?

 

[Wiz]

hi test every Sunday the parameters in my tank have always been pretty solid. magnesium hovers around 1350. Calcium hovers around 400. Alkalinity around 10. PH around 8. 2. Nitrates around 5 to 10 ppm. Nitrites and ammonia or never showing. phosphate is around 3 ppm. salinity is between 1.024-1.026 depending on the last time I topped off. temperature ranges from about 77 degrees at night to 81 degrees during the day.

 

[kacrocorals581]

that wide range of salinity swing and all that fresh water added could be the cause of it the swing could effect it and the suddent change in pH from the fresh water added should invest in a auto top off best thing I ever got for the tank

 

[Wiz]

I think a swing is better for hardier corals. I don't think .02 is that big a swing. I have thought about an auto top off. But I have no room. I have done it this way the entire 8 years I've been reefing. Maybe not for most but defanitly not the reason in this case.

 

[currentking]

i have a duncan that has about 80 heads and I've had it in the same spot for a few months. awhile back i came home to half of it closed up for like 4 days and i was freaking out. it finally opened back up for no apparent reason and it is still doing great. I have the same thing with my acans. all are healthy and having babies though. give it a few days.

 

[Wiz]

thanks that makes me feel better just seems like 4 days was a long time

 

[Wiz]

in the year that I have had it it has never closed up this tight before. it has mostly closed for a day or two. but never this tight and never for 4 days. I really hope it's okay it's my fiance's favorite coral. I moved it to the sand bed just to be sure that its not getting too much light.

 

[Wiz]

the first night after I put it on the sand it came out just a little bit. then yesterday it came out pretty good during the blues and closed up during the whites and open a bit for evening. pretty sure it is a lighting issue. a bit confusing though, as my sunny ds that are right beside where it was seem to want more light.

 

[Wiz]

So it took a couple months but my duncan that grew so well died. A slow a terrible death. After a few more months and all other corals doin fine, I decided to try another frag. Picked up a single head a month ago. It has since grown a second head and Is doing fine. This leads me to believe my originak got sick somehow. Idk how but it doesn't seem to be the tank or conditions. So....

 

[Vividgraphx]

next time maybe consider giving it a dip in revive, might have had something in or on it.