Goniopora not doing well

[Nikoliter]

I can't figure out why my gonis are not doing well. Everything else is thriving.

Chemistry is spot on...

Salinity - 35ppm
Temp - 79° F
Alk - 8.4dKh
Cal - 440ppm
Mag - 1400ppm
Nitrates - 20ppm (a little high, but doubt it's the cause)
Phos - 0.08ppm

All softies, including hammers, frogspawn, zoas (which are exploding in growth) and all fish and inverts are doing great. The only corals closing up and struggling right now are the gonioporas. It's been a few weeks of decline. Two already bleached out and the remaining two are extending less and less each day and now barely extend at all. They were vibrant and doing well until recently. I would add that I have recently gone through a Dino outbreak, which has now been fully cleared up for about a month. Two 25% water changes have been done since. There are no visible issues at this time. All looks good.

Any idea what might be causing them to struggle?

How are things looking today

 

[iMi]

How are things looking today

No improvement at all. I didn't dose the A+B this morning and the lights have been lowered yesterday. I can't figure out what's wrong with them.

 

[Pistondog]

No improvement at all. I didn't dose the A+B this morning and the lights have been lowered yesterday. I can't figure out what's wrong with them.

Nothing happens overnight, give it some time

 

[happyhourhero]

How did you beat the dinos? Could this be in response to that?

 

[iMi]

How did you beat the dinos? Could this be in response to that?

Doubt it because Dinos have been gone for a while now and these two were doing well when the outbreak ended. I beat it by raising the temp to 82.5°, stopping water changes, dosing RedSea Algae Control + MicroBacter7 and eventually dosing nitrates and phosphates.

Since then I've done two 25% water changes. Fresh carbon was added before and after treatment. I could replace the carbon again. It's due soon.

 

[happyhourhero]

Doubt it because Dinos have been gone for a while now and these two were doing well when the outbreak ended. I beat it by raising the temp to 82.5°, stopping water changes, dosing RedSea Algae Control + MicroBacter7 and eventually dosing nitrates and phosphates.

Since then I've done two 25% water changes. Fresh carbon was added before and after treatment. I could replace the carbon again. It's due soon.

Yeah I agree. So I have turned mine around without meaning to by feeding Phyto feast live and egg brew (stuff is great) every day. They went from nearly dead to flowing polyps.

 

[Pistondog]

 

[iMi]

Yeah I agree. So I have turned mine around without meaning to by feeding Phyto feast live and egg brew (stuff is great) every day. They went from nearly dead to flowing polyps.

I ordered Brightwell's CoralAmino, KoralColor and Restor. Haven't figured out which phytoplankton to buy since they sell them in like a million variations and sizes. Where do I find the stuff you recommended?

 

[happyhourhero]

I ordered Brightwell's CoralAmino, KoralColor and Restor. Haven't figured out which phytoplankton to buy since they sell them in like a million variations and sizes. Where do I find the stuff you recommended?

I think you can order phytofeast live from saltwaterfish.com. Brs carries egg brew.

 

[Thaxxx]

The thing is, in a search for a answer your going to be adding, and changing things that are going to effect your whole tank. Doing multiple things at once you'll never know. And other things in the tank may suffer. Then you'll just be chasing your tail.
Gonis are not easy. They tend to degrade very slowly. Sometime over the course of a year before they are just a skeleton.

 

[iMi]

The thing is, in a search for a answer your going to be adding, and changing things that are going to effect your whole tank. Doing multiple things at once you'll never know. And other things in the tank may suffer. Then you'll just be chasing your tail.
Gonis are not easy. They tend to degrade very slowly. Sometime over the course of a year before they are just a skeleton.

That has always been my approach as well. One variable at a time, but I'm getting desperate here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Nikoliter]

That has always been my approach as well. One variable at a time, but I'm getting desperate here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

How long have you had your Goni’s

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Just 15 minutes ago, I commented on a similar post and I can’t be more serious. Invisible soft coral toxins are what stopped my gonis from even just opening up, right from the lfs. They can’t be seen. They can’t be tested for. You said you have them. It’s very possible that one or more are assuring there space or territory and emitting toxins that reek havoc on corals like gonis. I went through it years ago. Did away with many softies. Especially large Sinularias. The ones I kept were now separated from touching other corals. My personal conclusion: Day and night!!! Here’s a photo I just took this evening for the other r2r post. Good luck.

