Goni troubles?

[bedbuggie]

hey all. so i may have messed up, i recently bought a goniopora without doing proper research (i know, rookie mistake.) for reference-- the only coral i currently keep is a purple frilly gorgonian so i am by no means an expert.

i digress, i went to bond the goni frag to a piece of rock with liquid CA glue and the glue got on a good portion of the goni. i was able to peel most of it off with a needle but i feel like the whole scenario really irritated the coral-- the connective tissue between the polyps went from a plump, purplish brown to a desiccated pale color-- see attached photos. i am currently letting the coral settle on lower lights with my fingers crossed. any idea what caused this if not the glue mishap, and can it be remedied, or did my rookie mistakes and lack of research cost me this coral?

when the coral first arrived note the plumpness of the connecting tissue around the skeleton:

after the glue mishap, today before polyp extension:

this is the coral with its polyps extended today:

tank specs: 3 gal pico cube, 5 months old.
lomine asta20 at 40% strength blue, 40% violet, 10%. red green UV, 20% white light.
74-79f (day-night difference, room temperature seeing as it is warm in georgia-- i run 1-2 small heaters in the winter.)
34 salinity
marina HOB with carbon and ceramic, live rubble and sponge for filtration
and a tunze 106s for more flow.

i can do a full panel with my test kit tomorrow if you all want to know the nitrite, nitrate, ph and ammonia. its overdue for a test anyways.

thank you!

 

[Soilworker]

You probably killed off some of it with the cyanoacrylate but if parts of it are extending I'd say you're fine. They seem to get real angry at times and take time to bounce back. I dipped some new ones a couple days ago and they're still retracted a bit. Give it some time and keep your parameters stable and it should be fine. Giving it some targeted feeding with some aminos wouldn't hurt either if it'll take it.

Also if you can get your temps a bit more stable that would probably help too.

 

[bedbuggie]

You probably killed off some of it with the cyanoacrylate but it parts of it are extending I'd say you're fine. They seem to get real angry at times and take time to bounce back. I dipped some new ones a couple days ago and they're still retracted a bit. Give it some time and keep your parameters stable and it should be fine. Giving it some targeted feeding with some aminos wouldn't hurt either if it'll take it.

Also if you can get your temps a bit more stable that would probably help too.

yea, i try to keep the temps from swinging too much but with a 3 gallon tank the temps swing within a few degrees based on the ambient temperature of the room-- the room gets near 80 during the day before cooling off at night. i am considering buying a small desk fan to run during the hottest part of the year, bu t it's honestly an uphill battle with a tank this small-- the gorgonian, two blue leg hermits and cerith snail don't seem to mind the temp swing too much but i understand (now, after i've bought it-- oops)that gonis are much more tempermental. fingers crossed it pulls through because it is delightfully tiny and i love it.

i, like you, also feel hopeful due to its willingness to extend during lights on.

 

[bedbuggie]

hello, just thought i'd share an update as a form of journal i suppose.
the goni appears to be improving, and no longer appears shrunken and wrinkly-- it extends daily. i am more hopeful than before that it will pull through!

here it is tonight, not extended:

heres the before

extended after:

extended before, kinda rough looking:

 

[bedbuggie]

Just a quick update for the goni diary. it extends beautifully when lights come on, but I can only worry that this is just the coral reaching for better light? the colors do seem a less intense in this state-- much more tanish brown than the advertized "pink" of the shorter, less elongated state of the polyps.... I'm rambling. Do any of you think the Lominie Asta20 saltwater light is too weak for this short tentacled encrusting goni? I would upgrade but only if it didnt burn a hole through my wallet.