 

[iMi]

How long have you had your Goni’s

I'd say at least 4-5 months now. One has grown onto the rock already.

 

[iMi]

Just 15 minutes ago, I commented on a similar post and I can’t be more serious. Invisible soft coral toxins are what stopped my gonis from even just opening up, right from the lfs. They can’t be seen. They can’t be tested for. You said you have them. It’s very possible that one or more are assuring there space or territory and emitting toxins that reek havoc on corals like gonis. I went through it years ago. Did away with many softies. Especially large Sinularias. The ones I kept were now separated from touching other corals. My personal conclusion: Day and night!!! Here’s a photo I just took this evening for the other r2r post. Good luck.

That thought has crossed my mind!

What I have in the tank are several zoas/polys, frogspawn, hammer, a couple of leathers, purple stylo, a couple of blastos, and a few encrusting corals like cyphastrea and leptos. Also a couple of ricordias and GSP growing on the back wall. Would any of these guys be particularly prone to chemical warfare?

 

[Pistondog]

That thought has crossed my mind!

What I have in the tank are several zoas/polys, frogspawn, hammer, a couple of leathers, purple stylo, a couple of blastos, and a few encrusting corals like cyphastrea and leptos. Also a couple of ricordias and GSP growing on the back wall. Would any of these guys be particularly prone to chemical warfare?

@Glenner’sreef mentioned sinularia specifically, which includes leather corals.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

That thought has crossed my mind!

What I have in the tank are several zoas/polys, frogspawn, hammer, a couple of leathers, purple stylo, a couple of blastos, and a few encrusting corals like cyphastrea and leptos. Also a couple of ricordias and GSP growing on the back wall. Would any of these guys be particularly prone to chemical warfare?

Definitely! Ricordea Florida are my all time favorite soft coral yet those and other mushrooms are invasive and should be kept on separate rocks. I believe I had at the time a Devil’s Hand leather as well. Again the crazy thing about this hobby is that often times it’s not whats seen (like our testing parameters) but what’s not seen….from softie toxins to carpet cleaner in your tank room. Hope to his helps. Good luck.

 

[iMi]

Definitely! Ricordea Florida are my all time favorite soft coral yet those and other mushrooms are invasive and should be kept on separate rocks. I believe I had at the time a Devil’s Hand leather as well. Again the crazy thing about this hobby is that often times it’s not whats seen (like our testing parameters) but what’s not seen….from softie toxins to carpet cleaner in your tank room. Hope to his helps. Good luck.

Thank you. I think you might be right about what’s happening. There is no good way for me to remove any of the corals. I wish there was a way to test this hypothesis, so I can have some degree of confidence before I blow up the tank and start pulling things out.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Thank you. I think you might be right about what’s happening. There is no good way for me to remove any of the corals. I wish there was a way to test this hypothesis, so I can have some degree of confidence before I blow up the tank and start pulling things out.

I hear you. For me at the time, I was about to purchase a custom 137g tank and was in the middle of building a stand for it. So I had this information in my head at the time and decided to really change the way I kept and placed corals. Upon restocking my new tank with my old corals, I hand picked the few softies I wanted and began to purchase corals that were either difficult or impossible to keep under what thought were “toxic “ conditions. Gonis, Clams and sps corals were all on that list. And they took off!!! My obvious and only conclusion was soft coral toxins. I have a mixed reef right now but everyone has their own space. A great lesson learned for me and I enjoy sharing it. Good luck.

 

[Pistondog]

Thank you. I think you might be right about what’s happening. There is no good way for me to remove any of the corals. I wish there was a way to test this hypothesis, so I can have some degree of confidence before I blow up the tank and start pulling things out.

Some say running gac will reduce the toxins in the water.